Dark Celebration (Dark #17)

Dark Celebration (Dark #17) Page 16

The sound of music filled the small house Dayan, of the Dark Troubadours, occupied with his family. Two guitars played softly as Dayan's voice rose in a lullaby. Abruptly, Corinne put down her guitar, leaned over the crib and shook her head. "She's not going to sleep, Dayan, not even with that beautiful song you wrote for her. She knows we re having Christmas tonight and she wants to go."

Dayan put his own guitar aside and tried to look stern as he stood beside his lifemate over their infant daughter. She was tiny, barely fifteen pounds now, yet she looked back at them with far too much intelligence, and he was very much afraid she ruled their lives. She was just such a miracle to them both, and they had fought so hard for her-were still fighting. Her little body was fragile, although her will was strong.

"Young lady, you are supposed to be taking a nap."

One small hand waved toward his face. His heart lurched in his chest the way it always did when he looked at his child. She didn't look in the least bit sleepy as she cooed at him, coaxing him with her wide open eyes to pick her up. "She takes after you," he murmured. "With that little stubborn streak. Too beautiful for words, and wanting her own way, even when it isn't good for her."

Corinne nudged him with her hip, but it was too late; the smile had slipped out and the baby saw it. She smiled back at Dayan and he was lost. He reached down and picked her up, cuddling her close.

"Little Miss Jen, you are so naughty," Corinne said. "I was just about to go for a run too, before all the madness starts. Now what am I going to do with you?"

"She likes to go. We can put her in the pack," Dayan said.

"It's too cold."

Dayan leaned down to nuzzle his daughter's face. "She's getting good at regulating her body temperature and we can dress her warm. Were taking her to the inn later, and that's not much different. She wants to go, Corinne. She loves it when you run with her."

Corinne loved to run. She'd had a bad heart all of her life, preventing her from doing anything physical, and now that she was Carpathian, she couldn't run enough. It made her feel free and whole and so very happy. Back home in the States, she ran with a stroller, so Baby Jennifer could feel the same happiness flowing through her, but here, in the mountains of Romania, the trails were too rough for the stroller and she was afraid of jarring the baby if she used the front-pack.

"I need to run and I do love taking her with me. Running clears my mind and after all this cooking and helping Sara with the children, sewing costumes and rehearsals, I definitely could use some exercise," Corinne explained.

"Baby," he said, one hand curling around the nape of her neck to bring her head to his. He kissed her, a slow gentle declaration of his love. "You don't ever have to make excuses to me. If you want to go out for a run, then we will. It isn't safe to go by yourself, but we don't mind going with you, do we, Jen?"

The baby smiled up at them both, happy to have her way.

"I wouldn't be alone," Corinne tried one last time, reluctant to take the infant out in the cold. "I scanned and Nicolae and Destiny with several others are quite close to the house. I'd be safe with them. You can stay here and keep warm."

"We're going with you, but you have to carry the baby," Dayan said decisively. "It will just take us a minute to get ready." He was already changing the baby's clothes, wrapping her snugly in warm clothes and donning his own outdoor gear. "You know you won't be able to run in the snow like normal. You'll have to use your abilities, to skim lightly over the surface. It takes a little bit of concentration, but you'll get the hang of it. While you're doing it, you'll still have to keep the baby's motion to a minimum."

"You're certain you want to do this with me?"

"Yes." He wasn't about to let her go out alone, and he needed his hands free in order to defend them both should there be need.

Corinne adjusted the front-pack and waited until Dayan had put the baby down into it, securing her and wrapping her up with a tiny hooded jacket. "With all the Carpathians in the area, don't you think it would be suicide for a vampire to attack one of us? Look what happened to the one who went after Juliette De La Cruz. I think he must have had a death wish. The De La Cruz brothers are just plain scary."

"The De La Cruz family was always very powerful, according to Darius. He says they are ancients, somewhat secretive, and have very incredible skills. He has a great deal of respect for their power, and coming from Darius, that's saying a lot."

"So why would a vampire target a De La Cruz woman? I'm telling you, none of this makes sense. Most of the women here are probably descendents of the jaguar line. Juliette definitely has stronger blood ties to that lineage than most, but still, the vampire drew her out. Didn't he? Wasn't he specific to her fears?"

