Temptations

[Lucien]

Lucien watched as Mikhail vanished with Gabriel, an unreadable expression on his features.

He turned then, pulling Topaz and Sylviana to him, hugging them ferociously enough that Sylviana wriggled between them.

His voice held the strain of what had just happened, not just the healing, but what he’d learned inside his brother as he held him in this world. “We are going to have to keep him from seeking his own sustenance. He is too close, and the lure is too strong.”

He stared at the stars as they began to fade in the predawn light, “He has tasted the power of fear…” His voice trailed off at that. Even Mikhail is uncertain whether we can hold him with us now.

[Topaz]

It was hours later, Sylviana was asleep, Lucien's wounds had been taken care of and his hunger sated. Now Topaz lay curled up against Lucien. This would be a great time for catching some sleep, but they still had not heard from Le and worry kept Topaz awake.

Earlier she had sensed remorse from Gabriel, but just before the prince had send him into the deep healing sleep the only thing she could sense from Gabriel was the need for blood laced with adrenaline and horror. Was it already too late? And what if it was? Could it be that the Gabriel they knew was already gone and the creature now sleeping not all that far from them was already Vampyre?

If so, they all were in terrible danger.

Lucien would be devastated.

Sylviana would lose her believe in promises.

And there was nothing she could do to keep either from happening.

While Lucien had steeled himself for centuries for the moment that he would have to battle his twin to the death and Topaz had no doubt that Lucien would win that fight when it came to it, Lucien was not ready for life without his twin.

A static rumble from the com unit preceded the male voice.

"Med Center Hy Braesil, ICU. Please stand by for Dr. Amon."

Topaz sat up and pulled out the com unit. She even remembered to press down the button on the box while answering.

"Topaz, standing by."

"Topaz?"

"Yes. About time, Le. You've no idea how much I waited to hear from you. How is she?"

"We dealt with the pulmonary difficulties and respatory system failure. We flushed her just in case. She's had a total of 16 B.U.s. The neuro - "

Topaz pressed down the button impatiently. "Le!"

"Okay, okay." The was a bit of a snicker. "She'll live."

"Thank you, Le." Topaz breathed with relieve, then she thought of something else and quickly pressed down the button again.. "Does she remember?"

"She hasn't woke up yet but the scans don't show anything to suspect that she wouldn't."

"We'll be by later then."

"Make that tomorrow. I got to run." Le's words were followed by the male voice from earlier.

"Med Center Hy Braesil, ICU, signing off."

[Topaz]

Lucien’s black eyes held Topaz’s a moment. “We cannot wait until tomorrow and risk that she awakens and remembers tonight. Where will I find her?”

"We will find her." There was no need for them to suffer separation for the duration of this task. "She's at Le's hospital. If we have to wake up Le we had better bring some extra strong coffee."

“We will not require Le, we only need to know where the woman is, I can alter her memories with no further assistance from your friend.”

"Of course you can. I did not mean to imply otherwise." While Topaz had been to Hy Braesil often and she could find her way to Le's quarters and office with her eyes closed, she had no idea where in the vast complex the woman was kept.

“Shall we then?” Lucien wanted to find out how much the woman remembered, and contain the damage as soon as possible.

"As soon as you are able to move." His eagerness to be off made her smile. It could not possibly be evening again already and the early summer sun was bound to be bright especially over the lake. "How much longer will Sylviana remain asleep?"

Lucien gave his daughter a ‘push’, “Long enough to go take care of this.” He kissed Topaz and shifted into a Barred Owl, allowing her to lead the way.

With a soft chuckle Topaz took to the air. While the reason was not a happy one, she loved and enjoyed every moment she had with just Lucien and this trip to Hy Breasil and back would gift them with exactly that.

[Gabriel]

Mikhail had done most of the watch over Gabriel so far, and was even more amazed at the strength in the man than he had previously been. A moment of inattention allowed the ancient one in his care to flirt with cognizance. It was too soon though to allow Gabriel to awaken. The ‘need’ Mikhail had felt in the man had been strong enough to lure Gabriel into the tragedy that was their fate if they could not hold onto honor. Something that strong would not simply vanish in four or five days.

Mikhail rose and slowly stalked the periphery of Gabriel’s suite, pausing to appreciate the art that he knew brought no joy to Gabriel. Beauty, in color and form, were lost to his oldest friend more than two millennia ago. Twenty five centuries of black and white nothingness. How had he survived the lure this long? Such pervasive sadness soon brought Raven to his side, as once long ago it had drawn Mikhail to her side. She reached up and gently brushed aside a blood red tear that he did not even know was there.

