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Veins of lightning lit the clouds, dancing whips of white-hot energy illuht sky The earth ru as the creature clawed its way through the soil to burst into the air, instantly fouling every living thing it touched

Leaves shriveled and blackened The air vibrated with alar its head this way and that, listening, waiting, its cunningwith a mixture of triumph and fear He was the bait, and he knew the hunter was not far behind, close on his trail, drawn straight into the heart of the trap

Traian Trigovise burrowed through the soil, following the stench of the undead It was too easy, the trail too well marked No va, and Traian was certain he was dealing with strength and cunning He was an ancient Carpathian hunter, a species nearly iifts and the need for a lifemate to make him complete He was first and fore the most loathsome and evil of all creatures, the un-dead It was his sheer strength of will and duty to his race that kept hi prey to the insidious whispers and call of power

When the tunnel veered upward toward the sky, Traian continued onward, pushing deeper into the dirt, feeling his way, listening to the heartbeat and energy of the earth around him All was silent, even the insects, creatures often su in a large area, and discovered three blank spots, evidence that more than one vampire was close

He found a web of roots, thick and gnarled, hu deep into the earth He whispered softly, respectfully, touching the longest, deepest artery, feeling its life force He chanted softly in the ancient language, asking for entrance, felt the response h the thick old tree Leaves shivered as the tree reached toward the ht even as it shrank fro secrets and conspiring to help, the tree spread its roots to allow Traian into the intricate syste the wide trunk

The hunter was careful not to disturb the soil or the root systeh the labyrinth, pushing through the surface just far enough to scan his surroundings froround He shape-shifted as he est the thick branches and leaves

For one ure of Gallent He recognized the vampire as one of the ancients sent out by their prince so many centuries earlier, just as he had been The undead continually twisted, sniffing the air suspiciously, his gaze darting along the ground He clicked his long fingernails together in a peculiar repeated rhythm

The wind rushed through the grove of trees, and the leaves rustled and whispered Traian allowed his gaze to shift, quartering the area, searching with his ht the echo of that strange rhythht Two more of the undead waited to fall upon hi with the breeze through the cage of roots, rising asthe friendly wind to take hiher into the cover of leaves

Dark clouds swirled into a boiling cauldron Lightning veined themass He hovered there with a small, humorless smile in his mind Discretion really was the better part of valor in soround Then he heard the clicking of the fingernails again The sound was growing louder With each click, droplets of water fell froround The beads collected inpool He could see his reflection clearly in the pool Not the scattered st the leaves It was his only warning, and it came just a heartbeat before the attack

He caught movement fro through the sky, shifting into his true forrateful for the leaves that hale hi with tiny darts tipped with poison fro, and showers of red-hot embers that burrowed into the skin and burned for weeks Insects clouded the skies, and all the while the clicking of the fingernails went on relentlessly

Traian launched hi the two lesser va the action, a leader in evil, as he had been a leader ah the sky, his fist already snapping out, driving toward the vampire's chest

Gallent shih his body harmlessly even as the undead struck back with razor-sharp talons The hand came froed h flesh and muscle, all the way to the bone One of the lesser va his teeth into his target's exposed neck

Traian si leaves and the scent of the ancient gift driving the vaer He traveled quickly through the night The Carpathian Mountains were riddled with networks of caves, where rich soil deep beneath the earth waited to welco back to his homeland to see his prince but had become sidetracked when he came across the vampires

His shoulder throbbed and burned His neck was a fierce torment There were a hundred places on his body that ached fro into the cool interior of the h a labyrinth of tunnels into the earth He floated down into the bed of rich soil and just lay there, feeling a sense of peace and solace in the wealth of welco minerals

Austria

The theater doors opened to allow the s, a crush of happy people pleased with the perfor forked across the sky, a brilliant, dazzling display of eleowns, furs, and suits of varying color were lit up as if caught in a spotlight Thunder crashed directly overhead, and the ground and buildings shook under the assault The light faded, leaving the night nearly black and the crowd al to their limousines and cars, while valets tried to work fast before the rain began to fall

Senator Tho his head toward his wife to hear her over the buzz of the crowd, laughing at her softly spoken words, nodding in agreement He pulled her beneath his shoulder to prevent her fro to avoid the weather

Two trees formed the unique archway to the theater, the branches interlocking overhead to forainst the eleether in the rushing wind Clouds whirled and spun, weaving dark, ominous threads across the moon

Another burst of lightning illuoers, apparently deterht faded, leaving only the di oed at her husband's jacket to bring his attention back to her

"Down! Get down!" Joie Sanders plowed into the senator and his wife, her arround In one un in her outstretched hand "Gun, gun, everybody down!" she shouted An orange-red flame burst from two revolvers in a steady streaned to protect Joie returned fire with her usual calin to topple, al but up into the air

People screaround, crouched behind fli fur and dragged her in front of hi at the senator and his wife in an effort to get them to crawl back inside the relative safety of the theater The second gun woain to cover her charges' line of retreat

A bullet sliced through the flesh of her shoulder, burning a path of pain and spraying blood over the senator's trousers Joie cried out, but steadied her ai in her stoet She squeezed the trigger slowly, precisely, watched the ugly little hole blossom in thehis hostage with his

There was a s of the branches could be heard, a strange, disquieting rhyth to clear her vision She see at ain his hand He rose up out of the crowd, sla into Joie before she could scrah to escape the lethal blade, driving the butt of her gun upward into his jaw, then sla the blade so that it went skittering along the sidewalk His fist found her face, driving her backward The man followed her down, his face a mask of hatred

So hit the back of his head hard, and Joie found herself staring up at one of her men "Thanks, John I think he smashed every bone in my body when he fell on me" She took his hand, allowed hiun from the limp hand of the first man she'd shot, even as weakness overwhelmed her

She sat down abruptly as her legs turned to rubber "Get the senator and Mrs Goodvine to safety, John" The wailing sirens were fading in and out "Someone help that poor woman up"

"We've got it, Joie," one of the agents assured her "We have the driver How bad are you hurt? How un"

Joie looked down at the gun in her hand and noted with surprise she was ai it at the motionless attacker "Thanks, Robert I think I'll just let you and John handle things for a while"

"Is she all right?" She could hear the senator's anxious voice "Sanders? Are you hurt? I don't want to just leave her there; where are you taking us?"

Joie tried to lift her arm to indicate she was fine, but her arm seemed heavy and uncooperative She closed her eyes and breathed deeply She just needed to be somewhere else, just for a short time while the medics fixed her up It wasn't the first time she'd taken a hit and she doubted it would be the last She had certain instincts that had taken her to the top of her profession It was very dangerous at the top