Before his brain could process the change, before he could understand or even put a name to it, a loud blast sounded behind him. Something hard and hot tore through his back, ripping a path through his chest. Dax staggered, releasing the man in his grip and falling to one knee. In a daze, he put a hand to his chest. It came away wet, covered in dark liquid.
"Gary, stop! Stand down. Put the damned gun away!" The man with the broken arm pushed forward, shoving the others out of the way. "Olenasz? Nimed olen?" A demand to know his name.
Jubal glanced up at the others. "Someone, give me a light. I need a light over here."
A small, shockingly bright light flared into existence. It blinded Dax for an instant, and then focused on the bloodied mess of Dax's chest.
His blood gleamed bright, shocking scarlet in the light. His skin, once the pale white that had never seen the sun, was a burnished mahogany brown.
Dax stared up into Arabejila's eyes. Not black but a rich, dark brown, the color of fertile earth so necessary to every Carpathian's survival. But she wasn't Arabejila. She wasn't the friend who had traveled and hunted beside him for centuries. She was someone else entirely. Someone he had long ago ceased to think could possibly exist.
He reached for her, his bloody hand brushing a streak of red across the ash coating her cheek. Palafertiilam.
Chapter 9
Riley stared in stunned amazement at the fiercely beautiful man kneeling before her. He'd said "Palafertiilam" and touched her cheek with exquisite gentleness; she found herself literally frozen in place. Little red and gold specks of glowing ash were falling in a dazzling display around them, adding to the dreamlike feel of the moment. The terror of mere seconds ago had evaporated entirely, leaving behind a dazed sense of wonder. Then, with a blinding speed every bit as shocking as his unexpected gentleness, the man whirled on Gary, divested him of the pistol and caught his throat in a viselike grip. The entire series of moves happened in less than a heartbeat.
"No, please!" Riley leapt forward instinctively, grabbing the vampire's arm. Beside her, Ben brought up his weapon.
"Ben, wait," Jubal barked. "He's not the vampire! He's not the vampire!" Jubal pointed to his left wrist where the bracelet that had been radiating colors seemed to have changed back to what he had called its dormant state.
Whether driven by an innate protective streak, a rush of adrenaline or simply self-preservation, Ben did not respond to Jubal's shout. He brought his rifle up, taking aim at the back of the dragon-man's head. His finger squeezed the trigger.
Riley's whole body jumped at the loud report, then everything seemed to move in slow motion. The rifle spat bullet after bullet in rapid succession. Riley screamed and covered her ears as she waited for the dragon-man to fall. He seemed an impossible target to miss, standing as he was only a few feet in front of Ben. But the man didn't fall.
One moment the dragon-man was standing in front of her, the next he was not. She saw the small explosion of dirt as the bullet crashed into the wall of mud behind the spot where he'd been standing. Then another and another. It happened so fast, she was still trying to make sense of it when the rifle fell silent.
The dragon-man had released Gary to disarm Ben. He now had Ben by the shoulder and was staring intently into Ben's eyes. The man's other hand was pressed against the bullet hole that had ripped through his stomach. Ben sat with abrupt gracelessness. Ignoring Gary and Jubal, the vampire released Ben and turned his entire focus back on Riley.
She half expected him to rip her to pieces as her mother had been.
Instead, he gave a small bow and said in a surprisingly calm and polite voice, "You are not Arabejila, sivamet. My apologies for the confusion. It is only that you resemble her so strongly."
Some small, rational part of her mind was thinking she should be screaming or something, but Riley just stood there, mesmerized, staring at the preternaturally beautiful face. At the ... the distinctive fangs that had lengthened in his mouth. Dear God. He was a vampire. An honest-to-God, bloodsucking vampire! The vampire looked like a man. A stunningly beautiful man. Short, closely cropped black hair, skin like burnished mahogany, dark eyes that flickered with ruby lights in their depths. And his voice ... his voice was pure magic. It caressed her like a physical touch, soft, smoky, soothing. The stirring cadence of his voice calmed her.
It took her almost a minute to realize he was now speaking English, she was so fascinated with the shape of his mouth and that flash of white teeth. His voice was charismatic, a blend of honey and warmth.
"Please, palafertiilam, allow me to introduce myself." He bowed slightly, with an otherworldly grace. "I am Danutdaxton."
Dumbfounded didn't begin to describe her state as the man straightened to his full height. She had never seen anyone so beautiful, so impressive or so wounded. He stood there with straight shoulders, his body bleeding from hundreds of small and large wounds, his gaze steady on hers, his eyes ... mesmerizing. His eyes were incredible, with as many facets as a cut diamond, the color as luminous as a diamond, yet holding tiny red and orange flames. His mouth was cut perfectly and when he smiled ... his teeth looked very white and very sharp.
"I-" She cast a frantic glance at Gary and Jubal. She knew they'd told her that vampires could appear good, but she was shocked at her reaction to him. Tiny electrical charges raced up her arms. Her breath caught in her lungs and even her mouth went dry.
To her surprise, the two men shared a silent, speaking gaze, then both lowered their weapons and bowed in the vampire's direction.
"It's okay, Riley." Gary began speaking to her in a very soft and calming voice. "He's not a vampire. The other one was-the black dragon. But he's a Carpathian ... a hunter." He said hunter as if it held great meaning.
"B-but ... he's got ... f-f-" She tapped a finger on her teeth and spat the word out. "Fangs. And he can literally dodge bullets."
"I know. It's hard to explain, but he isn't a vampire. He hunts them. He's one of the good guys, but he's hurt very bad and he needs blood." This time Gary looked like he knew he was imparting things he didn't want to.
"Carpathians need blood to heal," Jubal added, "and he needs to heal right away."
"So ... what?" Riley glanced between the two men, suddenly not feeling at all reassured. "Are you saying he has to take our blood to survive?"
She didn't look his way, afraid of being entranced by his gaze again. If he needed blood, she didn't want him taking hers-or did she? Was that what she was afraid of? That she wanted to go to him and take away his pain? Her need to help him confused her and made her wary. It took every bit of strength she had to hold herself in place and not rush to him and offer whatever he needed-including blood.