I believe it is. I think he has a way of communicating with Xaviero and he's given out their hidden location. Are you in the sky? Can you see the rogues?
Branislava was already in dragon form. The moment she had taken on the appearance of her fire dragon she felt confident and comfortable. She soared through the sky, the great wings flapping, lifting her up high into the dark, spinning clouds. Tatijana was at her side, a beautiful blue, her scales taking on a metallic shade each time lightning forked in the clouds, lighting the sky even a little bit.
They're directly below me, spread out in the way they hunt. I've counted twenty-seven of them. It's a fairly good-sized pack, although nowhere near the one that first came after Mikhail.
You're staying high?
I'm too far for them to notice. So is Tatijana, but if they get too close to the cave, we'll drive them back with dragon fire.
Of course she would. Fear or no fear, it didn't matter, Branislava and her sister would get the job done. He paused just long enough to place his hand on the ground. Ivory, Razvan and Skyler had come up behind the pack and were already at work, hunting strays. He felt their footsteps along with those of real wolves. Blood seeped into the ground from two different spots, so at least two of the rogues were down.
He was up and running in one smooth move, catching Fen and Dimitri. We're ahead of them. Tatijana and Branislava are in the sky. My Lycan hunters are fanning out to come up on either side of the pack. Ivory, Razvan and Skyler are in the rear, separating and killing strays.
Bronnie, Tatijana, can either of you see anyone actually directing the pack? Fen asked.
I'll circle around and see if I can spot anyone, Branislava said.
Zev's heart jerked hard in his chest. Dread filled him. No, no, don't do that, he ordered sharply. Which direction were you planning on turning?
To my left.
She didn't argue with him and his heart returned to a normal beat. She trusted him, had complete faith in his leadership and that spared him a whole lot of heartache.
Fen, I think we've got a Sange rau hidden in the rocks close to the cave. The rogue pack is the distraction and the killer will use the fighting to enter the cave and kill the council members. He had committed the terrain to memory, just as he always did if the council were anywhere they might be in danger and the task to guard them was given to him.
When the rogue pack breaks into the clearing, I'll run with them. Branka and Tatijana can drive them back with dragon fire and I'll make for the cave entrance. I can protect the council members in that narrow opening. Dimitri and you have the most experience with a Sange rau and if you both go after him, you'll have a better chance of destroying him.
Fen gave him a small salute and the brothers veered off to circle around, shifting into vapor to streak through the air. Fen spotted the killer crouched in the rocks, blending into the formations, although not very well, indicating, as with the others he'd run into, that this one wasn't very old. Xaviero didn't seem to understand that it was a slow process, the mixed blood mutating them into stronger, more intelligent beings over years, not weeks. He signaled his brother to come up in front of the creature carefully. They both held their positions, waiting for rogues to make their appearance.
Zev waited for one of the rogues to rush past him, noting his colors and the way he looked. He immediately used his Carpathian gifts to give the illusion of looking the same as he fell into step. I'm fond of my hair, Branka. Don't singe it just for fun.
Be more worried about Tatijana.
In spite of the teasing note, he heard her worry and knew neither took the skirmish lightly. As the pack members burst from the forest and rushed the cave, he was swept along. At the last moment, as the dragons dove from the sky, he shifted, going invisible to leap out in front of the pack with his mixed blood speed. The moment he was inside the relative safety of the cave, the dragons let loose, breathing fire down like rain.
The flames poured down steady and strong, roaring over the half wolf, half human creatures bent on killing the council of Lycans, setting many of them on fire. The dragons used their wings to build a wind tunnel, fanning the flames so that they jumped from one rogue to the next. At least twelve went down in a fiery conflagration. The others halted abruptly, even retreating back into the forest. Two bolder ones swept through the clearing right through the flames, running for the cave.
In the forest, his elite hunters took on the remaining rogues. Skyler, Razvan and Ivory aided them, finding and destroying any who tried to get past them. Gregori used his silver sword, mopping up as fast as possible. Eventually, Zev's pack aided the Carpathian, making certain every rogue had been staked and their head severed.
