Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

taken her away from her friends without her consent, but if she was being honest, she couldn\'t breathe in that room. She couldn\'t think clearly there. She wasn\'t a strong enough healer to rid Terry of the parasites.
    Without her present, the Carpathians would call in more of their kind and Terry would have a better chance.
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    She sighed, knowing they would erase her friends\' memories to keep them safe, but it was the only way. And maybe that was why her aunts had erased her memories, or at least sealed them up. She took off her clothes and folded them neatly, setting them on top of a flat rock before wading out into the hot mineral pool to ease the tension from her body. Water enveloped her thighs, chasing away the chill of bad memories.
    Lara swam across the warm bubbling pool, aware of the instant relief of her headache and the terrible knots of tension in her neck. She sighed, lay back and closed her eyes.

    * * *
Nicolas circled the forest with a lazy flap of his wings. He had shifted into the form of an owl, better to travel the distance faster. He still had much to do. It was imperative to speak with the prince and deliver the message he had traveled so far to bring. He took his time in the air. For the first time in hundreds of years, he enjoyed the incredible sensation of flying, rather than taking it for granted.
    The feel of gently falling snow, the sway to the trees as the breeze whispered through them, even the scent of the crisp air, all brought joy to him as he spiraled down to the forest floor to the appointed meeting place. He had contacted the prince to insure Lara\'s human male friend was still alive and arranged a meeting with Mikhail while he was there. He had chosen the forest because the Carpathian Mountains had a special magic.
    As he shifted, his boots sinking into the icy crystals and layers of vegetation beneath, he felt the instant connection to the earth. His species were of the earth, needing the richness of the soil for rest and rejuvenation.
    They felt a kinship with the plants and tall majestic trees. The animals and birds were brothers in nature and Nicolas drank his surroundings in, allowing himself to be overwhelmed emotionally by the ability to simply feel.
    He waited in the comfort of the thick forest for Mikhail. He almost wished he\'d had the meeting with the prince before his emotions had been restored. Overhead an owl settled onto a tree branch, wings fluttering before spreading out and swooping toward the ground. At the last moment, the owl shimmered and took the form of a man.
    \"You are pacing, Nicolas,\" Mikhail said as he took the ground in a smooth stride. \"That cannot be good.\"
    \"I bring news, Mikhail, and no, it is not good. My brothers all send greetings and Zacarias has asked that I renew our family\'s pledge of loyalty and defense of you and our people.\"
    \"That has never been questioned.\"
    Nicolas met the knowing black gaze of his prince straight on. \"When your father ruled, and we were young and filled with arrogance and importance, we often sat around the campfires discussing options other than blindly following traditional Carpathian ways. My family and the Malinov family were close. We protected one another in battle and we shared memories as our time came and emotions faded. We spent a great deal of time together.\"
    Mikhail nodded, but remained silent-waiting-knowing that Nicolas rarely carried on conversations unless he had something important to say.
    \"The Malinov brothers had a sister, a bright, beautiful girl totally revered by all of us.\"
    \"Ivory,\" Mikhail said and instantly pulled up her image in his mind. Tall, slender, hair like black silk flowing to her waist. She had been beautiful inside and out. Wherever she went, she brought a fresh soothing breeze Page 42

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    with her that could bring peace to the hearts of even the eldest warriors, the darkest hunters. Of course he remembered her. Poems had been sung about the legendary Ivory.
    \"Her parents died soon after her birth and our two families raised her together,\" Nicolas continued. \"Ten elder brothers, battle-hardened and stern. It must have been difficult for her, but she was always smiling and singing and making the world seem a cheerful place even as colors and emotions faded from our world. Ivory could restore a semblance of what was lost to us when we were in her company. But she wanted to study, to go to the