Corinne was impervious to the cold, but not to the sparkling beauty around her. The trees were transformed, branches laden with white crystals, so that they glittered with millions of gems. She felt like she was running in a fairy-tale world with her handsome prince. Her daughter snuggled tightly against her chest, rocking gently, as if in a cradle, adding to the surreal effect.
Corinne flung out her arms. «I love my life!» She shouted it to the sky, happiness bursting through her until she couldn't contain it.
Dayan smiled, even while he was scanned the area around them for enemies. They were closing the distance to Nicolae and Destiny and the small group of people with them. He could tell the couple and their friends were walking in the general direction of Francesca and Gabriel's home, so the young girl had to be Skyler. He was beginning to know individual scents now and it helped ease his mind. He was used to living in the much smaller family of the Dark Troubadours. Even that had grown recently as each had found a lifemate. He was the only one of the Troubadours with a child, but he hoped that would change soon so Jennifer would grow up with other children around her.
Corinne listened to the steady beat of her heart. It always amazed her to hear that rhythmic beat, to feel strength in her arms and legs and be able to breathe easily even while she was running. She took a step, blew air out and her heart skipped. Missed a beat. She heard it clearly, felt the invasive weakness slide into her body. The breath left her lungs in a rush and she faltered, stumbling. Her heart missed another beat. She stopped running, wrapping her arms around the baby, holding her close, her mind racing, terror gripping her.
Was it possible her heart had been so damaged that even conversion to a Carpathian couldn't keep it going? She heard it distinctly, the beat, a skip, two beats, another skip. Fast. Slow. She turned to Dayan, eyes wide with shock.
«What is it?» He stepped back away from her, turning in a circle, searching the area around them for any enemies.
«Can't you hear it?» Her voice shook.
Dayan listened to the night, sorting the sounds muffled by the snow. He could hear voices in the distance, knew Nicolae and his brother were close. Something is wrong. He sent them the message on the common telepathic path.
There was a moment of silence. We're coming to you from the south. Nicolae responded. We have MaryAnn and Skyler to protect.
We have the baby.
Dayan felt edgy, troubled, but he couldn't find a blank spot that might indicate a vampire. They weren't alone, someone or something was watching, but he couldn't find a location. It didn't appear a vampire was the threat. He swore under his breath, startling Corinne.
«Can you hear it?»
He didn't want to hear it. The baby had a regular heart rate, faster than an adult, but Corinne's heartbeat was irregular. Even when he put his hand over her heart and tried to regulate the beat, it was all over the place. He forced calm when he really felt panic. He would not lose her. Not to anything or anybody.
«Do you think my heart is failing?»
«I want to wait for the others to get to us before I check. If I go into your body and we are attacked, the vampire would have the advantage.»
«Do you think we'll be attacked?» Corinne tightened her hold on the baby, her arms wrapping around the infant protectively. She looked carefully around the area, up into the trees and along the snow-covered ground. «Why can't I feel a vampire if there's one close? And how would a vampire affect my heart? It must be failing. The healing was only able to last a couple of months, Dayan.»
He kept his palm over Corinne's heart, in order to keep her heart beating in rhythm with his. «That isn't true, Corinne. I don't know what's going on, but when the conversion was completed, Gregori made certain your heart was whole and healthy.»
Nicolae and Destiny came striding through the trees, MaryAnn and Skyler in between them. Destiny was to the young teen's right, several feet between them, her restless eyes searching the ground while Nicolae searched the terrain. Above them flew two owls, circling the warriors, working their way through the canopy to try to spot an enemy from above.
Nicolae reached Corinne and Dayan, his gaze jumping to the protective way Dayan had his hand placed over Corinne's heart. In the muffled silence of the snow, they could hear the irregular heartbeat overly loud. «Vikirnoff and Natalya search from above. What is it?»
«I don't know,» Dayan said. «I feel something out here, Nicolae, but I cannot find it. And whatever it is, Corinne's heart is responding.»
Vikirnoff and Natalya spiraled down to earth, taking their natural forms, Natalya in leather, weapons everywhere. The warriors spread out, keeping MaryAnn, Skyler and Corinne with her baby in the center. Corinne's heart faltered and her legs went out from under her.
MaryAnn caught her before she could fall to the ground. She helped her to sit and knelt
beside her, screening the baby from anything that could be close and intend harm. «We need Gregori,» she said. «Someone call him.»
Skyler lifted her face to the sky and spun around, an alarmed look on her face. MaryAnn flung out a restraining arm when she went to move outside the circle, but Skyler avoided contact and stepped outside the circle to face toward the inn. «It's here again. I feel it. A steady current of energy.» She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her stomach, distaste flickering across her face. Her palm crossed over her wrist and she rubbed as if it was aching.
Vikirnoff frowned, watching her, as the others tried to identify what the younger girl was feeling. «Let me see,» he said, and reached for her wrist.
Skyler screamed and backed away from her, sheer terror on her face. She put her arm behind her back, turned and ran. Natalya signaled the men off and she went after the girl, moving with blurring speed, catching her before Skyler could get away from the protection of the warriors.
«What is it? What did you think Vikirnoff would do?» she asked gently.
Skyler stilled in her arms, her heart thundering, her mouth dry. She shook her head. «I don't know. I don't know what happened.»
Natalya touched her mind very lightly, a soft probe, and found blankness, an impenetrable wall hiding memories.
«Do you feel it?» Skyler asked, her eyes pleading with Natalya. «I'm not crazy. I can feel it disturbing the air. It's so subtle.»
Natalya inhaled sharply, opened her mind, utilizing more than her Carpathian senses. She dug down, reached for her lineage, the part of her that was mage. Her cat roared, bared teeth and lunged for the surface.
«Oh, yeah, honey, I feel it,» Natalya assured her. She hissed out a long slow breath of displeasure, turning in a wide circle, palms up in the air. «I definitely feel it.»
Is it vampire? Vikirnoff asked.
Natalya shook her head, her face paling. She turned to look at Vikirnoff, despair on her face. She stepped back away from the Carpathians as if she suddenly couldn't bear to be in their presence.
Tell me now! It was a clear command from her lifemate.
Natalya bared her teeth at him, snarled and turned away. Vikirnoff looked from her to the teenager, who was once more rubbing her wrist as if in pain.
Vikirnoff stalked Natalya with long, purposeful strides, one hand coming down hard on her shoulder, spinning her around, the other up defensively to prevent the rake of her claws. «Tell us now.»
Natalya looked up at him in utter desolation. «Mage.» She whispered the word. «I think Razvan is alive. This is a mage spell. It is why Carpathians are finding it difficult to detect. A mage is working a destruction spell. It is subtle, but I can feel it. Whoever is wielding the magick is very skilled.»