Francesca was waiting on the balcony for him, an anxious look on her usually serene face. Gabriel hadn’t attempted to keep the extent of the damage from her and she knew if she were to save Brice’s sanity, they would have to work fast. “Thank you for trying, Gabriel,” she whispered softly, her voice a velvet caress. Her eyes moved over him carefully, searching for any injury he might have sustained.
At once he felt that curious melting sensation he was becoming familiar with. She was worried about him, checking to be sure he was fine even when he was bringing her a human friend whose mind had been damaged by the undead. Francesca thought of him first, and her concern meant everything to him. “I have directed Santino and Drusilla away from the kitchen so that we can take him safely down to the chamber. Skyler is asleep in her room. See to it that she stays there.” His voice was a little bit gruff, made husky by emotion he couldn’t control. She was so beautiful standing there in the night, tall and slender with her long hair in a thick braid and love shining in her eyes.
Gabriel reached out to run his fingertip tenderly down her face. “I think there is a chance that he can be healed, Francesca, but it will be difficult. The poison is already well advanced in his system.”
“Can the vampire reach him in our home?” She was worried about young Skyler. The girl had suffered enough at the hands of a human monster; she didn’t need to witness what the undead was capable of doing.
“Unless the one using him is Lucian, there is no way he can penetrate the safeguards I have wrought. I do not believe this is Lucian’s work. But it must be an ancient to have deceived both of us as he did. He must have taken Brice’s blood some time ago. Brice is using drugs to counteract the pain in his head, but he does not understand what is happening to him. He thinks only what the vampire wishes him to think. He is a puppet now with none of his own thoughts. I warn you, Francesca, the damage is substantial. He may never be the same again.”
“I will try,” Francesca vowed as she followed him down the stairs through the kitchen and below the earth where the first chamber lay.
Gabriel placed Brice on the bed and turned to help his lifemate fill the room with the pungent odor of healing herbs. At once a frown replaced the slack expression on the doctor’s face and he moved restlessly. Gabriel took Francesca’s hand in his, brought her knuckles to the warmth of his mouth. “You know I must go back out and find this evil one. Without his death, Brice is lost no matter what we do. The vampire knows we have Brice and he is angrier than ever. We cannot keep the man a prisoner down here forever.”
Francesca turned her face away from Gabriel in an attempt to hide her expression from him. He was going back out to hunt. They both knew he had to do it, but she didn’t have to like the idea. Gabriel’s arm encircled her slender shoulders and pulled her into the shelter of his body. “I am not going to allow any vampire to defeat me, my love, when I have so much at stake. I will remove the threat to Brice’s sanity. Then we will see what can be done to heal him.”
Reluctantly he released her, his hands lingering for a moment in the wealth of her hair, crushing the thick braid in his fist. He knew she was afraid for him, but he was pleased that she refused to voice her fears, rather gave him a tentative smile to send him off.
“Do not attempt to heal this one until I return. His blood is tainted with the vampire’s blood. You cannot walk in his mind alone and unaided. Should I not return, you must get another healer to aid you before you make your attempt. Promise me, Francesca. It would be far too dangerous for you to go in without additional strength. Remember always, you carry our life within your body.”
She gave him a quick look of reprimand from under the long sweep of her lashes. “It is not necessary to remind me of either fact. I do not care to dwell on the possibility that you might not return. And I have never, for one moment, forgotten I carry our child. She is a miracle to me. I would never risk the baby, not even for Brice. You
will
return to me this night. I will expect you very soon without a mark on your body. Now go and do what you were born for.” She leaned into him, resting her body all too briefly against his, savoring the feel of him. Strong. Masculine. Powerful.
She had never expected to love him so much. And she had never expected to feel so loved. Gabriel wasn’t shy about showing her his emotions. He hungered for her with an intensity she had never dreamed of. Not simply her body, but her company, her heart and soul. He liked to be in her mind, sharing her laughter, the way she looked at life. The way she lived. He had such pride in her, such a deep belief in her.
“Gabriel.” She breathed his name, her body soft and pliant, molding itself to his. “Hurry back to me.” She had no thought of seduction—the last thing on her mind was making love—yet she felt a terrible need for him.
Gabriel filled her mind with love and warmth as he held her to him; then he was striding away, back through the tunnel to the upper stories. By the time he had reached the kitchen, he was invisible, moving fast, a cold blast of air.
This time Gabriel streamed under the door out into the garden, taking to the sky immediately. He had destroyed a minion of the vampire, had taken one of his puppets from him. The vampire would be in a rage and easy to locate. Already Gabriel could feel the disturbing vibrations in the air. They flowed through the sky, leading him like an arrow toward the vampire.
“You go to this one’s lair like an amateur. He has set a trap for you, hunter.”
Gabriel continued moving. Lucian sounded far too close for comfort. If he took a hand in the battle, there was no way to know which side he would come down on.
“Do you suggest another approach?”
Gabriel replied.
“Back off. You know better than to go into battle when the enemy is waiting for you. “
The voice was as soft and gentle as always, with no hint of a reprimand. Gabriel found himself smiling. Lucian’s presence was so familiar to him, so much a part of him.
“
I thank you for your advice, ancient one.”
The old taunt was a reminder that Lucian was older by a few minutes. Gabriel was unswerving on his path, but more alert now. He had no fear of the upcoming battle with the vampire, but his twin was a different matter,
“You are not heeding my advice.” “This one is not as powerful as those we have faced in the past.” “This one is an ancient.”
Gabriel withdrew from the merge, his mind turning over the possibilities. What was Lucian up to? He shifted his course, turning in a circle to approach from a different direction, scanning below him as he went. He was over a river, where a vast bridge covered the water. Two tubes ran along the embankment, emptying their contents into the river. The tubes were quite large and surrounded by masses of reeds. He could feel the presence of the vampire. There was a dark, malevolent feeling in the air, heavy and oppressive.
Gabriel was very familiar with the foul stench of the undead. It clogged the air as nothing else could. They were masters of illusion, presenting themselves to their human prey as handsome or beautiful, but in reality they were gaunt and gray, with receding gums and sharp, stained teeth. Gabriel felt their presence like a blow deep in his gut; he abhorred the subversion of superior gifts and talents meant to be used for good.
Below him the region looked stable, but the wind told him different. The vampire was waiting, lurking in the shadows, unseen, bloated with his own power, enraged. The scent of blood reached Gabriel just before the soft choked cry that signaled a kill. The wind carried the tale, the fear and adrenaline in the blood of the victim that would give the vampire a rush, make him even more powerful.