"I don't really know. There's been some talk about it, but no one really knows what's going on. But that was the second attack, Corinne," Dayan reminded. "Lesser vampires are often used by much more powerful ones. I'm not willing to take any chances. I think we've got one hanging around waiting for an opportunity and it isn't going to be with my family."

"I still say they'd be utterly stupid to hang around here with so many Carpathian hunters gathered in one spot. Why would they do that?"

Dayan shrugged. "It's an old battle tactic. Harassing the lines continually eventually weakens them. And they are definitely striking at our women now." He glanced at the baby. And our children.

Maybe we shouldn't go then. I can do without running this evening. I just was cooped up for so long with all those children. I don't know how Sara does it. One is enough for me.

Ours is a handful. Dayan bent to brush a kiss across the back of the baby's head. "We

take precautions, Corinne. We don't change our lives. You want to go running, we'll go. And like you said, it's good practice for you. The more you practice using Carpathian methods, the better you'll be at them. We'll be safe enough with all the others in the area as well. We'll head toward them."

"Falcon dropped by to take most of the food to the inn already, so nearly everything is done," Corinne said, as she opened the door. "He and Sara were going over the last minute rehearsals with the kids. The children are so excited. Even for Falcon, they wouldn't calm down, and they adore him."

"I noticed Jen really responds to him as well," Dayan said, turning back to add safeguards around the house. He didn't want any surprises when they returned. Corinne had embraced the Carpathian life, his way of life, and she'd never looked back, seemingly had no regrets, but it was important to him that she never did. He had come so close to losing her-losing both mother and child-and he wanted her life to be smooth and happy-to give her anything he could.

Corinne put her hand on his arm and smiled up at him, her heart in her eyes. "Falcon's gentle like you and the children respond to that. You're such a poet, Dayan."

He groaned softly, tucking away the fact that he was secretly pleased she saw him that way. "Don't let Darius hear you say that. I'll never hear the end of it."

She laughed as she began a slow jog, skimming over the snow, trying to get the feel of how to place her feet to stay on the surface. "You're all so afraid of Darius. Have you even watched him with Tempest? He's a total pushover. He just can't be that scary."

"You even say that about Gregori," Dayan pointed out, keeping pace with her.

"He was wonderful to me and to the baby. The man is a teddy bear."

Dayan snorted. "I've heard him called a lot of things, but teddy bear is not one of them."

She shot him a small loving smile. Dayan felt his heart melt. She did it so easily. A look. A touch. And his world was right. All those years on the stage with so many women throwing themselves at him, not seeing him, not caring who he was. And then Corinne. She'd given him life.

"You gave it to me," she said softly, showing him she was becoming adept at being a shadow in his mind. "You gave me life." For a moment she reached out to take his hand, connecting all three of them. Baby, mother and father.

Dayan's heart swelled. He loved having a family. He would always love it.

Corinne shot him a mischievous smile. "Keep up, music man." She bolted, running like a machine, smooth and fluid, her body moving easily, heart and lungs in perfect synchronization. Dayan ran behind her because he loved to watch her run. It was something

she had wanted more than anything, something that had been denied her all of her life. Others took it for granted, but Corinne enjoyed every single step she took. He could always feel her enjoyment, and he knew the baby felt it too. Jennifer always loved to go running with her mother, and Dayan knew it was the waves of happiness rolling off Corinne that both he and his daughter wanted to bask in.

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."

Vikirnoff felt the sorrow, the devastation in her. Razvan was not only her brother, but her twin. She had been the one to throw the sword to end his life. They had not recovered his body and no one knew for certain if he had died. Razvan was a terrible enemy. Part Carpathian, part mage and now vampire as well, he was able to do what no other had done. He had formed an alliance with the vampires and he had fathered children when it was thought impossible.

Vikirnoff brought his hand up to the nape of Natalya's neck, joining them together. We do not know if it is Razvan. It could be Xavier, our mortal enemy, or any of his trained followers. And if it is Razvan, how would Skyler feel him? How would she ever detect a mage spell? She was the one earlier in the woods recognizing the flow of power. Only then was Alexandria able to feel it. Mikhail sent the word to all of us.

Natalya took a deep breath and turned to the teenager. She knelt down in front of her, taking both hands. "I know it is hard to touch others, and to remember much about your past, Skyler, but sometimes it is necessary."

Skyler shook her head and tried to back away. "I can't. I don't want to."

