Dark Storm (Dark #23)(75)
Author: Christine Feehan

"I don’t know, but I doubt it will take all of us on the first trip," Gary said.

Riley crouched low and sank both hands into the soil, feeling for the vampire. He had been making his way steadily toward the river and leaving, in his wake, death and destruction. Nature shrank from the abomination that was the undead. Around her, the world faded, leaving her in another environment where she could hear the whispers of the rain forest. The trees spoke, grateful for her presence, willing to share information.

The uneasiness that had plagued her earlier was gone-a dark dread that seemed to be a part of her ever since her mother had died. Now, with her hands buried in the comfort of the soil where she was once again close to Annabel’s spirit, she realized that terrible dread was the vampire’s blood calling to hers.

Horrified at that sudden revelation, she jerked her hands from the soil and sank back onto her heels, shuddering with distaste. An ice-cold frisson of revulsion slid down her spine. She had known she was connected in some way to Mitro, but she thought the connection was in the earth, the soil, not in her own body.

What is it, sivamet?

The warmth in Dax’s voice, as it poured into her mind, helped to steady her.

I need a minute. She couldn’t look at Jubal and Gary. They’d helped her so much, stood by her, and all the time, her blood called to the vampire.

"You two take the others and start out," Dax ordered. "We’ll catch up."

Jubal glanced down at her, but Dax shifted, gliding in front of her without seeming to have moved. Jubal looked up at the Carpathian, and something flickered in the depths of his eyes that instantly had Dax coiled like a snake ready to strike.

"You okay with that, Riley? Catching up with us?" Jubal asked, in spite of the gathering tension.

"Yes, thank you Jubal for asking," she answered. Gary and Jubal have looked after me all this time, Dax. There’s no need to get upset because he shows concern for me.

I have never been questioned before, Dax said. I find it difficult to be in the company of anyone other than my lifemate for prolonged lengths of time. I have never spent this much time with others, and it is wearing.

Riley hadn’t considered that. Of course it was difficult for him, he’d spent centuries alone. Even before the volcano, he’d been a hunter of vampires, spending months, even years on his own with no one around. The world was a changed place for him. He had fought for hundreds of years for the protection of his people and then, while he was locked in a volcano, his species had nearly gone extinct.

Jubal lifted his hand and walked away in the direction of the river, shepherding the others to follow Miguel. The professor was carried out, the remaining porters taking turns with the others as they made their way steadily into the rain forest. Within moments, the trees and foliage had swallowed them.

Dax waited until they were gone before crouching down beside her. "Arabejila’s blood runs strong in you. Mitro believes she lives, which is to our advantage."

She nodded her head. "I understand that, but I didn’t realize it wasn’t only the earth telling me where Mitro has been. I can feel my blood reaching for him." She took a deep breath, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "It’s disturbing. I want my blood to call to you, not him. It makes me feel dirty."

Dax gathered her into his arms. "Han sivamak," he whispered tenderly. "My beloved. My blood and your blood are forever connected. Our hearts, our minds and our souls are inseparable. As for Arabejila’s blood, as we traveled together, we often were forced to exchange blood. Her blood is why Mother Earth accepted me and granted favors to me. My connection to Mitro is not as strong, but it is there."

Riley slipped her arms around his neck. "You always know the right thing to say to me to make me feel better. Let’s go find him, Dax. The sooner we find him, the faster we can get on with our life together."

Chapter 15

The wind picked up, swirling through the canopy, blowing storm clouds into a churning, riotous mass of spinning dark threads. Lightning forked across the sky, a wicked fork of electricity, lighting the canopy for a brief moment. Thunder rolled, a great boom, shaking the ground. On the heels of the thunder the low moan of the wind rose to wail and then once again died down.

Riley wiped sweat from her face. It was hard to breathe with the ash still clinging to the leaves and flowers. Her boots felt horribly heavy and she made a note to herself to purchase lighter ones next time. Her mind was a little hazy, the hike almost surreal.

Fate had made a terrible mistake. For Riley, tramping through the rain forest at night was an exercise in courage. She tried not to connect with Dax, afraid he’d see how afraid she was of every shadow. Her heart beat so loud she feared Jubal and Gary would both hear it. She wasn’t certain how she got to be the lifemate of a Carpathian warrior, who seemed to have all the courage in the world, when she was afraid of the shadows.

Riley cast a quick look around her at the others as they tramped through the dense vegetation. No one else seemed to be feeling as if at any moment they were going to be devoured by a pack of crazed jaguars leaping out of the shadows. It wasn’t as if she was completely crazy-the coughs and grunts coming from a short distance away told her at least one, mostly two jaguars paced along beside them.

She tried to control her breathing as best she could, but with every step she took, apprehension grew stronger and her chest grew tighter. The jungle seemed much denser, Miguel and Alejandro struggling to hack a path and keep them all on the much-faded trail. The more miles they covered, the more the dread inside her grew and the harder it was to keep the pace the guide had set.

Her night vision was amazing, her restless gaze following the thousands of insects forming a moving carpet under their feet. Everything seemed overly loud to her, especially the persistent drone of insects, and even the bugs took on a sinister quality to her overactive imagination.

Birds screeched in warning to one another, a constant, alarmed communication, unusual for nighttime. Above their heads was continual motion, the flutter of wings, the swish of branches as monkeys leapt from branch to branch as if they, like the jaguars, were following the travelers.

Tree trunks covered in black spikes seemed to leap out of the shadows at them. Oversize leaves, split into razor-sharp fronds, reached for them, driven by the wind. The dread seeping into her made her stomach churn. The sound of the machetes slashing through the screaming branches and foliage only added to her frayed nerves.

Riley and Dax had caught up with the others quickly. He’d simply shifted into a giant bird and taken to the air, carrying Riley until they were close enough to join her fellow travelers. To make better time, Dax took over carrying the professor. He could go for miles without breaking a sweat. She resisted looking over her shoulder at him. He was close, but with the weight of a grown man in his arms, he couldn’t be leaping into action if someone went crazy with a machete or the monkeys ambushed them.