Carpathian 22 - Dark Predator

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia
(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,
South Africa
     
    Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
     
    This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
     
    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
     
    Copyright © 2011 by Christine Feehan.
     
     
    All rights reserved.
    No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
    BERKLEY ® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
    The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
     
     
    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Feehan, Christine.
    p. cm.
    ISBN : 978-1-101-54772-4
    1. Vampires—Fiction. 2. South America—Fiction. I. Title.
    PS3606.E36D387 2011
    813’.6—dc22
    2011016465
     
     
    http://us.penguingroup.com

For Brandy Jones,
a small token to make up for the bitter disappointment
of having such a mean boss!
I still can’t believe he wouldn’t let you
come see me when I was visiting your home.
No worries, I have retaliated and
he has gotten his just reward.
Read on! (But remember all characters are truly fictional!)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    Thank you so much to Renee Martinez and Denise Tucker for making the trip down the Amazon and bringing me the research, footage and pictures of the region I needed. I appreciate their guides so much—thank you for answering all my questions and for continuing to do so as I’ve written this book. A special thanks to their guide Victor Ramirez for answering all the questions we needed on making canoes and the names of trees, flowers and wildlife. You were an amazing help. Thank you to Dr. Chris Tong for all your help; you are truly wonderful! And to Brian Feehan for your wonderful imagination and steadfast dedication to getting it all right. Thanks to Cheryl Wilson and Kathie Firzlaff for the encouragement when I was faltering, and of course to Domini! Special thanks to Lea Eldridge for her contribution to the Jr. Diabetes auction. She won the bid for a character in a book. Thank you so much, Lea, for your generosity.



1
    S moke burned his lungs. It rose around him in bellowing waves, fed by the numerous fires in the surrounding rain forest. It had been a long, hard-fought battle, but it was over, and he was done. Most of the main house was gone, but they’d managed to save the homes of the people who served them. Few lives were lost, but each one was mourned—but not by him. He stared at the flames with hollow eyes. He felt nothing. He looked on the faces of the dead, honorable men who had served his family well, saw their weeping widows and their crying children and he felt—nothing.
    Zacarias De La Cruz paused for just a moment surveying the battlefield. Where before the rain forest had been lush, trees rising to the clouds, home to wildlife, there were now flames reaching to the heavens and black smoke staining the sky. The scent of blood was overwhelming; the dead, mangled bodies staring with sightless eyes at the dark sky. The vision didn’t move him. He surveyed it all—as if from a distance—with a pitiless