Carpathian 23 - Dark Storm

that was fighting
     her to live. Riley infused the energy of the light deep into the chrysoprase, channeling
     it into each taproot. I combine thee light and jade-green stone destroy these roots that hold to bone, release
     these spirits so they may rest, give them peace and clear that which is left.
    Riley’s hands began to weave a pattern using the remaining healthy roots one knot
     at a time. A pattern began to emerge. The pattern had to be tight, unable to be penetrated
     or broken. Hands that hold divine light twist these vines hold them tight. Riley worked the vines into an intricate series of woven knots and then sank them
     deep down into the soil. Mother Earth hold this tight. I weave these vines to sustain your might. I gift you
     back what you have born to hold your shape, to sustain your form. Mother who bore
     us, mother of might, I weave this gift to sustain your life.
    The roots responded to her commands, shooting out hundreds, no thousands of long,
     thin, very strong secondary roots. From those secondary roots a third and fourth system
     burst forth. The individual strands began to twist into braids, over and over, spreading
     through the ground until the mat was a foot thick, two feet thick and building fast,
     growing in depth, always growing. Fed by the rich loam, driven by Riley’s command,
     the roots kept spreading, weaving themselves together, an impenetrable jungle of fibrous
     growth just below the surface and going down hundreds of feet.
    Exhausted, Riley swayed. She was dizzy, disoriented and she still had to do the same
     thing to the walls of the room. She felt Dax’s arms, so strong, offering her shelter.
     His skin was so hot, burning against her cheek. She turned her head and nuzzled the
     heat and fire and defined muscles that were so synonymous with him. His fingers massaging
     her scalp and neck eased some of the tension.
    Take what I offer, sivamet . His voice was pure temptation.
    She had been unable to eat anything. The most she’d done was drink water. There was
     that small part of her that was still human enough to hesitate, but she was so far
     into his world, it didn’t take more than his hand bunching in her hair, turning her
     mouth to his chest, to those beading drops he’d supplied with one stroke of his fingernail
     across his muscle.
    Every cell in her body reached for sustenance. Craved Dax. Needed him. Burned for
     him. Dax poured into her, all heat and fire. Power and strength. He filled her. Sustained
     her.
    Riley used her own tongue to try to seal that thin line, unwilling for Mitro to catch
     the scent of powerful Carpathian blood. Thank you. That helps.
    He helped. The way he held her. The way he believed in her enough to let her try to
     heal the earth when everything male in him insisted he protect her no matter the cost.
     She was in his mind, she knew how difficult it was for him to allow her to be in such
     danger.
    Riley plunged her hands into the soil once more. She could feel the heart beating
     in the soil again where before there was a deathly silence, like a withered organ
     a vampire might have. Now, the soil teemed with life. Insects burrowed deep. The roots
     were quiet now, settled, hundreds of feet deep, woven so tightly together nothing
     could possibly slip through a crack, not even mist.
    She turned her attention to the vines surrounding the wall. This would be much trickier.
     The first weave had to be subtle, so subtle that it would not draw the attention of
     Pietra, but would still set in motion the building of thick impenetrable walls around
     the room the moment Mitro stepped in.
    Dax dropped his head on her shoulder. Her heart jumped. Deep in her veins, that terrible
     throb beat harder. The temperature in the room dropped so that every breath released
     was a steady stream of white. The leaves on the vines recoiled. Rats climbed along
     the few supporting beams overhead.
    In the midst of so many hearts pounding came the sound of another, stronger, the rhythm
     different. The beat boomed loud and then softened, only to swell in volume again.
     The drumming beat pounded at Dax, beat at Riley. Their hearts jumped, almost in recognition.
     The throb deep in Riley’s veins pulsed rapidly.
    A hush of anticipation swept through the room. Tension mounted. The crowd swayed back
     and forth, a mass hysteria, worshipping, eyes opaque. Pietra climbed up on the dais,
     her face glowing. She looked out over the crowd, arms wide, presenting