Dark Descent

"Joie, this is out of this world," Jubal said softly, in awe. He turned in a full circle, shining his light on the walls of the gallery. The descent had been a long one, well over two hundred feet. "I've never seen anything like it. What a find. The ice formations are incredible. I swear I actually saw a vein of gold in more than one place. There are so many halls and galleries to explore." Gabrielle cautiously moved around an ice sculpture that rose like a living flame from the floor. "Look at this. When I shine my light on it from this angle, I'd swear the thing had gems in it. It's as brilliant as a polished diamond but reflects the light as if it were red like a ruby." Movement caught her attention, and she turned her head to watch Joie as she examined the glacial ice that formed the gallery. "Be careful, I suspect that a good number of viruses previously unknown to us come from insects and even perhaps the fungi in caves such as this one. These microorganisms exist with no light and few nutrients, locked inside the ice, yet still capable of living. There's such a wealth of information down here."

Joie ignored both of her siblings. She was so close now, she could almost feel him breathing. Somewhere in this labyrinth of halls he was waiting for her. Smoldering. Angry that she had disobeyed him. He was real, not a voice in her head, not a part of a split personality. He was real and alive and in pain. She could feel his pain, throbbing through her body, beating at her head.

Tell me.

She demanded it. Forced him to deal with who she really was, not who he thought she should be.

Tell the others to be quiet. They are in danger. I have battled the same enemy three times since you found me in the cave. I am a prisoner and wounded and extremely weak. I cannot aid you much in the battle, and the enemy has powers you cannot possibly comprehend.

Joie gave him a mental image of rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Sorry for the fluff in my head, but I'm usually found wrapped in cotton or bubblewrap to protect me from all the evil people in the world.

She signaled her brother and sister to silence, switching easily into hunting mode. She moved through the halls with confidence, recognizing the feel of him now. Knowing she was moving toward him.

I doubt very much if I'll need your aid, Mr. Brawny, but I'll keep it in mind. How many? There is one with me now. The others will return well fed and high with a lust for killing. You do not want to meet them. Then I guess I'd best pull your butt out of trouble and get the heck out of Dodge. You do not act like any of the women I know act. Thank you. I appreciate your saying so.

Joie dropped to her knees and crawled through a narrow, tubelike passage. Jubal and Gabrielle followed close behind. The steady drip of water reminded Joie of the clicking of the branches at the theater the night she was shot. There was a peculiar rhythm to the drops, almost as if some unseen hand, not nature, guided the water's descent. The tube began to widen until she could once again stand.

A strange, growling noise assaulted her ears. It sounded like a cross between a hyena laughing and a dog growling viciously. Immediately she held up her hand behind her, signaling Jubal and Gabrielle to stop while she scooted closer. She used the tall columns of rock and ice formations as cover.

Traian was literally pinned against a wall of ice. Blood ran down from each shoulder and leg where sharp, twisted stakes had been thrust through his body to pin him like an insect on a board. Joie held her breath to keep from crying out in dismay. It was no wonder she could feel the pain radiating from him. She knew Traian was aware of her presence, but he didn't make the mistake of giving away her position. He watched the creature hovering over him with cool eyes.

"You seem nervous, Lamont," Traian observed.

The creature hissed and without preamble bent his head to Traian's neck and sank his teeth into the pulse beating there.

Joie could easily see the long incisors stabbing into flesh, something she'd only seen before in films. She dropped to the ground, crawling on her stomach, using her elbows to propel herself across the floor between two columns of ice to get into a better position for attack. She came up on her knees behind a large ice formation, her gaze fixed on her target.

He is very dangerous, especially now when he is filled with the blood of an ancient.

Traian's voice was calm in spite of the ghastly creature tormenting him.

Joie stared at the hideous thing. It was tall and emaciated, the skin shrunken around its skull, almost as if it were dead. Tufts of hair stood straight out, a curious gray-white color, while the rest of the hair hung in oily, twisted ropes. He gulped down the blood, smearing it on his lips and stained teeth, all the while making growling noises in his throat. He seemed more animal than man.

My family always warned me if I hung out underground too long I could end up with a troll. At the risk of seeming shallow, I have to say he isn't very handsome and doesn't appeal at all to me.

Her hand went up to the back of her neck, sliding down between her shoulder blades in a well-practiced move, came out with the knife she always carried.

The creature lifted his head alertly and looked around the large gallery with suspicious eyes. Joie remained motionless, hardly daring to breathe. The cold air rushed through the chamber and touched Traian and the creature with icy fingers. Immediately Lamont caught at one of the stakes pinning his victim to the ice flow.

"None of your tricks, ancient one. Your blood belongs to us now. The others will be back soon with a victim to force you to our bidding. You are far too weak to resist."

