Carpathian 20 - Dark Slayer

built, with wide shoulders and long hair that once had been thick and full, but now the vampire obviously didn’t bother to hide his evil appearance. His skin was pulled tight on his skull and his teeth were sharp and pointed. He not only looked strong, but the power radiating from him hung in the air. The glowing eyes were locked on the female hunter, but he looked nearly as shocked as she did.
    â€œSergey,― Ivory whispered.

    The vampire winced visibly at the sound of her sweet, pure voice. He stood a long moment in silence, his looks subtly changing. In the blink of an eye his teeth were not long, pointed and stained, but white and straight. The face was fuller and the eyes had gone dark. The ghoul moved and the vampire merely flicked a hand toward him to freeze him where he was. Even the wolves didn’t move; they were statues, staring at the woman and the vampire as they faced one another.
    â€œIvory?― The voice grated. He cleared his throat.
    â€œIvory?― he repeated and this time the tone was beautiful. Gentle. Affectionate. His hands came up to cup the shaft of the arrow where black blood dripped down his chest.
    â€œYou are alive.―
    Her hands trembled and she took a breath. One. Just held it and then released the air in a long gasp as if she was fighting to breathe. Her gaze dropped to the arrow in his body, the blood slowly dripping down his shirt and welling around the entry wound.
    â€œYes,― she whispered. “I am alive and my soul is intact. How is it that you, my beloved brother, would join the ranks of the evil ones who would destroy your sister? Answer this for me.― Each word was squeezed painfully from her heart, constricting her throat, threatening to strangle her with raw grief and the terrible sense of betrayal.

    Ivory’s throat was clogged with tears. She doubted she could say another word without bursting into sobs. She refused to look away from the vampire, not even for a moment, although it was much more difficult to think of him as an enemy when his form was so dear and familiar. She longed to fling herself into the comfort of his arms and rest her head against his shoulder, crying for her lost past.
    She sought the path she might best use to warn the human.
    Take the boy and slip away. Get far from this place. I am not certain I can defeat this one in battle .
    Sergey. He’d been a genius fighter. Few compared. Now he had centuries of battles with some of the best Carpathian hunters, not to mention the vampires that he’d defeated to add to his experience. She tried not to see the sly, cunning intelligence slipping into the depths of his eyes. She didn’t want to believe her first vision of him. She had avoided her brothers once she’d confirmed the whispered rumors.
    Gary caught Travis by his upper arm and began to slowly ease him back into the woods. The vampire’s head turned slowly toward them, and for a moment that soft, dark color was ringed in red and glowed at them like a feral animal.
    â€œDo not look at them, Sergey,― Ivory snapped. “Or should I call you hän ku vie elidet —vampire, thief of life.―

    His gaze flicked back to her and he looked sad. “You are my beloved sister . . .―
    â€œDo not call me beloved when you betrayed me. You are in league with those who would have stolen my life.―
    â€œThey have been brought to justice.―
    â€œHave they?― She stood, tall and straight, the moon gleaming off her blue-black hair. “You cannot lie to me, Sergey. Others perhaps might believe you, but I have hunted the vampire for many centuries now and I know the ones who took me to the meadow of our father and chopped my body into pieces and left them for the wolves. I know they live, so do not tell your pretty lies to me.―
    â€œDid they really do that to her, Gary?― The boy sounded fearful with his loud whisper.
    She caught a glimpse of the man holding the boy closer, trying to soothe him. Each time they moved, the ghoul stepped with them in a macabre dance of death. Every time the ghoul shifted, the wolves circled and darted toward him, teeth bared.
    â€œLeave us, Sergey,― Ivory said, “and take your kuly with you.―
    â€œWhat is kuly ?― Travis asked.
    She turned her head toward the boy, but she kept her gaze on the vampire. “It is a worm that lives in