Dark Descent (Dark #11)(3)
Author: Christine Feehan

His heart nearly ceased beating. Those simple questions turned his world upside down. He was aware of everything  – the coolness of the interior, the blue of the ice, the dramatic sweep of architecture formed thousands of years earlier. He was mostly aware that her hair was a rich brown and her eyes were a cool gray. Her mouth was wide and curved at the corners, and she had laugh lines.

He was seeing in color. After hundreds of years of a bleak, gray existence, living in a world without color or emotion, there she was. The other half of his soul. Staring down at him with curious eyes and an amused grin. There was blood on her shoulder and bruises on her face, a tear in the gown she wore.

"You seem a bit overdressed for a cave," he pointed out.

She shrugged, her laughter soft and inviting. "Yes, well, a lady likes to know she looks her best when the cave crickets come calling."

"You are hurt, too."

"A small bit of trouble with some unpleasant fellows. What about you? And do you often go swimming in the mud with a gaping hole in your shoulder? You have heard of infection and gangrene, haven’t you?"

"How good of you to notice. A small run-in with a group of unsavory ruffians. I was uncharacteristically slow."

"You have an incredibly sexy accent. Do women fall all over you just at the sound of your voice?" She was very good at placing people by their accents, but his was different; there was a rich turn to his words. As dreams went, this was a fun one.

"I have not noticed such a phenomenon, but I will watch for it in the future."

"Nice cave. I love caves. This one looks like a wonderful place to explore."

"I do not believe it has been discovered yet," he replied pleasantly. Peace seeped into his body. His soul. Genuine laughter found its way into his heart.

"Really? You just sort of stumbled in blindfolded, did you? An interesting way to explore caves. Where am I? I’d like to come back here."

It was his turn to arch his eyebrow. "You floated through the air blindfolded?"

She grinned at him. "I do that sometimes when I don’t want to be wherever I am. A bad habit."

Her form shimmered and her smile faded. "They’re doing something nasty to me, I can’t hold the projection."

He sat up, bit back a groan as the embers beneath his skin burned fiercely. "Do not go yet."

"I’m sorry." She looked down at her arm, looked back at him, tears swimming in her eyes. "They’re cleaning my wound. It hurts like a bear."

And then she was gone. Just that fast. Vanishing without a trace. He sat there alone in the dark of the cave, astonished at how life could change in the blink of an eye. She was real. Her psychic abilities were strong. He had shared her space, shared her mind, and the path was imprinted on his brain. She would not escape him.

Traian lay back and waved his hand to close the soil over him, stilling his heart, his breath, allowing the song of the earth to send him into a deep, healing sleep.

Chapter Two

"You’re losing it, Joie, there’s nothing here." Gabrielle Sanders sank gracefully to the ground and drew up her knees as she regarded her sister with cool gray eyes. "Stop making yourself crazy and enjoy the view. It’s breathtaking up here. You’ve been in a frenzy for hours now." Tipping her head back, she stared up at the sky. "We’ve been climbing forever. If you were going to find anything, you would have done so by now."

"I’m not losing my mind, Gabrielle," Joie insisted. "I’ve already lost it."

There was a sudden silence. The wind paused. A hawk screamed as it missed its prey. Gabrielle exchanged a long look with her brother, Jubal. They both stared at their younger sister. She seemed focused entirely on the rock surface she was studying. "Well, that’s a relief," Gabrielle replied, laughing. "All this time I thought I was the abnormal one."

Joie let her breath out slowly. She knew she was acting crazy, almost out of control. What was she going to tell Gabrielle and Jubal? That she really had lost her mind some weeks ago and this was a last-ditch effort to hold on to her sanity? That she wasn’t joking, and she belonged locked up somewhere on heavy medication?

What are you doing?

The voice came out of nowhere, unexpectedly as it always did, catching her by surprise. Masculine. Sometimes amused. Sometimes teasing. Always alluring. She tried not to hear it. Tried not to respond. But she could never help herself. She always talked to him. Laughed with him. Wanted him. In spite of the beauty of his voice, this time he sounded infinitely weary, strained, as if he were in pain.

"Come on, I’m so close to the entrance I should be able to see it. Jubal," Joie appealed to her brother, "you know I’m right. I’m always right. There’s a network of caves, most of them unexplored, and we’re right on top of it." Joie was certain she’d already begun her descent into madness. She’d rather be with that voice in her head than with any real person in the world. She lived to hear that voice. She thought about him day and night, was consumed by him. Joie lifted her chin.

I’m proving you don’t exist so I can get over you. I have a list of would-be lovers a mile long, and I’d like to have a little fun for a change. Now is not the time. Get out of here. It is dangerous. Of course you would say that. You don’t want me to know you aren’t real. Look, honey, it’s been fun, but we have to break up. I can’t have a mythical lover, even if you’re an awesome lover in my dreams. A girl wants to have the real thing once in a while. It isn’t like I can introduce you to my family. Hey, guys, this is my invisible pal, Traian. He has a name like a locomotive, but that’s my fantastic imagination. Traian is a very old and respected name. Go away from here, Joie. I will not comment on your name, as it would be considered extremely rude. Comment away, ‘Traian. You’re not real and neither is this conversation, so insult me all you want.

"You’re always looking down when you should be looking up, Joie," Gabrielle said with a sigh. "If you reach straight up, you might be able to catch a cloud. Have you even noticed the flowers? They’re gorgeous. I wish I knew what they were called. For once in your life, think of something besides caves." She waved her arms to encompass the countryside. "This is Dracula country. If you’d forget your obsession with caves, we might be able to explore the old castles for a change."

The flowers that are pink with a yellow middle are called Tratina. The white daisies are Marguarete. I cannot remember offhand what the blue ones are called, but it will come to me. Are you eavesdropping on our conversation? You are thinking loudly. And denying my existence, which seems to be a habit of yours lately.