What is he? He is vampire. The undead. And there are others. You must get your family out before the others return.

Traian watched his tormentor intently. The vampire leaned close to the gaping wound in Traian's throat, his breath a sickly green vapor as he licked at the blood with a thick, dark tongue. "I just might kill you instead. A stake through the heart." He lifted a lethal-looking stake over his head and gave a maniacal laugh.

Vampires are difficult to kill. You will only get one chance. Go for his heart.

Joie threw the knife with deadly accuracy. It hummed as it rocketed across the chamber and buried itself deep in the vampire's chest. The creature screamed, the sound cracking the ice so that sharp daggers broke from the high ceiling and rained down like deadly missiles. Joie flung her body over Traian's, protecting him from the falling ice. The vampire went down hard, thrashing wildly, the sounds echoing through the cavern, and then there was sudden silence.

Joie moved back slowly, slipping a second knife from the scabbard on her calf. "That didn't look so difficult to me. If you want, I'll give you a lesson or two."

"What took you so long?" Traian asked.

She made her way cautiously around him, kicking aside the bigger chunks of ice. "Bad directions. You know how traffic in these places can be." She leaned close to study one of the pins slicing through his shoulder to hold him to the wall. "I hate to point this out to you, but you're in a bit of a mess. What was all that he-man macho crap telling me to stay away? If you ask me, you're in serious need of rescuing."

Traian arched an eyebrow. His skin appeared pale, and he was clearly weak from loss of blood. Unattended wounds from a recent battle seeped more of his precious life fluid. He shook uncontrollably, unable to maintain his body's temperature. His hair was black and matted with blood. "I am certain I would have thought of something. He has friends. They will be returning soon, and when they see him, they are not going to be happy. And if I do not incinerate his body, he will rise again."

"Lovely thought," Joie said and turned to keep a wary eye on the repulsive corpse. "Lucky for you I travel with a doctor. My sister Gabrielle is quite mad, always peering into microscopes and lecturing us about how we're parasites on earth, but she does have certain skills." She whistled softly to signal to her brother and sister to enter the ice chamber.

Gabrielle avoided looking at the vampire as she studied the daggers of ice pinning Traian to the wall. "You do know the strangest people, Joie," she said. "I don't even want to ask where you met him."

"If I pull out the stake, is he going to bleed to death?" Jubal inquired.

"Just do it before the others come back," Traian advised, "or we are all going to die. Vampires are very dangerous. You were lucky."

Joie sniffed indignantly. "I was fast and accurate and very good. There's no need to feel inferior." She signaled to Jubal even as she flashed a smug smile at Traian. "I have a gift."

Jubal took hold of the stake in Traian's left shoulder with both hands and yanked with all his strength. Blood spurted, but Gabrielle pressed her palms over the wound hard. "The first-aid kit is in my pack, Joie, but I don't know how we're going to get him to the surface. He needs blood as quickly as possible."

"Just take them all out," Traian instructed. "We really have to hurry."

"Do what he says, Jubal." Joie caught the sense of urgency emanating from Traian. Little white lines were etched around his perfectly sculpted mouth. "Vampire babe is twitching." To her horror, the knife was vibrating, wiggling back and forth as if slowly emerging from the rotted flesh. "Hurry - we may have a little problem with handsome. He seems to be coming back to life."

"Pack the wounds with mud. Hurry," Traian said.

Joie didn't want to take her eyes off the ghoulish creature, but the dark compulsion in Traian's voice alarmed her. Gabrielle obeyed him. Always meticulously careful of germs and microorganisms, she scooped up handfuls of gooey soil and, before Jubal could stop her, smeared it over Traian's shoulder and the rest of the gaping holes in his flesh.

Without warning, Traian reached out and dragged Jubal close to him, murmuring something Joie couldn't quite catch. He bent his head toward Jubal's exposed throat. Neither Jubal nor Gabrielle protested; rather, they stood quietly, as if enthralled.

Fury burned through Joie. "You blood-sucking fiend! Touch him and you die! I'm not kidding you. Let him go or I'll tear your heart out. And don't try using your voice on me, because it won't work." As she hissed the words out in a low, smoldering voice, she moved to aim the knife she had drawn from the sheath strapped to her calf. At the same time, she tried to keep the vampire in sight.

"If I do not get blood, we are all going to die," Traian said calmly. He looked at her, his gaze steady and honest.

She let her breath escape between her teeth as she reached out and jerked Gabrielle away from him, thrusting her sister behind her. "Release them now."

"We have only minutes."

"Then don't waste time." Her hand didn't waver. Neither did her stare.

Traian spoke softly to Gabrielle and Jubal, and both reacted immediately, Jubal hurrying to safety.

