Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

your children.\" The old man clacked his tongue in reprimand. \"And so many children. You betrayed your poor dead wife with your body. All those young, nubile women so willing to lay with you and give you children so you could suck the life out of them.\"
    Razvan stirred. \"You sucked the life out of them and you forced betrayal of my wife. She knew the truth, knew you used my body. Let me die, old man. I\'ve served you for far too long and am of no more use to you.\"
    Lara\'s body jerked in instant denial. The child shook her head hard, the red-gold spiral curls flying in all directions. Don\'t leave me, Father. I cannot bear it .
    He will stay alive for you, Lara, the aunts crooned in unison. You are his only reason to continue his existence
    .
    Nicolas found the blend of feminine voices soothing. Without them, Lara, and most likely her father, would have gone insane years earlier. The two imprisoned women were keeping hope alive. How could they do it when they had been prisoners and fed on from the time they were young children? The Dragonseeker blood in them had to be very strong.
    Razvan lifted his head, his gaze darting around the chamber, seeking the child he knew had to be witnessing the confrontation between him and his grandfather. Lara froze, pressing as close to the column as she could get to avoid being seen.
    Xavier let his breath out in a long, slow hiss. \"I believe we can still get a few more children out of you before I\'m done with you. My armies can now identify one another and even hide their existence from the foolish Carpathians thanks to you. And I can hold even the strongest prisoner and feed on the blood of the most powerful immortal, again thanks to you. I will not be hasty in getting rid of such a useful tool. You may not have the pure blood I need yourself, but you pass it on to your children.\"
    Nicolas remembered from so many long centuries ago that Xavier had always loved to be the center of attention. He thought himself brilliant and powerful and wanted everyone around him to know that he was. He loved to brag. Nicolas had always considered him to be narcissistic. Xavier thought the world owed him their allegiance and respect. He believed he was entitled to any woman he wanted to have. Long before Rhiannon Page 83

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    disappeared, many young mage women had lived to serve his every need or want. Xavier often had regaled the Carpathian men with tales of his sexual prowess and exploits, never realizing how little respect they had for him because he didn\'t hold his women in high esteem.
    Now, having to hide for centuries, Xavier had no one to brag to other than the very ones he imprisoned. It was obvious he enjoyed Razvan\'s pain. Nicolas was certain he despised Razvan because the Dragonseeker ran strong in him. Xavier was mage. He wanted to be immortal and he wanted others to fear and admire him, but he thought himself far superior to the Carpathians. Razvan was too close to a Carpathian in his enduring strength and his code. He had protected his sister and tried desperately to protect his children, all the while being tortured and used for experiments. Yes, Xavier would despise him, because he hadn\'t broken Razvan and that continued defiance would cost his grandson dearly.
    \"You could have escaped when you got free so many years ago,\" Xavier pointed out, \"but like a dog crawling to your master you returned to me.\"
    Razvan shook his head. \"You manage to change history to suit yourself. As I recall, I followed you to the United States because you were going to kidnap a child and bring her back here. You were unsuccessful, weren\'t you?\"
    Xavier erupted into a maddened rage, beating at Razvan with a thin whip, over and over until Razvan hung limply from his chains.
    Impotent rage swept through Nicolas. He couldn\'t bear to see Razvan so helpless, beaten by a monster for trying to save a child. He shook with the need to strike back, desperate for his own power, hating his inability to save Razvan. The emotions were so strong that it took him a few moments before he realized he was feeling the child\'s passionate need to help her father every bit as well as his own sentiments.
    She leapt out from behind the column and raced across the ice. Nicolas barely had time to push to the front when she kicked Xavier hard behind the knee. The old man tilted ominously, and then crumpled to the floor of the cave, howling. Lara tried to pull the chains from her