Dark Carousel (Dark #30) - Christine Feehan Page 0,125

with Vadim’s blood.

His lips were moving. His hands waving. She pushed the memory into her mind so Tariq could see. So the others, whoever they were, could see. It hurt, a thousand icicles stabbing her brain, but she managed it.

Tariq ripped her back through the tunnel. His hold was ruthless, impossible to ignore. It wasn’t so much on her body; Tariq had always been locked with her, his arm a band around her chest, but this was in her mind. He had commanded and now he was forcing obedience. Her barriers were down. All of them. It was the only way to enter the time tunnels. The journey back seemed longer than ever. Colder. She didn’t think she would have made it back on her own.

When Charlotte found herself in the present time, she was wrapped in Tariq’s arms, but each of the other males had a hand on her. Her head. Her shoulders. Both legs. One circled her ankle. The terrible shaking of her body made her teeth chatter. She couldn’t stop it. She was consumed by the cold. Every breath she took, she wheezed and struggled for air. Her lungs labored and hurt. So bad.

“You have no choice,” Siv stated.

That sounded ominous. Charlotte tried to look up at Tariq to question what Siv meant. What choice? About what? But she couldn’t think. She was cold. So cold. And exhausted. Her lashes drifted down, weighted, she was certain, by icicles. She meant to tell Tariq to get the ice off of her, that she couldn’t get warm with it surrounding her like a blanket, but the effort was too much.

“Sielamet, you cannot go to sleep,” Tariq said. “Stay with me. Talk to me.”

She had the sensation of moving and knew he was carrying her, taking her somewhere. She tried to turn her head into his shoulder to burrow deeper, but his usually hot body wasn’t even warm. She only found more ice. Sheets of it.

“Safeguard,” she whispered. “He used the word safeguard.” She hadn’t known what that meant when Tariq had used it, but now she knew Vadim had somehow turned the tables on her. While she spied on him, she hadn’t thought that he might have safeguarded his cruel work in some way.

No. No. No. Tariq felt the blow like a terrible punch to his gut. His heart stilled, stopped beating and then became frantic. His breath caught in his throat, and he couldn’t control his heart as it hammered out a protest. This couldn’t be happening. Not after finding her. Not after being with her. Laughing with her. Falling in love with the woman she was. Tariq crushed her frozen body against the warmth of his. She was fading too fast. Her heartbeat far too slow.

“Maksim, Dragomir, any of you, did you catch the weave he used for the safeguards he erected around the horses and chariots just before he removed all evidence of his having been there?” Tariq wanted every single man to give input. He couldn’t afford to get it wrong. He had an extraordinary memory when it came to spells and weaves, but this was too important.

He found himself praying to whatever gods there were, every one he’d ever heard about in his long life. Don’t take her. Whatever happened, he would follow. He would never allow her to travel into the unknown without him but . . .

The children. She stirred. In her mind. Sluggish. Can’t think.

That was bad—very bad.

Sielamet. Hang on for me. Hang on to me. Stay in my mind. Stay with me. He was begging. Running so fast he was a blur, but holding her spirit in his mind. He could see that weak flickering light. Pleading with those gods he wasn’t sure existed, but imploring anyway.

He knew the others followed him as he took her through the maze in the basement. They were all just as worried. Every breath Charlotte took was labored. Every puff that emerged from her mouth was coated with ice, tiny particles that were slowly freezing her lungs. Even the shivering had stopped, and that was a very bad sign. He couldn’t afford to wait another minute. He glanced at Maksim and nodded his head.

Maksim took off ahead of him, moving through the basement walls until he came to what appeared to be a solid concrete wall. Palm facing the solid slab, he flicked his hand to his left and the concrete slid out of his way revealing dark, rich loam. Minerals sparkled throughout the