Dark Melody (34 page)

"He is capable of miracles, Corinne," Savannah affirmed.

Corinne smiled sadly. "Still, for the baby's sake, I must be near Lisa. If something happens to me, she is the one who must raise her. She'll be the baby's only living relative."

Desari was shaking her head. "When Dayan gives you his blood, the blood will pass through the placenta to the baby. The child will have his blood, his genetic code, not your former husband's. The child will eventually be one of us."

Corinne was silent, listening to the sounds of the house, the wind outside the window, the branches swaying and dancing. She could hear her own breathing and the heartbeat of the child growing within her. "He gave me his blood already. What did it do to the baby?" She was struggling desperately to understand.

"Corinne – " Desari began gently.

Corinne shook her head. "No, I don't want you to treat me like a child. Just tell me straight. What happened to my baby?"

"Your daughter would never have survived the birth," Desari said. "Your heart was barely able to provide for you, let alone for both of you. Without Dayan's blood, both of you would have died, and that is the truth. She already carries his genetic code, but she is not fully in our world. Darius monitored her along with Gregori during the exchange. When it became too much for the baby, the transfusion was stopped to allow her body to adjust." Deliberately she used the human term
transfusion
to soothe Corinne.

"I thought a human couldn't be converted unless he or she has a lifemate." Corinne felt numb, trapped, suddenly panicked by the repercussions of her decision. It was one thing to make such a decision for herself, to choose Dayan's world, but something altogether different for her child. Where was Dayan? Her lifeline, her sanity.
'Where are you?'
She reached across time and space to him. Her fingers clutched the quilt, a strange thing to find so comforting.

‘I am here, my love, always with you, a shadow in your mind. I hunt the evil one to make our world safe, but I am never far from you or our child. I will return unharmed to you as soon as we accomplish what is necessary. We will face what is frightening to you together, as it is meant to be. Uniting our two worlds is not so difficult when we feel as we do. Our love for our daughter will aid us in our choices.'
His voice was a blend of heat and light, music and melody, so beautiful it took her breath away. He felt strong and real and a part of her.

"Your daughter has a strong psychic talent, perhaps even stronger than yours," Desari said. "She can be converted without danger to her sanity, but there are other complications. It is not something we do lightly, Corinne."

Corinne could feel unexpected tears welling up out of nowhere. "I feel like I'm being given little pieces of a jigsaw puzzle one or two at a time, and the picture is so overwhelming I can't comprehend it. What other complications?"

"Our species has problems having babies, particularly females. Few of us conceive females, and those that do rarely carry them to full term. Even after they are born, our babies often do not survive the first year of life. It is a terrible tragedy and has contributed to the decline of our race. Because you must be given blood to save your life, the baby will be given the same blood – "

"No!" Corinne was adamant. "Her life is more important than mine. She has to come first in every decision. I know Dayan doesn't want that, but it is
my
decision to make, not his. I don't want to give her life only to have her lose it because I selfishly wanted to live myself. It would be better to chance giving birth to her now and allowing the doctors to do their best. They are performing miracles with premature babies. You said yourself she was strong."

Desari shook her head. "She would not have survived had you given birth the night Dayan removed you from the hospital. It took all of Gregori's strength and power to keep her alive. It is too late to turn back now. She has Dayan's blood in her system. She needs us now to help her survive. A human doctor could never save her life."

Corinne twisted her fingers into the quilt in agitation. "I feel helpless," she confessed to the women. "I've always been the one to handle the problems in our lives, and now I can't help my own child when she needs it the most."

Desari shook her head. "You are so wrong, Corinne. Now more than ever it is you who will have to have the strength of will to carry her. You are already monitoring your own heart and attempting to regulate it."

"I feel Dayan with me when I have trouble. He's the one regulating my heartbeat and pushing the air through my lungs," Corinne corrected. "I know he's there."

"Of course – he is your lifemate," Desari said complacently. "But he cannot save you if you are not willing to be saved. You are using your will, and it is considerable." She patted the quilt. "I see you like this quilt. Francesca, lifemate to Gabriel, made it for you. She is a great healer who lives in Paris. When she received word that you were carrying a baby and you needed aid, she made this specifically for you. It is a healing quilt. Along with the healing symbols, she used other symbols to aid in your protection should there be enemies that – find you."

