Carpathian 11 - Dark Descent

dare to gather so close to our homeland."
    "Gregori is in the United States but wil be returning soon. Falcon and Jacques stay close to the prince."
    "There are many undiscovered caves in these mountains," Traian said. "I went to ground in one of them and came across several vampires. They were hunting something beneath the earth and they were so frantic to find it, they began to hunt me, instead of avoiding me as would be usual. We had several battles. I destroyed two of them, although more than one master vampire travels with them and they are extremely powerful. I was severely wounded after one of the battles, and they found my resting place.

    Instead of kiling me, they decided to use my blood so they could continue searching. Joie and her brother and sister found us. Joie kiled one of the vampires."
    "Sort of," Joie corrected when Gary looked at her with admiration. "The darn thing fried my favorite knife. Traian had to incinerate it before it was realy gone." He isn't like you, Traian. He's human.
    Few humans are trusted with the knowledge he has of our people. He must be much respected for Mikhail to send him to me.
    "Vampires are very difficult to kil," Gary said, "and with even one master vampire in the vicinity, it is too dangerous to engage in battle." He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
    "I'm a biochemist, not a hunter, but I've seen the results of what the vampire can do to humans. It's terrifying."
    Gabriele shuddered visibly. "I think Joie was having fun down there in the cave, but al I wanted to do was hide under the bed. And I kept thinking about viruses and touching al those microorganisms down there." She made a face. "I think I'l leave vampire hunting to the experts. If I never see or hear of another one, I'l be happy."
    Joie grinned at her. "And here I was planning on making it my new career."
    "That's not funny, Joie," Jubal said. "What you do is bad enough. You give us al gray hair. You stay away from those things."
    "How did you get involved with al of this?" Gabriele asked Gary curiously.
    He looked sheepish. "I actualy developed a compound to paralyze the system of Carpathians, thinking, of course, they were vampires. The compound was twisted into a poison and used to torture and dissect whomever the human society of vampire hunters deemed one of the undead. When I tried to expose them and rescue one of their victims, I met Gregori." He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't describe Gregori or what meeting him was like, but it changed my life. The society would like to see me dead, so as a protection, Gregori brought me here to help with research. I like it here and have developed strong friendships, so I stay."
    Who is Gregori ? There was so much respect in Gary's voice, Joie was curious.
    He is second to the prince. A great hunter and healer. He is lifemate to the daughter of the prince.
    Joie looked up at Traian. "I can see the Carpathians have a complex society. Why didn't we know of its existence until now?"
    "We take great care to blend into the human world. It has been our way for centuries and has worked wel for us. Unfortunately, our race is on the verge of extinction."
    Traian gathered Joie to him. "Without life-mates, we wil not survive."
    "Lifemates?" Jubal echoed.
    "We mate for life. Once a male finds the woman who is his other half, he binds her to him, as you do with a marriage ceremony. If she is a human and does not live fuly in our world, it can be very difficult. Lifemates cannot be parted for long periods of time. We have a strong telepathic link and must touch each other's minds frequently or one begins to grieve for the other. As Carpathians cannot walk fuly in the human world, it is usualy best for the human to walk in our world," Traian explained.
    Jubal and Gabriele exchanged a long, apprehensive look. "What exactly does that entail?"
    "Jubal—" Joie protested.
    "No, Joie, I want to know what he's talking about." Jubal didn't look at his sister but rather at Traian. Man to man. Expecting an answer. Demanding one.
    "Joie has consented to come fuly into my world, Jubal," Traian said, his voice low and without inflection. "I wil protect her and watch over her and see to her happiness at al times. The conversion wil not take her from your family. She would never be happy apart from you. I hope you and your sister and your parents wil be able to accept me into your world, your family, the way I know my people wil accept Joie into mine."
    Jubal swore softly and turned away from