Dark Carousel (Dark #30) - Christine Feehan Page 0,141

served him well.

What is it? Charlotte sounded scared.

There was no way to save Liv. She couldn’t get off the horse, and Tariq knew an explosion was coming, one that would blow right through the safeguards from the inside and allow Fridrick’s army of puppets and humans entry. The others would be safe, but Liv . . .

No. Beside him, Charlotte tried to struggle. To move. When she couldn’t she stared in horror at the screen, her gaze glued there in spite of the bloodred tears tracking down her face. Tariq. She whispered his name in his mind. An intimate connection. A plea. Tariq wanted to reassure her, but he couldn’t.

The cloud rose, whirling as fast as the horses. And then a figure came running across the yard, onto the screen where Tariq could see. Emeline. She wasn’t safe belowground; she was leaping, timing her leap exactly, putting her life on the line to catch Liv around the waist and yank her from the spinning horse. The force of the wooden animal sent them flying through the air. Emeline tucked Liv into her and tried to land in a protective ball. She hit the ground hard. Too hard. Emeline rolled like a rag doll, her arms outstretched, clearly unconscious. Liv rolled as well, not as far as Emeline, but she’d hit the ground hard enough to stun her.

They’re alive. He breathed the knowledge into Charlotte’s mind. Relief was tremendous, but he knew what was coming. His fingers inched their way to find Charlotte’s hand so he could thread them together with hers. Beloved, this will not be good. Take a breath.

The explosion rocked the compound. It put deep cracks in the ground and several walls in the houses cracked. A tree groaned and then slowly toppled over. The chariots and horses went flying. One landed in a tree. One in the middle of the dragons. Another in the playground. Splinters of wood became arrows and spears, knifing through the air, looking for a target.

Stay on the ground, Liv, Tariq ordered the child.

She moved, a writhing of pain, but her hands had gone flat to the shaking ground to push herself up. At Tariq’s command she hesitated and looked cautiously around. Emeline was absolutely still and he could see a thin trail of blood seeping out from under where her head was. Her hair was a fan around her, thick and dark, so dark it appeared almost blue. Thin red streaks matted the strands and soaked into the ground. Charlotte’s fingers tightened around his as Fridrick’s army poured into the compound.

The humans tossed pipe bombs at the houses. Several threw grenades. Tariq recognized some of the human men who had been in the tunnel when Charlotte had accessed the memories from when Liv had been thrown to the puppet. Puppets swarmed the compound. Liv let out a small shriek and began to cry.

Stay quiet, baby, Charlotte advised. Her eyes frantically searched the screens. Smoke was filling the air, making it difficult to see everything.

Without warning, the blue dragon in the play yard stood on his back legs, spread his wings, and fanned them so that the smoke was driven back. Charlotte caught a glimpse of a series of small boulders artfully placed in the garden. They were only a few feet from Liv.

Can you make it to those boulders, honey? Look to your left and behind you. There’s just enough room for you to slip between them.

If you stay low, Liv, I can shield you, Tariq added.

Sobbing, crawling on her hands and knees, Liv hurried across the few feet to the edge of the garden where the boulders were. She squeezed between two of them and went to her tummy, pulling her knees under her in an attempt to imitate the rocks around her.

Tariq instantly began to weave a shell of protection over her. It wouldn’t help if she moved, but as long as she stayed there, it was a cloak of invisibility the attackers couldn’t penetrate. His security force would be arriving any minute and then chaos would really reign.

Emme hasn’t moved. Charlotte filled his mind with worry.

There was nothing he could do for Emeline. She lay to the right of the play yard, her body on its side, arms flung out, blood a halo around her head. She’d saved Liv’s life. Liv wouldn’t have survived the explosion, but there was no telling what price Emeline paid for her courage.

Time and again explosions hit the houses, as the men and puppets