Dark Wolf(25)

I call to my birthright

I am Dragonseeker,

Born of dragons,

Dracaena, Draco-dragon's blood.

I am Mage,

Born of those who wield power-magic makers,

Time benders,

Portal makers.

I summon thee, earth,

Open your arms, create a space that is safe, protected.

I call on light to surround,

Let your bright protective light circle and protect.

I command thee, fire, wrap this place like a cocoon that cannot be penetrated.

Mother, allow this space only to us,

Allowing no other entry,

Water, supply us with your life-giving sustenance.

As above, so below,

So mote it be.

The ground below her rippled in response to her command. The air  shimmered with fire, and then settled into a nearly transparent wall  barely seen. Letting out her breath slowly, Skyler looked at Josef.  "It's done."

Josef looked at her with awe. "I never actually thought you could do it."

"You didn't? Why did you agree to all of this if you didn't think we'd  have a fail-safe?" She punched his arm. "I thought I could do it because  you thought I could."

Paul laughed. "You ought to know Josef by now." He put his arm around  Skyler's shoulders. "You're awesome, you know that? I think you could do  anything."

"I hope you're right," she said. "I know I can get those hooks out of  Dimitri's body, but the chain has burned so deeply into his body that  I'm not certain . . ."

"Don't start doubting yourself at this late stage of the game," Josef  cautioned. "Now is when you need confidence. You just did what no one  believed possible. Paul is right, you can do anything, including getting  the chain off Dimitri. Once that's done, I don't care how bad a shape  he's in, he'll get you out of there."

"Have you considered that he won't look the same?" Paul touched the  small crescent-shaped scar on her temple. "He'll have scars."

"Carpathians don't scar," Josef said.

Paul shook his head. "That's not true. I've seen plenty of them with  scars. If the wound could be fatal and it's there too long without care,  they'll scar."                       
       
           



       

"Do you really think that would matter to me?" Skyler asked in a low  tone. "I couldn't care less what Dimitri looks like to other people.  He's beautiful to me. He always will be."

Paul smiled down at her. "I knew you'd say that. The cool thing, Sky, is you mean it."

"I'll take Paul first, and get him in position to protect your retreat,"  Josef said. "Will you be all right here by yourself until I come back  for you?"

"Of course, but, Josef, the Lycans can sense your energy. Don't get too close to that camp, or any of the guards."

"I'll be careful," he promised.

Paul hugged her hard. "Good journey, little sister."

"Good journey, my brother," she murmured, holding him close for a  moment. She closed her eyes briefly as she returned his hug. He had come  there for her, and he very well could get killed if the Lycans  discovered their prisoner gone before she managed to get them all to  safety.

Reluctantly she dropped her arms, releasing him. Paul raised her chin,  looking into her eyes. "Always remember I wanted to come. I chose to  help my friends. Dimitri is a good man and I consider him family, just  as you are to me. With or without you, I would have chosen to rescue  him, or at least try."

She felt the burn of tears, but she managed a smile, nodding her head.  Intellectually, she knew Paul spoke the truth, but still, she felt  responsible. If anything happened to him she would always carry that  with her. She watched them go, Josef taking to the air with Paul, before  she sat down right there in the vegetation, ignoring the drone of  insects.

We're ready, Dimitri. I will be coming for you. Can you look around? Can  you see a likely route to get in and out without detection?

She didn't want him balking at the last moment. This would be hardest on  him. A Carpathian male did not ever want to feel helpless, especially  when his lifemate was in danger. She knew he would want to fight his  restraints, and now, more than ever, he had to be still and conserve his  energy.

There is no one around me at the moment, but usually they stay a few  meters away, hidden in the trees, watching me. I believe I am the  entertainment for the bored. From my vantage point I can't see much.  Without these chains, I could . . . He broke off in frustration.

She sent him instant warmth, surrounded him with her confidence and her  love. We have a great ally in Mother Earth. She'll come to our aid when  we have need, she promised. Give me a minute.

