Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

on Tatijana she realized they were starved, had been starved for years. Xavier only allowed them the barest sustenance in order to keep them from being able to utilize their power. Of the two, Tatijana was the weakest. Bronnie tried to give her sister time to reach the surface and escape.
    Lara looked down to see Razvan creeping toward the red dragon.
    Bronnie flapped her wings to keep Xavier on the floor and away from the all-powerful staff.
    Look out. Lara tried to warn her aunt, but the warning was a heartbeat too late.
    Razvan plunged the ceremonial knife into the chest of the red dragon. Tatijana screamed. The red dragon sank to the floor.
    Get off. Run. I will hold them as long as I can. Tatijana extended her wing to allow Lara to crawl off onto a ledge far above the chamber.
    Go with her Tatijana, Bronnie entreated.
    Come with me, Lara begged.
    Tatijana shook her head. I will not leave my sister. Go, little one. Run and forget this place. Do not look back.
    Be free and find happiness .
    Lara clutched the ice wall. She still had to find her way out of the maze of tunnels to the surface. She looked below one last time at the only home she\'d ever known. Xavier regained his feet and held up his hand. The staff hesitated and then flew across the room to him.
    \"Be still or you will die,\" he commanded. \"You fool,\" he hissed at Razvan.
    The red dragon continued to fight, spilling blood across the ice floor in bright red streaks.
    Xavier pointed the staff at the blue dragon. \"Be still or I will kill your sister.\"
    Bronnie ceased all movement and lay panting on the ice. The blue dragon settled next to her sister, nuzzling her with her long neck and tongue in an effort to save her.
    Lara held back a sob by pressing her hand tightly against her mouth.
    Go before her sacrifice is in vain, Tatijana ordered.
    Lara ran.
    Page 6

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse

Chapter 1
    \"Lara, let\'s get out of here,\" Terry Vale said. \"It\'s getting dark and there\'s nothing here.\" He shouldered his caving equipment, not surprised that they hadn\'t found an entrance to an ice cave. If no one had discovered the cave by this time in the Carpathian Mountains, he doubted if the place existed.
    Lara Calladine ignored him, continuing to scan the mountainside for the smallest crack, that might signal the presence of a cave. She wasn\'t wrong-not this time. Power had surged and crackled the moment she set foot on the upper slopes of the mountain. She took a deep breath and pressed a hand over her pounding heart. This was it . This was the place she had spent her life searching for. She would recognize that flow of energy anywhere. She knew every weave, every spell, her body absorbing the gathering power so that veins sizzled and nerve endings burned with the electrical current building inside of her.
    \"I\'ve got to go with Terry on this,\" Gerald French agreed, backing up the other member of their research caving team. \"This place gives me the creeps. We\'ve been on a lot of mountains, but this one doesn\'t like us.\" He gave a nervous laugh. \"It\'s getting dicey up here.\"
    \"No one says \'dicey,\'\" Lara murmured, running her hand along the face of the rock about an inch from it, looking for threads of power. The two men were not only her climbing partners, but her closest friends. At that moment she wished she\'d left them behind, because she knew she was right. The cave was here, she just had to find the entrance.
    \"Whatever,\" Gerald snapped. \"It\'s getting dark and there\'s nothing here but mist. The fog is creepy, Lara.
    We\'ve got to get out of here.\"
    Lara spared the two men an impatient glance and then surveyed the countryside around them. Ice and snow glittered, coating the surrounding mountains with what appeared to be sparkling gems. Far below, despite the gathering dusk, she could see castles, farms, and churches in the valley. Sheep dotted the meadows and in the distance she could see the river running, filled to capacity. Overhead birds cried, filling the sky and dive-bombing toward her only to break off abruptly and circle again. The wind shifted continuously, biting at her face and every bit of exposed skin, tugging at her long, thick braid all the while moaning and wailing.
    Occasionally, a rock fell down the slope and bounced off the ledge to the hillside below. A trickle of snow and dirt slid near her feet.
    Her gaze swept the wild countryside below. Gorges and ravines cut through the snow-capped mountains,