Dark Descent

Joie stood in the doorway of the lounge, her gaze scanning the crowd as she always did, getting a feel for the throng, picking out the ones most likely to cause trouble and the ones who might be interested in more than they should. She noted a tall, dark-haired man in the corner who looked up when she walked in with Traian. He quickly glanced away from them, taking a sudden interest in his drink, but she could tell he was watching them carefully. A second man drew her interest. He sat in one of the high-backed chairs near the fire, a newspaper in his hands. He was short and slender and wore reading glasses. He was looking over the top of the thick rims at Gabrielle.

Jubal turned and waved to Joie. Gabrielle looked up, gave a glad cry, and rushed toward her. Joie prepared herself to be practically bowled over as her sister embraced her, hugging her joyfully. Over Gabrielle's shoulder, she noted the man in the glasses looking past her to Traian. Recognition flickered across his face, and he carefully folded the newspaper and laid it on the small table in front of him before rising.

Traian, Joie warned. She set Gabrielle gently to her side and just a little behind her.

Traian scanned the room, was slightly shocked when he realized the slender man was human yet seemed to recognize who and what Traian was. Moreover, he was expecting Traian, had come to the inn in the hope of finding him. Traian noted with amusement that Joie had tried to position her body between him and the stranger. The rush of joy and affection, a lightening of his heart and soul, made him tremble. He couldn't remember if anyone in his long lifetime had worried about him or tried to protect him. That small gesture meant the world to him.

Behind it was her faith in him. She'd made a leap of faith, committing herself to his life, his world. She believed he wanted her happiness above his own, and she wanted to give him happiness. He had a mad desire to scoop her up and run back to her room, where he could make love to her all over again. He looked at her, allowed the thought to shimmer in his mind, to glow hot in his eyes.

Joie laughed. "Stop that."

Gabrielle looked from her sister to Traian and made a rude noise. "Oh, no. Joie, we leave you alone with him for a few minutes and you seduced him, didn't you?"

Joie shrugged unrepentantly. "You have to admit, he's pretty hot."

"I'm telling Mom."

"Well, you tattletale, if you say one word to Mom, I'm going to tell her you were thinking of taking that job researching the Ebola virus. You know what she'll do when she hears that."

"You wouldn't dare," Gabrielle said. She pushed at Joie's shoulder as the slender stranger approached, trying unsuccessfully to move her sister aside for a better look. "Now that is a hottie, Joie. There's more to a man than muscle." She grinned at Traian. "No offense or anything."

"None taken," he assured her.

"Your tongue is hanging out, Gabrielle," Joie whispered. "Stop ogling him. For you to be falling at his feet, he must have an IQ of two hundred." She glanced up at Traian. "No man she's ever looked at could carry on a normal conversation. I think she can see straight through to their brains." She nudged her sister. "Your eyes are popping out of your head."

"I was just looking," Gabrielle hissed back. "At least I didn't throw myself at him and show off by doing in underfed trolls fresh out of the grave."

"I was happy she did that," Traian pointed out.

"Yes, well, I suppose you would have been, under the circumstances," Gabrielle conceded. "But she has a major hickey on her neck. If Mom saw that, there'd be consequences."

Traian bared his strong white teeth at her. "I think I can handle your mother."

Gabrielle and Joie looked at each other and burst out laughing. "It isn't possible, Traian, even for you," Joie said.

The slender man stopped in front of them and held out his hand to Traian, although Joie noticed that his gaze continually shifted to Gabrielle. "I'm Gary Jansen. Mikhail Dubrinsky sent me. He asked me to convey his apologies, but unforeseen circumstances prevented him from coming himself. Should there be need, he asked that you put out a call to him and he will send Falcon.

Mikhail's brother is in Italy at this time, so I was sent to gather the information and aid you in any way I can."

Traian gripped Gary's hand firmly. "I am Traian Tri-govise. This is my lifemate, Joie Sanders, and her sister, Gabrielle. I trust the prince and his lifemate are well?"

"Raven has been ill," Gary said briefly.

Traian caught the echo of Gary's thought.

Miscarriage.

Joie slipped her hand into his, an offer of condolence that betrayed the fact she'd been a silent shadow in his mind. She might not understand the importance of the news, but she could feel his sorrow. "We need to speak somewhere quiet," Traian said. "I have news the prince must hear."

Jubal joined them, slipping an arm around his two sisters and waiting to be introduced. Traian did so as they followed Gary from the lounge to the comparative quiet of his room.

"Nice," Jubal commented. "We're on the second story with small balconies. This is great." He looked out the double doors to the spacious verandah. "Joie, we should have asked for the ground floor."