Zev waited in silence as the two bold rogues entered the cave and began to make their way down the narrow passage, seeking targets. The first one ran right into him, never seeing the silver stake aimed directly at his heart. The wolf's eyes widened. His muzzle yawned wide, but no sound emerged. Behind him, the second wolf ran into him and cursed, shoving at his partner to move him along.
Zev stepped back, allowing the first wolf to fall to the ground, clutching at his chest and the protruding silver stake. The second rogue stared in disbelief, scowling, uncomprehending of what he was actually seeing. He actually bent down to look at his fallen companion. When he looked back up, Zev stepped into him, slamming the silver stake home.
The stake went through the first layer of skin and muscle and hit something hard, stopping abruptly, the silver snapping off in Zev's hand. Shocked, he leapt back just as a full set of teeth rushed toward his head.
13
Zev, some of the rogues have a protection against the silver stakes, Razvan cautioned, his voice grim. We get them down, but the stakes shatter and don't go beyond about an inch and half into their bodies.
It isn't all of them, Ivory continued. Maybe a third of them, at least it's about one out of three that we've found when we kill them.
Fen and Dimitri heard the warning as well. Razvan had used the more common Carpathian path of communication. They watched the Sange rau closely to see if he picked up the warning, but he remained quite still, hiding in the rocks, believing his camouflage would protect him from sight.
This one was not Carpathian first, Dimitri pointed out. He was Lycan and created in a lab rather than naturally. Do you think he volunteered for the assignment, or Xaviero chose him, using a mage-shadow to force him into compliance?
Fen shook his head, shrugging broad shoulders. You can't ask yourself those questions, Dimitri. This man is dangerous to us and everyone else, no matter the start he had. He'll kill you the moment he sees you.
He hasn't made a move toward the cave, Dimitri said, puzzled. He should have rushed in there as soon as the first wave of rogues attacked.
You've got a point, Fen said, and turned his attention from the Sange rau hidden so cleverly as a decoy. Stay down, he must have a friend.
Dimitri muttered a curse beneath his breath. Like before, back in the village, Fen. They're hunting us in pairs now.
Because they aren't ready to face us. Fen abandoned his more familiar path of communication with his brother and reached for the one forged with Zev. There's a second Sange rau. He'll be coming for you. You're standing between him and his goal.
Zev's heart dropped as he twisted to one side, only his speed saving him from the teeth rushing at him in the way a velociraptor might attack. The razor-sharp teeth skimmed along his arm, opening his skin, but it was the silver stake in his fist that did the most damage. Zev felt the burn as the Sange rau slammed it deep into his thigh.
"Hello, Zev," the Sange rau greeted as his hands settled around Zev's throat and he began to squeeze. "I've been waiting for a chance to meet you again."
Zev vaguely recalled the man. He'd been at the elite hunter's school and shown signs of murderous behavior. The school officials had called in Zev to work with him, wanting to make certain they were right in their assessment. Two council members had been
on hand as well. It wasn't often an elite was turned down and not given a pack. Fredec was one of the few.
Zev didn't fight the stranglehold, but rather reached for the knife in his belt. He slashed up the right inner thigh of his opponent, continuing the flow of his strike to include the left inner thigh. He kept the movement continuous, slashing across the belly and moving his strike upward in a figure eight to hit as many arteries as possible.
Fredec let go of his throat and stumbled back away from him. Zev dragged air into his burning lungs, assessing just how bad the wounds on Fredec were. He hadn't been able to see where he was slashing, not with the hold the Sange rau had on his throat, but he'd managed to get two fairly deep wounds.
Fredec's lips peeled back in a snarl, his eyes going red. He leapt at Zev, tackling him, taking him to the ground. He was slippery with blood and Zev couldn't get a decent grip on him. The stake in his thigh hit Fredec's leg, shooting pain right through his body, the intensity shocking.
