Carpathian 17 - Dark Celebration

instead of going directly to the chamber where Riordan and Juliette rested, he moved slowly through the others, trying to feel with every sense, wanting to rid himself of the plaguing feeling that something wasn't quite right. The mage knew Juilette was injured. He had set her up for the vampire to make the kill. He would know her lifemate would rest with her in the healing soil, and if he knew where the caverns were that were routinely used, wouldn't it be the perfect place to strike?
    That's what Manolito would have done.
    He took his time, hiding his presence as he examined each chamber. He was adept at concealing himself, and he assumed his enemies would be as well. He looked for a small anomaly, a rift in the natural harmony, one small sign of malignancy. To his shock, as he entered the chamber where his brother lay, Mikhail Dubrinsky stood examining the walls and floor of the cavern, a small frown on his face. He turned his head at Manolito's approach, moving into a better defensible position.
    Manolito took his human form, striding across the cavern floor, automatically checking on his brother as he did so. Riordan appeared to be resting peacefully beneath the ground with Juliette. "You should not be out here alone," Manolito said. Already he was moving to protect the prince, reaching to Rafael, concerned that their prince was so exposed. "Where is your second?"
    Mikhail gave him a faint smile. "I do not need a bodyguard to travel in my home territory, Manolito."
    "I disagree and cannot imagine that Gregori would want you traveling alone. What are you doing here anyway?"
    "I began to worry that Riordan and Juliette might be attacked as they lay in their resting place." Mikhail raked a hand through his dark hair. "I suppose I second-guess our enemy far too much."
    "I had the same thought. I did not like that the dark mage has sent an emissary or come himself. He uses things we do not have adequate safeguards against." Manolito studied the prince's face. He looked older than Manolito remembered him even the week before. There was sorrow in his eyes, and a trick of the light made him look as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
    "We have certainly learned we have to protect below ground as well as above. Our resting places are no longer the safe havens we thought them," Mikhail agreed. "How are you feeling? I know your wounds were quite serious. Has Gregori examined you to ensure that you are completely healed?"
    "I'm fine. I have been wounded many times and will be again." Manolito examined the walls of the cavern. "Do you believe Xavier has been able to unite the vampires against us?"
    "Whoever has united our enemies, whether it be the Malinov brothers or Xavier and Razvan, doesn't really matter. They have come together and we have no choice but to deal with them." Mikhail added a complicated weave to the safeguard already surrounding the couple in the earth. "I can find no evidence in here, or throughout the network of caves, that our enemy is lying in wait. Have you?"
    "No." Manolito admitted with some reluctance as he added his own strands of safeguard, peculiar only to his family, one that would be difficult—and slow—to unravel, with serious consequences if it were done improperly. Riordan would recognize his handiwork immediately. He had found no evidence, but he still wasn't convinced his youngest brother was entirely safe—and that didn't sit well with him.
    The two walked together out of the chamber and started down the narrow passageway leading back up toward the surface. Manolito tried to move just ahead of the prince, still uneasy, still feeling edgy, in spite of his examination of the entire cavern.
    "I have to see Falcon and Sara, and then head over to touch base with Gregori and my daughter," Mikhail said. "I will be glad when this night is over. Did you check the inn?
    Skyler has indicated several times that she thinks the surge of power is coming from that direction."
    "Yes, but I will go back again. Falcon told me he was bringing the children there in about an hour. I want to make one more sweep before all the women and children arrive,"
    Manolito replied. "Just to be sure they are safe."
    His restless gaze moved over the ground, the walls, the roof of the cavern as they walked quickly through the passage. The sound of the water dripping was relentless. It seemed overly loud in the chambers, the endless rhythm blocking out any whisper of sound that might alert him to danger. He