"It's so beautiful," Corinne said honestly. "I didn't want to give it up. I hope I will have the opportunity to thank her for such a unique gift."

Desari patted her hand. "I would like to examine you and renew the healing process if it is possible. Do you remember what it felt like? Savannah and Tempest will lend me their strength, and we shall at least make you more comfortable. Lie back and we will begin."

Dayan, streaking through the air, appeared as a long trail of droplets, much like a comet moving rapidly through the night sky. Gregori and Darius were on either side of him, formidable hunters both, but it was Dayan's lifemate who was threatened, and he was the one who must save her. He felt the beast rising within him, struggling for supremacy. Gregori, renowned for his storms, generated a fierce squall, and dark clouds rolled in swiftly to cover their flight through the night sky in pursuit of the vampire.

Lightning zigzagged, arcing from cloud to cloud, intense and ominous. Hues of deep purple and black smeared the sky so that the stars were slowly obliterated. Thunder reverberated through the valley, echoed down the canyons, heralding a storm of great magnitude. Far below, as the three hunters streaked across the roiling sky, wild creatures sensing dangerous predators hastily found shelter and remained very still. Domesticated dogs yelped in fear and hid as the dark shadows passed overhead.

'Dayan.'
Gregori's voice was compelling, a soft command.
'The beast is strong in you. Remember, you are in twofold danger. Your lifemate is not locked to you. There is no anchor to hold you to the path. The violence will trigger the rising of the beast. It is a time for care, not rage. Along with your life, your soul is in mortal danger.'

Dayan could hear the purity of Gregori's voice and it washed through the red haze of anger clouding his mind. For a moment he could see and hear clearly again, but then the thought of the vampire seeking Corinne, threatening her consumed him again, and he continued his swift pursuit toward the enemy.

Darius and Gregori flying on either side of Dayan easily kept pace, senses flaring out to scan for any hidden traps. The vampire wasn't attempting to conceal his line of retreat. They knew from centuries of experience that if he was seriously attempting to evade them, he would be throwing up more of a blind.

Dayan was well aware of the vampire's intentions. He didn't care. He had tremendous confidence in his own strength and skill. Though he did not consider himself a hunter of the undead, he had often accompanied Darius on such hunts. It was his lifemate who was threatened now, and their code of honor dictated it was Dayan's responsibility as well as his right to remove that threat.

Suddenly an acid shower came from above the storm clouds, assaulting the flying hunters. Thin streaks of silvery light began to rain through the swirling black vapor. Almost impossible to see, the droplets burned with a caustic acid, searing the skin. The threads fell like poisonous darts straight at the hunters. They knew that the deadly shower was a delaying tactic of the fleeing vampire.

Immediately Gregori rose above Dayan, instinctively protecting him. As Gregori took the higher position, Darius sent up a flaming streak of orange-red light, pure energy, vaporizing the slivers of acid before they could reach their targets.

Dayan caught a glimpse of the vampire through the clouds, streaking across the sky. Dayan doubled his speed, moving straight as an arrow toward the fleeing vampire. He was a protégé of Darius, had learned from him. Dayan believed in directness, taking the fight to the enemy. He felt the presence of the evil one, a thick oily substance left behind so that the air reeked with the stench of the undead. Dayan shot out a wave of vibrations, a high-frequency sound that deafened the skies and knocked the fleeing demon from the clouds.

Just ahead they saw the figure struggling to shape-shift, to sprout wings. He was already dangerously close to the ground, and at the last possible moment, the vampire did an amazing athletic feat and spun, landing on his feet like a cat. At once he sought to cloak his presence from the hunters and the mortals occupying the area.

'Dayan!'
Darius's imperious warning was sharp.
'It is a trap. Scan.'

