Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
That really alarmed Benedek. Something was terribly wrong. Could compulsion be buried in the storm itself?
I am moving as fast as possible toward the small city, Tomas said. Hunger beats at me. The need for blood is paramount.
Wait! Benedek forced his brain to work when all it wanted to do was urge him to feed. Tomas, Lojos, Nicu, we’re caught in some kind of hideous trap.
He’s right, Nicu confirmed. We can’t give in to this compulsion.
Before we go to the city and get the blood we need, we must figure out what is happening to us, Benedek advised. He told the others what he knew to be true, but the thought of delaying feeding only deepened his craving. Every cell in his body urged him to continue with his flight. He needed. He wouldn’t survive if he didn’t fall on his prey and rip out their throats to get at the rich, hot blood.
The moment the thought entered his head, he was appalled. Shocked. He didn’t ever think that way. He didn’t feel anything other than the dark rush during battle. He had stopped hearing whispers of temptation to rip out throats centuries earlier. Why was it happening all over again and with such ferocity?
He forced his body to slow down. We need to talk, he told the others. Look for a place we can get together out from under the eyes of the storm.
I’m not certain I can wait, Lojos admitted.
I will lend my strength to yours, Mataias said. We cannot be lost after fighting for our honor all these centuries. Let me join with you, brother.
I fear whatever spell I’m under would have a chance to taint you as well, Mataias, Lojos protested. Better to lose one than all of us.
That is not the vow we took, Lojos. Mataias was firm. I will join with you. Open yourself to me. It was a firm, calm command.
Benedek was grateful at least one of his brethren could still think clearly. He took for granted his ability to always remain under perfect control. The whispers of temptation to turn vampire had disappeared so many centuries earlier, the intensity of the drive had faded into his memories. Even accessing his memories, he had never had such a compulsion to feed or an urge to kill while feeding.
Ancients didn’t feel. It was that simple. He shouldn’t be experiencing such out-of-control emotions. He shouldn’t feel as if he had no choice but to feed on fresh blood, yet the thought consumed him, just as it did the others. Even Nicu, who was extremely strong, felt the effects of the compulsion.
Benedek spotted a boulder jutting out from the side of a mountain. A crack ran along the edge and straight through the boulder. If there’s a cave, we might be able to shelter out of sight of those watching eyes.
I’m close, Nicu said. Let me check it out. I don’t like the feeling of being herded. That’s the way it feels to me.
Benedek found it interesting that Nicu used the terms “feels” and “feeling.” They were ancients. They shouldn’t be feeling anything.
Why the storm if they aren’t throwing lightning spears at us? Tomas asked.
Benedek thought that was a good question. There was no doubt the storm was orchestrated by a vampire. Why weren’t they being attacked? There was far too much mystery about this bizarre situation. He’d been battling vampires and demons for centuries. He believed he’d seen it all. There hadn’t been anything new in all that time, and now, unexpectedly, when he was seeking his lifemate, a bizarre event was unfolding.
Nicu broke off from the others, shifting to mist to drop from sight, so the spies in the clouds couldn’t follow where he was going.
My body didn’t want to shift. Try it and see what happens.
Benedek immediately shifted to mist. Shifting started in the mind. He’d always been very fast at shifting from one form to another. This time there was a hesitation in his mind. A reluctance of the body, as if he couldn’t quite remember shifting. That hesitation was a microsecond but, in a battle, could easily cost him his life.
Whoever controlled the storm was exceptionally powerful. Behind the four gates that four Carpathian women guarded was an ancient Carpathian male, more beast than man, more demon than warrior and far more powerful than anyone could conceive. Had he finally turned vampire? Had he joined the forces of Lilith’s army? If he had, every hunter would be at risk.
I shifted but with trouble. Perhaps we should attack the clouds and see if this spell will leave us, Tomas said.
I couldn’t shift without the help of Mataias, Lojos admitted. This is a powerful enemy we’re up against.
That only added to the worry that Justice, the ancient Carpathian behind the gates, had joined the ranks of Lilith’s army.