Carpathian 21 - Dark Peril

He caught the blur of motion as the cat sprang into the air, over Solange’s head. His back claw caught her temple, ripping open her skin and driving her backward into the rocky basin. Dominic’s heart nearly stopped when he heard the loud, ominous crack.

    Solange slipped to the floor, her eyes glazed over. He was at her side instantly. Blood poured from the back of her skull. He was immediately in her body, not caring that the cat could easily attack his defenseless body. There was no skull fracture, just a very deep and nasty head wound. He repaired it from the inside out before returning to his own body. Lifting her, he made a halfhearted attempt to move the cat with his foot, but when it didn’t budge, he took her to the bed.

    “Talk to me.”

    Humor glittered in her eyes. “Ow. Major ow.”

    Relief flooded. “You took a few years off my life.”

    “Good thing you’re immortal. I must be getting slow. I should have moved my head out of the way. He’s clumsy but he’s fast—and strong.” She looked over at the cat and her smiled turned upside down.
    “Shadow! Stop that. He’s lapping up the blood fast, Dominic.”

    Dominic turned to stop the kitten, nearly waving his hand to remove the blood, but he noticed a solid spot, right in the middle of the cat, where none had ever been. His heart rate accelerated. “Solange.” He stood a short distance away from the cub, making no attempt to stop it from licking up the blood. “Look.”

    She sat up gingerly. “What am I looking at?” Dominic had already cleaned the blood from her hair and skin and taken away her headache. When he said he would see to her care, he took that literally.

    “Your blood acts like some kind of weapon against black magic.” Dominic could barely take in the revelation. No wonder Xavier had been searching for her. “Your blood doesn’t just kill the parasites.
    Xavier created the parasites with black magic, and here they are unraveled and rendered harmless, back to their original form.”

    “That’s impossible.” She stood up, shaking her head. “Check inside of him, Dominic. Make certain my blood isn’t going to harm him.”

    Instantly Dominic was at her side, wrapping a steadying arm around her waist, but his eyes were on the cat’s body. He had heard whispers of a blood—royal blood—that could defeat black magic, but in all his centuries and all his travels, the rumor had never been substantiated. Slowly, Brodrick and his ancestors had killed the very thing that could have protected them.

    Dominic did as she asked. The massive scar tissue was slowly repairing and the layers of shadow were giving way to the tissue and cells that belonged inside of the cat. He merged his mind with hers so she could see the evidence for herself.

    “That doesn’t make sense.” Solange took a step toward the kitten. Already a good portion of its left side was substance. The fur was thinner and there were still gaping spots where the shadow showed through, but her blood was forcing the magic out.

    “Xavier needed your blood to open the book because it was the only thing that could after he put the spell on it. No one understood that,” Dominic murmured, more to himself than to her. “Xavier was too clever even for himself. He sealed his book so no other mage could use his spells. He was growing paranoid, already sick and trying desperately to stay alive using Carpathian blood to sustain him. But there had to be younger mages coming up, growing more powerful, so he sealed his book of spells. Then he couldn’t open it either. That is why your blood became so important.”

    Solange shivered. Dominic rubbed his hands up and down her arms to warm her. “Xavier is gone from this world, Solange. He cannot harm you. The mages who created this one”—he waved his hand toward Shadow—“are long gone. They abandoned the ranch next to the De La Cruz property.”

    She frowned at him. “How do you know that?”

    “Carpathians send news to one another upon rising. Zacarias sent word.”

    Solange knelt beside the kitten, circling his head with her arms, and smiled up at Dominic. “If my blood did this, then I’m happy. I’ve never been particularly proud of my lineage, but if it can do this much good, then I’ll keep it.”

    Dominic frowned, but didn’t say a word. He wouldn’t take this moment away from her for anything, not even to explain what would happen during conversion.

    18

    Look at me—now see yourself