A dull red swept under Gary's skin, and he glanced at Gabrielle as he hastily cleared clothes from a chair. "Sorry about the mess."

Gabrielle smiled at him. "You should see my room. We were in a cave, and our clothes were filthy. All I could think about was taking a hot shower." She blushed for no reason, turning away from Gary to study the verandah Jubal seemed so interested in.

"Mikhail wanted me to ask you why you did not simply give him the information when you requested that someone join you here," Gary said.

"Had I used the common telepathic link, the undead would have heard what I had to say," Traian said. "I have never exchanged blood with the prince and do not have a private telepathic link. It was better to keep my news confidential."

Gary nodded toward the Sander siblings. "Forgive me for asking, but you are certain everyone in this room can be trusted?"

"I am more certain of them than I am of you," Traian answered.

Gary smiled, relaxing for the first time. "That's good enough for me. I can give Mikhail your news, although he asked me to have you return home as soon as you are able. He has called in the ancients his father sent out. He needs their knowledge to make informed decisions in the ongoing war with the undead."

"Where is his second? I fear the life of our prince is in danger. I do not like the fact that the undead dare to gather so close to our homeland."

"Gregori is in the United States but will be returning soon. Falcon and Jacques stay close to the prince."

"There are many undiscovered caves in these mountains," Traian said. "I went to ground in one of them and came across several vampires. They were hunting something beneath the earth and they were so frantic to find it, they began to hunt me, instead of avoiding me as would be usual. We had several battles. I destroyed two of them, although more than one master vampire travels with them and they are extremely powerful. I was severely wounded after one of the battles, and they found my resting place. Instead of killing me, they decided to use my blood so they could continue searching. Joie and her brother and sister found us. Joie killed one of the vampires."

"Sort of," Joie corrected when Gary looked at her with admiration. "The darn thing fried my favorite knife. Traian had to incinerate it before it was really gone."

He isn't like you, Traian. He's human. Few humans are trusted with the knowledge he has of our people. He must be much respected for Mikhail to send him to me.

"Vampires are very difficult to kill," Gary said, "and with even one master vampire in the vicinity, it is too dangerous to engage in battle." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm a biochemist, not a hunter, but I've seen the results of what the vampire can do to humans. It's terrifying."

Gabrielle shuddered visibly. "I think Joie was having fun down there in the cave, but all I wanted to do was hide under the bed. And I kept thinking about viruses and touching all those microorganisms down there." She made a face. "I think I'll leave vampire hunting to the experts. If I never see or hear of another one, I'll be happy."

Joie grinned at her. "And here I was planning on making it my new career."

"That's not funny, Joie," Jubal said. "What you do is bad enough. You give us all gray hair. You stay away from those things."

"How did you get involved with all of this?" Gabrielle asked Gary curiously.

He looked sheepish. "I actually developed a compound to paralyze the system of Carpathians, thinking, of course, they were vampires. The compound was twisted into a poison and used to torture and dissect whomever the human society of vampire hunters deemed one of the undead. When I tried to expose them and rescue one of their victims, I met Gregori." He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't describe Gregori or what meeting him was like, but it changed my life. The society would like to see me dead, so as a protection, Gregori brought me here to help with research. I like it here and have developed strong friendships, so I stay."

Who is Gregori?

There was so much respect in Gary's voice, Joie was curious.

He is second to the prince. A great hunter and healer. He is lifemate to the daughter of the prince.

Joie looked up at Traian. "I can see the Carpathians have a complex society. Why didn't we know of its existence until now?"

"We take great care to blend in to the human world. It has been our way for centuries and has worked well for us. Unfortunately, our race is on the verge of extinction." Traian gathered Joie to him. "Without life-mates, we will not survive."

"Lifemates?" Jubal echoed.

"We mate for life. Once a male finds the woman who is his other half, he binds her to him, as you do with a marriage ceremony. If she is a human and does not live fully in our world, it can be very difficult. Lifemates cannot be parted for long periods of time. We have a strong telepathic link and must touch each other's minds frequently or one begins to grieve for the other. As Carpathians cannot walk fully in the human world, it is usually best for the human to walk in our world," Traian explained.

Jubal and Gabrielle exchanged a long, apprehensive look. "What exactly does that entail?"

"Jubal - " Joie protested.

"No, Joie, I want to know what he's talking about." Jubal didn't look at his sister but rather at Traian. Man to man. Expecting an answer. Demanding one.

