Carpathian 15 - Dark Secret

of a couple of bugs. He tried to be soothing and calm, when he wanted to rip out the heart of his enemy for putting her through such terror. He forced his mind away from the fear in her and sought to feel how close to her Kirja actually was. The migration of insects meant he was approaching her resting place. The safeguards would slow him down, but Rafael doubted if he could reach her before Kirja had unwoven the spells guarding her.
    Damn you for this. There was a sob in her voice that tore at his heart. I feel like I'm in a coffin. If you don't get me out of here, I'm going to lose my freaking mind.
    Rafael began to throw barriers in Kirja's path. A solid wall of granite rock, impossible to break through.
    He would be forced to go around it and he had to be getting weaker. Whatever he had found to allow him to continue moving after the coming of the dawn could not possibly last long. The Carpathian people would have heard of such a feat and moved to counter it.
    Please, Rafael. Please get me out of here. I swear whatever I did, I'm sorry.
    She was weeping now, clawing at the soil. He could feel her heart pounding, accelerating until he feared it would burst. Her pleas only served to madden him. He wanted to weep with her.
    Colby! Stop it. Stop crying. You can do this. You have to do this. I cannot bring you out of the ground. I want you aware so I can use you to fight him off if needed. You have power. You will do this. Stop crying and pull yourself together. His voice was a merciless command. He issued a warning, a deliberately harsh decree, rather than soothing her. She reacted exactly in the way he would expect from her. He felt the surge of anger at him.
    The bugs are crawling in my hair, you bastard. In truth she could feel thousands of tiny legs moving over her fast, rushing away from the area and that was nearly as frightening as the insects touching her body.
    She was fighting to stay in control. Rafael began to draw on the minerals from the volcano. He built a chamber of diamonds, first forming a roof over her head, a glittering transparent cavern, just large enough to keep her from feeling as if she were buried alive, and small enough that he could manage it quickly.
    The diamond fortress would keep Kirja out. Colby would be able to see the vampire, and it might be possible to further harm or even destroy the vampire using her sight.
    What's happening? Colby touched the hard rock forming rapidly around her. Rafael please. Really, I'm not going to be able to do this. You have to get me out of here. I don't understand why you won't take me out of the ground. Is it the birthmark?
    He read the desperation in her mind. Was he burying her alive? Leaving her to die a terrible death?
    Terror was returning fast. Her pleas were far worse than her anger. He had never felt so tormented in his life. His heart ached, a physical pain, and his belly churned with fury while fear was a knot in his throat.
    You can open your eyes, meu amor. You are safe now. He cannot get past a chamber of diamonds. They are too hard. He is far too weak. When he pushes his way through the soil, I need you to look at him, keep your eyes on him at all times, no matter what he does. Can you do that, pequena? He couldn't prevent the gentle coaxing note from creeping into his tone. He ached to hold her Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    close to him, to comfort her.
    Colby opened her eyes with slow reluctance, terrified of seeing the dirt and bugs. She was lying in a rich, black soil, but encased in glass. She lifted her arm to touch the wall, shocked at how heavy her limbs felt.
    Not glass. Crystal? Her breath caught in her throat. Diamonds. He had constructed a fortress of diamond to keep her safe. She wasn't ready to forgive him, she doubted if she ever would, but at least she wasn't going to have a heart attack now, if she didn't look up to see the dirt over the top of her prison. Are you certain Paul is alive? That he's all right? She would never forgive him for holding her captive beneath the earth when her brother needed her.
    Rafael allowed his memories to replay for her. His love for you and Ginny is very strong. Kirja did not take that into account.
    Colby was caught by a sound. By a feeling of being watched. She turned her head and there he was.
    Her heart stopped beating, and then began to thump frantically inside her chest. She had never seen such malevolence and twisted hatred on anything