Ask her about her wrist. Why it is aching when she is feeling the weaves of the dark mage.

Natalya held Skyler firmly, preventing her from moving. "Just answer a couple of questions. Why does your wrist ache?"

"My wrist?" Skyler looked confused.

"Yes, you're rubbing it whenever you talk about the feeling of power in the air. Does your wrist hurt?"

Skyler frowned. "It burns and throbs as if..." She trailed off and cradled her wrist close to her body, glancing uneasily at Vikirnoff.

"As if someone had torn it open and used you for feeding?" Natalya persisted.

Skyler shook her head. "I want to go home. Right now." Gabriel! Lucian! She struggled against Natalya's hold on her, tears forming in her eyes.

"Okay, honey. We're going to take you home, but something is wrong with Corinne's heart. You don't want her to die, do you?" Natalya persisted. "Not if we can help her."

Dayan swore aloud. "I've called the healer. Corinne can't maintain her heart alone. I'm doing it for her. Someone take the baby."

Skyler choked back her tears. "I don't know how to help her."

"Do you have a birthmark?"

Skyler drew in her breath sharply and shook her head again.

"Any mark at all? Like a tattoo? Of a dragon maybe?"

Skyler burst into tears, shame on her face. "How did you know? Nobody knows. I've never told anyone, not even Francesca. It's faded most of the time. My father said he branded me because I was his property to rent out and everyone would know to give me back." Her voice was so low it was barely audible.

Natalya sank back on her heels, the tiger in her struggling for supremacy as her anger rose. Her hair banded with color and her eyes began to change color. "That man was not your birth father, Skyler, and he didn't brand you. The rotten bastard."

"He was. He was always with me." Skyler nearly shouted it, this time, shaking off Natalya's restraining hands. "He was my father."

Gabriel and Lucian materialized on either side of the girl, and she flung herself into Gabriel's arms. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "Would someone like to explain?"

Vikirnoff did so. What could have traumatized her even more than the brutality of the father she had that she dare not remember it, Gabriel?

You think Razvan fathered her?

We know he was alive that entire time and that he fathered Colby Jansen. We know he had other children, that he wanted them for their blood. If she carries the mark of the dragon, she is Dragonseeker. It would explain so many things about her.

But why would we not know, Vikirnoff? Francesca and I have often been in her mind, distancing her from the brutality of her childhood.

"Gabriel," Skyler looked up at him. "I know you're talking to them about me. What is it? What do they think about me?"

He stroked back her hair. "They think you are from a very special lineage among our people. That is why you are so rare a talent."

Natalya stood up, glancing over to where Gregori had materialized beside Corinne. The young woman lay in the snow, her face pale, beads of sweat dotting her brow while she struggled for every breath.

"Her heart appears to be normal," Gregori said. "Yet it is not functioning as if it is. I can breathe for her, but it is impossible to reverse what is not wrong."

Natalya moved away from the others. "Take Skyler and go. She should be guarded at all times. Send word to Rafael to guard Colby. Just in case. I will do battle with this mage and see which of us is the stronger." There was determination on her face. She put more distance between them.

She lifted her hands and sketched a sign in the air. At once they could see a grid of arcing light pulsing in the snow-filled sky. It was faint but there, a trace of brightness with veins everywhere, scattered across the sky like a giant net.

Skyler shook her head. "Don't let her do it. Stop!" She wrenched herself out of Gabriel's arms and ran to Natalya. "He's aware of us. If he knows who you are, where you are, he'll find you. He can always find you."

"I'm aware of him," Natalya said. "And I can find him. It's no good living your life afraid, Skyler. Whatever he's done to you, whatever anyone has, you have to take your life back. You're strong enough and you have Gabriel and Francesca to guide you. Go with Gabriel and trust me to do this."

Skyler hesitated, then shook her head. "If you do it, then I will too."

Natalya smiled at her. "I am the granddaughter of the dark mage. I have Dragonseeker blood in my veins and I am well versed in the magick of the old ways. Even if it is Xavier, my grandfather, I am a match for him. Don't be afraid for me." She avoided her lifemate's gaze. Both knew if it was her twin brother, she might hesitate at the wrong time. She felt Vikirnoff moving in her, coiling to strike should there be need.

"Get it done," Gregori ordered. "Dayan and I cannot hold this failing heart forever."

