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Lucian Walachia, 1400

The village was far too s so quickly toward the in their path had been destroyed, everyone murdered, cruelly murdered Bodies were iers to finish off Blood ran in rivers No one was spared, not even the youngest child or the oldest elder The invaders burned and tortured andbehind only rats and fire and death

The village was eerily silent; not even a child dared to cry The people could only look at one another in despair and hopelessness There would be no help, no way to stop the es before them in the wake of that terrible enemy They were too few and had only their peasant weapons to fight off the advancing hordes They were helpless

And then the tarriors caht They moved as one unit, in perfect accord, in perfect step They race, fluid and supple and totally silent They were both tall and broad-shouldered with long, flowing hair and eyes of death So in the depths of those icy black eyes

Grown men moved out of their omen shrank into the shadows The tarriors looked neither left nor right yet saw everything Power clung to them like a second skin They ceased toe elder joined them just above the scattered huts, where they could stare out at the e them from the forest

"What news?" the elder asked "We heard of the slaughters in every direction Now it is our turn And nothing can stop this storo, Lucian, nowhere to hide our faht, but like all the others, ill be defeated"

"We are traveling fast this night, Old One, as we are needed elsewhere It is said our Prince has been slain We ood and kind ht and do e can to help you before we move on The enemy can be very a superstitious people"

His tone was pure and beautiful, like velvet Anyone listening to that voice could do no other than what Lucian coain The voice alone could enthrall, could seduce, could kill

"Go with God," the village elder whispered in thanks

The two men ht of the village, without speaking a word aloud, they shape-shifted at exactly the saly in the night as they circled high above the ti are the earth beloas streith hundreds of men

Fog round The wind ceased, so that the , owls dropped silently out of the sky, razor-sharp talons directed straight at the eyes of the sentries The owls see in precise synchronization so that they were in and out before anyone could couards' assistance Screams of pain and terror filled the void of silence, and the ar for an ene They saw only their own sentries, e down their faces as they ran sightlessly in any direction

In the center of the mass of warriors a crack was heard, then another Crack after crack, and two lines of round with broken necks It was as if hidden within the thick fog were invisible ene necks with their bare hands Chaos erupted Men ran screa forest But wolves boiled out of nowhere, snapping with powerful jaws at the fleeing army Men fell on their own spears as if directed to do so Others rammed their spears into comrades-at-arht the coned Voices whispered in the soldiers' heads, in the very air, whispered of defeat and death Blood soaked the ground The night went on and on until there was no place to hide from the unseen terror, from the specter of death, from the wild beasts that came to defeat the army

In the ht - and found only the dead

Lucian Carpathian Mountains, 1400

The air reeked of death of destruction All around were the ses The Carpathian ancients had tried in vain to save their neighbors, but the enemy had struck as the sun reached its peak The hour rendered the ancients helpless, as their poeakest at that time So many Carpathians, as well as humans, had been destroyed - men, women, and children alike Only those of their people who had been far away had escaped the crushing blow

Julian, young and strong yet a ht with sad eyes So few of his kind re with his lifemate, Sarantha It was a catastrophe, a blow froht never recover Julian stood tall and straight, his long blond hair floell past his shoulders

Di here? You know it is dangerous to be out in the open like this There are so many ould destroy us We were told to stay close to the others" Despite his youth, he er boy

"I can take care ofout here?" The young boy gripped the arm of the older boy beside him "I saw them I am certain it was they Lucian and Gabriel It was they" Awe filled his voice

"It cannot be," Di in all directions He was excited and scared at the same time No one, not even the adults, naend, myth, not reality

"But, I am certain I knew they would come when they heard the Prince was dead What else could they do? I aori"

The older boy gasped "Gregori is here also?" He followed the s, Julian He knows everything"

The blond boy shrugged, ato see theori"

"You should be And I have heard that Lucian and Gabriel are really the undead" Julian burst out laughing "Who told you that?"

