Dark Wolf(72)

Dimitri remembered to coat his hands at the last moment, realizing the  cuffs were silver. Uncaring that the traitor's arm and wrist were  broken, he held him down with one knee pressed tightly into the small of  his back.

The Lycan snarled and raged, howled in pain and fought to free himself.  Dimitri pulled both arms behind him, slamming the handcuffs tightly  around the wolf's wrist. The assassin let out a high-pitched scream.

Fen reached for Zev, afraid they had lost him in the explosion. Are you alive? Come on, man, give me something.

There was a moment of silence. Fen counted his own heartbeats, waiting  for Zev to answer. He felt a faint stirring in his mind and relief  flooded him.

I'm in a little trouble, Fen, Zev admitted. I've got a piece of table  through me and I'm not going to lie, it hurts like hell. If I pull it  out, I'll bleed out before you can get to me.

Well, I guess you'd better not be foolish enough to pull it out then,  because I'd be royally pissed off if you died. What were you doing? Fen  cautiously moved part of the shield above their heads. Debris fell into  the hole. Playing hero again? Did you fling your body over the council  member while his bodyguards were down here trying to kill us?

Something like that. I can't tell if Arno's alive or not. He isn't  moving. I can't even feel him breathing. But then I can't exactly get  off of him either. I'm probably smothering him. There was a faint note  of humor in Zev's voice in spite of the pain.

"Skyler, I'm going to need your skills as a healer," Fen announced. "It  might be ugly up there, but I have no choice. Zev's in trouble."

Skyler came back into her own body, swaying with weakness, answering the  urgent call in Fen's voice. She had managed to repair most of the  damage to Daciana's body. "She needs blood," she announced.

Andre helped her to stand. You need blood, too, little sister, he said. Allow me to shield you while you take what you need.                       
       
           



       

Skyler knew she would never be able to help Zev if she wasn't strong  enough. Healing took a tremendous amount of energy, but she'd never fed  by herself before, not unless it was from Dimitri, and he'd reacted very  strongly to her taking blood from another male.

He's right, sívamet, he has asked my permission and I gave it. I will  need all my energy to battle the Sange rau, Dimitri encouraged. If you  feel you cannot, I'll help you.

Skyler was well past being reluctant to feed, especially under the  circumstances. She felt the urgency of Fen's request. He would never put  her in harm's way unless the situation was dire. Worse, she actually  liked Zev. She might still be a little angry with him, but it was  impossible not to respect him.

It is given freely. Andre shielded her from the sight of the Lycans as he offered his wrist.

Thank you, Andre. I accept your offering. She took his hand and sank her teeth into his vein.

Fen looked across the small shelter to his brother. "You'll have to keep  them off our backs. I'll join you as fast as I can. They'll be coming  to inspect the damage."

"By them," Randall said, "you mean the snipers, the Sange rau." He made it a statement.

"I'll go with you," Makoce volunteered. "You can't face two of them alone."

Dimitri shook his head. "You're one of few we trust. We need you here, protecting the rest of the council members."

"Are you ready, Skyler?" Fen demanded.

She closed the small wound in Andre's wrist. "Yes."

"Andre, I'll need you here to make certain no one else decides to kill  off the council members while we're out of the way," Fen said. "I can  send a couple of others down to help you."

Andre raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply.

Dimitri stepped over the handcuffed assassin and followed Fen and Skyler  up to the ground above them. The meeting hall was mostly rubble. Two  bodies lay ripped apart a few feet from the entrance to the shelter, as  if they'd been running for safety. Skyler coughed and covered her mouth  and nose. Floating particles of wood, dirt and stone turned the air in  what was left of the room to a thick, gray ash.

Fen rushed around the bodies toward the far wall where he spotted Zev's  leg sticking out from under what appeared to be scrap wood. The table  was shredded, great jagged splinters of wood as thick as a man's arm  pointed to the ceiling like spears.

