The others had all turned to go separate ways, but at Dragomir's question, they all turned back to listen.
"I have an idea or two," Gary said. "None are good."
"Let's hear them," Tariq said.
Gary shrugged. It was more of a shoulder roll. His shoulders were wide; his muscles, once sleek and strong, were now more defined, rippling loosely beneath the material of his clothing. "Xavier, the high mage, could take splinters of himself and place those splinters in very unlucky people. The splinter was actually a true part of him so he could take over the body and see and hear what was happening around his chosen vessel. Xavier is dead, but two of his splinters remain behind and the common consensus is that those splinters reside in Sergey, Vadim's brother, and in Vadim himself."
Tariq's breath left him in a long, slow hiss. Dragomir froze in place. Sandu leaned his palm against the wall, allowing it to take his weight.
"What are you saying, Gary?" Ferro was the one who asked. Ferro was quiet and rarely spoke, so the sound of his voice was disconcerting, adding to the building tension between the ancients. "You believe that Vadim knows how to splinter himself and would introduce slivers into others? He could have spies everywhere."
"There is danger in splintering," Gary cautioned. "It diminishes the man performing the magic. It leaves him weaker, his power less. He must bring the splinters back to him. That's imperative. If we were to find those splinters, remove and destroy them, he would never get his full capacity for magic back. That's what happened to Xavier."
There was a small silence.
"Having said that," Gary continued, "being in possession of Xavier's splinters gives Vadim access to the knowledge Xavier had."
Tariq glared at him. "You didn't think to tell us this before?"
"Before what?" Gary asked, his tone mild, but there was a curious menace to it. Those silver eyes slashed at Tariq. "I haven't exactly been idle since I arrived."
Tariq gave a small, courtly bow. "Forgive me, Gary, I am so worried about Amelia and knowing this hasn't helped."
"At the moment, Amelia is a valuable asset to him. He can hear and see everything she does. He can attack his enemies using her. He doesn't have to worry about the safeguards because Amelia is already in the compound. She brought him in with her. He most likely hadn't even considered putting a child in her. He knew from experience that she was too young and fragile. He needed her to have those memories so the one of him entering her body and leaving a small but extremely valuable piece of himself behind wouldn't be noticed."
"We all saw the 'rape' in her mind," Tariq said. "Not the fact that he entered her body in the way a healer might. What happens if Amelia is killed? If she dies?" His voice was low. Anguished.
For the first time, Dragomir put himself in Tariq's shoes. If that were his daughter, how would he feel? What would he do? Knowing a piece, even just a splinter of such evil was in his daughter would be horrifying. The parasites did Vadim's bidding, tormenting Emeline and the baby, but they hadn't been so evil that they could take over the bodies. The splinter of Vadim was powerful. Evil. A part of him. That part allowed him to take total control of the vessel.
Dragomir found his compassion for Amelia was growing. She wouldn't be able to fight Vadim's influence. She might fight off the parasites that tormented her, refusing to give in to the pain or their sway, but what human could defeat the power of a master vampire?
"If Amelia dies, does the splinter die with her?" Tariq persisted.
Gary shook his head. "The splinter would look for a host. It would abandon the dying body and find another. That's what Xavier's splinters did. They also try to get back to the original brain they were taken from. So each hop from host to host would take them closer to their ultimate goal."
"With the splinter gone, will Amelia return to her true self?" Dragomir asked.
Gary frowned and rubbed at his temple with his thumb. "She should. But she's very young. These attacks on her will stay with her. I'm inclined to think she will need counseling."
"If I was to turn her," Tariq persisted, "would the splinter abandon her then?"
Gary shook his head. "You are not thinking logically, Tariq. This is your daughter. You're too close to the situation. Vadim is vampire. Originally, he was Carpathian. The death of the human body in order for the Carpathian body to be reborn would not kill it. If anything, the splinter might grow more powerful. Vadim would have access to everything she learned of us. Of the healing grounds, of resting places, of every weakness this compound has--and there are many."
"Many?" Tariq's eyebrow went up. "We have thought of nearly every contingency. Every way they could attack us."
"You are under attack," Gary insisted. "Your own daughter is being used against you. The biggest weakness the compound has is you. Your heart. You take in these abandoned people and collect them like others collect wine. You have a security force made up of human Special Forces soldiers. Every one of them has seen too much combat and is ready to implode. You have an elderly couple, the Waltons, wandering around holding hands as if they're in a musical. You have four street kids, all traumatized by what they've been through. You have a woman, unmarried, no lifemate, but by any standards beautiful, watching those children, and she doesn't have a clue they can put her to sleep at will. You have a three-year-old child, the niece of your lifemate, whose father was murdered by a vampire and who has been uprooted several times avoiding them. Carpathians do not live this way."
Dragomir had to agree, but he also disagreed. "That's all true, but he's created a safe zone here, one where Carpathians and humans can live together without fear."
Gary shrugged. "I didn't say I thought it was too risky, only that it is a flawed system. There are weaknesses and they have to be addressed if all of you want to be safe."