"I heard two of theas they have, hunting and killing, and not turn"

"The humans have been at war, and our people have been destroyed in the process Even our Prince is dead Va everyone else I do not think we have to worry about Gabriel and Lucian If they were really vaori, could defeat them in battle," Julian defended "They are so powerful, no one would be able to destroy them They have always been loyal to the Prince Always"

"Our Prince is dead They are not necessarily loyal to Mikhail as the heir" Di adults

Julian shook his head in exasperation and continued forward, this tih the thick vegetation until the house was in sight Far off, a wolf howled, the note high and lonely sounding A second wolf answered, then a third, both oing to ures Lucian and Gabriel were the greatest vampire hunters in the history of their people It ell known that no one could defeat thele-handedly destroyed an entire invading arht had preceded their arrival No one knew their exact body count over the last few centuries, but it was extreh

Julian assu in close to the house He kept a watchful eye out for owls as he approached the front porch He heard the softly fro, Julian had the incredible hearing of the Carpathian people He used that acute hearing, deterreatest Carpathians alive were in that house, and he would nothim

"You have no choice, Mikhail," a soft voice said The voice was incredible, pure velvet, coentle "You must assume the mantle of authority The bloodline dictates it Your father had a foreshadowing of his own death, and his instructions were clear You ori will help you in this tireat need, and ill do the job your father asked of us But theto our bloodline It is yours"

"You are an ancient, Lucian One of you should rule our people We are so few, our woone Without wonized Mikhail's voice "They have no choice but to seek the dawn or beco that I have not yet acquired the wisdoreat need"

"You have the blood and the power, and, most of all, our people believe in you They fear us, our power and knowledge and all that we stand for" Lucian's voice was beautiful, co Julian loved the sound of that voice, could listen to it for all time It was no wonder the adults were afraid of his power Even at Julian's young age he recognized the voice as a weapon And Lucian was si normally What would it be like if he wished to take command of those around him? Who would be able to resist such a voice?

"We give you our allegiance, Mikhail, as we did your father, and ill provide you hatever knowledge we can to aid you in your difficult task Gregori, we know you as a great hunter already Is your tie to Mikhail strong enough to see you through the dark days to coh as soft as ever, demanded truth

Julian held his breath Gregori was blood kin to Gabriel and Lucian

Those of that bloodline were always the defenders of their race, the ones who brought the undead to justice Gregori was already powerful in his own right It didn't seem possible that he could be compelled to answer, yet he did

"As long as Mikhail lives, so do I, that I may provide for his safety and that of his line"

"You will serve our people, Mikhail, and our brother will serve you as we did your father It is right Gabriel and I will continue the fight to defeat the stranglehold the undead have on the humans and our own race"

"There are so many," Mikhail observed

"There is, indeed, , and our women have been all but stamped out The males need hope for a future, Mikhail You must find a way to provide them with one, or they will have no reason to hold out when the darkness stretches on We must have females to provide our ht to our darkness Ourmore deadly as the centuries pass Eventually, if we cannot find lifemates, all will turn from Carpathian to vaive up their souls There will be devastation such as we cannot i that is your task, Mikhail, and it is a monumental one"

"As is yours," Mikhail said softly "To take soOur people have much to thank you for"

Julian, within the body of the ht by the ancients There was a rustle in the bushes behind hi there in complete silence Their eyes were dark and empty, their faces as still as if carved in stone Around hi, hiht his breath and stared in astonishhtly in front of the two boys, almost protectively When Julian one as if they'd never been, and the boys were left to face Gregori

Lucian France, 1500

The sun faded fro behind brilliant colors Those colors slowly yielded to the charcoal of the night Beneath the earth a single heart began to beat Lucian lay in the rich, healing soil His wounds from the last terrible battle were healed Heonly the movement of animals Dirt spewed upward as he burst fro in air to breathe His world would be changed this night for all time Gabriel and Lucian were identical twins They looked alike, thought alike, fought alike Over the centuries they had acquired knowledge in all areas and subjects and shared that knowledge with each other

All Carpathian rew older lost their e them in a dark, bleak world where only their sense of loyalty and honor kept the vampire while they waited for a lifemate Gabriel and Lucian had made a pact with each other If one were to turn va the dawn - and his own destruction Lucian had known for so his inner de within him The constant battles had taken their toll Gabriel was far too close to turning

Lucian inhaled deeply, taking in the clear night air He was determined to keep Gabriel alive, to keep his soul safe There was one way to do so If he could convince Gabriel that

he had joined the ranks of the undead, Gabriel could do no other than hunt hi any other than Lucian By being unable to kill, due to their equal powers, and by having a purpose, Gabriel would be able to hold on Lucian took to the air, searching for his first victim

Lucian London, 1600

The young woht was cold and dark She was shivering Somewhere in the darkness was a killer He had already ed Thoht, but he had slapped her several ti her out the door She crossed her arms over her chest and tried desperately to look as if she enjoyed what she was doing

A ht in her throat, and her heart began to pound He wore a dark coat and top hat and carried a cane He looked to be fro in her part of town She struck a pose and waited He walked right past her She knew Thomas would beat her if she didn't call out, try to entice this stranger to her, but she couldn't make herself do it

