Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

teeth and held out the offering to Aidan.
    
    Aidan hesitated, knowing Gregori was offering far more than nourishment. He would now be linked to Gregori, able to track him at will, should there be the need. The thick wrist dripping precious ruby droplets pressed closer to his mouth. With a sigh, Aidan gave in to the inevitable.
    He needed sustenance, and Alexandria waited at home, needing it also.
    
    "It is beautiful, this land, in its own way, is it not?" Gregori did not wait for Aidan's reply or indicate in any way that the blood loss was affecting him. "It is not wild and untamed like our mountains, but there is promise here." He did not wince as Aidan's teeth sank deeper into his skin.

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    
    Strength such he had not known in years poured into Aidan's body. Gregori was an ancient, his blood far more powerful than that of men of lesser years. The nourishment revived Aidan instantly, took away pain and weariness, and brought a vitality he had not previously experienced. He closed the wound carefully, meticulously, with great respect.
    
    "I am in your debt, Gregori, that you have aided me this day," he said formally.
    
    "You did not need my aid. I only made things easier. Your safeguards for the child would have bought you the necessary time even without the fog. And you had enough strength to survive the sunlight in your disembodied state even without me. You owe me nothing, Aidan. I have been lucky in my life to have a few men I could call friend. You are one." Gregori sounded as if he were already far away.
    
    "Come to my home, Gregori," Aidan insisted. "Stay for a while. It might help to ease you."
    
    Gregori shook his head. "I cannot. You know I cannot. I need the wild places, the high reaches, where I can feel freedom. It is my way. I have found a place many miles from here. I will build there to await my lifemate. Remember your promise to me."
    
    Aidan nodded. He felt Alexandria moving in his mind, offering closeness, comfort.
    
    "See to the child, Aidan, and your woman. Even from this distance, I sense her anxiety for you, for the boy. And she needs to feed. Her hunger beats at me. Do not waste your time worrying about me. I have taken care of myself for centuries." Already his solid form was wavering, shimmering, dissolving into droplets of mist. His voice came back, disembodied, strangely hollow, yet still beautiful. "That was quite a feat you performed today, and in broad daylight. Few can do what you did. You have learned much."
    
    Aidan watched him disappear, the mist streaming into the surrounding forest until it, too, was gone. Gregori's acknowledgment of his achievement made him proud. He felt like a child receiving praise from a revered parent. And since it was from masterful Gregori, who chose to live alone and befriend but few, he felt especially honored.
    
    Very carefully, with infinite patience, Aidan unraveled the safeguards around Joshua, then gently lifted the boy from the trunk. Blackened snakes fell onto the ground, scattering around Aidan's feet. He had much work to do, but he could no longer bear leaving the boy in that awful trunk with the creatures of the vampire's making.
    
    Aidan carried Joshua to a grassy knoll beneath a pine tree and laid him on the ground, tenderly brushing back his blond curls. He is fine, Alexandria, just sleeping soundly as I commanded. I will wake him when I return him home. Then we can deal with what he saw .
    
    Just hurry. I want to see him, hold him in my arms. And Marie can scarcely believe me when I tell her Joshua is out of danger . There was eagerness in her voice, but also fatigue, indicating her waning strength.
    
    Worried, Aidan left the boy sleeping peacefully while he returned to the revolting battleground to complete the distasteful task of destroying the vampire for all time. The separated heart and the body, along with all the tainted blood, had to be burned to ashes.
    
    Looking skyward, he built the electricity, weaving the veins of lightning and increasing the friction Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    until it arced and crackled. He directed a bolt to the vampire's body, spinning a ball of fire from the resulting sparks. The vampire's body writhed repugnantly, the stench rising to fill the night air.
    A few feet away, the heart seemed to move, a subtle, deadly pulsating that gave