Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

near the ocean—no, the other way, down the hill. He's close by." She could barely breathe, the air was so filled with evil now. "The vampire is somewhere close also. I can feel him."
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    Go back , cara, go back . There was pleading in Aidan's voice.
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    He is searching for you, Aidan. I can feel his triumph. He thinks he knows where you are.
    He's in the form of a bird — no, something else that flies — but he's injured. He's favoring his right side . Alexandria rubbed her temples; the energy it took to communicate mentally was draining. Her head throbbed, her thigh was burning as if she had somehow incurred an injury there.
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    Go back, Alexandria. He feels your presence. That is why he is triumphant. He has drawn you out of safety. Do as I say ! Aidan placed one hand carefully over the deep cut on his temple and pressed the other over the wound on his thigh that was draining away his life-force. He had lost so much blood; the precious fluid pooled on the ground, seeping into the soil.
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    The smell of the blood would draw the vampire to him. But he could also smell, and the vampire's scent was as strong as the disturbance in the earth's natural harmony. He did not need Alexandria's warnings to know the vampire was close. This one held far more power than Yohenstria, and his ability to create illusions was flawless. Aidan had fought others as strong, but not with such a mortal injury himself. With Alexandria so close, he had no recourse but to fight and win. Even had he gone to ground, the vampire probably would have found him before dawn.
    He forced his protesting body to move, to climb to his feet. He pushed the pain from his mind.
    He pushed the thought of Alexandria away. He could do no other than defeat the vampire. He stood very still. Waiting. Just waiting.
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Chapter Seven
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    The wind blew up from the bay. Waves rushed toward the shoreline below. The stars glowed overhead. The night itself seemed far too beautiful to hide such a perverted, demented creature as nosferatu , the undead. Aidan lifted his face to the wind and inhaled sharply to sort out the information the night chose to share with him.
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    The vampire was high overhead, winging its way toward him from the ocean side, hoping the spray and sea salt would conceal his scent. Like Aidan, the vampire was wounded, and the blood spoor was easy to follow. Ravenous from blood loss, Aidan's fangs exploded into his mouth at the mere smell. Tainted blood was the last thing he wanted, yet without an infusion of blood, he would die soon. He had made a promise to himself centuries ago that he would never touch a member of the family that served him, no matter what the cost, and he meant to keep that Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    promise. And Alexandria was far too weak; it would be dangerous for her to provide for him.
    She had no knowledge of the consequences to both of them should he lose her.
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    He had long ago begun to accept death, greeting the dawn as the only, inevitable choice open to him. But he was not prepared to relinquish his life now, when the possibility of happiness had finally come his way. He would fight. He would at least manage to save Alexandria and Stefan from their own folly. He would take the vampire with him into the dawn if that was his only option.
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    Standing up had increased the bleeding from the deep wounds on his thigh and temple, and a steady stream ran down his neck and over his shoulder to his arm and chest. A wave of weakness washed over him, and for a moment everything blurred. He blinked to bring things into focus, but it was only after he brushed at his eyes and his hand came away smeared with blood that he could see again. He waited patiently, breathing in and out, because he had no other choice. He had to bring the vampire down to him.
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    A large bat made a pass at his head, grimacing to reveal tiny pointed teeth. It settled on the ground yards from him, crawling toward him, stalking him.
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    "Come, come, Ramon, must we play these childish games? Come to me like a man or not at all.
    I grow weary of your foolishness." Aidan spoke softly, his voice compelling and hypnotic. "All your tricks will not aid you this night. If you choose to continue this battle, we will have done with it here and now. You cannot win. You know it. You feel it. You have come here to die at my hand. So be it. Walk like a man to your death." His golden eyes caught the