Zev fought past the nausea and sudden weakness, locking down on the grip of his knife. He kept the blade up so that when Fredec landed on him, his own knife in his hand, Zev could shove the blade deep into Fredec's chest. Once again, he hit some type of armor. The blade actually snapped off.
Cursing, Zev rolled, throwing Fredec off him, preventing himself from getting disemboweled but driving the stake in his thigh deeper. He yanked it out and slapped a large patch over the wound almost in one motion, sending up a silent prayer of thanks to Gary for the invention. The patch adhered instantly, rushing the mixture of compounds to his skin and deeper, to stop the bleeding and begin the healing process.
Fredec laughed as he regained his feet. He wiped his muzzle with the back of his hand, his claws growing, the nails curved and sharp. "You shouldn't have told them I wasn't elite. I'm superior to you. I always have been."
He wanted acknowledgment. He wanted to brag. Zev circled with him, wanting to give him the opportunity. "Someone must have seen something in you I didn't. One of the council members? They argued that day, and one of them advocated for you."
Fredec inclined his head. "You and the school board threw me out, but I got revenge. I killed every single member of that board. Now I'm going to kill you and then I'll have the pleasure of showing Randall that he should have listened to Lyall."
Zev's heart sank. Lyall was a trusted member of the council. He was there with them all in the chamber, secreted away from the guards in case any were members of the Secret Circle army.
The traitor in the council is Lyall. There was no keeping that information to himself, not when he was in a fight to the death with a Sange rau. The red eyes focused on him, gleaming with hatred and murderous intent.
Fredec was fast and intelligent, and if Lyall had recruited him as far back as when Fredec had entered the elite hunter school, that was half a century earlier. Fredec should have been much further along in the mutation of the Sange rau.
Someone needs to get to them. I am fighting the Sange rau. He didn't trust that Lyall wasn't murdering the entire council right at that moment.
Fredec feinted an attack, going for Zev's left side, his wounded side, but at the last second whirling around, slashing with the blade of his knife toward Zev's belly. Zev leapt back just barely out of reach, slamming his fist down on the wrist coming at him and then turning his fist so that his own blade made a clean, deep slice down Fredec's arm. It was an old trick learned many years earlier and Zev was grateful he had it in his arsenal.
Somehow he had to find a way to kill Fredec and help the council members. It was ingrained in him to protect them. Fen and Dimitri were occupied with the other Sange rau. Those fighting the rogues had run into the same thing he had, a thin plate of armor that seemed to be under the skin.
I'm making my way through the cave.
His heart nearly stopped. Of course Branislava would sense his anxiety. She would come. She was his lifemate, a true warrior who believed her place was fighting beside him.
He couldn't detect her presence. He was very sensitive to energy and if he couldn't feel her close to them, perhaps Fredec couldn't as well.
He's dangerous, he warned, suddenly shifting onto the balls of his feet and moving toward Fredec in a kind of dance, one moment here, the next over there, making it impossible for Fredec to touch him, yet constantly keeping the Sange rau on the defensive.
So am I, Branislava answered. Keep him moving toward the entrance.
She was made of fire. Flames burned through her veins and he heard her quiet determination. He didn't know what she planned, but he believed in her. He ducked Fredec's knife and avoided the raking claw hissing across his belly while he continued the offensive, pushing the Sange rau back toward the entrance.
Keep your grip on your knife high and be ready to plunge it into his heart. I'll do the same from the back.
Again he didn't question her, but kept up his flowing dance, flicking the knife at the Sange rau, small little hits, and then once more dancing out of reach. Fredec was a strong brute and was used to using his size and strength to his advantage. Fighting someone like Zev who had been in hundreds of battles and was very experienced with a knife, smooth, fast and deadly, had thrown Fredec off his game.
Each time Zev danced closer and flicked his knife at Fredec, he left behind evidence of his superior ability. There were dozens of small cuts all over Fredec's arms. Zev hadn't gone for the kill, but rather was wearing his opponent down with smaller slices that kept the Sange rau continually bleeding.