"Joie has consented to come fully into my world, Jubal," Traian said, his voice low and without inflection. "I will protect her and watch over her and see to her happiness at all times. The conversion will not take her from your family. She would never be happy apart from you. I hope you and your sister and your parents will be able to accept me into your world, your family, the way I know my people will accept Joie into mine."

Jubal swore softly and turned away from them to stare out into the night. "Joie, did you think this through? Do you know what he's asking of you?"

Joie went to her brother, put her arms around him. "I've never felt as if I truly belonged, Jubal. I accepted that I was different, and yes, I've been happy because I like the work I do and I love my family dearly, but I want more than that. Traian offered me more, and I grabbed the opportunity with both hands."

"Do you hear what he's saying to you? This isn't like a human marriage, Joie, where you can walk away if things don't work out."

Traian stood beside Joie, his fingers laced with hers. "Lifemates not only want to be together, Jubal, they need to be. They find a way to work things out. A male Carpathian knows what makes his lifemate happy and does everything within his power to do it for her. And it works both ways. We always have telepathic communication open to us, so, in a sense, we are used to living in each other's heads. I know that is a big adjustment to make, and I am doing my best to give Joie as much space as she needs. But she is already learning quickly."

"It's what I want, Jubal," Joie said. "Be happy for me."

"I know you, Joie. You aren't going to be satisfied sitting on the sidelines while vampires are hanging around. You're going to go save the world."

Joie couldn't lie to her brother. "Probably. On the other hand, I have no intention of giving up my business. I thought Traian might work with me."

"This is where it is necessary for you to have faith in me, Jubal," Traian said. "I cannot allow anything to happen to Joie."

Jubal laughed without humor. "You don't know Joie if you think you're going to be protecting her. More than likely, it will be the other way around."

"Forgive me for butting in, but I've been around the Carpathian race for some time now," Gary said. "Traian is an ancient Carpathian male. He is far more powerful than you can imagine. They do not allow their women to come to any harm."

"But then you haven't met someone like Joie before," Jubal pointed out. "She's the guardian of the world."

"Stop picking on me, Jubal. At least I go after people, not little organisms that you can't see and can't do anything about."

"Hey now," Gabrielle objected, "don't turn the spotlight on me."

A small smile curved Traian's mouth. "I think you are misjudging me because of our first meeting, when I was being held prisoner. I have survived countless battles with the undead, Jubal. A master vampire is every bit as powerful as our greatest hunter." He looked at Gary. "Mikhail should know they are traveling in packs, and I have heard disturbing rumors that they are planning something. I also believe it is important to discover whatever it is they are seeking. Vampires always seek power. They would never waste time working the way they are unless it resulted in more power."

Gary nodded. "I'll tell him."

"I'll be returning to the cave just before sundown tomorrow. I hope to surprise them before they rise. In any case, I will do my best to discover what they seek."

"Why just before sundown?" Jubal asked curiously.

"I am weak and vulnerable while the sun is high," Traian admitted without hesitation. "The vampire is also at his most vulnerable. If I rise before them, I may be able to destroy them before they regain their strength."

"Well, of course I'm going with you," Joie said.

Traian brought her fingertips to his lips, breathed warm air over her hand. "I can travel faster on my own, Joie. And you have not yet learned to prevent them from reading your mind. I would be at risk because of your unguarded thoughts."

Joie's gaze flickered to Gary. The man nodded. "They are adept at reading our thoughts and even controlling us. Traian can go in without their being aware of his presence, but they would know the moment you were near."

Joie frowned. "I don't like the idea of you going in alone. There are several of them, and you've admitted there's more than one master vampire. I might be able to help. Could you block them from reading my thoughts?"

"Probably, but the more tasks I have to perform, the more energy I expend. I have to go in fast and hard and get out the same way."

Jubal immediately stepped to his sister's side. "What if we were nearby, waiting just in case you run into trouble?" he suggested.

Gabrielle nodded. "I think that would be best, Traian. We might not be able to incinerate the things, but we can slow them down for you."

Traian looked at the three of them. Family. Solidarity. Jubal and Gabrielle might not agree with Joie's choice. They might be afraid for her. But when it counted, they stood with her. He bent his head and kissed Joie right in front of them. It was that or humiliate himself with tears shimmering in his eyes. As it was, a lump threatened to choke him. "Thank you for letting me be a part of your family, Joie. They are wonderful." He looked at Jubal. "I appreciate the offer, but it is safer for me if you are here, a distance away where the undead cannot perceive a threat to them. Should I have need, I will contact Joie immediately." He looked at Gary over their heads, and the prince's messenger nodded carefully. He would watch over Traian's lifemate and family. A matter of honor in the Carpathian world.