Page 12 (1/2)

Julian Savage hesitated outside the door to the crowded bar He had come to this city for one last errand before he would choose a Carpathian's eternal rest Almost an ancient of his race, he eary of the centuries of living in a stark, gray world void of the intense colors and eer males of his kind, or to those who had found a lifeoal to acco asked of hi daith an easyhis soul, of turning vaer should he choose It was the bleakness of his life, stretching an eternity before him, that had dictated his decision

Yet he could not refuse this errand In the long centuries of his existence, he felt he had given little to his dwindling race True, he was a vampire hunter, one of thehis people But he knew, as did most of their successful hunters, that it was the Carpathian male's killer instinct, not any special talent that ori, their people's greatest healer, second only to the Prince, had sent word to hier, was on the hit list of a fanatical society of hueted unusual mortals, as well as Carpathians, in their murderous zeal The society had very priht or feeding on blood alone rendered one soulless, evil, undead Julian and his kind were living proof that nothing could be farther from the truth

Julian knehy this task of warning and protecting the singer had been given to hiori was determined not to lose him to the dawn The healer could read as in Julian's mind, realized that he had chosen to end his barren existence But he also knew that once Julian gave his word to protect the human woman from the society of killers, he would not stop until she was safe Gregori was buying tiood

Julian had spent many lifeti his oin brother Julian was a loner even in a race made up of solitaryout, their Prince desperately atteive his people hope To find new lifemates for their males To find ways to keep their children alive, to bolster their dwindling numbers Julian, however, had no choice but to remain solitary, to run with the wolves, to soar with the birds of prey, to hunt with the panthers The few tiht a hile war or to lend his unusual strength to a good cause But he had spentalone, unseen, undetected by even his own kind

For severalthe memory of his childhood folly, that terrible moed his life

He had been but twelve sume had been upon him He had always been inseparable from his twin brother, Aidan, yet that day he had heard a far-off call A summons he couldn't resist He had been filled with the joy of discovery back then, and he had slipped away, following the lure of an unspoken promise The network of caves he discovered was honeyco wizard - personable, handsoer apprentice All he asked in return was secrecy At the age of twelve, Julian had thought it all an exciting game

Looking back, Julian questioned if he had wanted knowledge so ns He had mastered many neers, but there had come the day when the truth hit hiliness He had arrived early to the caves and hearing screa, handsome friend was the most loathsome of all creatures, a true monster, a cold-blooded killer - a Carpathian who had yielded his soul and turned vampire At twelve Julian did not have sufficient powers and skills to save the hapless victi not just sustenance, as a Carpathian would, but the subject's death

Thatblood The unearthly screams The horror

Then caripped hih to shter Then the teeth - fangs noere tearing into his body, painful and vulgar But, worse, Julian wasn't allowed death, as the vaiven his other victims He remembered the way the undead creature had slashed his orist and forced it to Julian's mouth, had brutally forced hie blood with the inning the process that could make Julian his slave, that connected them for all time

The shaun to use the boy even against his will, as his eyes and ears, to spy on those of his former race he noished to destroy He had the talent to eavesdrop through Julian on the Prince or the healer when the boy was near them He had taunted Julian that he would use him to destroy his own brother Aidan And Julian had known it was possible; he had felt the darkness spreading within hih his own Several times Aidan had escaped by a nized he had inadvertently set himself, under the vampire's insidious compulsion

And so, o, Julian had made a vow to lead a solitary life, to keep his people and his beloved twin safe froes of their society, gaining a Carpathian's true strength and knowledge until he was old enough to strike out on his own His people's blood still beating strongly in him, he did his best to live his life honorably, did his best to fight the gathering darkness and the continual assaults the vaes with the undead and had hunted and killed countless other vampires, but the one who had fashioned his life so brutally always eluded him

Julian was now taller and more muscular than many of his race, and whileof old, with long, thick blond hair he tied at the nape of his neck with a leather thong His eyes were a fire to hypnotize his prey Now, though, he gazed about the street, seeing nothing yet to account for his unease, and he moved forward like the predator he was, fluidly,beneath his sleek skin When need be he could be as still as theHe could be the rush of the wind, like floater

He had treues, but he was always alone

In his younger years he had spent much time in Italy; more recently he had lived in New Orleans, in the French Quarter, where his aura of o he had given up his ho last, after this one re task, his duty and honor would be satisfied He saw no reason to continue his existence

Julian heard the conversations, so many of them, from the interior of the bar He felt the excitement of those inside The patrons see to hear Evidently the band was intensely popular, and recording co for deals, but the perforn with anyone Instead, they traveled like old-fashioned minstrels or troubadours, fro outsideonly their own songs The odd, reclusive nature of the troupe, along with the lead singer's voice, described as hauntingly beautiful, ical, had drawn the unwanted attention of the society of vampire hunters

