He nodded, his gaze holding hers captive. “Yes, we’ll all sleep during the day. We can be up in the early morning hours and after the sun sets, but the effects of the sun are devastating on Carpathians.” He moved, taking her with him. “We have to get you out of these tunnels and back home. I’ve put the call out to the others and we’ll go out as a group. You’ll be in the center.”
It was an order, nothing less. His tone held no compromise. Was implacable. She heard that command in his voice, and she didn’t give a damn. Fighting for independence was one thing when her life and sanity weren’t at stake, but when she had to rely on his strengths, she wasn’t about to quibble over what tone he used. Clearly he was a man used to giving orders. Right then, she was supremely grateful for his ability to take charge.
Charlotte didn’t want to take a step out of the tunnels into the open. She felt extremely vulnerable, more so than she’d ever felt in her life. She had to trust these men—especially Tariq—to know what they were doing. Their grim faces told her she was in trouble. They expected an ambush. Because of her, Vadim knew exactly where they were.
She turned that over and over in her mind while she walked in the center of the tight-knit group through the last tunnel, the one leading out. If Vadim was inside her and could find her and talk to her, did that mean it could go both ways? Could she locate him? Track his whereabouts for the Carpathians? The idea made her feel less like a victim and more in control. She needed that, to feel in control.
One of the triplets stepped in front of the group and held up his hand.
“Lojos, Tomas and I can make a diversion, send it out first to trigger any traps they’ve set for us. Give us a few minutes,” Mataias said.
She liked the way the leadership changed among the Carpathian hunters. No one seemed to be considered more in charge than any other, although Dragomir was the scariest man she’d ever encountered—in his way he rivaled Vadim and that was saying something. Siv was a very close second.
Immediately, as if by common consent, the rest of the pack stepped back to allow the three men to take the lead.
“The rest of you construct a safeguard around Charlotte so Vadim cannot see into her mind. Whatever he has placed in her, you have to disrupt,” Lojos said.
Charlotte ducked her head, embarrassed that she was a vessel of betrayal for the monstrous psychopath vampire. Tariq pulled her snugly beneath his shoulder and wrapped an arm around her so that she felt comforted while he and the other men began chanting in their language and weaving some kind of barrier in her mind. She felt it going up, a thick shield that blocked out Vadim’s possession. She knew it was temporary, that the vampire could eventually find a way through it, but for the moment, it made her feel safe.
“Mataias.” Lojos pointed to a chunk of stone that had come out of the wall when the vampires had reduced everything in the underground city to rubble. “That will work for our leader.”
Mataias nodded and crouched down beside the large piece of bluish rock while his brothers gathered several smaller, but solid pieces in various colors to line up behind the bluish chunk.
Tomas found a gem-filled rock and added it to the growing pile in front of Mataias. Lojos walked down the tunnel seeking something along the walls. He stopped several times to examine roots and a few plants growing rather stubbornly through cracks in the dirt or stones forming the tunnels. He seemed in no hurry and neither did the others. They remained silent and watchful.
When Lojos bent and began tugging a plant, Charlotte peeked around Tariq in order to get a good look at what Lojos was doing. He carried the plant to the stones and placed a little segment on top of each stone. Tomas waved his hand over the rock with gems embedded in it and it broke apart. He placed gems on each of the chosen stones Lojos had put pieces of the plant on. Simultaneously, all three men stood and stepped back as if giving the rocks room. She held her breath, aware something big was about to happen, but not understanding what the