Dark Carousel (Dark #30) - Christine Feehan Page 0,145

undead, more rose up.

Fridrick is cruel, but he lacks the intelligence and patience of the Malinovs. There is great care in their planning. Vadim has sat like a bloated spider in the middle of his web, pulling his strings together slowly, so that no one noticed until he was ready to challenge us. He’s ready, Val, and he needs Emeline, Charlotte and Genevieve in order to carry out his plans. He targeted them months ago and everything he has done has been to acquire them.

Val flooded the Carpathian pathway with assent. No vampire would stay in the vicinity with so many hunters gathered in one place unless he could not leave for some reason. He goes out to sea to regroup, but he does not leave. That is all the more reason to keep your lifemate close.

Tariq knew he would never convince Val that Charlotte should be a part of the rescue, so there was no reason to continue to try. It was getting close to the time that he needed to be up and planning his assault on the warehouse where Liv was being held.

Sleep while you can, Val. When you wake, bring the others with you. Someone will have to stay behind to guard Emeline, Genevieve and the children. I’ll keep them asleep as long as I’m able. At the moment they are in their safe rooms sleeping under compulsion, all but Emeline.

It is done, Val vowed. Kulkesz arwa-arvoval, ekäm.

Walk with honor, my brother. Tariq repeated the sentiment back to the Carpathian in English. He meant every word. Val was a good man. A strong one. An elite hunter. He had endured torture beyond imagination and survived to help a small child through a horrific nightmare. He had forged a bond with Liv, one Tariq didn’t altogether understand. Val couldn’t feel, and yet that bond was strong enough to allow the ancient hunter to awaken from his sleep and attempt to soothe and steady the child through the daylight while she waited for the vampires to decide her fate.

Tariq turned his head slowly to look at the woman lying tucked into his side. Very gently, using his fingertips, he pushed back the thick fall of hair from her face. This rising they faced a battle for a child’s life. Possibly her soul. Liv would never survive intact without conversion. If they did that, the other children would insist they follow her into the Carpathian world. He had no choice but to chance the conversion, just as he had no choice but to allow Charlotte to risk herself when the time came. They were parents. There was no question that they would risk everything for their children. It didn’t matter to him that other hunters he respected might not agree with their decision—it was theirs to make.

Wake, beloved, and come to me. See me. The earth has healed you and you are fully in my world. Wake now.

He made certain the soil was open above their heads and their bodies were clean and fresh after their resting. Charlotte’s long lashes lifted and the impact of her beautiful eyes felt like a punch to his gut. Hard. In there. Dead on. For a moment she was all his, soft and loving, a ghost of a smile there for him. Then she was present, in the moment, and the daylight battle and kidnapping of their child came flooding back.

“Liv,” she whispered, her throat closing on a lump. “Tariq, she’s so frightened. I can feel her through you and she’s terrified. She wants to die. She’s figuring out a way to provoke them.”

He had known Charlotte was strong from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. As he’d gotten to know her, had been in her mind, the conviction had grown. When she’d awakened from her slumber in the earth because Liv had been sleepwalking, that had cemented his knowledge. Now, as she woke, she automatically scanned his mind, learned every detail of what had gone on while she slept.

“We’re going to get her, sielamet. Your first time in the sun will be vicious. It will feel as if you’re burning. You can take it, Charlotte. If we don’t get everything in place before Fridrick rises, we might miss our chance to get her back.”

Charlotte nodded immediately and allowed him to help her into a sitting position. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

There had been no hesitation, and he was proud of her for that. “We both have to feed.