Natalya turned back to the sky and examined the flickering veins of light stretching across the sky. Each was faint, but she could follow the threads, all leading back to one source. One primary source.

"They're different weaves," Skyler pointed out.

"Gabriel," Natalya called. "If it is either Xavier or Razvan, I could be in trouble and so could Skyler. Don't allow this."

"I have to do this," Skyler pleaded. "I've been afraid every minute of my existence. I don't even know why some of the time, but it's tied to this." She rubbed her wrist where it burned and throb. "I try to remember why I'm afraid, but then my head hurts and I can't."

Natalya spun around. "Vikirnoff!" His name was a cry for help. "It was Razvan. That is what Xavier did to us, hid our memories of him behind a wall of pain. Razvan took Skyler's blood. He fed off his own child. And somehow her mother ran, got them both away from him and that's how she ended up with that brute of a man, another monster she couldn't get away from."

Vikirnoff circled her waist, drawing her back against him in an effort to comfort her, but she stepped away, furious with her twin, so furious her tiger leapt to the surface, all claws and teeth, banding her hair and turning her eyes blue and then opaque.

Natalya didn't wait for the others to get clear. She didn't wait for Gabriel to give permission for his adopted daughter to participate; she simply looked to the sky, wove a response and sent it slamming through the veins of light, crashing each and every vein, destroying the entire network.

Sparks of light lit the sky and rained down. Lightning edged the clouds and whips scorched the ground. The earth trembled beneath their feet. Somewhere, far off, they heard a scream of agony. At once there was silence as shock registered.

"Get back," Natalya ordered her lifemate. She actually shoved him with one arm, trying to put distance between them. She sprinted to her left and ducked, just as lightning struck where she'd been standing. The sound was deafening. Ice arrows rained down, slamming to the ground with a terrible rhythm.

The men rushed toward her, but Vikirnoff waved them back. "See to the others. She is mage, and she can defeat our enemy. We will only get in her way."

Natalya kept running, drawing fire away from the others, her hands weaving a complicated pattern in the sky. At once the arrows melted. Droplets of water fell harmlessly. She drew clouds from the sky, blew warm air and spun it between her palms, all the while whispering to Mother Nature. Clapping her hands suddenly together, she sent it skyward. At once a thundercloud burst into the air, climbing high, shooting upward rapidly, building speed until it became a whirling vortex, spinning rapidly and spawning vicious destructive winds.

Natalya continued to weave her spell, drawing the bitter cold from the snow, the ice from the trees, spinning it together into a long solid spear of ice. She sent it upward, straight into the middle of the raging thundercloud.

Skyler's gasp was audible as Natalya sent the tornadoes slamming to earth, aiming them precisely, using the flow of energy from their enemy. "She hit him," she whispered. "I felt it. She hit him hard. The ice spear was in the tornado and he didn't see or expect it. She hit him dead center. His influence is gone. Is Corinne all right?"

"He's not finished," Natalya warned, already moving from her position. "Never think its over, Skyler." Vikirnoff, cover the others, he'll retaliate there.

The men hastily wove a shield as fire rained from the sky, hot embers that sizzled and hissed as they hit the trees and landed in the snow.

Natalya knew the enemy was on the move. She'd wounded him and he was simply trying to gain time. She took to the air, Vikirnoff with her, wings beating strongly to try to find him before he crawled back into whatever hole he'd come out of.

"I want to be able to do that," Skyler said in awe. "Can I do that, Gabriel? Am I capable?"

"If you are what Natalya suspects, then there's a good chance you have a natural ability."

"She wasn't afraid of him. I could see it on her face. And I could feel his fear. He was afraid of her?"

"Yes, he was," Gabriel agreed. "And with good reason." He didn't point out that as strong and as powerful as Natalya was, so was their greatest enemy. Instead, he wrapped his arm around his daughter. "I think you're going to stay with me every second until we make it to the inn for our celebration."

"I think he's staying at the inn," Skyler said.

Gabriel exchanged a long look with Lucian. "We checked it out once, honey, but we will again. Lucian will go. Now that Natalya has scored a hit on him, maybe he will be easier to identify."

Lucian immediately shimmered into transparency, became mist and streaked in the direction of the inn.

Gregori helped Corinne to her feet. "I have examined you and your heart is perfect. There is no further need to fear anything could go wrong with it."

