Dark Possession Page 0,74

you think he's really dead?"

"I don't much care right now," MaryAnn said, shocked that it was true. She caught Jasmine's hand and began to run back toward the house, trying to think how she could keep Jasmine safe with the two jaguar-men waiting inside. She was fairly certain the cat who had attacked Sergio had been Luiz, but if she was wrong, Solange was fighting alone for her life.

They ran through the trees back along the path leading to the house. As they sprinted, leaping over the fallen boughs and tangled roots, monkeys began to scream in warning. Jasmine skidded to a halt and whipped her head from one side to another, searching the canopy above of them. Hundreds of monkeys threw leaves and twigs and jumped in agitation, baring teeth toward a group of trees close to the house.

"There's another one," Jasmine whispered.

"Of course there is, because it would just be too easy to have three of them after us." MaryAnn took a deep breath. "It's stalking us, isn't it?"

"Yes," Jasmine said. "There in the tree, I can see part of the fur. They want me alive, so maybe if we split up they'll come after me."

"You can forget that," MaryAnn said. "We got lucky with the mage, we might get lucky again, but whatever we do, we're not splitting up."

Jasmine's eyes widened. "Is that what you call luck? I thought your aim was excellent."

"I didn't do that. The lightning both hit it and sheered it off, or the wind took it down. Either way, it helped us and that's all that matters."

The air suddenly charged with electricity, their hair crackling. Clouds boiled dark, edged with flashing light. MaryAnn caught Jasmine and threw her to the ground, covering her body as best she could with her own. The sound of lightning striking the tree was loud, the trunk splitting, the jaguar howling. The roar ended

abruptly with the smell of burnt flesh and fur.

Jasmine shivered continually. MaryAnn held her tighter. "That's Manolito," she whispered, trying to assure the girl.

"I knew it had to be a Carpathian," Jasmine admitted. "I thought it might be Riordan and Juliette."

"It's a good thing. We have help. Solange is in trouble, Jasmine, and we have to get her out of there. He'll help us."

Jasmine swallowed visibly and sat up slowly, blinking as the tall Carpathian male came striding toward them. The cloud cover helped and the last of the sun was sinking, allowing him to move with more freedom. He looked like a warrior of old moving fast through the smoke and ruin of a battlefield. His face was chiseled and set. His hair was long and flowing behind him. Muscles rippled beneath warm gold skin, and his ice-cold eyes were bleak and dark, holding too many secrets.

The gaze swept right past Jasmine to find MaryAnn. Warmth pushed the chilling ice aside, and his eyes went hot as MaryAnn rolled over and sat, blinking up at him. He didn't miss a stride, moving fast, leaning down to scoop her up, even as he caught Jasmine's arm and pulled her off the ground as well. His fingers on Jasmine's skin were impersonal, and he never even looked at her, other than a quick cursory glance to make certain she was all right. His gaze registered the finger marks at her throat, but then jumped to do a thorough inspection of MaryAnn.

The pads of his fingers brushed over her skin, absorbing the feel and texture of her. He could breathe again, knowing she was alive. A storm of fury gathered in his eyes as he took in the gaping wounds on her leg.

"MaryAnn." He said her name. Breathed it. A mere thread of sound, but he made it poetry, as if she was his entire world.

She tried not to react. He was just so intense it was difficult not to respond to his complete focus. She swallowed the searing pain in her leg and attempted a smile. "Thanks for getting here so fast. Solange is inside fighting off a couple more of them. I think Luiz is here as well, trying to help."

He bent to examine the rakes on her legs.

MaryAnn caught his arm and tugged. "You have to go help her."

"I cannot leave you like this."

"I'm coming with you, so it's all right." MaryAnn wasn't going to argue, not when he set his jaw in that stubborn line. She pushed past him and began an awkward jog toward the house, certain he would follow her.

Manolito scooped