Skyler's heart accelerated, slamming hard against her chest when she saw  Fen stop, his hands around one of the spears. Breaking into a run, she  flashed by the dead bodies without looking at them and found herself  kneeling beside Zev, shoving one fist into her mouth to keep from  sobbing.

She was a healer and all they had, but she was no miracle worker. Zev's  body lay sprawled over Arno. The elite hunter had wrapped his arms  around the council member, protecting him from the flying wood. He must  have tried to use the tables as a shield, knocking them over to their  sides, both men diving behind them.

Arno turned his head cautiously toward them as Skyler knelt beside him.  "Is he alive? I can't tell but I've been afraid to move, afraid I'd make  it worse."

Blood from Zev's wound coated Arno's back, but otherwise, he appeared  unhurt. Skyler glanced up at Fen's grim face. "Barely," she answered.

"I'm going to slip you out from under him," Fen told Arno. "Slide sideways and try not to bump him."

I can't do this alone. I'll need help, Skyler said. I'm calling Tatijana  and Branislava. I've warned them about the danger of the two snipers.  They know to come in without form.

She glanced around the room. Fen would have to help Dimitri. He couldn't  possibly fight two Sange rau alone. The prince had to be guarded, and  someone had to get the remaining council members and Daciana to safety.  Still . . .

"I know you need the warriors, Fen, but I'll need a couple for blood.  Can you pull back Lucian and Gabriel from what they're doing?"

"I doubt it, but I'll try."

"I can give him blood," Arno volunteered. "What the hell is going on?"

"Lycans have attacked us from nearly every direction," Fen told him.  "With them are the snipers we believe are Sange rau. Both of your elite  guards tried to kill council members."

"Fen, hurry," Skyler hissed. They couldn't worry about what was going on  politically or outside the shredded walls of the building, not if they  were going to save Zev's life.

Fen nodded curtly and sent a cushion of air between Zev and Arno,  lifting the body away from the council member without jarring it. Arno  shifted his weight carefully, easing out from under the floating,  wounded, elite hunter. As soon as he was clear, he scrambled back on all  fours, his face a mask of concern.

The moment he saw the large stake going through Zev's body, he turned  white, his eyes going wide with shock. "He can't possibly be alive," he  said.

Zev's eyelashes fluttered but didn't lift. "I'm alive," he whispered,  his voice hoarse with pain. "I'm just not certain I want to be."

Tatijana and Branislava materialized on either side of Skyler. Tatijana  gently touched Skyler in sympathy as they assessed the situation.

"One of us will have to hold him to us," Tatijana said.

"I can try," Skyler agreed reluctantly. "I've got a connection with him."

"I'll do it," Branislava announced. She leaned over Zev and took his  hand gently. You remember me, right, Zev? We danced together. It was a  beautiful moment in my life and I'll treasure it always. We shared blood  to bond and to be able to speak telepathically. Allow me to bind your  spirit to mine. I'll keep you safe while my sister and Skyler heal you.

I remember you. Zev's spirit was already fading, slipping away from  them, as his life's blood drained out on the floor. The shock to his  body was tremendous. My beautiful dream lady.

Branislava reached for his spirit, that fading light, and surrounded it  with her own. Her spirit was strong and bright and she corralled the  flickering insubstantial spirit that remained of Zev so that the two  spirits melded together. She wove her light through his to bind him to  her.

We can make our own dream right here, together, while they work on your  body. You won't have to feel it or think of what they're doing, only  stay here with me. Stay with me.

Skyler looked at Fen, her heart pounding nearly out of control, her  mouth dry. She had Tatijana beside her and that gave her courage, but  she knew they all believed she was a great healer. She didn't have the  experience, or the training. They were on their own. A coordinated  attack on the Carpathians required every warrior and woman to defend  their homeland.

She took one breath and nodded her head. "Do it," she said.

Fen pulled the stake from Zev's body. Blood gushed. Tatijana was ready  with her hands, pressing them deeply into the wound, light bursting out  from under her palms. Skyler shed her body and entered Zev's, working  fast to repair the damage.