“This mountain has many chambers beneath its surface. We can readily make use of them for sleeping. Study the layout in my mind and know where they are so you are never caught without several escape routes.”
She received a flood of information, marveling at how precise it was. Lucian was a walking map, detailed and perfect, and he transferred information to her in the same way he had always transferred it to his twin. She laughed softly. “Do you still do that?”
“What? Share my knowledge with Gabriel?” Lucian grinned a little sheepishly. “It was the one thing, even as I masqueraded as a vampire, I could not stop myself from doing. Even then, if I learned something new, something of value, my mind automatically touched his. But he did the same thing.”
“And you still do.” She made it a statement. She had studied the path in his mind he used to communicate with Gabriel. There was a wealth of affection there. Lucian didn’t realize the extent to which he was tied to his twin. It was just natural to him, as it was natural to Gabriel. Lucian and Gabriel were so close, Jaxon was certain she could just as easily reach Gabriel, even though she had never exchanged blood with him.
“Are you a city girl, Jaxon?” Lucian teased gently. “Are these trees and wide-open spaces too much for you?” He was still aware of her uneasiness and attempting to use humor to put her at ease.
They walked together out onto the huge wraparound porch that on one side jutted out over the cliff. The view really was breathtaking. Jaxon rested both hands on the railing and leaned over to look at the drop below them. Snow blanketed the ridges above them and dotted the canyon below. The trees looked frosted and decorated in the crisp night air. It was beautiful. The air was cold and crisp and smelled fresh and clean.
Lucian’s much larger frame trapped hers against the railing. “So? Is that it? You miss those tall buildings and the sounds of traffic?” He swung her around, sweeping one arm out to encompass their surroundings. “I give you all this, and you prefer the city?”
Jaxon laughed and reached up a hand to his shadowed jaw—just as his body jerked. A spray of crimson showered her head and shoulders, and Lucian slumped forward, an enormous rag doll with the stuffing knocked out of it. He was so large he took her with him straight to the deck, covering her. It was only then that the sound caught up and she recognized the whine of a bullet.
Her heart in her throat, she maneuvered out from under his lifeless form. She knew immediately that Drake had found them. He must have flown a plane and gotten there ahead of them. She had no real idea her brain was computing the information; she could only hear herself screaming over and over, although no sound escaped. On her knees she examined Lucian. There was no pulse, no sign of life. He lay without moving or breathing, his heart and lungs utterly motionless. It took a moment to still the chaos in her mind enough to realize that there should have been far more blood than there was. Lucian had stopped his heart to minimize the blood loss! Time slowed to a crawl. This man was her life, the air she breathed. He was not dead. Lucian had said he could not be killed, and she had to believe he was not. He was trusting her to do whatever needed to be done.
What is it? What am I supposed to do?
she cried out to him, wanting to weep, to scream, to throw things. She had to save him.
How bad is it?
The voice came out of nowhere, in her mind, on a strange mental path she had never used before. The tone was as calm as the one Lucian often used. It served as an anchor to quiet the terrible panic gripping her, that voice so like Lucian’s.
Jaxon realized that the far-off voice was Gabriel’s. He had known the moment Lucian was hit, the same as she had; he had felt the same terrible emptiness, a black void unlike anything she had ever faced before.
Breathe, Jaxon. My brother is not dead. He needs you now. You will have to heal him quickly. He will need blood. Tell me what to do. I don’t have very much time. Drake will be making his way here. I don’t know how long it will take him. Tell me now. You have to make yourself light and energy. Concentrate on nothing else; your body must fall away. Enter Lucian ‘s body and find the damage. Repair it from the inside out. You must have had some medic training. Francesca, my lifemate, is a healer. Describe what you see to me, and she will instruct you. I know this is far beyond your capabilities, but you have no choice. I can do this, Gabriel. Lucian won’t die!
She meant it. If she ever did anything in her life right, this would be it. She would save him, whatever it took.
Allow me to hold the mind merge between us. You will need all your strength to heal my brother. I will be with you. You are not alone.
There was no time for conversation. She had to hurry. She blocked out the knowledge that Drake would be stalking her, even now covering the distance between them as rapidly as possible. Jaxon followed the instructions Gabriel had given her, took the images from his mind. She closed her eyes and stilled the chaos and panic, the silent screaming, the horror of seeing Lucian lying pale and lifeless on the deck. She blocked out the blood in her hair and on her clothes. Her world narrowed to a tranquil, calm pool where she became as light as air. Bright. White. Pure energy. She moved slowly in her bodiless state, merging with Lucian, moving through his body until she found the entry wound at the base of his skull. The bullet had severed the spinal cord, a clean path in and out, sheering off everything in its way. Jaxon’s heart pounded, her breath coming in gasps at the extent of the damage. She had no idea how to repair such a terrible wound.
Francesca will guide you. Keep the image in your head. Trust her, no matter how difficult it gets.
There were so many veins and arteries and pieces of flesh she couldn’t identify. She had to force her mind to remain calm when she knew her body was shaking and every fiber of her being was terrified. This could not happen. Lucian was her life. After her lonely existence, afraid to have a friend, let alone a family, he had turned her world into something beautiful again. He had given her back her dreams, treated her as if she were the most wonderful woman on the planet. He was a great man, a man who fought demons and protected others without any thought of reward. He would not die.
You will not die.
Her command was every bit as strong and authoritative as any Lucian had ever delivered.
Steeling herself, she began the grim business of putting his insides back together. It was like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces tiny fragments. She couldn’t think she might be making a mistake; she had to believe that voice whispering in her mind, telling her what to do. She had to trust that Lucian’s brother loved him the way she did and would do anything to save him. She worked meticulously, unhurriedly, keeping the knowledge that Drake was stalking her in the back of her mind, where it belonged. She could only concentrate on what she was doing.
You will live, Lucian.
She whispered it over and over in her head like a litany. Wherever he was, she would be there with him. The idea of being without him was intolerable.
She was not a doctor, not a nurse. She had little knowledge to aid her. The paramedic training she had received had covered wounds, but nothing like this. She was in awe of the unknown Francesca, her ability to know exactly what to do, how to repair such devastation. Carpathians worked on wounds from the inside out, aligning, rejoining, cauterizing, inspecting to ensure infection could not set in.
In her bodiless state, Jaxon was completely unaware of the passage of time, of anything other than the task at hand.