Dark Curse Page 0,151

way."

Lara sent a scowl over her shoulder. "Were concentrating here. Do you think this is easy?"

"We can't kill them, they're already dead," Natalya said, thinking aloud. "We can't freeze them, they came out of the ice."

"We should be able to get their attention and wrestle the command away from Xavier. His way is always simplicity. He rips their soul from them and takes command, much like he did to my father," Lara mused. "So there's no loyalty there. They're enslaved against their will."

"Lara!" Nicolas called. "It's grown another head. What are you doing up there?"

"Playing dolls," Lara called back, a bite of irritation in her voice. "This isn't easy, Nicolas. I need to concentrate."

"You can do it," Natalya encouraged. "You have a feel for him and I've noticed the ice responds to you."

Lara hadn't considered that. She was at home in ice caves. They felt natural to her and the mage spells flooded her mind, faster and faster the more she used them. The aunts had prepared her for any trouble, it seemed, and more than ever she was determined to bring their bodies home. In life, maybe they'd been prisoners, but not in death.

"Keep the venom and parasites off of me, Natalya," she said.

"You got it."

Lara took a breath and let it out, lifting her hands and weaving a pattern in the air directed at the shadow warriors.

Ancient warriors of the past, who stood with honor and favored tasks. Now controlled by the dark and unseen, I call to you-listen to me. Bound by darkness that has no honor, I call to your spirit-fight once again as warriors. I send to you strands of strength, allowing you the ability to

think. I ask a boon and release your souls, stand as one that has been froze.

The shadow warriors froze, dropping their swords, points toward the icy floor. Through the swirling smoke, Lara caught glimpses of the red pits for eyes set into black masks where their faces should have been. Facing the mirror of ice, the warriors remained frozen, staring sightlessly into that which reflected their empty souls. It saddened her that these men, who had lived their entire lives with honor, could be commanded by one so evil as Xavier.

Lara lifted her hands once more and began to weave a pattern, this one even more intricate and detailed than the one before. This time when she chanted, her voice rang with respect.

Those who have suffered evil wrongs, who have fought in battles standing strong, look into the ice and see, that which may be reclaimed by thee.

Holding her breath, she waited as each warrior began to move, awakening as if from a long sleep. They stretched their arms toward the mirror of ice.

Lara continued to chant softly.Warriors of strength, time and valor, take back that which is yours and ascend with honor .

The ice began to form and give birth to floating lights, each a different color and shape. As the lights descended, the warriors stepped into them, glowing for a moment. Then each, bowing low toward Lara, simply vanished.

The moment the last of the shadow warriors disappeared, Lara called to Nicolas. "The way is clear. We have to get out of here. Don't step on the pods."

Vikirnoff and Nicolas joined their lifemates, hurdling over the snapping teeth to get out of the mother parasite.

"That was well done, Lara," Nicolas said, sending a small salute after the warriors. "You honored them and rightly so."

"What are we going to do with that?" Vikirnoff asked, as the hideous creature snapped her jaws at them. She couldn't move, frozen as she was, her body part of the ice cave.

"Destroy it, Lara," Nicolas said. "I cannot call down the lightning here, but you can destroy that breeding machine. It sits there waiting for victims to feed to its young. You command all the elements."

"So do you." She tipped her head back and studied his face. He wanted this for her-to feel powerful and in control. He wanted her to know she could kill the monster that preyed on his people. She nodded. "I wish we'd had time to think of a way to destroy his laboratory."

Nicolas's smile held no humor, he simply bared his teeth in a wolfish way. "I'm giving it some thought. It is necessary to see where he is slipping the infected microbes into the soil."

"He has to be using the glacier to deliver them to either the soil or the water," Lara said. "My guess would be the soil