Carpathian 18 - Dark Possesion

million insects, only much worse than what she was getting in her brain. Her breath caught in her throat. Instinct told her to pull back fast, but she forced calm. She was psychic. She had the ability to read minds. She'd been doing it for years; she just hadn't been aware she was doing it. There was nothing to be afraid of. She just had to figure out how she did it.
    She let her breath out and reached for him, filling her thoughts with him, wanting him to feel better, wanting to take away his pain and see what—or who—was harming him. The buzzing grew stronger, louder, pushing at her brain, making her feel so sick she ran to the railing and leaned over it, but she held on, determined to push further. Voices. Soft. Insistent. Crawling up and down his mind. Slicing at his brain.
    "Manolito." She caught his hand and held on tight. "We're under attack. You're under attack. I can hear them.
    They're trying to get you to kill me."
    He didn't hesitate, his hand enveloping hers. "The undead. Maxim seeks to trap me from the other side." It all made sense now, and in a way it was a relief to know he wasn't crazy. He hadn't turned on his lifemate. It hadn't occurred to him that he would be vulnerable in the shadow land, but it should have. His body was alive, and part of his spirit had returned to that of the living, which meant the dead would be aware he didn't belong with them.
    "How can he do that when he's dead?"
    "Maxim's spirit still remains in the land of ghosts, and that is where my spirit is. He must be attacking me from within." He pulled her close to him. "I do not want your last memories of your lifemate to be those of rejection and anger. I cannot believe the way Maxim could reach an ancient as battle-savvy as I am supposed to be. I fell under his influence like an inexperienced fledgling." He brought her knuckles to his mouth.
    "Forgive me, MaryAnn. I would not have hurt you for the world. It is my privilege to protect you, yet at the first test, I have failed you."
    "No you haven't," she said. "Just tell me how we're going to make him stop." Because whatever Maxim was doing, Manolito was suffering; she could see it in his eyes, feel it in his mind. "Tell me what to do."
    "I have to enter wholly into that world, and my body will be vulnerable to attack. If they kill you, or they destroy my body, I am lost. They must have a plan."
    She stuck her chin out. "I can go there with you. I'm pretty certain I know how."
    He shook his head. "No. It is much too dangerous. I can travel in the shadow world, because my spirit was drawn there, but you are alive and you do not belong. They were aware of you the instant you entered. I think they can kill you there."
    "I think he's killing you in that world right now."
    "He will not kill me." He caught her chin in his hand. "Listen to me, MaryAnn. This is important. I was upset when I discovered that I was changing, becoming wolf, just as you are changing and becoming Carpathian, but not for the reasons you think. Not for the reasons I gave you. Whatever influence Maxim has on me, at this moment my thinking is clear. Other psychic women have successfully converted to Carpathian. It was a painful process, but they are healthy and happy and living lives they seem to embrace. I expected no less for you."
    He bent down to brush a kiss on top of her head. "Discovering the wolf changes the equation. There is no precedent. We have no idea what could happen to you if I convert you. We have no idea the effect the wolf would have on me. I can tell I am more aggressive and dominant, and you indicated you already had a problem with me in that area. I do not want to take a chance with your life. Until we know more, we have to be careful. I could become dangerous. You could be killed. We just do not know."

    MaryAnn leaned into him, needing to touch him, beginning to fee! panic. There was something wrong with the way his eyes were focusing. "Stay with me," she whispered, clinging to his hand. "Stay with me, Manolito."
    "I have to go back there. Whatever Maxim is doing is there in the meadow of mists and ghosts, sivamet . I cannot be in two places at one time and fight him."
    "Then I'm going with you."
    "You cannot. My body will still be here unprotected. I am sending a message to my brother to come at once to get you to safety. He will know what to do with my body." He cupped her face in his hands, thumbs sliding over her silky skin. "You are the most important person in my world, MaryAnn. I