"Tell us what's going on," Joie said. "It isn't as if we didn't witness the zombie man on the ground here, doing his sorry imitation of Dracula."

"I am Carpathian, of the Earth. All the stories I told you were true, not made up to entertain you. I lived the battles; they were not fiction. I need blood to survive, but we do not kill for sustenance. I have fought the vampire for hundreds of years." His voice was every bit as steady as his gaze. "This one will rise again, and he has friends. You cannot stop them, nor can I without blood to build my strength."

Jubal caught at Joie and tried to drag her backward, away from the wounded man. She held up her hand. "He's telling the truth, Jubal. I can feel them coming -  can't you?" She handed her knife to her brother, ignoring her trembling hand. "If I'm making the biggest mistake of my life, I expect you to avenge me."

She made her way to where Traian remained slumped against the blue ice, pulling off her helmet as she did so. "Go for it, but remember, my brother can hit a bull's-eye every time."

Traian touched her then, circling her wrist with his long fingers and drawing her slowly, inexorably to him. Joie's heart skipped a beat, then began to pound, whether in fear or excitement, she didn't know. She knew only that her mouth went dry and her insides were melting at an alarming rate. His eyes went dark, focused on her completely, shutting out everything else. Everyone else. He pulled her into the shelter of his large frame.

Joie felt his every muscle, hard, defined, rippling with power. He should have smelled of sweat and blood, but his scent was masculine, clean, inviting. Sexy. The world seemed to drop away. Danger didn't matter. His arms swept around her, held her close so that her heart beat with the same rhythm as his. She placed her hand over his chest, felt his heart beat strongly against her palm. She lifted her gaze to his and was instantly lost in the burning intensity she saw there.

There was a storm of emotion between them, a dark cauldron every bit as roiling and wild as the gale raging above ground. Mesmerized, she could only stare up at him. His fingertips brushed the hair from her neck. Sent fire racing through her bloodstream. Where he had been businesslike and abrupt with Jubal, he was gentle, even tender as he enfolded Joie closer. He bent his head to hers.

Gabrielle made a small cry of protest, stepped toward them with every intention of stopping him. Traian lifted his head, his eyes glowing with a strange fiery red, halting her in her tracks. His eyelids drifted down, his arm curling around Joie possessively so that she nearly disappeared from sight, completely engulfed in his embrace. There was something very protective, yet predatory in his posture.

His lips barely skimmed over Joie's skin. She felt it. A brush of butterfly wings, no more, yet that slight touch sent heat spreading through her body. He kissed her eyes until she closed them. Sensations increased. He whispered to her, in her mind an intimate, soft litany of words in an ancient tongue. His voice wrapped her in velvet, an erotic spell of enchantment she willingly embraced.

Joie felt his breath warm on her neck. His tongue swirled over her pulse. Once. Twice. Her entire body clenched, every muscle contracting breathlessly. Waiting. Wanting. His lips feathering over her neck sent heat pooling low, and her legs went weak. One arm, of its own accord, slid upward to curl around his head, to draw him closer, cradle him to her. White-hot lightning pierced her skin. Sent whips of lightning dancing in her bloodstream, a pleasure bordering on pain. Nothing had prepared her for the sheer erotic fire coursing through her body. A soft moan escaped her. She moved restlessly against him.

Traian pulled her closer, imprinting his body against hers, feeling every lush curve and soft, rounded line. Lifemate. He had waited so long. Endured so much. There was no shield providing her with a protective barrier. She knew exactly what he was doing and yet she accepted him, accepted his need for her blood. It rushed through his body with the force of a freight train; his shrunken, starving cells soaked it up; tissue and muscle and damaged organs demanded sustenance. He wanted to savor the moment, savor his first taste of her, his first touch on her skin.

Even as Traian struggled for sufficient control to blur the horrified gazes of her siblings, he was aware of the undead struggling to rise again the two vampires rushing through the maze of halls to reach him before he could escape. He took from Joie only what he needed to have strength when the battle came. He couldn't risk her being too weak to defend herself. They would have more than one skirmish with the undead before they were out of the labyrinth of caves.

Very gently, almost reverently, he swept his tongue across the pinpricks to close them. "Thank you, Joie." His arms held her up, his body taking her weight.

She shivered as she lifted her lashes to study his face. At once she was caught and held in the dark depths of his eyes. "You're welcome."

"I hate to break up the love fest the two of you are having," Jubal snapped, "but we've got a little problem. The knife just fell out of the dead thing's chest, and he's beginning to thrash around. It isn't a pretty sight."

Jubal's voice broke the spell Traian seemed to have woven around Joie. She pulled her gaze away with an effort and looked over at the creature clawing the floor of the cave. "He looks angry," she observed.