Dayan had automatically done so as he streaked in behind the vampire. There were four humans in a small cabin, all males. All fanatical. The stench of the society clung to them. Dayan knew they were not in league with the undead; The vampire was simply using them as another delaying tactic. Dayan was supremely confident in Darius and Gregori. Their reputations were legend. He didn't have to look to see that they were gliding in behind him. He knew they were there and trusted them to take care of the humans.

"I believe you wanted to introduce yourself," Dayan said softly to the vampire, his voice pure and melodious, the sound filling every atom of space around them though he hadn't raised his voice. "You will turn and face me, vampire. I am quite willing to accept your challenge."

The vampire shuddered with the effort to break free from the sound of that voice. It was made for golden tunes, truth and honesty. It was hideous to the creature, so that he pressed his hands hard against his ears in an attempt to block out the sound. He turned slowly, hands clamped to his head, his body swaying slightly. As he turned he opened his mouth as if to speak. A black swarm of insects erupted all around him, the air thick with them, so many they appeared as a solid wall, for one brief second obscuring Dayan's vision of the undead.

He was striding forward, easily blocking the stinging, poisonous bugs by deflecting them away from his body with a powerful current of moving air he produced with a casual wave of his hand. He continued moving rapidly, a blur as he whipped through the cloud of living shields. Dayan realized immediately that the vampire had used the insects to flee once again. He had disappeared as if he had never been, leaving behind an empty space in the air. Blankness.

Behind him, Dayan heard the shouts of the humans, the loud discharge of a weapon. The air vibrated with power, the storm raged, yet nothing mattered but that he pursue his quarry – the vampire who had sought his lifemate. He used the blankness to track the undead. The vampire was concealing his form, but Dayan wasn't fooled. The stench of his prey was overpowering, and he followed unerringly. He didn't glance behind him; he knew Darius and Gregori would be taking care of the enemy and would follow him as soon as possible.

The storm was fierce, a boiling, spinning mass of heavy black clouds. Lightning arced from cloud to cloud and there was a fast buildup of electrical charge along the ground. Bolts slammed from sky to earth, the sound deafening. The land shook. Nearby a large tree exploded in a fiery conflagration. Sparks rained onto vegetation. A wall of flames leapt at Dayan, solid, orange-red, a brilliant living, mindless antagonist roaring straight for him. At once he whirled quickly, a cloak of wet mist enveloping him as he raced through the fire with preternatural speed. He heard the sizzle of the mist as it heated and evaporated, but he was through and on the other side.

A dark shadow was just ahead, fleeing toward the darkened interior of a thicket of trees. Dayan took to the air, shape-shifting as he did so, a streamlined raptor racing through the canopy of branches to reach the undead before it managed to get to its lair. He came in from high above, dropping down out of the turbulent sky so fast the vampire had no warning. The large body of the bird knocked the night creature off balance, sharp talons raking viciously so that tainted blood splattered to the carpet of vegetation, withering it on contact.

Snarling, the vampire staggered, tearing blindly at the sky around him in an attempt to destroy his enemy, his head undulating back and forth like a reptile. He was a hideous, depraved being determined to live at all costs. Desperately he tried to regain his balance, his bearings, searching the sky and ground for his attacker.

Dayan was moving so fast he was a blur, a chameleon blending in with the trees, once more in human form. He struck straight at the abomination, the fury of the kill rising with the heat of battle. Flames leapt in the depths of his coal black eyes, and every vestige of the poet was gone, leaving behind the beast with the lust of battle on him. His fist plunged through the wall of the vampire's chest, a flimsy barrier, straight for the withered, blackened heart. The age-old lure of the beast was on him. Bloodlust was a red haze clouding judgment and honor, beckoning relentlessly. More, always more, it demanded, never sated, never satisfied.

Corinne heard the soft voice of the Dark Troubadours' acknowledged leader, Darius. A whisper of purity, soft and perfect, cleansing and healing like a fresh cool rain.
'Corinne. You are needed. You must summon him back to you. No other can save him now. I will feed your strength with my own. Call him to your side. You must do so now.'
The voice was calm, tranquil even, yet she knew immediately there was a terrible urgency. She didn't stop to question. She was so tuned to Dayan, the moment she reached out for his mind, she felt the killing frenzy, the implacable grip of the beast.