“You grieve for what is not yet decided,” Raven told him as her arms wrapped about him, ceasing his restless pacing.

Mikhail kissed the top of her head, “He is so strong, yet this lure has drawn him to the brink of catastrophe. If we lose him to Vampyre, I wonder who among us is strong enough to fight him.” He drew Raven closer for his own comfort rather than hers. He had learned so much about Gabriel’s strength of will and his power as a Carpathian, and Mikhail was truly worried. Who could he send to hunt a vampyre named Gabriel?

Mikhail had summoned Gregori earlier. It was not that he mistrusted Lucien or Ariel, but Lucien had his own obligations, and Ariel should not be required to keep such a one as Gabriel asleep. The effort it required was taxing. This needed an older and stronger and darker Carpathian, not a female of compassion and light. There was none darker than Gregori.

Raven lifted her head and a brow as she caught those fleeting thoughts. “Perhaps is it light and compassion that could pull him back from the brink my love.” She reached up with a soothing touch along his temple. She had not experienced the need emanating from Gabriel first hand, but she’d seen it, and felt it in Mikhail’s memories. It frightened her.

Gregori materialized in time to hear Raven’s thoughts, “Light and compassion would allow him to rise before he should.” While Gregori was full brother to both Lucien and Gabriel, he did not look like the twins. His silver eyes were as cold and hard as the twin’s, but the twin’s black eyes were harder to read. Gregori’s eyes were simply spooky. Most Carpathians chose not to hold that unnerving gaze overly long, if at all.

Gregori bowed to his Prince, and his father-in-law, “I have come to allow you a respite from my brother. Go and know that he will not wake on my watch.”

Mikhail started to say, “If you have need,” but Gregori silenced him with an effortless glance. “The Dark One” as Gregori was known was capable of silencing even Mikhail with a simple glance. The Prince faded from view with his mate as Gregori set about making his way more deeply into the roots of the Palazzo. He wove wards as he went. He would spend the day light hours resting directly above his brother.

Savannah’s touch reached out for Gregori from across the seas. She could not travel, and remained behind with Shea and Jacques, but she sent him her love, and helped Gregori give a stronger ‘push’ to Gabriel before he pulled the earth in atop himself and his heart and lungs shut down.

[Azjah von Drachen Walde]

Need.

Relentless, insatiable need.

Azjah woke several times on the flight to Rigel with a sense of compelling need. But she couldn’t tell from whom, nor a need for precisely ‘what’. And several times while she was awake, the sensation would threaten to swamp her in its intensity. Yet the source of these sensations was not aboard the Star Dragon.

Whomever it was, the urgency left her edgy. And they were very far away.

[Gabriel]

Dark oblivion.

No sight. No sound. No sensation beyond one.

Need.

A vague awareness came and went.

Sometimes it could almost be touched, but then it slipped away. Ephemeral and insubstantial as mist was awareness.

Time had no meaning. Time did not matter, for here, it did not exist.

The Need waited.

[Gabriel]

The Rhydinian sun crossed the clear blue skies as though nothing were amiss. The normal path unaltered as that golden orb remained blissfully unaware that with its setting, new trouble would walk the night. Time did not stop in this world. It progressed ever onward, and that golden sun began its slow, inexorable descent toward the horizon.

The soil deep beneath the Palazzo was rich. Its healing properties had been augmented and improved for the sole purpose of rejuvenation and healing for each of the Twins. It has painstakingly been transported from Auriga. Gabriel had been put into the ground to heal. His body had done just that during the days that ensued after his brush with becoming Vampyre.

The body was ready to awaken with the setting of the sun. The body knew precisely where the sun was in the sky. The Need waited for the moment when the sun slipped beneath the horizon.

Gregori woke prematurely. Silver eyes snapping open even before his first breath, or the first beat of his heart. Sentience beneath him elicited a slow hiss as he realized that Gabriel was very close to awakening. He drew a breath as his heart began to beat. The sun still too high in the sky for him to be fully prepared to send Gabriel back into the depths of oblivion, but he strove against the lethargy. Time was running short

The Prince had been right to worry. Gregori had not expected his brother to be this strong this soon. With great effort, Gregori sent the soil upward away from his body. He still had an hour before the sun vanished. He sent his thoughts toward Gabriel, who still lay confined in the ground lower still.

