You are Dayan, a musician without equal, a poet with words that take my breath away. You are my lifemate, my heart and soul. Come back to me, Dayan. Leave that place. Leave that poor unfortunate aberration. Pray God will find him a better place. You can do nothing more for him. Come home to me.
She spoke from her deepest core, meaning every word, feeling every word. He was so deeply entrenched in her heart, buried so deeply in her soul, she didn’t know where he left off and she began.
For a moment, reason and judgment shimmered in his brain, a whirling silver mist breaking through the red killing haze.
Corinne?
His voice was distant, a faraway thread of sound, drowned out quickly by a bellow of rage.
Corinne remained very calm, sending waves of love and tranquility to Dayan. Darius was with her, guiding her from a great distance. On some level she was aware of his direction, but most of her actions were instinctive. This was Dayan, her other half, and he was out in the dark night somewhere with lightning and thunder crashing to earth around him, a fitting backdrop for the turbulence in his mind. They were merged so closely, she could feel the wild winds, the terrible vortex of violence, whirling like a tornado, strong and destructive, determined to sweep aside the man and leave the aroused beast.
Dayan, come back to me. Leave that place and come to me. The baby is resting quietly and I’m very tired. I need you here where you belong.
She
was
tired. The mind link was difficult for her even with Darius’s strength infusing her. Her body was worn and tired. A sound was beginning to impose itself into the violence of Dayan’s mind. It was weak, irregular, a soft thumping like a distant drum. The code was strange and erratic. A beat. A miss.
Corinne felt Dayan move within her mind. A soft hiss, a groan of despair.
Corinne!’
Her name was whispered in that velvet soft voice. She closed her eyes, certain he would come. The beast could never hold him when she needed him. Nothing would stop him from coming to her. She felt the strength of his determination, knew he was wrestling for supremacy, to cage the beast within him. Corinne left him to it. Breathing was an effort now, her lungs laboring.
She felt Desari at her side, holding her hand, whispering a chant. She felt the healing energy of the three women. It was a warm tingling moving through her body, Desari was tranquil, she was always serene, yet Corinne sensed an alarm. It didn’t matter, none of it did. Dayan was on his way, and she knew he would somehow make things right. She wanted to hear the sound of his voice.
Corinne drifted in a dream world. She heard his music, the beautiful poetic words that emerged from his soul as he expressed his need for love. His need for Corinne. Only Corinne. She believed him at last. He could do things others could not, and he would come back to her from the dark terrible struggle for his soul. She had faith. “Complete faith.” She murmured the words aloud, but her voice was too soft even for the acute hearing she had acquired recently.
Dayan.
His name was her strength, her anchor so that she wouldn’t drift too far from the real world.
Corinne.
His voice whispered through her mind, filled her heart and lungs, so for a moment it was easier to breathe. Her long lashes fluttered as she tried to reassure the women she was still alive. Her lashes were far heavier than she remembered them being. In the end, it was too much of an effort to raise them, so she made herself smile instead.
I knew you would come. Hurry, Dayan. I don’t know why I’m so tired.
Corinne was certain she thought the words clearly in her mind, but they seemed to be slurred, running together like fine grains of sand. Her free hand moved slowly over the thick quilt, seeking something she needed.
Desari bunched up the comforter so that one particular symbol was under Corinne’s moving fingers. At once Corinne’s hand closed around it, tranquil once more.
Dayan streaked through the sky, faster than he had ever moved in his life. Corinne was fading away. He could feel her sliding away from him, moving in a direction he dared not allow her to go. Dark vapor parted as he burst through the clouds, a streak of blue-green against the roiling black of the heavens. Mist swirled in long tails along the ground and began to build up around the trees and houses.
Darius kept pace with him, concentrating on the child, whose hold on life was so fragile he was uncharacteristically worried. Gregori was attempting to hold Corinne to earth, focusing on her fading heart. The amount of energy she’d used to keep Dayan from succumbing to the lure of the kill had been more than her weak heart could stand. Corinne was fighting it, wasn’t afraid — she simply trusted in Dayan, knew that he would be there for her as she had been for him.
Dayan could find no recrimination in her mind, no shock at the knowledge of his darker side. She was as accepting of him as ever, and her acceptance humbled him. As he moved across the night sky with the raging storm reflecting his inner turbulence, he gathered himself, preparing for the ceremony to come. He had no choice. He had to bind her to him for both of their sakes. He had to give her his healing blood. The baby was at risk, and Dayan, more than any other, knew the loss of her child was the one thing Corinne would never accept. She would trade her life for that of the baby.
Dayan shimmered into a solid frame, bending over Corinne as he did so, his large hand engulfing hers as he brought it to his mouth. Her lashes didn’t lift, but her soft mouth curved.
‘I knew you would come.
Chapter 15
They were gathering. Dayan wrapped Corinne in the quilt she loved so much to transport her to the cave of healing. He held her easily, her weight no more than that of a child to him. He held her carefully, his most precious treasure in all the world, sheltering her body from the elements as he whisked her through the night sky.
Corinne rubbed her face on his shoulder, snuggling closer to him, once more feeling connected to him in a strange dream world. The wind was blowing hard, tugging at her body as they rushed through the air, but it was exhilarating rather than frightening. She felt perfectly safe, perfectly protected in Dayan’s arms, even traveling at such a fast pace and in such a bizarre fashion. She turned her face up to the sky, observing the purplish hues streaking across the rolling black clouds. It was unbelievably beautiful, and she found tears burning in her eyes. This was Dayan’s world, a place of magic. The night was his, and he could soar like an eagle or run through a forest as fast as a wolf. Corinne had never been able to run in her life. This was her moment, her last moment to fly.
Dayan, reading her thoughts, blinked back the tears threatening to burn his eyes and choke his throat.
Not so, love; we have eternity.
As they sped through the waning storm, Darius and Gregori remained very close to Dayan and Corinne. Desari’s lifemate, Julian, was also on his way to the cave, still a distance away. He had been designated the cleanup man, assigned to erase all evidence of the destroyed vampire and the human members of the society the vampire had used to try to throw the hunters off his trail.
Corinne was content to rest in Dayan’s arms. She knew the others were arriving, some in pairs, some alone. She was fast gaining the attributes of Dayan’s people. Her hearing was far more acute. She could see clearly in the night. Her talent was telekinesis, yet now she
felt
things much more deeply. She knew the Carpathian people were gathering to help Dayan save her life and the life of her unborn daughter. The healers were preparing for an early birth, perhaps even an attempt to take the child should Corinne not survive. She wasn’t certain whether she was receiving the information from Dayan or she was so connected to the healers that she was reading their minds by herself.