Gregori inclined his head, his attention remaining on holding his daughters to their mother while they struggled and clung to life. «You must hurry.»
The weariness in Gregori's voice shook Razvan. He knew how difficult it was to remove a fragment of evil, and Gregori was already stretched thin from trying to keep his children and lifemate alive.
«Can you hold off the birth three or four hours to give Ivory the chance to test whether or not she can neutralize the mutated microbes within Syndil?»
«She is advancing fast. I will try.» Gregori sounded doubtful.
«What of the boy, Travis?» Razvan had great sympathy for the child. Travis obviously loved Falcon and tried to look and act like him. He followed the Carpathian everywhere. He would be ashamed at having attacked Mikhail, even though he wasn't to blame.
Just as you were not, Ivory pointed out, her fingers tightening around his.
«Travis will be fine,» Gregori said. «I removed the fragment and destroyed it. There are two left. We checked everyone who was there. I know you are clean of the mage's taint, but are you certain one did not enter Ivory?»
«Ivory is clean of his evil as well.»
«Then two more fragments are making their way back to Xavier. They will need hosts.» Gregori sighed. «That was my mistake. I wasn't fast enough to incinerate them.»
«I doubt you could have done much in the midst of an all-out battle,» Razvan said. «I am glad the boy is all right.»
«He loves Mikhail as well as Falcon.» Gregori stopped abruptly and shook his head. They both knew the psychological damage the child would have from the incident.
Razvan took a breath and his gaze met Ivory's across the room, knowing she was thinking exactly what he was-Xavier had to be destroyed. He started to clap Gregori on the shoulder in sympathy, but let his hand fall to his side. He'd never had friends, and was unsure the protocol one used.
Ivory looked around the healing chamber. «I need a different place. Somewhere quiet. Healer, you must have a laboratory.»
«Shea does,» Syndil answered. «A very good one. I can take you there.»
«Hurry,» Gregori urged. «Francesca and I will do what we can.»
Savannah let out a muffled sob and shook her head. «The little one, Gregori. She is so weak. I am losing her.»
Ivory had taken a step away to follow Syndil but she turned back toward the birthing bed to see Gregori crouch down beside his lifemate. The frightening Carpathian who always looked invincible and all-powerful seemed so weary and more vulnerable than she thought possible. She hesitated and then went back to him. «Do you talk to her?»
«Yes, but she is not listening.» There was a wealth of sorrow in Gregori's voice.
Ivory looked around her at the quietly sobbing women. Even Raven could not hold back her tears. Ivory bit down on her lip and closed her eyes. At once the anguish emanating from the women assailed her.
Gregori, feel the energy in this room. If she is highly sensitive, she will feel what I do-what you do. They believe-you believe-all of you believe she is already lost. Let me talk to her through you, through our connection. I have some experience with the will to live. Meanwhile, change the atmosphere in here. Anyone who cannot remain positive must remove their presence from this chamber.
Gregori looked at her and then to Francesca. He was too close to the sorrow, and Savannah's anguish consumed him. Francesca nodded her head.
Thank you. Gregori said. Please do speak to her.
The singing changed to the Carpathian lullaby, a soft musical melody, voices raised in song to soothe the babies as labor continued.
Little one. Your trial is great. You must rise above it and cling to life. Endure. I have fought to stay upon this earth, and though it is difficult, I know it is worth it. You are destined for greatness. Let me tell you a story of a great man, a healer among his people, a warrior unsurpassed and his princess. A beautiful woman with long, flowing hair and violet eyes. They love one another very much, but there is a terrible mage, a great wizard, who wishes to keep them apart.
The infants stopped slipping from the safety of Savannah's womb; instead, they pulled back to listen to the rise and fall of her voice, mesmerized by the story she began. Your father will continue the story and tell you of the two little girls, mere babies, but strong beyond belief, who rose up to defeat the evil mage.
She couldn't bring herself to put her hand on Gregori's shoulder to comfort him, so she gave him a quick, encouraging smile. «I told myself many such stories to hold despair at bay. Make them the heroines of the tale, and make the story long and involved and exciting so they listen and concentrate on that. I will work as quickly as I can.»
Ivory waited for Gregori to pick up the story where she had left off. The voices around him fell into a soft accompaniment, lending excitement to the tale the healer wove for his daughters. Savannah added her own voice when she could to bring the tale to life.
Ivory and Razvan followed Syndil out of the caves and together they hurried to the building chiseled into the cliffs. Inside the large main room, Shea, a Carpathian woman with bright red hair, and the human, Gary, who Ivory had already met, worked together with a seamless efficiency that suggested they had worked side by side for a long time and were used to a certain rhythm.
Another woman, who Syndil introduced as Gabrielle, was in a smaller room peering into a microscope. Ivory immediately recognized the silken pouches containing the soil samples she'd brought along with the open book of her records.
Shea whirled around. «I can't believe you have done this,» she greeted. «How did you discover this? These life-forms are foreign to me. I've never seen them before. What are they? Where did they come from?»
Gabrielle looked up. «They seem to be abnormally high in iron.» She stood up and crossed the room, a graceful woman. «I have studied all kinds of organisms and this is new to me as well.»
«Which is why I was concerned with just dumping them in the soil,» Ivory explained. «They will spread, and I believe they will eventually destroy all the mutated microbes, but I have not had enough time to determine what else could happen. I do not know the effect on humans or any other species. Plants. Insects. I have no idea.»
«They don't touch the normal microbes,» Shea said. «You're right, we have to be cautious, but I think you may have found our answer. We need you to work with us.»
Ivory forced herself not to back away from the group. She was unused to being the center of attention and certainly was never in such close proximity to people crowding her.
Razvan. She reached to him for reassurance. The moment she did, she was annoyed with herself. She had become dependent on him.
His soft laughter eased the knots in her stomach. He was there instantly, flooding her mind with warmth. As you should be dependent on me. There is still a part of you that would like to run from me.
That is not true. Well, it might be true, but she wasn't admitting it to herself. She was braver than that.
His voice softened. Went tender. I am always with you, Ivory. In your heart and mind. We share the same soul. Always, o jela sielamak-light of my soul.
Ivory forced a smile as she looked at the research team gathered around her. «I will help as soon as I have tried these reversing spells. Before I try this on Syndil, I want to try it on mutated microbes in the soil. If I can come up with a spell to reverse what Xavier has wrought, then I can teach it to all of you. Any Carpathian should be able to use it. It will be a temporary solution until the new organisms do their job and cleanse the soil. And until we can go to the source of the microbes and destroy it for all time.