The Need reached toward Gregori. It sought to draw him in, to engulf him.

[Gabriel]

Mikhail felt the sentience and it brought him from the sleep of his people with an abrupt beat of his heart. He reached for Gregori to see if he was needed, and what he found there had Mikhail instantly becoming mist and streaming into the burning sun. The wards would protect Raven. Sunlight flooded into the mist, and along with it, excruciating pain. Mikhail fought to hold his form and ignore the agony.

He drew cloud cover to protect him as best he could with the sun still so far from the horizon. The thick layer of clouds soon began to pour rain on a day that had only minutes ago been clear and blue. The distance between where the Prince had gone and where Gabriel lay diminished, but Mikhail was chastising himself soundly for going so far away at a time like this.

Raven’s voice was a soft caress in his mind, “You will be in time. Gregori is strong.”

Mikhail felt her arms wrap around him, and he prayed she was right.

He coalesced deep beneath the Palazzo, but did not trip the wards Gregori had set. He would have to unravel them himself; he dared not reach for Gregori again. He began the intricate job of dismantling one of Gregori’s wards. Focus was what he needed now. Gregori had left only one loop hole in his wards, and that was by design alone, or Mikhail might never have unraveled them.

Raven remained silent in his mind.

[Gabriel]

The sun sank ever lower and shadows lengthened over RhyDin, and an unnatural stillness settled over the Palazzo. Not even crickets disturbed the silence after the rain stopped.

Far beneath the Italianate home, Mikhail worked steadily to unravel the wards.

Further still, beneath the Palazzo, the Need wrestled with Gregori even as it sought to pull Gabriel from the compulsion that kept him unable to rise.

The sun dropped below the horizon, and twilight had arrived. With the gloaming, The Need broke free from its confinement.

Hunger washed over Gregori and Mikhail like never before. It swamped them, consumed every cell of their bodies. Need for blood more potent than ever crashed into both males with devastating effects.

Mikhail dropped to his knees as Raven’s previously silent presence gasped from shock.

Gregori slammed up a wall against the consuming hunger, but The Need was older and more powerful than Gregori expected. It smashed against Gregori’s barrier, crumbling it into useless bits of psionic residue. It lashed at the center for hunger in both males brains. Driving all else from their minds but the single demand for the blood of life….. all of it.

Gabriel’s compulsion failed shortly there after. His black eyes snapped open in the earth as his heart beat once. Then twice, and he drew his first breath in days. Rich soil erupted as he rose from his place of rest. Hunger. It was the first sensation as he shifted into mist and streamed from the cave.

A heart beat somewhere above him… then two…. Three… there was life in the house above them. Compulsion drove him toward the sound of those living beings.

[Gabriel]

Gregori's wards stopped Gabriel up short. His little brother had set wards not only to keep danger out… but to keep Gabriel IN should he break free of his compulsion to remain in the sleep of his people. Gabriel snarled violently as he stopped just short of triggering the first ward. Some part of his brain recognized his youngest brother's work opposed to Lucien's or Dominik's. This would take precious time. Hunger battered Gabriel relentlessly.

On the other side of the wards, Mikhail now stood too near the partially dismantled wards as confusion flitted in his dark eyes. The abrupt need to feed washed over Mikhail with a force and intensity he had never before experienced. But something held him there as he watched Gabriel snarl and begin his efforts to unravel his younger brother's work. He was torn between keeping Gabriel in, his original reason for being here, and retreating to the upper levels of the house where he too felt and heard the human heart beats. Blood pumped through veins and arteries in the unsuspecting humans above, and the sound of those beating hearts resonated in his body.

Raven's voice was shaky but clear for Mikhail, "Something evil brings this compulsion, for it is not you and it is not normal. Focus on me Mikhail, stay with me!!" Desperation caused her last thoughts to rise in tone, and Mikhail knew that Raven was already making her way toward him with all haste now that the sun had set fully.

Hunger and consuming desire for blood battered against Mikhail as he tried to stay focused on Raven's voice in his mind. But inexorably pushing against Raven's presence was the growing blackness that threatened to consume him completely. The blackness felt as though it had form and substance. It was suffocating and demanding all at the same time. It pulsed with an ebb and flow that suggested the limitless power of an ocean, but behind it was sentience. This 'Need' had sentience and a distinctive goal to accompany all that power.

