Desari reached around her brother and brushed Julian’s hair from his forehead. Her hand lingered lovingly on his skin. “He was only seeking to protect me,” she whispered.
Darius’s teeth came together with an audible snap. “There is no need for his protection while I am with you. He knows that. He was warning me to mind how I talk to you.” The black eyes glinted with menace. “He has enough arrogance for ten males.” Darius inhaled sharply, taking the soothing aroma into his lungs. “Resume the chant and add another candle or two. It might keep you out of trouble.”
Once more he simply blocked out everything and everybody until there was only the light and energy that was his strength and intelligence. He very carefully reentered Julian’s bloodstream to examine the poisonous virus for any new threats. Sure enough, a new strain was attacking the antibodies Darius had configured.
Darius examined the cell structure, marveling at how it could wreak so much havoc. The original poison had carried the seeds to implant this far more virulent strain. It was fighting to reproduce over and over, replicating the monster that fought with such ferocity to carry out the vampire’s last command of destruction. Darius sent out more of his army to fight the strain, leaving him free to begin repairs on the vicious wounds and lacerations in Julian’s flesh. The newer poison had again weakened the artery walls and the chambers in the heart. Darius spent time restoring the systems. The shoulder wound was particularly bad, flesh and muscle torn to the bone. Darius slowly mended it, then meticulously returned to Julian’s bloodstream to be sure it was completely devoid of the vampire’s poisonous virus. He was taking no chances that his sister might be contaminated. He went through every muscle, tissue, and bone, every organ and vein, double-checking that he had removed every last vestige of the foreign cells.
Then he turned once more to inspect the odd shadowing. It was there in Julian’s mind, in his body. It was dark. Tainted. The mark of a vampire. Darius studied it a long while. There was no way to combat such a mark. Julian had been in intimate contact with a vampire, and the beast was strong within him. A solitary Carpathian male’s struggle to sustain his soul was hard enough without the taint of the vampire inside him; Darius could only imagine the fierce battle Julian must have suffered every moment of his existence. Still, he could do nothing to aid the Carpathian who had claimed his sister. With a sigh of regret, he entered his own body once again. He would keep a close eye on Julian to ensure his sister’s safety.
Instantly his eyes reacted to the dawn. Light was beginning to slowly streak the darkness a soft dove-gray, heralding the morning. He closed his eyes to soften the effect. This recent weakness troubled him. Darius had never had to contend with weakness before. For centuries he had easily managed to stay above ground until ten, sometimes eleven in the morning, but the last few endless years, his eyes had become far more sensitive to any light. Darius had a will of iron. When he chose to do something, no matter what the difficulty, it was done. Yet he could not overcome this sensitivity to early morning light.
“Darius?” Dayan touched his shoulder lightly to bring him back to them. “It is done?”
“We must get him to ground, allow the soil to heal him. I will give him blood just before we place him under. My blood is ancient and should speed his recovery. Although why I should want such a thing, I cannot imagine.”
“Darius, you have given too much of yourself this night,” Dayan objected. “I will supply him.”
Darius shook his head. “I will not take a chance with your life. If I have missed one cell of this venomous virus, there is a possibility it could infect you.” The real reason was more complex. If Dayan ever turned, Julian should not be his hunter. Darius would take that responsibility on himself. And if the shadowing in Julian proved to be a beacon for a vampire, if it endangered
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