Theher up and down as if she were a piece of meat

She tried to shtened her He pulled out a handful ofHe knew she was frightened He pointed with his cane toward the alley

She went She knew better, but she was just as afraid of going ho into the alley with the stranger

He was ruthless, forcing her to perforht there in the alley He hurt her deliberately, and she endured it because she had no other choice When he was finished, he shoved her to the ground and kicked her with one elegant shoe She looked up to see the straight razor in his hand and kneas the killer There was no time to scream She was about to die

Then another man loomed up behind her killer He was physically the most beautiful , flowing dark hair and icy black eyes He materialized out of nowhere so close to her attacker that she had no idea how he could have gotten there unseen by either of theht the murderer's neck, and wrenched hard

Run Run now

She heard the words clearly in her head and could not even wait to thank her rescuer She ran away as fast as she could

Lucian waited until he was certain she had obeyed his order before he bent his head to the neck of the murderer It was imperative that he drain the blood from his victim and leave the evidence for Gabriel to find

"I find you here as I expected, Lucian You cannot hide from me" Gabriel's soft voice came from behind him

Lucian allowed the body to fall to the ground Over the long years it had becoame of cat-and-mouse no other could play They knew each other so well, they had choreographed their battles together for soalths and weaknesses Over the last years they had scored many near-round to heal Lucian turned toward his twin brother, a slow, hues of his mouth "You look tired"

"You were too greedy this ti your prey before you fed"

"Perhaps it was a reed softly, "but do not worry aboutmyself warave "

Gabriel struck hard and fast, as Lucian kneould And they ca for centuries

Lucian Paris, Present Day

Gabriel crouched low, his stance that of a fighter Behind him, his lifeant erous predator His black eyes glittered dangerously, graveyard eyes Eyes of death He race, a ripple of power

"Stay back, Lucian," Gabriel warned softly "You will not endanger my lifemate"

"Then you will do as you vowed so o You must destroy me" The voice was a whisper of velvet, a soft command

Gabriel recognized the hidden compulsion even as he leaped forward to strike At the last possible second, with his lifemate's denial loud in his mind, he whipped his clawed hand at his twin brother's throat and realized Lucian had opened his arms wide in acceptance of the kill

No vaht with their dying breath to kill everyone and everything around them To sacrifice one's life was not the act of a vampire

The knowledge came too late Crio back, to reach his brother, but Lucian's poas far too great Gabriel was unable to move, stopped in his tracks by Lucian's will alone His eyes widened in surprise Lucian had so much power Gabriel was an ancient, more powerful than most on earth - Lucian's equal, he would have said until that moment

"You must let us aid you," Francesca, Gabriel's life She was a great healer If anyone could prevent Lucian's death, she could "I knohat you are atte to do here You think to end it now"

Lucian's white teeth gleamed "Gabriel has you to keep him safe That had been my task, and it is ended now I seek rest"

Blood was soaking his clothes, running down his arms He made no atteht No accusation lit his eyes or voice or his expression

Gabriel shook his head "You did this for me For four hundred years you have deceivedWhy? Why would you risk your soul this way?"

"I knew you had a life for you Soo, and I kneould not tell an untruth You did not lose your feelings and emotions quickly, as I did It took centuries for it to happen to you I was a ed your h your eyes You made ered

Gabriel had been waiting for the e, leaping to his brother's side, sweeping his tongue across the gaping wound he had created to close it

His lifeently she took Lucian's hand in hers "You think there is no more purpose to your existence"

Lucian closed his eyes tiredly "I have hunted and killed for two thousand years, sister My soul has so o now, I o later, and my beloved brother would be forced to attempt to destroy me It would be no easy task He must remain safe I have done my duty Let me rest"

"There is another," Francesca told him softly "She is not like us She isand in terrible pain I can only say to you, if you do not find her, she will live a life of such agony and despair, we cannot iifts You must live for her You must endure for her"

"You are telling me I have a lifemate?"

"And that her need of you is great"

"I a, I know of no other existence Tying aher to live with aas Gabriel's lifee wound Gabriel filled the roo chant as old as time itself

"I will heal you now, my brother," she said softly "A monster such as you think you have become will be able to protect the woman from the monsters ould otherwise destroy one such as she"

Gabriel cut his wrist and pressed the wound to his twin's mouth "I offer my life freely for yours Take what you need to heal We will put you deep within the soil and guard you until you are at full strength"

"Your first duty is to your lifemate, Lucian," Francesca reminded him softly "You can do no other than find her and reer"