Dark Challenge. Christine Feehan. Dark Series – book 5

One ghoul lurched forward, his burning eyes on the bus and his target. The only thing standing between him and his goal was Julian. Growling insanely, drooling and slobbering, he moved toward Julian, showing hideous teeth as he shuffled in close. His huge arms swung clumsily at Julian’s head. The hunter ducked the blows and retaliated with one of his own. The head of the ghoul rocked, and the neck cracked audibly.

Julian sprang away to meet the second opponent moving in for the kill. This one swung an ax at him, the blade missing by a scant few inches. Silently cursing the fact that his arm hung uselessly at his side, Julian retaliated with a low spinning kick that swept the legs out from under the servant of the vampire. Then he swiftly delivered the killing blow to the head, crushing the skull just as the third zombie reached him. Despite its slowness, this monster was strong and cunning. He went for Julian’s wounded shoulder, slamming into him like a charging bull. The pain was excruciating, exploding through Julian with the force of dynamite. It drove him to his knees before he could find the energy and strength to cut off feeling to the area. The air burst from his lungs so that he had to fight to breathe; his stomach clenched and knotted, rolling with nausea.

At once lightning hit his attacker, the bolt driving through the body. Smoke streamed from his mouth and nose, and his clothes and skin turned black. A ball of orange flame looking like a meteor from space then struck him in the belly, incinerating the monster, who howled eerily as he turned to ashes. The flames then jumped from body to body, directed by Darius’s hand, dispatching the remaining ghouls with the ease of a hunter of long experience and at full strength.

At once his arm slipped around Julian and took his full weight. He carried the big man like a child, cradled gently in his arms. “Do you have the strength to remove the safeguards?” he asked. The voice was calm and confident, no change in breathing despite the long flight, the terrible fight, and the burden he carried.

Julian nodded in answer to Darius’s question and began the complicated task of unraveling the safeguards, carefully making certain it was safe. Desari flung open the door and stepped aside so that her brother could carry her lifemate inside. Anxiously she followed them to the bed. The motor home was dark; only scented candles gave off flickers of light. The soothing aroma of herbs and candles filled the air, so that each time Julian took a breath, the healing scent entered his body to help alleviate the pain knifing through him.

“Is he going to be all right? Can you help him?” Desari asked anxiously, hovering behind Darius, trying to see around him to her lifemate.

“He is correct; the vampire’s poison is strong and unusual. I want you to stay out of the way. Join with the others in the healing chant and lend your strength to mine. I will heal him and then myself.”

Desari bit her lip, her hand going to her throat. “How were you infected?”

“The servants of the undead were tainted. A trap the vampire left behind for those who dared to thwart his plans.” Darius spoke matter-of-factly, with no hint of alarm. His steady, calm voice, so familiar to her, was comforting.

Darius bent over Julian. The Carpathian hunter shook his head without opening his eyes. “You first, Darius. The poison spreads quickly and grows in strength. Heal yourself before it is too late. I will be unable to aid you. Do this for Desari, as I cannot watch over her as I should.”

“Rest, Julian,” Darius commanded, used to being obeyed. Few dared to question his authority.

Darius sent himself seeking within his own body, searching out every particle of venom advancing through his bloodstream. He studied the nature of the poison, its cells and behavior. Satisfied he knew how it worked, he began to destroy it, driving it from his body in the same unhurried manner in which he did everything. Julian was right. The poison was strong and fast-acting, destroying cells and multiplying swiftly. It was a tribute to Julian’s incredible strength that he was still alive, that knowing what the venom could do, he had placed his lifemate and his duties before his own welfare. The healing chant, sung in Desari’s beautiful voice, was lending strength to Darius, yet he found himself slightly dizzy when he emerged back into his own being.