That revelation shocked Mikhail. He began another ward to keep Gabriel inside, but the incessant demand for blood slowed him down quite considerably. He began to perspire from the strain of concentrating on the wards, and Raven's voice, and trying to deny the omnipresent 'Need'. Blood began to dot his forehead and trickle down his temples under the strain.

Gregori fought to make his way after his brother, but the Need for blood overwhelmed his intention to subdue his brother. He paused on the landing as he watched Gabriel systematically dismantling his wards. A soft, feminine voice spoke to Gregori, "I am with you, focus on stopping your brother Gregori, this is an illusion, it is not real, your need for blood is not real. Listen to me Gregori, not to the need. Illusion, it is not real." He had been so caught up in The Need, at first Savannah's voice had sounded that of a stranger.

Savannah too had felt the compulsion hit Gregori despite the distances that separated them. She had never felt anything so potent in her long life, but she could feel that her voice reached Gregori through the overpowering demand for blood. She kept up a soft litany of words, growing more insistent whenever he seemed to focus more on the blackness that was seeking to envelop him. But how to drive out this thing continued to elude her.

Savannah searched the Carpathian common link for help. In desperation, she was willing to enlist as many of her people as she could because she was feeling the coercion from two sources, her mate, AND her father. What ever this was, it was old, and it was more powerful than the five who now fought against it. And, worse still, it targets the susceptible males of her race.

Falcon was prowling the forests in the form of a panther when Savannah's call for help went out. He paused and through the link saw and felt what Gabriel, Gregori and Mikhail now felt and fought against. The great cat snarled loudly, sending the deer in the vicinity uncontrollably scrambling for safety. He had read about this force in the old archives in France, he was certain it was the same thing. "Le Noir" was the first thing that came into his mind. She went by many names, "The Black", "The Night", "Marmie Noir", but no matter the name, she was the first vampire. She was The Mother of them all. It was she who initially created these abominations from the Carpathians. "The Mother of All Darkness".

Falcon raced through the old growth forest as fast as the panther form allowed. He wanted to be absolutely certain before voicing his thoughts, but his mate heard them clearly, "Falcon, if it is Le Noir, how can she be beaten?" Sara was trying not to sound worried despite the turmoil she felt in Falcon.

He didn't know, but a good start would be; knowing what was causing the devastating hunger. If he was right, they all had a battle on their hands that they might not be able to win. If he remembered the myth correctly, Le Noir had been imprisoned centuries ago. If she had awakened, or worse, if she were now free, chaos and destruction would rule the universe as they knew it.

[Gabriel]

Inside the sealed tomb a single eternal flame burned a deep red color. A lone figure remained prone and unmoving atop what appeared to be a very comfortable bed. Every luxury to be imagined surrounded the figure. But the figure was shrouded in black. No features could be seen. Black shroud, black veil, and the darkness clung to the figure as though part of the female herself.

No others were inside the chamber. No movement. No sound. No life.

Le Noir has lain thusly for thousands of years. She is trapped in a form that will not allow her to move. The form will not allow her to exercise power beyond the slowly growing ability to project her thoughts. If her jailers suspected Le Noir’s awakening, they would all be very afraid.

Le Noir’s thoughts however are terrible in their implication. Terrible not only for the males she invades, but terrible for all life.

Imagine if she were to fully awaken…..

[Gabriel]

Falcon shifted into mist and streamed toward the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Falcon had been there in 1368 when King Charles V founded it. There he would find the ancient texts amidst the 13 million books and documents. He made his way into the Rare books and slipped unnoticed past the librarian there. He entered a domain he loved, but there was no time to enjoy being surrounded by the old memories.

Falcon found what he was searching for…. Vrykolakas. He drew shadow around himself and pulled the ancient text from its protected storage location. It was written in ancient Greek, but that was no deterent to Falcon, who gently, but quickly read through the pages written there. The text was widely regarded as folklore, but Falcon knew better.

He found what he was seeking on the 17th page, “And the Mother of All Darkness was cast into her prison by the magic of three of her most powerful lovers. Three whom she had imbued with the greatest of her gifts united to trap her in a place neither living nor dead. There, Le Noir would be bound for eternity by their magic. There she would bring no more destruction to the world of mankind.”

Falcon read and shared his finding with Sara and Savannah and any number of others paying attention to the threat to their Prince.

“Le Noir targets males, for it was her male lovers who trapped her.” The thoughts belonged to Byron. Byron had not been alive when Le Noir had been imprisoned, but during his studied in Venice, he had delved deeply into the lore of vampirism and The Mother of All Darkness was a prominent figure.

