Carpathian 12 - Dark Melody

me, baby; this one time, do this for me." His words were whispered intimately to her, his need so great it brought tears to her eyes.
    Corinne nodded and allowed Gregori to take her left hand. How could she ever refuse Dayan anything Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    when he looked at her like that? Her right hand remained firmly in Dayan's. She didn't want to be alone with her failing body and strangers with slashing eyes and far too much power.
    Gregori closed his eyes and sent himself seeking outside his own body and into the mortal lying so frail before him. Her human heart was nearly useless. It was Dayan who supplied the power to keep Corinne going. Gregori moved on to examine the baby. The child was female. Aware. Too small to be born yet.
    Gregori reassured Corinne and moved quickly out again.
    'There is little time. Without Dayan aiding her she would have died, and the child with her.
    Darius, the child is female and a strong psychic. We cannot afford to lose either of them.' Gregori spoke to his brother, but he used the common mental path every Carpathian used so all those present would understand the dire need. 'I will work on the woman, as it is imperative she live for both of them. You take care of the child.'
    I have only done such a thing with Desari when she was an infant, never a babe in the womb.'
    Darius moved up beside Gregori and glanced once at Dayan. 'I will do what needs to be done.'
    'She will need your blood, Dayan, and she must not fight the transfer. She does not have any strength to waste so make sure she accepts it willingly. Darius will monitor the baby to determine whether her body can accept your blood. You cannot convert your lifemate while the child resides in her. The child would not live through such a difficult transformation. At this time, neither would Corinne.' Gregori was in complete command, his voice confident as he gave instructions.
    Dayan half lifted Corinne so he could sit on the slab, cradling her on his lap. He bent his head toward hers, enclosing them in a private world. "What I offer you is life, Corinne. For both of us." His breath stirred the thick mass of hair tumbling over her shoulders. She felt his lips traveling over her bare skin, his teeth scraping gently back and forth over her irregular pulse. He murmured something soft in his strange language.
    Corinne felt herself slipping further and further into her dream world. With Dayan's arms around her and his body so close to hers, she felt safe and protected. And then white lightning streaked through her, something between pleasure and pain. She lay passively in the crystal world of dreams and music. The flickering flames cast reflections on the wall from the pools of water, reflections that danced and mesmerized, tiny flames of orange and gold.
    She felt the presence of the healer once again. Corinne felt a peculiar warmth as if another's spirit shared her body, just as when Dayan had attempted to heal her. It was strangely comforting. With the other presence, her heart seemed to labor less. She was tired, though – very tired. It was too difficult to keep her eyes open even though she wanted to observe the beauty of the chamber and the people in it.
    Dayan closed the tiny pinpricks after taking enough blood for a ritual exchange. He shifted Corinne in his arms while he opened his shirt with one hand. "You will do this for us, my love," he commanded softly, gently, using a tone that banished her free will, that ensured she would do as he ordered. One fingernail lengthened into a sharp talon. Dayan opened his chest with a swift slash and pressed Corinne to him.
    "Drink, Corinne. I offer my life for your life. I offer my life for the life of our child."
    Corinne was rather horrified that her beautiful dream had taken such a twisted turn. She couldn't quite force her eyelashes to lift, so she couldn't really look around, she could only lie in Dayan's arm, swallowing the warm liquid. In her dream she could be analytical about it. None of it was real anyway.
    She was cradled in Dayan's arms, belonging to him; he had taken her blood first, then given her his as if he could make her strong and physically fit. It all made some kind of weird sense, what with vampire Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    stalkers thinking she was a vampire anyway. What was particularly strange to her was the fact that she didn't seem to mind taking