Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

as it had in days of old. The sacred council chamber was large, rounded, with a narrow, natural chimney in the center. Script on the wall was in the ancient language, the code of the warrior, the one he had lived by throughout the centuries. Honor. Mercy. Integrity. Loyalty. Deadly purpose. Their code-their way of life.
    The walls of the cave were a deep midnight blue, almost like the darkest sky, great stalagmites rising from the floor in a semicircle, tall, nearly shooting up to the high ceiling where stalactites grew in downward spirals, each glistening with sparkling deposits of colored minerals. Crystals in various geometrical shapes erupted from walls and covered the floors in giant prisms. The interior blasted them with heat from the magma chambers beneath them, forcing the Carpathians to regulate their temperature.
    At one time, the cavern had been flooded with hydrothermal water, rich in minerals, leaving the deposits behind, until great, glowing crystals had formed. The crystals aided the warriors in focusing clearly on the coming battles, strategies and solving problems as well as the daily rigorous mental and physical training all Carpathian warriors were sworn to continue.
    The first chamber opened into a second one, much smaller, completely enclosed and ringed inside with lava rocks. Purifying steam curled from the inside of the second chamber, beckoning to them.
    Many single males crowded the cavern, dark, tall, eyes cold and distant. With his new emotions, Nicolas felt despair for them. Warriors without hope, who lived on honor only, battling not only the vampire but-worse-the call of the vampire. He took a breath and let the cave work magic on him.
    Nicolas stood in the center of the crystalline cavern, in the place so many legendary warriors had stood before him. \"It will be difficult to face my brother-kin when shame hangs over our family name for the first time.\"
    Mikhail shot him a look of exasperation. \"It is a little arrogant to feel shame for things that happened hundreds of years ago, Nicolas, as if you are the only ones to ever make a mistake. You and your brothers have proven your loyalty over and over. Manolito saved my life and then the life of Shea and her unborn child.
    Page 44

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    Should I hang my head in shame for all the errors in judgment I have made over the centuries? If I did, I would never see the sky.\"
    Nicolas shrugged, a small humorless smile flitting across his face. \"We came up with a plan to overthrow your father, a way to bring down the reign of the Dubrinsky family. Mikhail, the things we planned were idle, angry talk to begin with, but when we sat around that campfire and fleshed out the details of a long-term battle plan, we committed treason against you and our people. There is shame in that.\"
    Mikhail frowned. \"If you had destroyed the Dubrinsky line, who did you believe would carry the power and knowledge of our people?\"
    \"As we are able to perform the duties of the Daratrazanoff family we were certain there had to be another family and we intended to search them out. Of course, later we abandoned the plan, so no one ever approached any of the other lines to see if they could be a living vessel.\"
    \"And did you suspect any other lineage of being capable?\"
    \"You sound as if you would step down immediately.\"
    \"In a heartbeat,\" Mikhail said and then sighed, shaking his head. \"There is no one right way, Nicolas, and just because my family\'s line must bear the leadership does not mean we have all the answers. I am as fallible as any Carpathian. Every time we lose a child. Each time one of our women miscarries or a child dies. I consider it my failure and my shame that I have not found the answer to our dying race. I sit protected in my home while my warriors go out to battle evil, losing pieces of themselves along the way. Good men, better than I, stand between me and danger at every turn. Would I step aside and allow another to lead? In a heartbeat-especially if they were smarter than I.\"
    Nicolas shook his head. \"We were wrong, Mikhail, as you are now to think that way.\"
    Mikhail sent him a small, twisted smile. \"I thought to end my life. Before Raven, before I found my life mate, I thought to end my life so I would not have to see the complete extinction of our species. You and the other warriors who served my father are far older, have hunted longer, endured longer, yet I could not continue under the weight of my