Julian inhaled deeply, and caught the scent of blood Instantly hunger beat at hiht He stood outside, unseen by the huuards silently standing at the entrance He would go in, deliver his warning to the singer of the danger she was in, and get out Hopefully the woman would listen, and his duty would be done If not, he would have no choice but to continue to endure his terrible solitary existence until he could er wanted to endure

He began h the crowd At the door stood the twohair looked like souely falided past, hidden fro the crush of hu hair turned his head alertly, black eyes searching restlessly, resting on Julian briefly even though Julian was invisible The guard was clearly uneasy Out of the corner of his eye, Julian saw hi back to follow Julian's progress through the crowded bar

Julian's white teeth flashed with a predator's gleauard had well tuned, radarlike senses, unusual for a ht be worth his weight in gold should there be an actual attack on the woman

The cold air Julian pushed before hi crowds; he didn't even have to slon He glanced at the stage set up for the performers, then walked toward the back rooms As he did so the hu the fae to his mouth He knew there was a hint of cruelty there, the cold mask of the hunter Then he ser before he had?

Swearing silently, eloquently, Julianroo her way to the stage with the other members of the band Only two beautiful leopards with spotted fur were curled up in a corner of the s toward hier and heavier than reen eyes, fixed on hience It was also unusual to see the two together, as leopards were generally solitary creatures Like Julian

"Where is she, my friends?" he asked softly "I have come to save her life Tell me where she is before her enemies kill her"

The , sharp canines that could grab, hold, and puncture its prey The fe Julian felt the familiar sense of brotherhood he always did when he encountered a member of the Panthera pardus family, and yet, when he reached for the leopards' minds, he found he couldn't control either easily He succeeded only in confusing thean its , head down, eyes fixed on him, its slow- a kill Julian didn't want to have to kill such a beautiful, rare creature, so he quickly slipped out of the roo the door firmly behind him, and headed toward the sound of thunderous applause

The band began to play the opening to the first song Then he heard the wo in the air like silver and gold shi with fire He actually saw the notes, saw the silver and gold dancing in front of his eyes Julian stopped dead in his tracks, shock ripping through him He stared at the hallway The tattered, faded wallpaper was edged with red It had been well over eight hundred years since Julian had seen anything in color It was the fate of Carpathian males beyond their youth to lose all sense of color, to lose their eainst their predatory natures, unless a lifeoodness and light Only then would color and emotion - powerful emotion - be restored to them But females were rare, and surely one such as Julian would never be blessed with a mate Yet his heart jumped in his chest

He felt excitement Hope Emotion Real emotion Colors were so vivid that they nearly blinded hih his body, touched hihtened; need slammed into him Julian stood frozen to the spot The colors, the e so sharply could onlythat voice had to be his lifemate

It was impossible Totally impossible to believe Thefor the one woman that was their other half Male Carpathians were predatory, with the instincts of dark, hungry killers, cunning, quick, and lethal After their short tihter and adventure, it was all over as they lost the ability to feel, to see in colors There was nothing left but a solitary, barren existence

Julian's existence had been especially unbearable, alienated as he was froht have ray centuries a bit easier to endure But he had known he was locked to Aidan through their blood tie, and every ether increased the vaered his brother So Julian had fled his people, never telling any of them, not even his beloved brother, the terrible truth He had done the honorable thing, as he had only his honor left to him

Now Julian stood numbly in the narrow hall, unable to believe that his life moment of emotion and color, to believe that he could possibly deserve such a thing

Many Carpathian males turned vampire after centuries of a life filled with no hope Without emotions, power - the power to hunt and kill - see a danger to mortals and ireeting the daaiting for the sunlight to destroy bodies meant to live in darkness Only a handful actually found their other half, the light to their darkness, the one who could make them complete After nearly a thousand years of bleak existence, afterthe decision to gling for control of him, conquered him, Julian could scarcely believe he had found his true lifemate But the colors and emotions and hope said that it was true

The woman's voice - throaty, husky, erotic - held the proht It played over his skin like fingers, tantalizing, enticing, sinfully sexy Itdistance; it haunted and captivated The notes danced, pure and beautiful, weaving a spell of enchantment around Julian, around every listener

Julian knew nothing of this woori had sent hier from the human society of vampire hunters Evidently the Prince wished her and those traveling with her to be protected if necessary The society of ht to destroy theer, Desari, with her haunting voice and eccentric ways Most of the society's victih the heart Worse, some victims were kept alive to be tortured and dissected Julian listened to the beautiful voice Desari sounded like an angel singing, her voice not of the earth

Then a screa It was followed by a second screa out, then a volley of bullets thudding into flesh andshook with the force of feet pounding across the floor as the patrons raced to get out of the line of fire

Julian moved so quickly that he blurred as he shimmered into a solidthe place as fast as they could, running over each other in the process People were yelling in terror Tables and chairs were smashed and broken The three e, instruunfire with sixinto the crowd as they tried to escape

Julian went straight for the stage He pushed aside one male body and found the still form of the woman, Desari, sprawled on the platfor out like a veil Blood pooled under her, staining her royal blue dress He had no time to examine her features further; the worst wound wasInstinctively he fashioned a quick visual barrier, blurring the stage fro eyes In the pandemonium, he doubted if any would notice

