Dark Secret

away.

Rafael straightened slowly. It was no indigenous owl in the tree. The bird regarded him from his position high in the branches. It wasn't Nicolas-he was with Paul and Ginny, helping to get them ready for the move to Brazil. He would put them on the private jet and get them out of the country, using his hypnotic voice to get them through the red tape quickly.

'You may as well come out of the tree and tell me what you are doing here.'

The raptor immediately spread its wings wide and spiraled down, shifting before it touched the ground. A tall man with wide shoulders stood regarding him. 'I have not seen you for far too many years, Rafael.' He stepped forward and gripped Rafael's forearms in the familiar gesture of one warrior greeting another.

'Vikirnoff Von Shrieder. I thought you had long ago met the dawn.'

'I have often thought of doing so, but I had my brother to watch over. Nicolae has found his lifemate and now my time grows short. I have one last task to complete before I rest. What of you? What of your brothers?'

'Riordan has also found his lifemate. There is hope with the knowledge that some human women can be converted. My lifemate, Colby, is human.'

'I was drawn to this place by the sound of the earth screaming, yet now there is no evidence of a vampire.'

'He has vowed to kill Colby. I must destroy him. He has managed to take the blood of her younger brother and reaches out to use him against us.' As he spoke, Rafael continued to search along the blackened terrain for hints of the vampire's passing.

'Then I will hunt with you. It will be like old times.' Vikirnoff reached up to pull his nearly waist-length hair to the nape of his neck, securing it with a leather tie.

'Colby carries the mark of the Dragonseeker. She is a descendant of that lineage.' Rafael sent his senses deep into the earth, stretching first north, then west where the fertile soil might draw Kirja to heal.

'We thought the Dragonseeker line long gone from us. A good alliance between two powerful houses. The prince will be pleased.' Vikirnoff scanned the skies.

'How is it you came to this place, Vikirnoff?'

'I am following a woman. Nicolae and I, through accident, became aware that a master vampire had put out the word to his pawns that this particular woman was necessary to him. I have been trailing her with the intention of warning her and protecting her.' He pulled a photograph from his pocket. 'Have you seen her?'

Rafael reached for the picture but Vikirnoff retained possession of it, holding it up so Rafael could see it. His thumb moved in a small, involuntary caress over the beautiful face. 'I am certain I am close.'

'She was here, tonight, talking in the bar with Colby. Colby said this woman, Natalya Shonski, told her a hunter would kill anyone bearing the mark of the Dragonseeker. She is not only running from the vampire, but from you.'

'She, too, bears the mark of the Dragonseeker clan? Why would she believe such a thing?'

Both men cast for signs along the ground. They laid their hands over the earth, willing the soil to give them news. They listened to the wind, to the rustle of the leaves in the trees. Even the insects and night creatures usually told tales, but there was no lead to the vampire's trail. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

'If what she said is true, Rhiannon had triplets, two girls and a boy. They are not children of her lifemate, but of the wizard Xavier. He held her captive for some time, no one knows how, but she somehow managed to join her lifemate in another world, leaving the children behind. Or it is possible-even more, probable-that Xavier murdered her after the children were born. Xavier hated all Carpathians. He would have raised his children to fear us.' Rafael shifted his focus to the south and then to the east. 'This young woman you seek is a direct descendant. She has been long in this world, avoiding our people.' He pushed his hand through his hair in utter frustration at finding nothing, no sign of the vampire. 'Deus! This is getting us nowhere. Where would Kirja hide?'

19

'Kirja?' Vikirnoff swung around, slipping the photo into his shirt next to his heart. 'He is the vampire?' There was a thoughtful note in his voice. 'No wonder this one is difficult to find. Kirja was a great warrior.'

'I fear he is involved in a conspiracy to kill the prince.'

'I have spoken recently with Gregori and all of us suspect that a large army is massing against us. What of Kirja's four brothers? Do you have news on them?'

'I believe they are all involved, but I do not know for certain. When he talked, he implied it was so.'

Vikirnoff examined a pile of boulders that had shifted slightly out of position. 'What is off in that direction?'

Rafael studied the landscape. 'The mines.' His dark eyes blazed with grim realization. 'Vikirnoff, he has gone to the mines. Colby told me they boarded the entrances up years ago because they were dangerous. No one goes there.'

'So he wouldn't have access to ready prey?'

Rafael shook his head. 'No, but he would be able to call the unwary to him. He is incredibly powerful.'

Vikirnoff nodded. 'I remember all of the Malinov brothers. They were very powerful even while young.' His cool black eyes studied Rafael. 'As was your family.'

'We were good friends, and yes, we tested the limits of the law, but we agreed, all ten of us, my brothers and Kirja's brothers, that we would follow our prince and live with honor. I do not know why the Malinov brothers chose the dark path.' There was a lingering sadness in his voice.

Vikirnoff glanced at him sharply. 'He is no longer your childhood friend. Let us hunt the undead, and remove the threat to you and your lifemate before the sun rises too high and forces us to ground.'

They shifted at the same time, Vikirnoff choosing the owl and Rafael, the harpy eagle. Both flew low to the ground, scanning as they quartered the most direct route to the mines. Kirja would have stayed beneath the ground. However he had managed to be awake after the first light of dawn, Rafael was certain the effect couldn't last too long. Kirja would have prepared his escape route before he had launched his attempt on Colby's life.

Vikirnoff? Do you think it strange that the male child of Rhiannon died and yet there is no word on the fate of the females? Colby said she was told her father died, but not how or when. There was open speculation in Rafael's mind.

Wizards were not immortal. They had longevity, but ultimately, death claimed them. It is one of the reasons they came to resent us. For all their abilities and power, they could not sustain their lives. The prince believed that was the motivation for kidnapping Rhiannon. Xavier wished her to breed with him, to give his children immortal life. Xavier wanted her blood for himself and for his heirs.

Through the harpy eagle's keen eyes, Rafael noticed a slight shifting of dirt, still fresh, as if a mole had pushed upward and dislodged the soil. He circled it. What if Xavier succeeded? Rhiannon would not have willingly converted him, but he may have found a way to use her blood to convert himself. Colby is proof that the Dragonseeker blood was passed to what appear to be humans. We do not know for a fact that Xavier died or that his son and his grandson have died. The women have been told this, but there are no details.

Vikirnoff considered the possibilities. You are saying it is possible that our greatest enemy is alive and has adult children to help him continue his work.

Rafael spotted the mines just ahead and flew higher, taking in a wider range. Kirja would not go into the mines without safeguards and numerous traps. He studied the ground and the entrances to the two shafts, both blocked with massive boulders. I think it is possible, yes. I do not believe that any child of Xavier would easily be killed. And if they carry Dragonseeker blood, it would be more difficult than ever.

Rafael landed in the branches of a large fir, a short distance from the mine entrance. Vikirnoff settled beside him. They studied the area around them with sharp eyes before settling to earth and shifting into their Carpathian forms. From their position, they sent their acute senses in every direction, paying particular attention to the position of the boulders blocking the entrance as well as the structure of the sloping mine.

'This woman I am following,' Vikirnoff ventured, 'has vampires hunting her. Is it possible they know she carries the blood of the Dragonseekers?'