Dark Slayer

«No,» Natalya interrupted. «No, Razvan.» She shook off Vikirnoff and stood, hands on her hips. «I've just got you back. You can't go near that man. Not for any reason. You know he's hunting you. You know he is.»

Razvan sighed. When she was a child he had never liked it when Natalya was upset, and it was equally bad now that she was a fully grown adult. «I know him better than any other, Natalya,» he said, his voice gentle.

«Ivory has studied him and has actually worked with him at one time in his school. She is good with his spells, turning them around. Mikhail is right in that Ivory and I have a better chance of stopping him than any other we know of.»

«But it isn't right. You've suffered enough.» What she really meant was she'd given him up for years, and it wasn't right for either of them. She wanted him back.

Vikirnoff held out his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, she took it, leaning back against him, obviously trying not to cry.

«Ivory's and Razvan's great sacrifice may be the very thing that saves our people,» Mikhail said. «Both knew our enemy in the years we thought him dead. We have only Lara to keep the unborn children alive, and she cannot continue forever. We have four women-Syndil; you, Natalya; Lara and Skyler-who can cleanse the earth. Our species is very fragile right now. Should we manage to remove the threat of Xavier, we still will be fighting the odds to continue. We need Razvan and Ivory. We need every warrior we have to fight in any capacity they can.»

«I do not understand what you mean about these extremophiles,» Ivory said, frowning. «Before, when we were beneath the ground, I caught images of these things in your minds, but I do not understand exactly what these things are used for. Xavier has bred parasites to enhance the vampire's communication as well as to identify his allies. What do these microbes do?»

«They are in the soil and enter the male's body while he rests,» Gregori answered. «During sex he transfers the mutated microbes to the woman, who then transfers it to her unborn child. It is a vicious circle we cannot seem to stop.»

«And you are very certain Xavier is the source?» Ivory asked.

It was Razvan who answered. «I witnessed his experiments, all of them. I was present when he cast his evil spells, twisting and corrupting nature for his own dark purpose. He had pools of blood and liquid poison.»

Ivory's head came up as if scenting a fresh trail. «You actually heard his spell? He let you? You were there with him?» She tried to quell the exhilaration bursting through her.

«I told you I am not good with spells. That was why he wanted Natalya. She is.»

Natalya started to interrupt, to say something, but Mikhail silenced her. Let them speak together. He could see-feel, even-that Ivory was suddenly excited.

«But you have an extraordinary memory,» Ivory pointed out. «I have seen it, and you do not forget the smallest detail.» She looked to Gregori for confirmation, knowing the healer had spent a great deal of time in Razvan's mind. «We have talked about this, Razvan. If you can remember the precise, exact words of his spells, I am certain that I can unravel them. He used apprentices for the base of most of his spells, and then when they were getting too good at what they did, he got rid of them, because he feared them.»

Razvan's hand moved against hers, stroking over her wrist, over the thin white line where a cut had been. I have said I can remember, and yes, I recall even this one, but the remembering will not be easy. He didn't want to relive those days of torture, the sounds of screaming, helpless victims, of women he couldn't help, of his own role, whether knowing or not. If it is your wish, I will do so, he said.

Ivory touched his mind and found that same serene peace in him, the calm of complete acceptance. If she asked him to go back in his memories, she knew he would without hesitation, and love for him shimmered in her heart. Her pride in him rose in her soul. No matter what the others saw when they looked at his worn face, she would always see a hero.

«If you had the spell he used, could you take command of these extremophiles?» Mikhail asked Ivory.

«I might be able to, with enough time. I would have to study the spell. Xavier likes complex spells. And he would need a very complex one for the killing of an entire species and the mutating of another.» Ivory shrugged. «I have no idea how long it would take, but so far, when I have studied one of his spells, I have been able to reverse it.» Her chin lifted. «I was a very good student.»

Now Razvan's thumb pressed into the sensitive skin of her wrist, stroking a caress over her jumping pulse.

«If we have to move from the mountains, we will do so,» Mikhail said, «but I doubt if that will solve the problem. Eventually it will spread across our country into other lands. It would be far better if we could eradicate it.»