Dark Peril Page 0,153

a steadying arm around her waist, but his eyes were on the cat's body. He had heard whispers of a blood--royal blood--that could defeat black magic, but in all his centuries and all his travels, the rumor had never been substantiated. Slowly, Brodrick and his ancestors had killed the very thing that could have protected them.

Dominic did as she asked. The massive scar tissue was slowly repairing and the layers of shadow were giving way to the tissue and cells that belonged inside of the cat. He merged his mind with hers so she could see the evidence for herself.

"That doesn't make sense." Solange took a step toward the kitten. Already a good portion of its left side was substance. The fur was thinner and there were still gaping spots where the shadow showed through, but her blood was forcing the magic out.

"Xavier needed your blood to open the book because it was the only thing that could after he put the spell on it. No one understood that," Dominic murmured, more to himself than to her. "Xavier was too clever even for himself. He sealed his book so no other mage could use his spells. He was growing paranoid, already sick and trying desperately to stay alive using Carpathian blood to sustain him. But there had to be younger mages coming up, growing more powerful, so he sealed his book of spells. Then he couldn't open it either. That is why your blood became so important."

Solange shivered. Dominic rubbed his hands up and down her arms to warm her. "Xavier is gone from this world, Solange. He cannot harm you. The mages who created this one"--he waved his hand toward Shadow--"are long gone. They abandoned the ranch next to the De La Cruz property."

She frowned at him. "How do you know that?"

"Carpathians send news to one another upon rising. Zacarias sent word."

Solange knelt beside the kitten, circling his head with her arms, and smiled up at Dominic. "If my blood did this, then I'm happy. I've never been particularly proud of my lineage, but if it can do this much good, then I'll keep it."

Dominic frowned, but didn't say a word. He wouldn't take this moment away from her for anything, not even to explain what would happen during conversion.

Chapter Eighteen

Look at me--now see yourself through my eyes. Look at you: the perfect man of my dreams.

SOLANGE TO DOMINIC Solange held her breath as she watched Dominic stride across the open ground toward the laboratory with his confident, superior air. She had no choice but to stay hidden in the trees, at least a hundred and thirty yards from him. Even then, the parasites quieted. They didn't go still, but they definitely ceased their tempting, painful whispers. She wanted to be closer, where she felt she had a chance to protect him, but once inside, he could only share with her by merging.

Her heart in her throat, she kept her gaze fixed on him. There were three human guards that she could see. Two were at the door of the lab and one near the southern corner. The guards watched him uneasily, but no one challenged him. They fell back under the shocking gaze of Dominic's piercing eyes.

She recognized the two jaguar-men off by themselves, keeping a wary eye on the group of vampires milling around the open yard. Both stayed close to the forest where they could easily shift and disappear into the canopy should they have need. They were heavily armed, something she rarely saw in the jaguar-men. They mostly relied on their cat for protection, but they were obviously not taking any chances meeting with vampires and humans.

A small group of immaculately dressed vampires stood to the right of the door, talking, trying to appear human, but the guards had sensed their unnaturalness and kept as far from them as possible. Occasionally one of the vampires would look toward a human and smirk, eyes feasting and saliva dribbling. It was deliberate provocation and told Solange that even the vampires were on edge. A meeting of this type was unheard-of. Representatives of several master vampires had arrived, but hunger was the most prevalent emotion she could read. There were few people to donate blood and if they wanted their meeting kept quiet, they couldn't have a massacre. The vampires had gone without feeding, and the smell of human blood had to be driving them crazy.

A sliver of moonlight fell across Dominic's face, highlighting the dark edges,