Carpathian 06 - Dark Fire

from her before the need to crush her to him, to feel her skin against his, overcame him. He took a deep breath to steady himself and deliberately put distance between their bodies.
    Tempest drove through the murky water as it continued to rise. Twice she crossed a paved road and found another dirt track. Once she came very close to a huge truck parked across the road, one of its occupants smoking a cigarette. She nibbled at her lower lip worriedly but got past the truck without incident. She glanced back at Darius, noting his coloring. He was gray and drawn, lines etched deeply in his face. The strain of masking with illusion an object as large as the bus was enormous. In his weakened state, he was actually trembling.
    Tempest hastily averted her eyes, her heart pounding as if it might explode in her chest at any moment.
    The idea of anything happening to Darius was terrifying. She drove as fast as she dared over the unfamiliar terrain, feeling her way carefully, focusing her mind on the dangers the volume of water presented. At times she chose a path so narrow that the tree branches scraped the sides of the trailer with a screeching metallic sound she thought might haunt her for all time.
    As the bridge loomed up in front of them, Tempest wiped at her face, hoping to wipe away the veil that was making it so difficult to see. Between the rain and the fog, she felt as if she were driving blind. She felt the bridge sway beneath the bus, and instinctively she let up on the gas pedal, nearly panicking.
    At once Darius was there, his bare foot covering hers, pressing the accelerator so that the bus fishtailed before the tires found traction. "Keep going, baby," he said softly.
    He didn't give her a choice, his foot firmly over hers. Tempest held on grimly to the steering wheel, her heart in her throat. Water was pouring over the structure, pushing at the bus hard enough that she had to fight to keep them on the bridge. The water wanted to lift the trailer and carry it into the swollen stream.
    She allowed herself to breathe only when the vehicle cleared the bridge. Then she pushed at Darius's leg, making him let up on the gas. She was shaking so violently, her teeth were chattering.
    "You are doing great, honey," Darius whispered, his hand stroking a caress down her bright hair. "We are almost out of this."
    "Almost?" She turned her head to stare up at him. "There's more? I'm getting so tired, Darius." She felt silly telling him that when he was wounded and in more need of rest than she. "I think I've had enough adventure for one night."
    He ruffled her hair, affection in his touch. For a man part beast and all predator, he found he had a side he had never expected. Tempest made him go soft inside. "Hang in there, honey. We face one more barrier, and then we will reach the open road."
    She heard a muffled roar and realized a wall of water was building upstream, pushing everything in its path in front of it. Immediately she started the vehicle moving forward, inching their way through the the heavy vapor and rain. Without warning a truck loomed up only scant feet from them, directly in her path.
    A man was leaning against the hood, night goggles pressed to his eyes.
    Lightning flashed, strike after strike, lighting the night as if it were day. The man dropped the goggles into the muck, his hands over his eyes as she swerved off the road, barely missing a huge tree. Clenching her teeth, she fought the heavy bus for control, bringing it back onto the road beyond the parked truck.
    Darius slumped into the seat beside her, his face so gray and drawn that she nearly slammed on the brakes. "Go lie down, Darius," she ordered, frightened by his lack of color. "I'll get us to the resort where Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    Desari is supposed to be. Konocti Harbor Inn and Spa. It's somewhere near Clearlake. I can find it."
    The route was well marked, an easy thing to follow, she hoped. She was bad at directions, but surely she could follow road signs.
    Darius staggered to the back of the bus without argument and lay down on the couch, the injured leopard on the floor close by. "You know you will get us lost without guidance, little love."
    Her heart turned over at the note of tenderness in his voice. She wanted him to sleep the rejuvenating sleep of his people, to heal himself in the earth so that he would be at full strength again. The pain from his wound was on him, hunger from