Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

Aidan. Be careful. I will be here, merged with you, if you need to draw on my strength . And she meant to monitor the skies for him. To ferret out any trap the vampire had laid. Aidan would not be alone in this. If something went wrong, he would not carry the load on his own shoulders as he had done for so many centuries. She was determined to share it with him.
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    "You're very weak, Alexandria," Stefan said softly. "If you're to help Aidan, you must have something to…" He trailed off.
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    For the first time, Alexandria smiled. "It's all right, Stefan. I'm not going to be so silly as to fling myself out the door again."
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    "I would willingly volunteer," he offered.
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    She was already shaking her head when a black fury swirled in her mind. Aidan's resistance to the idea had more to do with jealousy than with his vow never to use those who served him, she realized. Alexandria tucked that knowledge away for examination at a better time. "I could never, Stefan, but thank you."
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    "Aidan keeps emergency supplies. He gave you some once. It is not as good, but it would help."
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    She shook her head. "Not that yet, either. If there is great need, I will take it. For now, tell me of the others, the guards. Aidan is quite worried about their well-being." She had picked it out of his head, his anxiety for Vinnie and Rusty.
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    "Vinnie was hurt badly and lost a lot of blood. He had well over a hundred stitches in his neck alone. Rusty fared a little better, but both will be out of commission for a long while," Stefan answered. "I saw to it that they obtained the best doctors available, including a plastic surgeon for Vinnie. I assured both men we would pay the medical bills and compensate them handsomely for their lost time."
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    Alexandria squeezed Marie's hand gently. "Thank you both. You make things so much easier for us." She slowly got to her feet and made her way to the recliner, where she curled up, drawing her knees up to rest her chin on them. She closed her eyes and allowed the room to fall away so that she could merge herself completely with Aidan. It was where she wanted to be. Where she belonged.

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    Aidan was well cloaked in the fog Gregori had produced. The dark healer had such an impressive command over nature. The heavy mantle of fog blocked the sun's rays, enabling Aidan to travel without discomfort and to gain an advantage over the vampire still underground until sunset. Most of all, a terrible weight had been lifted from his heart. Alexandria was with him, accepting of him, of all of him. She could clearly see the beast roaring for freedom, struggling for control, and she didn't back away from him in horror. She didn't blame him for the vampire's desperate challenge or the way Joshua had been abducted. She was afraid for Joshua and for him, but she was not falling apart. She had done as he had asked and tried to reassure and comfort Stefan and Marie. Alexandria was becoming his partner, truly his partner.
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    As he sped through the fog, he realized he loved her unconditionally, too. He had never known such a deep, passionate emotion. She had crawled so deeply into him, he was totally lost. He was hopelessly, completely, shamelessly in love. In his wildest fantasies, he had never imagined it would feel this good. He sent up a quick prayer that everything would go as he planned, that the safeguards he had woven around the boy would hold until he could destroy the vampire.
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    Aidan was moving swiftly, attempting to race the setting sun. The fog had given him a fighting chance, a head start, and he was determined to make full use of it. He streaked through the sky, streaming through the clouds, disturbing a flock of birds and sending them wheeling sharply away from the iridescent light. Gray shaded the trees below, indicating he had only minutes before the sunset. The old hunting lodge was in sight now, deep in the shadows of the tall pines.
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Chapter Eighteen
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    Aidan knew the instant the vampire rose. Earth and rock and moldy wood spewed upward in a geyser through the thick, soupy fog. Rats squealed, racing to abandon the rotted timbers.
    Cockroaches boiled from the decaying wood, a moving carpet swarming over broken planks.
    The dilapidated building shuddered. Evil incarnate burst into the air, screaming hatred and defiance, laughing horribly as it sped to the car and its waiting prize.
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    The