Dragomir noticed the healer had said "all of you." He hadn't included himself as if it didn't matter one way or another that he was safe. It hadn't to Dragomir before he'd found Emeline. He knew it still didn't to Sandu, Andor or Ferro. He looked around at the other ancients. So many without lifemates. The burden of an entire species fell squarely on the shoulders of a very few couples.
"Emeline wishes to remain here. She wants to have a home here near her friends," Dragomir said. "She will go with me if I choose to leave, but she would much rather be here. I would like to buy property bordering this one and add to the compound. I would also like to go through the entire compound with you, Gary and Tariq, to see if some of these weaknesses can be addressed."
Tariq inclined his head. "I'm grateful you wish to stay. Blaze would have a difficult time without Emeline. Already, Maksim has said, she's been very sad that their relationship has deteriorated. I'm aware it was necessary, or at least Emeline thought it was, but it is difficult for a Carpathian male to see his lifemate unhappy."
Dragomir was instantly aware Tariq was warning him. It was imperative he keep Emeline from Amelia, but Emeline wouldn't be happy about it. "I understand, or I'm beginning to. Still, I can do no other than what my nature dictates to me. Emeline must be out of the line of fire. Healer"--his thoughtful gaze rested on the man--"is it possible that if we try together, we could rid this child of the splinter?"
"We have no idea of the location. He would know before we did that we were close. If he thought we were there to extract the splinter, he would attack and kill her."
"We do have a location. The splinter must be in her brain. It is directing her actions."
Gary frowned in contemplation. "I still don't see how we could sneak up on it."
"Divert his attention," Sandu said. "Go in to heal her and check it out."
"I will think on this," Gary said. "In the meantime, before the night fades, I need to hunt."
Dragomir agreed. "I need more blood as well. The night is fading and the healing soil will be welcome."
"I will plant the story with Amelia," Tariq said. "Give me the location of the lair."
It was Ferro who supplied it, pushing the
information into Tariq's mind. "We will hunt near there and take him down when the sun is rising."
Tariq shook his head. "That's cutting it too close. Do you have a death wish? You'll fry in the sun."
Sandu shrugged. "I've fried before. We all have. As old as we are, with not so much as a whisper to tempt us, it is the sun we defy. Our defiance comes at a high price."
"Yet you still take the chance."
"We are hunters first," Andor pointed out. "Hunters hunt. There is little left for us. Hunting is something we can do."
Tariq nodded. "Go, then. It will be natural for me to visit all the children before we go to bed. I'll have Charlotte with me and just out of Amelia's room, where she can hear. I'll let slip the plan to attack the lair at first rising."
"You will need someone at least a little resistant to Vadim's compulsions watching her. Otherwise the children aren't safe. Vadim might use the opportunity to force her to kill one of them," Dragomir said. "I know that's not something you want to think about, but it is a very real possibility and one I think Vadim would choose. He would want the girl to know what she was doing, but be unable to stop herself."
Tariq nodded. "I hoped he would wait, fearing she might get caught and then she'd be of no use to him."
"Hoping when lives are at stake is a poor choice," Gary said. "Find a reason to lock her up." He pushed away from the others, closing down, the weight of his ancestors on his back and in his mind. He strode away from them without another word, his movements fluid, his body rippling with muscle beneath the thin material of his clothing.
Dragomir watched him go, sadness settling. Eighteen or twenty years in Carpathian time was nothing, a blink, no more--or it was centuries of endless waiting for a lifemate. Sandu, Andor and Ferro were at that other end. Gary was clearly there. It mattered little that he'd been reborn into their world; the ancients had poured themselves into him and now he carried every single one of their memories. The man was living in hell. Twenty years would be more than a few lifetimes for him waiting for his lifemate to grow up.
"How many men do you have working for you? Human men that you can trust."
"There are twenty in my security team that I trust. I've taken their blood so I can monitor them at will, but more than that, I've looked into their minds and the men I see are honest, loyal and capable. I respect them," Tariq said. "There are a few others but they're relatively new and I'm not certain of them yet."
"How many there?"
"Another seven. I've taken their blood, know they live by their word, but haven't seen them in battle against vampires. The first time human fighters see the undead in action, especially in their true form, it is . . . disconcerting. That's when I know whether they'll be able to handle it. I wipe their minds clean if they can't. These are good men and valuable assets."
Dragomir nodded. He had never considered drawing humans into their fight. Humans had always seemed very vulnerable. Tariq had always had the reputation of being fascinated by them. He spent a great deal of his time with them. He'd studied them, and now, he surrounded himself with them. He fit into their world with ease.
Dragomir wasn't the kind of man to dismiss an idea just because he wasn't comfortable with it. He'd seen the security force in action and they'd helped tremendously. They hadn't flinched in the face of the enemy, and Vadim had brought a strong force with him. The weapons they'd developed were impressive. Matt Bennett had been a huge help in the battle with Vadim.
"The Waltons. I've seen them on the property," Dragomir admitted, "but I avoided them. Who are they? Are they capable of defending this place?"
Tariq smirked a little, his warning to Dragomir of the answer. "Both were in the service. That's where they met. They lived for years together as survivalists. They can handle guns and, in fact, have quite an arsenal in their home now. They've lived on the estate for a few years, before the children. They were gracious enough to say they would help with defense."
