Carpathian 23 - Dark Storm

him, that was his bound duty, but
     this time, he would have something of his own to fight for. The owl spread its wings
     and took off as dawn was about to break. He was grateful for the ash, obscuring the
     gathering light. He’d been deep inside a mountain for so long that even deep within
     the owl’s body, that shrouded, first light hurt his skin and pierced his eyes.
    He hurried back to his woman. Päläfertiilam. Lifemate.

10
    “D reams are the angels’ way of showing us what is on the other side,” Riley’s grandmother
     had told her when Riley was just a child. If that was true, then heaven was a warm
     and sultry place, considering the dream Riley had just had.
    The dream had been so wonderful, in fact, she was loath to leave it. She clung to
     sleep, to the wispy remnants of that dream, filled with soft caresses and strong hands,
     until the clamor of voices around her grew too loud to ignore.
    Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up, frowning and disoriented, to find herself
     in what looked like her own tent. Light shining in through green fabric revealed a
     neat and ordered space that for the first time since its purchase was now also perfectly
     clean—with no hint of the dirt or the smell of wet canvas that had clung to it throughout
     the trip through the jungle. She was still fully dressed, although her boots were
     sitting beside her pack and her jacket had been neatly folded and put on top as well.
    She could hear people moving about and talking outside the tent, and judging by the
     number of voices, her small party must have met up with other survivors. She sat up
     abruptly, hope blossoming. Or maybe everything that had happened since heading up
     the river had all been one horrible, bizarre nightmare.
    Before she got her hopes up too far, however, the tent zipper came undone, and the
     panel fell back to reveal an outside world covered in a thick blanket of gray volcanic
     ash with more still falling from the sky. Not a dream then.
    Riley found a sad comfort when Gary stepped through the tent’s opening with a hot
     bowl of soup and a spoon in his hands. “Oh good, you’re awake. I have your breakfast—or
     dinner, since the sun is about to set.”
    “Hello, Gary.” Nodding her thanks, she took the bowl and set it aside. Her body was
     still waking up, and she wasn’t hungry. “What’s happening? Where are we? Is everyone
     okay? How long have I been asleep?”
    There was plenty of room in the three-person tent, and Gary sat down on a camping
     stool someone had brought in. “Jubal and Ben are fine. In fact, they’re outside now.”
     He indicated the door flap. “We’re in a camp some of the locals set up as a gathering
     place for survivors. As for how long you slept, you have been resting for two days
     now.”
    “ Two days? ” she repeated, incredulously. She’d never slept so long in her entire life. Her brow
     furrowed with sudden suspicion. “Did the vampire hunter put me to sleep?”
    “No, he didn’t. Apparently, you drained every reserve of strength you had saving our
     butts and healing him. Which is why you need to eat now, whether you feel hungry or
     not.” He cast a pointed look at the soup bowl.
    “Two days,” she muttered. “Good God.” She lifted the spoon to her lips and numbly
     took a bite. The flavors exploded across her tongue, and she glanced down at the soup
     in surprise. It was really good, and as she swallowed her first bite she realized
     she really was hungry.
    “I’m not sure you are aware of what you did, or if you even remember,” Gary continued
     when he was satisfied she was eating. He lowered his voice so others outside couldn’t
     hear him. “Dax, the Carpathian hunter, was badly injured and you used your gifts to
     directly heal him. He told me that you didn’t just draw power from the earth like
     you did to hold the vampire, or when you redirected the volcano’s eruption. You used
     that power, but you drew most of the energy from yourself and poured it into him.
     Riley, you healed him completely. And by that, I mean you regrew bone and tissue from
     nothing. I’ve been around Carpathians, and not even the strongest healers among them
     could have done what you did by themselves and in so short a time. It’s nothing less
     than miraculous. After you passed out, Dax checked you out himself, but he couldn’t
     find anything wrong, so he told us just to let you rest. So we have.” He glanced down.
     “More