Dark Descent (Dark #11)(14)
Author: Christine Feehan

Both her knives were gone. Joie always carried two, but she’d used both, one on the vampire feeding on Traian, the other in the eye of the pool. She kept a distance from Traian, giving him room to fight. She could taste fear in her mouth. She had no gun, no knife.

My fourth dan black belt doesn’t look too promising considering that those very nasty things have wicked-looking talons and mouths full of shark teeth. We could use a gun or two. Maybe a machine gun. Stay close to me. I want you where I can protect you. They can move the earth, rain down missiles from the ceiling. They will not fight in the way you expect.

Traian had never really experienced gut-wrenching, bone-deep fear before. He had never had anything to lose. Now there was everything. A woman whose mind he walked in, whose body he didn’t yet know intimately.

I gathered that.

For some reason her simple words made him relax, want to smile. Joie didn’t panic easily. She didn’t lack for courage and she was committed to fighting with him. She wasn’t going to faint because vampires were real and had come with vengeance and death in mind.

Don’t count on it.

Her wry amusement told him she was a shadow in his mind, looking for strategy on how to defeat the enemy.

If they get their hands on me, I’ll be trying to faint. Do they have a weakness? Ego.

Joie took a deep breath as the creatures slowly pulled themselves up to their impressive heights. Fire burned in their eyes. A foul stench permeated the cavern, choked off all the cool, clean air and replaced it with a thick putrid substance.

Which is the stronger?

Traian noted her calm manner. She accepted that they would have to fight their way clear. Having battled with the same vampires on three occasions, Traian was well aware of their strengths and capabilities.

The one with the incisors over his lower lip he is extremely powerful. He is called Valenteen and is a master vampire. The other is called Shafe. There might be more, so stay very alert. Well, darny and here I was expecting I’d take a nap.

Traian worked at keeping a straight face. Even in their desperate situation, Joie could let him know her feelings.

I was worried you might be.

Joie tapped her foot. "If it isn’t the troll brothers. How are you? Just dropped in to be neighborly? I’m so glad you didn’t bother to dress formally. It’s just a small get-together we’re having." Deliberately she walked across the stone patterns in the floor, keeping their attention centered on her. "We’re in the midst of redecorating. What do you think? Too many crystal balls?" She indicated the largest, nearly a foot tall, resting on a tall pillar of black obsidian. "They’re very valuable. You can see your future in them. This one answers questions and finds objects." She reached out as if to pat the smooth sphere.

Joie was fully aware that Traian was keeping his body between her and the vampires. The two creatures stood in a swirl of steam and mist, coated in black ooze. The moment she mentioned the spheres, greedy eyes stared at the globe.

Surprisingly, Joie felt warmth along her palm as she positioned it above the crystal ball. The crystal had leapt to life at the close proximity of her hand. For a timeless moment, she saw her own face swirling in the mists of the globe, she saw Traian standing behind her, reaching for her, love etched into the lines of his face, hunger and desire burning in the depths of his eyes. She couldn’t look away from him, from the intensity of his love. He couldn’t feel that way about her, could he? He didn’t know her. How could two people be so drawn to one another, recognize love so quickly?

Get away from that thing.

Joie blinked, looked up. The white swirls of mist were filling the cavern, consuming Traian. Consuming her. In the tendrils of fog, something moved. Something dark and menacing. She caught a glimpse of another shape in the shadows curled protectively around an object, but she couldn’t make it out with the white mist and gray shadows merging together. A dark shadow loomed over Traian.

Watch out!

She tackled him. Shoved him aside. Her momentum carried them both away from the vampires and close to the outer wall of the cavern. An array of weapons adorned the nearest alcove. Glittering gems decorated wicked-looking knives and long spears and swords. Here was a virtual treasure trove for Joie. She was drawn to the weapons, yet something held her back, some finely tuned warning system that prompted her to put her hands behind her back and ignore them.

Traian calmly regarded the black shadow that was emerging from the fog in the cavern. "Justice has come, Valenteen," he said to the master vampire. "A shadow warrior has been awakened and he is seeking our deaths. Do we fight each other?"

Valenteen growled harshly, shaking his head, backing away from the large, smoky creature emerging from the shadows.

Joie twisted her fingers in the back of Traian’s shirt, peeking around him at the thing Traian had identified as a shadow warrior. It was insubstantial, made of ever-moving black and gray smoke. It’s eyes glowed an eerie red, not like the bloodshot eyes of the vampires, but fierce flame burning brightly.

I wouldn’t mind waking up now.

Traian reached behind him, circling her bare wrist with his fingers. Gently. Barely there. Just a whisper of contact, yet it was enough. They were together. It was all that mattered. He would shield her from the warrior, from the vampires.

Can you get out of here by yourself?

It suddenly occurred to her that he could shape-shift, perhaps become as insubstantial as the mist. Maybe even burrow through earth and ice as the vampires had done.

The vampires dissolved, leaving behind a pool of black goo. It bubbled and spat a poisonous brew at the shadow warrior. Joie gasped. There was a strange silence. An icy blast of air cleared the stench from the chamber and pushed the smoky creature away from Traian and Joie.

It matters little if I could. I would never leave you behind.

His voice was reassuring. Calm. Steady. Confident.

Jubal and Gabrielle are still in the caves. Jubal will be hurrying to find his way up toward an entrance. He’s a good caver, but if they go after him… My brother and sister can’t protect themselves from the vampires. Both vampires have remained in this room. They will not leave or move to give away their presence to the warrior. I do not sense any others close by. The shadow warrior has not attacked because we haven’t touched anything. If we draw his attention to us, or take something the wizards left behind, he will strike.

Voices whispered. Filled the chamber with temptation. Before she knew what she was doing, Joie’s fingers were nearly curled around a knife with a wicked-looking curved blade. It called to her. Her palm itched to feel the weapon in her hand. She clenched her fist, resisting the temptation. The voices increased in strength. She glanced toward the spheres, saw them all active, the clear colors swirling with life, with deeper hues and sparkling gems.