Carpathian 09 - Dark Guardian

stomach How many humans killed? How many hunters had he destroyed? How much innocent blood was on his hands? "I'm not so easily won." She knew Lucian would come. Knew it .
    Jaxon wanted to reach for him, to merge her mind with his, but she was too exhausted. She conserved her energy, certain she would need it soon enough. Whatever the vampire had done to trap Lucian, to delay him, would never hold him.
    The wind rushed at her, a whirling minitornado that pushed and tugged at her, attempting to drive her toward the undead. The beauty of his face was beginning to disintegrate, his features going gray and Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    slack, the flesh hanging loosely, as if he couldn't quite be bothered to keep up appearances. The bones of his skull were far more prominent now, his eyes sunken into dark, merciless pits. "You will do as I command."
    "You think?" Jaxon began to laugh. "Do you know who he is?"
    The vampire stirred, a rippling of his cloak, a gnashing of his teeth. "It does not matter. He will die like those who have come before."
    "You really don't know, do you? How funny. He is Lucian. The ancient. The most famous of all hunters."
    She said it softly, sweetly, her voice nearly as gentle and pure as that she had heard Lucian use.
    The vampire went very still except for a sudden pronounced tick under his left eye. "Lucian is long dead, I have heard it said. But I do not believe it. It is also said he is one of our kind. That I believe."
    Jaxon shrugged, a delicate, feminine gesture. "Nevertheless, it is Lucian, and he is a hunter unsurpassed by any other." She lifted her arms just as she felt the connection with her lifemate once more, the complete merging, the strength pouring into her. She caught impressions of a terrible struggle, still fresh in his mind, yet he had been the one to wither the appendage when it had first claimed her, he had aided her in building illusions even as he fought for his life. Again she waved her arms, encompassing the entire surrounding area as she addressed the vampire. "Can't you feel his presence? Can't you feel him? He is everywhere, all at once. All around us. There is no way to defeat one such as Lucian." As she waved her hands, images of Lucian once more appeared in all directions, lined up like paper dolls, standing tall and straight, leaning lazily against the rocks, reaching up toward the clouds, arms dangling at his sides.
    "Enough!" the vampire hissed, his voice grating and cracking with his smoldering anger. "I will not be swayed by your childish tricks. Repetition is boring. I am not amused."
    "I was not attempting to amuse you," Jaxon said softly. "I was attempting to warn you. There is a difference."
    The images of Lucian began to move, at first merely swaying back and forth with the wind, then actually circling, their feet picking up a peculiar dancing rhythm. Immediately the vampire focused on Jaxon, his lips pulling back into a snarl. "How dare you attempt to trick me!" The voice cracked and broke, all gravel and chalkboard. Saliva sprayed into the air as he spat the words at her.
    The vampire glared at her, his eyes narrowing to focus on her throat, his expression grim and hateful as he deliberately closed off air to her lungs. Or attempted to. Jaxon merely felt the brush of his evil hands as he tried to strangle her from a distance, but then the grip was gone, and Jaxon watched the vampire's eyes widen in horror, his hands flying up to protect his own throat.
    All around them the clones of Lucian began to laugh softly. "You know better than to lay your hand on the lifemate of another. The law is clear and ancient and as old as time itself. I remember you now.
    Matias. You fought in the battle against the Turks but deserted when the sun began to rise. You sought the earth far too early, and I knew then I would face you in our own battlefield."
    The vampire was struggling to remove the invisible hands around his throat. His face was turning purple.
    All at once he dissolved, only to appear directly behind Jaxon, his arms attempting to whip around her, claws poised at her neck like a knife. The talons hit something solid and snapped off. His arms touched empty space.

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    Lucian spoke. "You can try, but you know it is futile. I would never allow my lifemate to be touched by one such as you."
    Even as the clone spoke, the vampire was