Carpathian 05 - Dark Challenge

taut muscles of his belly.
    Beneath her caressing fingers, his body thickened and hardened in response, his gut clenched hotly, and the breath seemed to slam out of him. "You are deliberately testing my resolve, piccola , and I am failing Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    the test miserably."
    "That is exactly what I wanted to hear," she answered complacently, her mind already occupied with much more interesting matters.

Chapter Fifteen
    The bus limped along, the engine sputtering and coughing, growing louder and louder with each passing mile, leaving thin trails of dark smoke. Even the air inside the vehicle seemed thick, making it difficult to breathe. The two leopards growled uneasily from time to time, the tips of their tails twitching in protest.
    The entire experience was making Julian wary. He was restless in such proximity to so many of his kind.
    The leopards had to be watched and controlled. They had quick, unreliable tempers and even among the Carpathians they were quite capable of doing great damage if riled within such close confines. In any case, Julian felt a disturbance in the balance of power around him and knew the other males were also aware of it. The crowded dimensions of the bus gave him the feeling of being trapped, although he could easily dissolve into molecules and flow through the open windows if he so desired. The edginess of the males was communicating itself to the animals, making it all the more difficult to control their wild natures.
    Darius was wasting precious energy keeping the cats in check. Julian shook his head at the insanity of the way this family unit lived.
    Desari drummed her fingers impatiently on the back of her seat, wanting to kick her brother. The entire mood inside the bus was one of intense frustration. Darius had insisted they travel together, leaving the other vehicles in a campground. It was uncomfortable to say the least. She wanted to be alone with Julian, and she knew he was unused to being so confined with others. He would be hating this.
    Darius glanced at his sister just once, his black eyes empty. "I do not have to explain myself," he reminded her quietly. He didn't bother to point out the disturbance in the air. One of their kind was near, but one who had long ago chosen to trade honor, his very soul, for a few moments of high during a kill.
    Darius knew the enemy was far too close to avoid a confrontation, and the women were the target. All of them knew it. Desari also needed more time to be alone with Julian. The couple needed space to get to know one another. Darius watched Julian closely. He respected his sister's lifemate, his casual strength, the way he chose to keep Desari happy at the cost of his own comfort.
    The troupe had taken so long trying to patch up their faltering vehicles again that they had little time to make their way to Konocti for their next concert appearance. Darius liked to get to concert sites a day ahead of time to scout around and be certain the security was to his liking. That balance of power was now gone, and the air was groaning with the presence of evil. All of them could smell the stench of a recent fire, the smoke and odor trapped in place by the absence of a breeze. This time, at least, they would be in familiar territory.
    Konocti was Desari's favorite place to perform. It was a smaller and more personal space than the huge stadiums she was usually booked to sing in. Desari liked the area, too, formed by volcanoes with hidden steaming pools and glittering diamonds scattered here and there. They had long ago established several bolt holes for each of them and could even have a semblance of privacy from one another.
    "Stop the bus, Dayan!" It was Syndil who called out suddenly, urgency in her voice. "Take that little road off to the side instead."
    "We do not have all night," Barack growled without looking up. "We are supposed to talk with the head Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    of security, and, as usual, we are already late. Dayan, keep driving."
    Syndil's slender frame began to shimmer. Desari gasped at the action. Syndil rarely defied the males, yet she was dissolving into mist, determined to seep through the open window into the darkened sky.
    Barack reached out casually, a deceptively lazy-looking action when his hand had really blurred with speed. He caught Syndil's long hair before she could disappear completely. "I do