Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

staircase, one hand pressed to her mouth, trying to push back the sobs welling up.
    She\'d lost her friend. Both of them. Lara backed away from the stairs into the lobby. Gregori and Nicolas could deal with the memories of Slavica\'s guests. She needed air fast. And she was going to the caves with or without Nicolas. She was going to find the bodies of her aunts and bring them home.
    The cold air hit her face and it was only then she realized she was outside with Slavica standing beside her, a look of concern in her dark eyes.
    \"I\'m sorry about your friend.\"
    Lara ducked her head. \"None of us had any family, so we kind of hung together. And we shared a love of caving. I can\'t believe this happened.\"Nicolas, is Terry dead ?
    I am sorry, fél ku kuuluaak sÃ-vam belso. Gerald killed him. We have to insure that all the parasites are destroyed.
    Lightning arced across the sky, zigzagged and lit up the clouds in a fiery display before slamming down to earth. For a half-second the inn lit up and then everything went dark again. Lara stood beside Slavica with an occasional snowflake drifting past her.
    \"You aren\'t terrified by all this,\" she said to the innkeeper.
    Slavica shrugged. \"Life can be frightening if you dwell on things you can\'t control. I choose not to be afraid if I can help it. Mikhail will see that my guests are safe, or at least as safe as we can keep them when the undead walks the night. Most outsiders think it is superstition when we caution them, but locals know such things walk among us.\"
    \"I wish I\'d been more careful. I should have been more careful.\"
    She didn\'t realize she was weeping until Nicolas turned her into his arms and pressed her face against his chest. She caught a glimpse of Gregori before she closed her eyes and let herself cry for the loss of her two friends.
    \"The inn is no longer contaminated and there is no evidence of any problem, Slavica,\" Gregori said. \"Your guests will not remember anything took place.\"
    Slavica nodded and went back inside, leaving Lara clinging to Nicolas.
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    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    Nicolas stroked his hand down her hair. \"I\'m sorry, Lara. I should have checked your other friend.\"
    Gregori added his own apology.
    Lara lifted her head and looked up at Nicolas. \"I can find a new entrance to the caves. I want to go now-tonight. I need to go, Nicolas.\"
    He nodded. \"Then we will go tonight.\"
    \"You cannot,\" Gregori protested. \"You have a higher purpose.\"
    She lifted her chin at him. \"I came here for one purpose and that was to find my aunts, and I\'m going to do it, with or without help. I\'ve tried to help Francesca learn how to recognize Xavier\'s touch...\"
    \"But she\'s unable to do so,\" Gregori pointed out.
    Nicolas dropped his arm around Lara\'s shoulders. \"She needs to do this and she has more than done her duty to our people, Gregori. In any case, what we find there may be invaluable. If Lara can recognize the source, we can stop our women from miscarrying for good.\"
    Gregori sighed. \"There is truth in that.\"
    \"She goes,\" Nicolas stated.

Chapter 17
    Nicolas studied the snow-covered mountains rising sharply above them. Ringed in swirling mist, the mountains appeared a peaceful place of cold beauty, but he heard the soft: voices murmuring continually, and felt the steady flow of energy, a force field subtly sending out signals tuned to brain waves. Stay away. Fear this place. Forget this place .
    Even the locals avoided the mountain. The upper peaks were inhospitable. Nothing grew but a few straggly plants in the midst of boulders and once you climbed past the boulders, there was the glacier itself. Unwary travelers who braved the uneasy, disturbed feeling often found themselves victims of falling boulders or a heavy avalanche. The mountain shook and rumbled the moment anyone dared set foot on it.
    He walked along the base, studying it from every angle, looking for anything that might conceal an entryway.
    Natalya, Vikirnoff and Lara spread out several yards apart and did the same, all of them careful not to get too close and trip any hidden traps or alarms that would trigger the mountain to protect itself.
    \"What do you think, Lara?\" he called.
    The wind whipped his words away from the mountain, slamming his voice back down his throat. It was an aggressive move and he\'d been unprepared for the attack. They weren\'t actually on the mountain. He exchanged a long look with Lara.
    She nodded her head and