He lifted Desari easily into his arms, found a weak pulse, and placed a hand over the wound Blocking out the chaos around hi outside his body and into hers The entrance wound was sh her body, ripping internal organs and tissue He sealed the wounds to prevent further blood loss before taking her deeper into the shadows With one lengthening fingernail, he opened a wound in his own chest

You are o quietly toyou The world could not conceive of such a monster as I would become You must drink, piccola, for yourself, your life, for ether Drink now

He gave the co her to squirm away from his iron will Before this moment, before Desari, he had chosen to destroy himself rather than wait until it was too late and he had beco and destroying For tying Desari to hiht deserve death a hundred times over, but he would take what destiny offered him

After long, eed He could feel He could see the brilliance of the colors in the world His body was alive with needs and desire, not sier for blood Power and strength ran through hih his muscles, and he felt it

Felt it She would not die He would not allow such a thing

Never

Not after centuries of co black chasm, an abyss of darkness, there was now a connection Real

Felt

His blood was ancient blood, filled with healing strength, filled with power His life flowed into her, forging a bond that could not be broken He began to whisper to her in the ancient language Ritual words Words that would make their hearts one, words that would weave the tattered reether and seal them irrevocably for all time

For one led to do the honorable thing, struggled to give her up, to allow her to live without the terrible burden he carried But he wasn't strong enough The words renched out of his soul, from deep where they had been buried

I clai to you I offer iance,the same that is yours Your life, happiness, and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time You are my lifemate, bound to me for eternity and always in my care

Julian felt tears burning in his eyes Here was another dark sin for his soul This tiainst the woman he should protect above all else His mouth brushed her silky hair, and very softly he issued the command that she cease to drink He was already weak froe volume of his blood weakened his, his body, i her on his mind for all time

The warning caainst a chair, but it was enough Julian sprang away fro towhite teeth This was a huge leopard, a good two hundred pounds, and it sprang at hie, inky eyes fixed on him with lethal malevolence Julian leapt into the air toas he did so, his body stretching, contorting, golden fur rippling over heavy muscle as he took another form to meet the deadly threat

They eand tearing with claws and teeth The black leopard seeht to the death, but Julian hoped to save its life The black cat arched in a half circle, swiping at Julian, and Julian felt the rake of razor-sharp claws ripping into his side He lunged for his opponent andfurrows on its belly The panther hissed softly with hate and defiance, with renewed detereance

Julian reached for the beast'sfrenzy, a need to destroy Agilely he sprung away He did not want to kill the beautiful ani experience, this creature was enor and skilled And it did not respond to his many attempts to seize control of its mind

He swore as the panther crouched protectively over the wo toward hi leopard The intelligent ebony eyes focused on his face in the unnerving, unblinking stare only a leopard could produce The cat ht to the death or flee He had given the woman precious blood he didn't have to spare, and now the four long furrows torn deep into his side were dripping the liquid of life onto the floor in a steady stream

The cat was too strong, too experienced a killing machine Julian could not risk it His lifemate's fate was now tied to his He sensed no anie panther, rather, a need to protect her From Desari's mind he picked up memories of love for the anioldendefiance, not submission

The black panther was clearly torn between following hi up that information from the panther reassured Julian evento blunder by har a creature his lifemate loved

Then another attack caing aside so that the second leopard landed where he had been It snarled in rage Julian bolted, leaping for the bar, then a table, his powerful back legs digging into the smooth surface for purchase A third cat blocked the entrance, but Julian sprang and hit it squarely, knocking it off its feet Then instantly he was gone, dissolving into thin air

As ht He didn't fool hi toward the ocean were his blood The cats could track hih distance between they to put on a burst of speed while holding his i out into the night air Julian suy to close the wounds in his body to prevent further blood loss

Totally bewildered, he went over every move he had made inside the bar Why hadn't the black cat responded to his mind control? He had never before failed to mesmerize an animal The panther's mind was not like any other he had encountered In any case, he should have easily defeated a panther, but the black er than any leopard he had met with in the wild

And the cats had been working in unison, so not natural for the species Julian was positive the large panther had been so the actions of the other two And they had been protective of Desari, not treating her as prey

Julian turned his attention back to the more immediate threat to his lifemate Somewhere out there were six humans who had attempted to kill her, an innocent wo a voice froht until he had tracked theain He still had the stench of them in his nostrils The cats would take care of his lifemate until he returned to her His job noas to defeat the assassins, bring Carpathian justice to theer to Desari as quickly as possible

He gave a fleeting thought to his need for blood, the wounds he had sustained, and the possibility of thehim, but decided all that didn't o free He turned back inland and strea He hoped to avoid detection by the leopard's superior sense of sh time and space, he touched theout of her unconsciousness She would need to heal, but he discovered that she was alive and being cared for Pandened at the bar, with police and ambulances everywhere Likely by now the cats were locked up securely