Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

Joshua had to climb down by himself; Alex was no longer able to lift her arms. As she had suggested earlier, he made his way out of the cave to explore their prison. Alexandria usually had a million safety rules for him to follow, but this time she just watched him with glassy eyes.
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    He studied the cliff walls to find a place he could climb up, but they were too steep and slick. He was very thirsty, so he looked for a place where fresh water might run down the wall of rock, but he couldn't see anything. The sun felt good on his cold, wet skin, and he lay down on the sand to dry his clothes and warm up.
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    Alexandria slumped over and struck her head against the rock wall. All at once she jerked awake, staring wildly around her. Joshua! He was gone! She had fallen asleep, and the waves had carried him off! She struggled to her feet, fighting the manacles on her wrists, and screamed for her brother.
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    Her voice was hoarse, nearly nonexistent, and refused to carry beyond the mouth of the cave.
    The meager sunlight filtering in burned her eyes, burned her skin, but she pulled and tugged at the chains, calling out again and again for Joshua.
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    By the time Joshua ran into the cave, and to her side, she was huddled against the wall sobbing.
    "What is it, Alex? Did that man come back and hurt you again?"

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    Alexandria lifted her head slowly. Joshua touched her bleeding wrists. "He did come back, and I wasn't here to protect you."
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    She stared up at him through her tears, unable to believe it was really her brother and not some figment of her imagination. She caught at him, hugged him tightly, and ran her hands over him to assure herself he was unharmed. "No, the man didn't come back. I don't think he can, with the sun up."
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    "Should I go look? I can sneak." The sunlight was making him feel braver.
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    "No!" Alexandria tightened a hand around his arm. "Don't you dare go near that man." She wiped her swollen lips on her sleeve. Blisters burst and began to bleed. "Is there any way for you to get out? Can you climb up the cliff?"
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    "No, there's no foothold anywhere. There isn't even a good hiding place. I haven't looked farther back in the cave yet. Maybe there's a way through there."
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    "I don't want you to try it, Josh. I can't help you if he finds you in there." She wasn't certain if Paul Yohenstria really was an honest-to-God vampire, but whatever he was, Joshua could not possibly handle him. She had visions of the six-year-old finding the vampire asleep in a coffin.
    Did they really sleep in coffins?
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    "But you're really hurt, Alex. I can tell. And he's going to come back here. That's why he chained you up, so he can come back and hurt you some more." He sounded near tears.
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    "He's very sick, Josh." She thumbed a tear from his face, then kissed the top of his head. "We might have to pretend a lot around him. He thinks I am the woman he wants to marry. Isn't that silly, when we don't even know each other? But I think he's hurt in the head, you know, something wrong with his brain."
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    "I think he's a vampire, Alex, like on TV. You said there wasn't really such a thing, but I think you're wrong."
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    "Maybe. I don't honestly know anymore. But we're a hard team to beat, Josh." Actually, she was so weak, she could no longer stand and didn't even bother to try. If the vampire returned right then, he would have very easy pickings. "I think we're too smart for him. What do you think?"
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    "I think he's going to eat us," Josh said honestly.
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    "He said something about a hunter. Did you hear him say that? There's someone hunting him.
    We can hold out until the hunter finds him." She was so exhausted, her eyes were closing again.
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    "I'm scared, Alex. Do you think the hunter will get here before the vampire wakes up and kills us?" Joshua's lower lip was quivering along with his voice.
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    She made a supreme effort to rouse herself. "He'll come, Josh. You wait and see. He'll come at night, when the vampire least expects him. He'll have blond hair, just like you. He's big and strong and powerful, like a jungle cat." She could almost see him in her mind, the hero she was attempting to create for her brother.

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    "Is he more powerful than the vampire?" Joshua asked hopefully.
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    "Way more," she said firmly, weaving a