Carpathian 06 - Dark Fire

us what we had wrought with our meddling. She suffered much for him.
    It is done, my little love. It wrenched at his heart that he had made her cry. We will remove the threat to you and Desari, and all will be well once more. Barack was reassuring.

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    Darius is truly angry with us . He will not forgive us for a long while.
    Barack wanted to turn back and comfort Syndil. Instead, he sent her waves of reassurances, warmth, and love. He knew Darius was furious. Coldly furious. He also knew Darius was capable of things neither woman could conceive of. He was a harsh, unrelenting enemy. His woman, the one he deemed his very soul, had suffered agonies this night. He would not forgive easily. Barack flew faster, streaking through the dark sky to catch up with the hunter.
    Once the three Carpathians were united with Darius, Julian signaled them to settle to earth. Mostly he wanted to see for himself just how far gone Darius's condition was. All three males fully intended to protect Darius. They knew he had been wounded.
    Impatiently Darius's cold black eyes swept over Julian. "What is it?"
    They were in an orchard not far from where Darius had forced the car carrying Tempest off the road.
    Julian had blown the car sky high. Fire and police vehicles were already leaving the scene.
    "Cullen told me a man named Wallace came over from Europe and fired up this Brady Grand against the band and Julian and Desari in particular," Dayan volunteered. He was studying Darius's face as he spoke.
    Darius looked drawn and harsh. There was a spot of blood on his hip and another larger stain spreading on his thigh. Dayan glanced uneasily at Julian and Barack but refrained from commenting. There was cold fury in Darius's eyes. A strange scarlet glow that seemed to come from the blood-red moon was trapped and reflected back at them from the very depths of those black, black eyes. It was an eerie flame of savage rage, as primitive and unrelenting as time itself. There would be no stopping Darius this night. He was the ultimate predator. His quarry could never escape him.
    "Have you heard of this Wallace?" Darius asked Julian quietly.
    "A few years back there was a man who hunted our people, our Prince, his lifemate, and his brother. He tortured and killed both humans and immortals alike. That man was named Wallace, but he was destroyed. I know he belonged to a society of fanatics. I can only imagine that the two Wallaces are related, especially if he came over from Europe. He must be at the head of the society now."
    "These lunatics are like Medusa, the snake woman. Cut off one head, and another grows in its place. If we take this one, we can hope they will at least be forced to regroup for a while," Darius said softly. "It will give us time to collect more information on them."
    Julian nodded solemnly. "Human vampire-hunters have plagued our people for thousands of years. As long as our males turn, there will be those humans who become suspicious and continue to hunt us all."
    "Perhaps the solution is to find out more about these fanatics and actively hunt them," Darius suggested grimly.
    "We have some of our people gathering information on them. A toxin was developed by one of their laboratories. Injected into the body of a Carpathian, it can paralyze," Julian informed him almost soothingly. "Our healer-your brother, Darius-has found an antidote. But these are determined men. Even if we take this Wallace, they may come after us again and continue to develop new and more deadly poisons against us."

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    "Not if, Julian," Darius returned with quiet menace. "I will destroy this man. If it gives our people respite, so be it. If it does not, we will not back away from our duty."
    "Do you have the scent of our prey?" Julian asked.
    "It is a stench in my nostrils. He cannot escape his fate this night."
    "Your lifemate still lives," Dayan said softly.
    Darius's head snapped around, his eyes blazing with smoldering fire. "I am well aware of the state my lifemate is in, Dayan. There is no need for you to remind me."
    "Tempest is one of those unusual women who never hold a grudge," Julian said to no one in particular.
    "It is difficult to imagine her harming a fly."
    "Thank you for pointing that out to me, Julian," Darius snapped, and he launched himself straight upward.
    Few could accomplish such a