Carpathian 17 - Dark Celebration

to them about me. What is it?
    What do they think about me?"
    He stroked back her hair. "They think you are from a very special lineage among our people. That is why you are so rare a talent."

    Natalya stood up, glancing over to where Gregori had materialized beside Corinne. The young woman lay in the snow, her face pale, beads of sweat dotting her brow while she struggled for every breath.
    "Her heart appears to be normal," Gregori said. "Yet it is not functioning as if it is. I can breathe for her, but it is impossible to reverse what is not wrong."
    Natalya moved away from the others. "Take Skyler and go. She should be guarded at all times. Send word to Rafael to guard Colby. Just in case. I will do battle with this mage and see which of us is the stronger." There was determination on her face. She put more distance between them.
    She lifted her hands and sketched a sign in the air. At once they could see a grid of arcing light pulsing in the snow-filled sky. It was faint but there, a trace of brightness with veins everywhere, scattered across the sky like a giant net.
    Skyler shook her head. "Don't let her do it. Stop!" She wrenched herself out of Gabriel's arms and ran to Natalya. "He's aware of us. If he knows who you are, where you are, he'll find you. He can always find you."
    "I'm aware of him," Natalya said. "And I can find him. It's no good living your life afraid, Skyler. Whatever he's done to you, whatever anyone has, you have to take your life back. You're strong enough and you have Gabriel and Francesca to guide you. Go with Gabriel and trust me to do this."
    Skyler hesitated, then shook her head. "If you do it, then I will too."
    Natalya smiled at her. "I am the granddaughter of the dark mage. I have Dragonseeker blood in my veins and I am well versed in the magick of the old ways. Even if it is Xavier, my grandfather, I am a match for him. Don't be afraid for me." She avoided her lifemate's gaze. Both knew if it was her twin brother, she might hesitate at the wrong time. She felt Vikirnoff moving in her, coiling to strike should there be need.
    "Get it done," Gregori ordered. "Dayan and I cannot hold this failing heart forever."
    Natalya turned back to the sky and examined the flickering veins of light stretching across the sky. Each was faint, but she could follow the threads, all leading back to one source. One primary source.
    "They're different weaves," Skyler pointed out.
    "Gabriel," Natalya called. "If it is either Xavier or Razvan, I could be in trouble and so could Skyler. Don't allow this."
    "I have to do this," Skyler pleaded. "I've been afraid every minute of my existence. I don't even know why some of the time, but it's tied to this." She rubbed her wrist where it burned and throb. "I try to remember why I'm afraid, but then my head hurts and I can't."

    Natalya spun around. "Vikirnoff!" His name was a cry for help. "It was Razvan. That is what Xavier did to us, hid our memories of him behind a wall of pain. Razvan took Skyler's blood. He fed off his own child. And somehow her mother ran, got them both away from him and that's how she ended up with that brute of a man, another monster she couldn't get away from."
    Vikirnoff circled her waist, drawing her back against him in an effort to comfort her, but she stepped away, furious with her twin, so furious her tiger leapt to the surface, all claws and teeth, banding her hair and turning her eyes blue and then opaque.
    Natalya didn't wait for the others to get clear. She didn't wait for Gabriel to give permission for his adopted daughter to participate; she simply looked to the sky, wove a response and sent it slamming through the veins of light, crashing each and every vein, destroying the entire network.
    Sparks of light lit the sky and rained down. Lightning edged the clouds and whips scorched the ground. The earth trembled beneath their feet. Somewhere, far off, they heard a scream of agony. At once there was silence as shock registered.
    "Get back," Natalya ordered her lifemate. She actually shoved him with one arm, trying to put distance between them. She sprinted to her left and ducked, just as lightning struck where she'd been standing. The sound was deafening. Ice arrows rained down, slamming to the ground with a terrible rhythm.
    The men rushed toward her, but Vikirnoff waved them back. "See to the others. She is mage, and she can defeat our enemy. We will only get in her way."
    Natalya kept running, drawing fire away from the