The blade of his knife began to glow, first a soft yellow orange and then a darker red. Heat traveled up the grip. He didn't let the change distract him, but kept moving, his feet following that pattern so familiar to him. He flicked Fredec's rib cage and heard his opponent gasp with shock. It was a shallow cut, but the blade of his knife was now glowing bright red, and from the amount of heat pouring into the grip, he knew that burn had gone far deeper than the actual cut.
Now, Branislava ordered.
Without hesitation, Zev moved inside those hamlike fists, and sank his knife deep into Fredec's chest. The hot blade seemed to stop for one moment, but then it drove through the thin plate of armor, melting it like butter. Behind Fredec, Branislava had done the same, plunging her knife deep into Fredec's back, her blade just as hot, melting everything in its way to the heart.
Fredec went down hard, his eyes wide with shock. Branislava stepped back. There wasn't much room in the narrow hallway leading to the chamber much deeper in the cavern for Zev to wield his sword, separating the head from the body, but he managed. She stepped over the downed Sange rau and they both ran for the chamber holding the council members.
Use extreme heat to get through the armor, Zev advised as he ran, sending out the advice on the common Carpathian path.
That red-headed woman of yours comes up with some good ideas, Fen stated, laughter in his voice. That wasn't your idea.
Fen signaled to Dimitri and his younger brother crept closer to the Sange rau hiding in the rocks. The "bait" hadn't moved an inch, remaining absolutely still. Too still. The wolves on Dimitri's body shifted, lifted their heads sensing an enemy, and were ready to leap off to defend him.
No, stay, Dimitri commanded and swung around, just barely avoiding a stake through his heart. The dagger went deep through the right side of his chest, the terrible burn of silver more of a shock than the actual hole in his chest. He went down hard, his legs going out from under him, blood pouring down his chest.
The Sange rau stepped close, maneuvering his footwork on the uneven rocks. Dimitri didn't try to move out of his way, but he used his knife, slashing open both of his opponent's thighs, going for arteries to slow him down. The man roared with anger and pain. The silver had burned him just as badly as it had Dimitri and blood spewed from both legs.
Fen leapt from a rock above them, landing on the Sange rau's back, driving him to the ground and away from Dimitri. They rolled in a tangle of arms and legs, grunting as their
backs hit the hard and sometimes jagged rocks.
Dimitri remembered the patch included in their arsenal of weapons--the one Gary had insisted each of them take with them into battle. He pulled it out of the leather bag hanging at his belt and slapped it over the wound in his chest. Instantly he felt the heat, a burn that seemed to cauterize and then begin the healing process. He sent up a silent prayer to remember to thank the man for his continual efforts to provide the Carpathian species with aid. The patch amazed him, giving him a boost of energy he needed after such a blood loss.
Pushing himself to his feet, he staggered after the two combatants rolling around in a tangle of arms and legs, the occasional knife flashing for a moment. Grunts, snarls and curses added to the chaos of dust rising. The Sange rau left a trail of blood behind him, testifying to the knife wounds Dimitri had managed to inflict as he went down.
His wolves again tried to defend him, squirming in eagerness to be released. Dimitri had to warn them again to stay put. He didn't want the animals anywhere near the mixed blood with his incredible speed.
Fen grappled with the assassin, holding firmly to his wrists to prevent those talons from ripping open his belly or slashing across his eyes to blind him. Dimitri called on the heat of the fiery volcano, bringing it down the blade of his knife. He thrust it into the Sange rau's back, feeling the tip strike a barrier and then begin to slide through muscle.
The Sange rau roared with rage, whipping around, claws extended, seeking Dimitri's belly. Dimitri used his mixed blood speed to leap backward as the wolf/vampire leapt forward, the maneuver astonishing. He went from a prone position to midair in one move, rushing toward Dimitri so fast he appeared blurred.
Fen mirrored his opponent's action, coming up behind him, using his legs as a springboard to leap after the Sange rau. Before those claws could reach Dimitri, Fen slammed his fist hard into the hilt of Dimitri's knife with his enormous strength, driving it deep through the assassin's back to pierce the heart.