Carpathian 18 - Dark Possesion

time, the smirk was gone from Draven's face. He threw himself at his mother, wrapping his arms around her legs. "Do not let him condemn me. He cannot send me away."
    " We condemn you, as we should have so many years ago, Draven," Sarantha said, conviction in her voice.
    "Go now. Perhaps in the next place you will learn far more than we could ever teach you."
    Draven screamed as black smoke curled around him, pouring from his body to surround him. Shadows moved along the ground, skittered over the trees. The vines pushed up from the earth, long, tangled barbs on the seeking tentacles. The vampires stood mesmerized, some with smiles, others with nervous scowls, but all frozen as Draven tried to run.
    The vines reared back, coiled like snakes, and then lashed out, circling Draven's ankles. They yanked hard, and he fell into a nest of greedy claws reaching out of the ground for him. One moment he was there, wrapped in the barbs, his mouth opened wide in a now-silent scream, the next he was gone, swallowed by a black hole.
    There was silence. Sarantha dropped her head on Vlad's shoulder. He held her close, protectively, sheltering her against his larger body. Manolito could feel the pull of his own world drawing him, and he went, eager to get back to his own lifemate, to hold her in his arms and shelter her the way Vlad had Sarantha throughout their centuries together. When he glanced back, all he could see of them was blazing light, and then that, too, was gone and he was back in his own body.
    MaryAnn gasped and threw her arms around him, fitting neatly, perfectly, into his frame. He smiled over her head at Riordan. "Thank you," he said simply. And meant it.
    Chapter Eighteen

    "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" MaryAnn skimmed her hand anxiously down Manolito's chest. "I was so worried about you."
    "No, meu amor , but you—I saw you with blood on your shoulder and belly." He touched her bare shoulder where the angry marks showed, then tugged up her shirt to examine the bare expanse of flesh.
    Riordan cleared his throat. "I am still here."
    Neither looked up or acknowledged his statement.
    MaryAnn ran her hands under Manolito's shirt. "How did you get out of that place? I was right, wasn't I?
    Maxim was trying to kill you." She went up on her toes to press half a dozen kisses down Manolito's throat.
    "You are free of the shadow world for good, aren't you?"

    Riordan scratched his head. "I just want to say one word here. Vampire. Are you listening, Manolito? She fought a vampire."
    That got through. Manolito pulled her closer and this time did a long examination of the wounds.
    "I removed all the parasites, if you're interested," Riordan said.
    Manolito swept her once again against him, raining kisses along her shoulder, his heart leaping in his chest and then settling into a steady rhythm. He should have thought of their blood. If they had managed to pull her into their world with the infected blood in her system, the blood would have called to them. Xavier might have been able to find a way to resurrect his dead army after all.
    "I have to check, MaryAnn," he said, framing her face in his hands. "I have to be certain nothing can harm you."
    " Hello ! That's such an insult, bro," Riordan said, but he couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. They had it bad, those two. Stubborn as mules, but still, they had eyes only for each other.
    MaryAnn buried her face against Manolito's throat, circling her arms around his neck. "Take me somewhere safe where I can breathe." She wanted to touch him, inspect every inch of his body to make certain he hadn't been harmed.
    "We actually have a few things of importance to discuss," Riordan tried again, knowing it was in vain, but figuring he could rack up a few teasing jabs he could pull out later on his brother. Big bad Manolito was putty in the hands of his lifemate. "You know, things like the wolf. Bad blood. What happened in the spirit world."
    Manolito lifted MaryAnn into his arms, ignoring his youngest brother. "I know a place you will love."
    Riordan rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll just leave you two alone." His grin widened when neither looked his way. "I can take care of Solange and Jasmine for the night, if you two—you know—want some alone time."
    They didn't even appear grateful for that. He shook his head and dissolved. There was no use trying to get anything of importance out of either of them tonight.
    MaryAnn closed her eyes and laid her head against