She plunged her hands deep into the soil and instantly felt the  connection with earth itself. Her heart found that steady deep boom that  came from below. Sounds of water, the wind, the sap ebbing and flowing  in the trees all came to her as if they were part of her very life  force.

I call upon thee, Mother,

Hear my voice.

Feel my need,

Send me the creatures that dwell within your darkness,

Cloak our energies so we are not seen, heard or felt.

The flow of information was strong, as if that connection with the earth  was growing with each touch. Even the insects spoke to her. She was no  longer bothered by them, but understood exactly why they were needed and  what part in the ecological system they played.

Earth Mother,

I give thanks to you and your minions.

May there always be peace and harmony between us,

I release you now, go in peace.

She was grateful for the guidance and murmured her thanks.

Dimitri, I am certain of the way. Just hold on a little longer. As soon  as I get the chains off, I'll give you blood. Then it will be up to both  of us to run like hell. She tried to push a little amusement into her  voice, feeling his tension.

Dimitri was a man who rarely was tense. In the worst situations he was  always calm and cool, but knowing she was putting herself in danger for  him bothered him on an entirely new level. He probably had never known  what the word tense actually meant until he found her.

She had to struggle to understand his nature. She saw his needs in his  mind, but she hadn't lived for centuries. She didn't have his  experiences. She wasn't Carpathian and didn't fully understand the  driving need of the male to protect his lifemate.

I cannot aid you until these chains have been removed, he reiterated. I am weak, starved. I won't be able to move fast.

Dimitri tried to make her understand his condition. He'd been mortally  wounded numerous times over the centuries, but he'd never felt so  helpless. The silver chains prevented the most basic of Carpathian  abilities. He couldn't reach out to his brother-something that he'd been  doing all of his life. His brother couldn't reach him. Josef was close,  and he'd tried to touch him on the common Carpathian path, but that was  closed to him-because of the terrible chains wrapped from his forehead  to his ankles.

The burning in his skin was endless, but now his fear for Skyler's  safety even overrode that horrendous agony. He could only hang  helplessly, terrified for her, waiting for the night's work to play out.

We have to do this as silently and as stealthily as possible, Skyler  reminded him. Lycans are sensitive to all energy used. We don't want  them to feel us.

Dimitri suppressed a groan of frustration. I am Sange rau. They cannot feel me, which is why they hate me. They fear me.

You are a Guardian of all, Dimitri, not the dreaded Sange rau. You will have to think of yourself as a Guardian always.

Clearly, Skyler didn't understand his desire, his need to be Sange rau,  even if just for a moment, to rip out the throats of his tormenters, the  ones who came around when Zev wasn't near. They kicked him, spit on  him, and some even dared to get close enough to use their fists on him.  They deliberately shook and jarred his body in the hopes that the hooks  would tear at his flesh and the silver race for his heart.

Their hatred was tangible. Facing them, being in their midst, he knew  Mikhail Dubrinsky, the prince of his people, could never change the  minds of such fanatics. Their hatred ran deep, taught to them by  generations of hatred. He had done nothing to them. In fact, he had come  to the aid of their kind. Gunnolf and Convel, the two he had saved,  were the worst of his tormenters and seemed to take it personally that  he hadn't died quickly.

Dimitri had never known such a thing as hatred. He hunted the vampire,  but he was completely emotionless when he did so. It was a matter of  honor, of duty, never personal. A vampire was evil and he murdered  innocent men, women and children. He had to be brought to justice. There  was no joy in the taking of a life, any life. This experience taught  him what hatred was. Had it not been for Zev's compassion, he might have  decided the Lycan species was not worth saving and he would have been  just as bad as they were.

Josef is back. He'll bring me close to the camp and leave me to make my  way. I have a path to take and I can sense the presence of the Lycans,  Skyler informed him. And, my beloved, lest you think you really would  form these narrow opinions, I can assure you, that is your pain and your  fear for me talking to you, the lack of sustenance and your weakness. I  see into your mind and there are no such true feelings. You can't hold  evil in your heart or mind, Dimitri, that is not who you are.