Carpathian 05 - Dark Challenge

cursed the fact that she was there, that his senses were divided by such overwhelming emotion—terror for her.
    Julian struck without preamble, moving with the speed he was so famous for among his kind. But the vampire was not there. He had somehow broken the spell Desari had woven and was on her before she could move. Julian whirled immediately and went for the second target, his fist slamming into the wall of the chest, driving through muscle, bone, and sinew until he reached the one thing that could destroy the lesser vampire. The corrupt, pulsating heart was in the palm of his hand when he withdrew it from the chest, stepping back quickly from the screaming undead.
    The tainted blood spewed everywhere as the vampire insanely spun around in circles before falling to the ground, where he convulsed hideously. Julian was moving again, drawing energy from the lightning arcing from cloud to cloud overhead. The bolt hit the writhing body, incinerating it immediately. The flames then Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    jumped to the heart where Julian had tossed it. In seconds the lesser vampire was nothing more than smoking ashes. And Julian simply vanished as if he had never been.
    Desari's breath slammed out of her lungs when the clawed fingers of the ancient vampire circled her neck. His touch was vile, making her skin crawl. The air around him was foul, and she didn't want to breathe it. Julian had destroyed the other vampire so quickly she was barely aware he had done so before he dissolved, leaving no trace of himself anywhere. She was completely confident in him. She didn't stop to think why, but she knew with a certainty beyond anything she had ever known that he had not deserted her.
    "Why have you been stalking me, old one?" she inquired softly, using her voice as the weapon it was.
    The musical notes raked at the evil one.
    The vampire flinched and hissed, his poisonous talons pinching her skin in warning. "You will not speak,"
    he ordered, spitting and growling as the words burst out of him.
    "I am sorry," she replied gently, her voice soft with innocence. She was determined to give Julian every advantage.
    The vampire was turning her in every direction, using her slender body as his shield, all the while keeping a razor-sharp talon pressed over her jugular vein. The tip pierced her skin, sending a thin trail of blood trickling down her neck onto the white silk blouse she had donned on shifting. Her captor desperately scanned the forest around them. He could find no trace of Julian.
    Above their heads, the owls began to shift their weight. Two of the mountain lions screamed, the human-sounding cries eerie. Other animals paced restlessly, outside the invisible circle Desari had created. Their eyes glowed fiercely as lightning continued to arc among the clouds.
    "Your hero has deserted you," the vampire taunted her, his hate-filled eyes searching the night endlessly.
    "You believe that I need him to save me? I am an ancient. I can defend myself. Besides, you do not wish to slay me. You have not stalked me time after time simply to rid the world of my presence." Her voice was like velvet, the notes musical. "You have challenged two of the most powerful ancients I know to get to me. You would do this and then slay me? I do not think so, old one."
    His fingers tightened around her throat with bruising force, threatening to cut off her air. She laughed softly, tauntingly. "You think to frighten me with your empty threats? Your stench is more likely than your fingers to take my breath from me."
    The undead hissed in her ear, spat curses and threats, but suddenly he screamed, dragging her backward and spinning wildly, attempting to escape the flames erupting all over his rotting clothing and flesh.
    The vampire wrenched Desari's hair cruelly in retaliation for Julian's unexpected assault. But as he did so, the owls launched themselves from every direction, a hundred strong, talons extended, going directly for the vampire's glowing eyes. The beating wings created a swirling frenzy of leaves and twigs and pine needles, obliterating sight. Desari ducked as the owls rushed at the vampire's head. A huge owl, his feathers soaked in blood, materialized out of thin air, strong, curved talons outstretched. They bypassed the vampire's eyes and went straight for its chest. Even as the talons bore into flesh, the other owls were raking and slashing at the vampire's face, keeping him