Dragomir had to admit, Tariq hadn't just gathered a group of humans and brought them under his protection without thought.
"You didn't have problems convincing them vampires exist?"
"They were already aware. No one believed them."
Dragomir nodded. "I see. Still, you realize, even with training, these people will always be at a disadvantage. Vampires can easily take over their minds."
"Not with shields in place. I got the idea from the De La Cruz family in South America. They have ranches in various countries and human people, people loyal to them, take care of the ranches in their absence. The families know about them and protect them during daylight hours. The family members, throughout generations, began to be born with natural shields. I thought it would be a decent idea to gather my own force."
Dragomir had heard of the families protecting the De La Cruz brothers. He hadn't considered the idea good or bad. Now, he thought this was another reason why Tariq was a leader. His thinking had far-reaching consequences. He'd planned for his human army. He'd bought up land. He'd gathered other like-minded Carpathians and they had begun the task of setting up compounds in other places, much like the stronghold of the prince in the Carpathian Mountains.
"Perhaps I was wrong about your weakness, Tariq," he ventured, still not quite convinced. Yet, he couldn't have kept the vampires from inflicting a terrible blow on the compound without the help of the security force. There were too few Carpathians and too many vampires in the United States. It was a big territory to cover. Matt Bennett, the head of the security force, had delayed Vadim enough for Dragomir to complete his task and return to confront the master vampire. He'd even managed to get a piece of Vadim's heart and that had to have weakened him just a bit.
Tariq inclined his head at Dragomir's observation. "Perhaps," he agreed. "On the other hand, I have found my love of humans is both a strength and a weakness. Thanks to the prince, we do know some human women can be converted. Those of us who did not find their lifemates, century after century, still can have hope. That soul is reborn again and again until we find her or we go into the next life. There are women out there, human and Carpathian, protecting the soul of a hunter."
"We left the monastery because three women came together and gave us hope. They told us that our lifemates were waiting in this century for us. I am not certain I really believed them at the time. I may have needed to believe them, but I was skeptical. Then I heard Emeline's voice, and my world changed from darkness to light. I hope that finding Emeline continues to give the others hope that they might find their lifemates, too. Like me, they don't think they belong anymore. We are ancients, and while we locked ourselves away, the world moved forward without us. Women moved forward as well. We don't understand them."
Tariq sent him a small grin. "No one has ever understood them. They only ask for partnership. They are intelligent and their opinions matter. They are intuitive."
"These are things I know, but partnership? What does that mean?"
"She will want to walk at your side, not behind you."
"I assume you mean that literally rather than figuratively," Dragomir said. He was aware of the others in the brotherhood paying close attention to the conversation.
"Both."
Dragomir shook his head. "That's where you lose me. What is wrong with wanting to protect my woman? My every instinct is to do just that. She carries life in her. She's light to my darkness. She's everything good in the world."
"To us. We know what we lost. We know a world without women and children. That drought has never happened to them. Even the women no longer know their own worth. We know they are more precious than the greatest jewel, but others don't understand and treat them as less than animals. They are possessions, not cherished partners."
"Emeline will not like me treating her as a cherished woman?" He was more confused than ever. "I know no other way. I am incapable of any other way."
"She will like that part. Just not the part where you lock her up when you don't want her talking to Amelia
."
"And Charlotte?"
"She won't like that, either. I will do my best to distract her, but once she realizes what I'm doing, she will voice her opinion rather strongly."
There was a note of amusement in Tariq's voice. Dragomir still didn't understand, and he sensed this was an important subject. "You don't seem to mind your woman getting upset with you." Emeline's tears would kill him.
"There is little I can do about it, Dragomir. She will want to be with Amelia, to try to help her, and I will forbid it knowing Vadim could strike at us through her. I won't risk Charlotte. She won't understand, or she'll pretend she doesn't because going to Amelia and helping her is worth the risk to her. It isn't to me and never will be. Risking Emeline won't be worth it to you. You can't control Emeline's reactions any more than I can control Charlotte's."
Tariq shrugged. "The bottom line with your woman is this: you can try to explain your position in a logical manner, but remember, it's your logic. It's your emotion--fear--that is driving you. Her logic will be different, but no less real. In the end, you will do what every male Carpathian must do--you will protect your woman. She won't like it, but she'll accept it because she has no choice. Your comfort level during that time will not be the best, but it will pass and your woman will be safe."
Dragomir nodded. "I think I understand. What is the use of explaining if she won't listen?"
"Always explain. She deserves an explanation. Your relationship cannot be a dictatorship."
Dragomir sighed, something in his heart twisting hard. "I do not want a dictatorship, but where I lead, my woman goes. I don't know, Tariq, I may have tied her to me far too fast. I was trying to convince her she wasn't Vadim's lifemate. Honestly? I still don't know if she's entirely convinced. But she's tied to me now, and that may be worse than a false belief. If what you say is so, then she will detest being my lifemate."
"You've been her lifemate all along. She seems to have fought for you. She didn't run."