"Was it really an illusion? The mage trading on my worst fears?" Corinne asked. "How could he know?"

"He is already gone and left behind nothing to identify him." Vikirnoff and Natalya returned, hand in hand, striding to Corinne's side.

"He doesn't actually know your worst fear," Natalya explained. "The spell works on each person it touches differently. Whatever your particular fear is, that is what takes hold of you. In your case, you fear something will happen to your heart, so it did. In Alexandria's case, she relived the attack on her and thought that the vampire was still alive and stalking her. Each person will see what they fear and yes, it can become real enough to kill."

"What should we do in the future if something like that happens?" Corinne asked.

"Mage spells, especially if they know what they are doing, are difficult. Half of the

safeguards used are mage spells-more than half," Natalya explained. "Fortunately, over the years, since the war with Xavier, they have been changed enough and personalized enough that most mages couldn't figure them out without you knowing, but so many of the other spells are quite lethal. You're all going to have to take that into consideration now, when you feel an attack. I'll start working on simple reverse spells that will have to do until I can see what we're up against. But it's obvious the mages are working with the vampires."

"Do you really think I'm like you?" Skyler asked.

"Let Francesca examine you. Show her the mark, Skyler, and don't be afraid of it. If the dragon is a birthmark, it is a good symbol, not a bad one. Razvan was once a great man. Anything he did as a vampire, was not the true man."

"Why are there so many monsters in the world?" Skyler burst out. "Why can't everyone just get along?"

"I don't have the answer to that," Natalya said, brushing back the girl's hair. "You've been through a lot and most of it was not good, but you have the opportunity to become whatever it is you would like. Don't let fear stop you. Let Gabriel and Francesca find out what's behind that wall in your mind. Once you know, it can't hurt you anymore. Isn't that right, MaryAnn? Isn't it better to have the knowledge and just deal with it than lock it away and not understand why we're afraid?"

MaryAnn kissed the baby's brow and carefully put her back in the front-pack so she could snuggle against her mother's chest. "I believe it's better. I'm a great believer that the more knowledge one has, the more empowered they are. You think you don't have courage, Skyler, but you found a way to survive when few others could have."

"And you aren't alone," Destiny said. "There are millions of survivors. We refuse to be victims. We rebuild our lives, and maybe we aren't ever what is considered normal, but we're strong and we lead happy lives. Don't let your past take that away from you."

"Don't ever think you don't belong," Corinne added. "All of us"-she gestured to encompass everyone there-"we all stand together. And you belong here with us."

Gabriel hugged her again. "Francesca is anxious to see you." He lifted her into his arms and took off into the night with her.

"Are we going to pull this party off tonight?" Dayan asked.

"We'd better," Corinne said. "After all the work that went into it. And the children are really anxious. We can't let them down. Fighting off vampires and now, mage attacks, is just part of our lives, just like you told me earlier. Now that we know what is happening, we can find a way to prevent it. I don't want them to stop us from living our lives, any more than we want Skyler not to be living hers."

Dayan slung his arm around Corinne and pulled her close to him. Now that her heart was

beating just fine, his was accelerating overtime. "I'm thinking, just for a while, I might wrap the two of you up in that bubble wrap and keep you safe on a shelf. Thank you, Gregori. I'm sorry to have interrupted your evening."

"It was an interesting puzzle," Gregori said. "I want to get together later with you, Natalya, so we can begin working together to keep such things from happening."

Natalya nodded. "Of course. Right now I'm heading over to the inn to see if I can help Lucian spot any likely candidates. Skyler was very certain he had come from there. We want to make certain that this party will be safe for all the children."

"I think I'll go back to the house and hide under the covers," MaryAnn declared. "All this excitement is just a little too much for me."

"You never think of yourself as brave, MaryAnn," Gregori admonished. "But you always manage to find the courage to go to a fellow woman in need, no matter what the cost to you."

She gave him a small smile. "Anything for my sisters."

Gregori suddenly swung his head around, looking toward the trees, his silver eyes narrowed as he carefully examined the area around them. MaryAnn shivered and pressed her hand over the small spot right above her breast that seemed to be aching from the cold.

"Are you all right?" Destiny asked.

"Just a little tired," MaryAnn confided. "Your late night hours are a little hard on the human here."