Carpathian 20 - Dark Slayer

dancer performing precise, complicated steps and emerging victorious. The feelings flowed from her into him, filling him with her, with her sense of purpose, with the realization that no other knew this complicated, talented woman the way she was letting him.
    That realization humbled him, yet bolstered him at the same time. He had never felt as if he could measure up. He hadn’t been strong enough to defeat Xavier, or even to get away or to save his child or his aunts. This woman, his lifemate, strong and enduring, offered him, at the very least, friendship.
    You are right about those unexpected moments . It was definitely an unexpected high moment. While wind generated from the blaze roared around him, while heat blasted through his body and the world went up in flames, purging the last of the mutated bats, he felt at peace. He felt whole. And he was happy.
    He felt her small, shared smile and held it to him, secreting it away in his heart—the heart she had given back to him.

    When you go back to your natural form, I will be singing the revealing spell. The four splinters that were removed from you will need a host, and the bats are dead. He will have fled their bodies , Ivory cautioned. He will be looking for another host.
    Warn Gregori to watch the rest of them .
    Of course . Vigilance was everything now. This was a chance to destroy a small part of Xavier. Even if it took one piece at a time to rid the world of him, it would be well worth it.
    Razvan took his natural form and signaled to the others to do the same. “She is using the revealing spell. Watch for Xavier’s dark spirit,― he warned them.
    Ivory shimmered into her physical form, watchful, already singing the revealing chant, sending the notes scattering across the charred field and into the sky. It was still raining debris.
    Smoke and ash swirled together and drifted on the slight breeze. Snow drifted from the heavy clouds, mixing with the falling remains, nature already attempting to cover the signs of battle.
    I call to me all that is good to aid me in my desperate plight .
    I plead for the song that I may sing to reveal evil stalking the night .
    Light of sky, burning bright, find that which is dark and bathe it in light .
    Evil one, I call forth the blight you left behind .

    Light spilled across the remnants of the battlefield, illuminating four dark shadows sliding among the dead toward the small group of Carpathians shielding Gary. Gregori threw out his hand, fingers spread wide, and lightning jumped, sizzling and cracking, toward the four fragments. Three burrowed into the ground, but the tip of the whip slashed into the fourth, incinerating it.
    The ground rolled and pitched. A shriek rose. Black blood bubbled up from the ground and a noxious smell burst from the center of the ooze. The shriek rocked the trees, sent leaves trembling. Gary put his hand over his ears to muffle the hideous sound.
    Gregori tried following the remaining shards with the lightning tip, sinking strike after strike into the ground, but with no results. There was no following them into the ground itself.
    Three small slivers would be impossible to track, and all of them knew they would eventually find their way back to Xavier.
    Ivory swayed with weariness. “The dawn will break soon, Razvan. I need to rest. Do you come back with me or stay?―
    It was almost a challenge, he decided, studying her face. She didn’t know if she wanted him to remain with her or join the others. He touched her mind and realized she had not been in company for so long that she found the contact with him—and so many others—overwhelming.

    â€œWe would be happy to provide you with shelter,―
    Mikhail offered. “We have several safe resting chambers.―
    Razvan felt Ivory instantly recoil from the idea. She trusted no one that much. She would never rest where others knew of her sleeping chamber. Razvan was her lifemate. She recognized him and yet was wary still.
    â€œI think it best that we return to our own resting place,―
    he said.
    Ivory sent him a small grateful smile and nodded her head.
    â€œXavier will not stop his hunt for Razvan. It is evident he has puppets in the area. I would make certain my children were protected both during the day and at night.―
    Sara slipped her hand into Falcon’s. “We will double their protection.―
    Falcon clapped Gary on the back. “You