Falcon’s disappointment travelled through the connection, “There are no details defining how they imprisoned Le Noir.”

Byron made haste to the Italian National Archives to seek information.

[Ariel Datrazanov]

Ariel felt the wash of insatiable hunger when Gabriel had been awake, but since he had been sent to sleep, it had not troubled her. When the Need slammed into her this time, she let out a yelp that startled her customer in the show room of her art studio. Her hand went protectively to her stomach as she excused herself from the front, leaving a student to answer the patron’s questions about any of the pieces in the show room.

She made her way to her work office and collapsed onto a chair before sending her mind out toward Gabriel, but it was not Gabriel that she reached. At least it was not a Gabriel that she recognized.

A roiling blackness met her search for her brother. It was cloying blackness that sought to ensnare her and she slammed up a barrier before severing her search for Gabriel.

After taking a deep breath, she tried Gregori, and was met with the same darkness. Only this time the blackness recognized her and sought to engulf her in the same driving need for blood and death.

Ariel was terrified, and as she retreated once again, she heard the echoes of female laughter. The psionic barrier bowed as the blackness tested her defenses. Ariel clamped down on her rising terror. She thought about life and sunlight, of watching the sun set, seeing the bright rays spearing the sky.

The blackness vanished as quickly as it had come. Gone.

She exhaled slowly and sank into her chair.

[Ariel Datrazanov]

Gregori wrestled with his own internal demons. Savannah was his mate, she brought light and life into his bleak world. This kind of hunger should no longer exist for him, yet here it was, driving him to the very edge where he would lose his soul and become that which he had hunted for so many centuries. How could this happen?

The wall of blackness enveloped Gregori as a lover, the sensation of light and breath ceased as the darkness settled around him, then came the most seductive voice he had ever heard, “Je suis la nuit. Je suis l'origine. Je suis sans égale.” The voice held the power of the Carpathian, only this was magnified. This held more compulsion than Gregori had ever felt.

Savannah had always remained a faint shadow in Gregori’s mind, just as he remained in hers. The intruder was powerful enough that she was instantly afraid, but she remained silent to watch. That this creature could so easily control a mated Carpathian male terrified her, but she sent the images and sensations to Raven immediately.

Raven too was a shadow in Mikhail’s mind, and felt the presence, but had not heard the words given to Gregori. Mikhail was old and powerful, but not powerful enough to drive this presence out alone. Not that Raven knew how to do that yet, but every shred of information they could gather would be important.

This thing claimed to be the Original, and without equal. Was she truly the Mother of All Darkness? Raven shivered at that thought. If she was, this fight could mean life or death for many of the males.

Ariel arrived at the Palazzo, still stunned by what she’d felt from her brother. As she descended the stairs toward his suite, she felt the compulsion even more. That is when she ran into Mikhail. Her Prince looked pale and drawn, as though he’d been used as food very recently and hadn’t time to replenish himself. Where she would have normally offered since Raven was not here, she dared not in his condition. He could just as easily kill her as not right now with the compulsion so strongly felt.

She reached for Raven, allowing her to see Mikhail through her eyes. The image was unsettling, but Raven needed to know what kind of shape Mikhail was in. And Ariel now dreaded seeing her brothers, who were beyond the wards that kept them in, at least for the time being.

[Ariel Datrazanov]

Mikhail spun around as Ariel made her presence known. There was a feral need in his eyes when he spotted her. He instantly attacked Ariel. Teeth and claws ripping as Ariel instantly dissolved into mist and fled. She couldn’t hope to go toe to toe with Mikhail, escape was her only hope.

Raven screamed, and that brought Mikhail up short for a moment, but it was long enough for Ariel to escape from the Palazzo. Ariel put the house hold humans of the Palazzo under a compulsion to leave. Vacate the house immediately.

Inside, Dyson felt the compulsion to go. He shook his head, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. Finally he sent word to those who remained that they were on holiday for the time being, they should not return until called, but that they would all be called back to work. The old Major Domo then packed a bag and locked the house. Once on the curb, he frowned, just where was he going to go?

Ariel could see the last human in the house debate going back inside. She couldn’t allow that to happen, so she materialized in front of Dyson, “Hurry, you must be away from here. Have you no family to visit?”

Dyson frowned, “No mistress Ariel, I have none, and no place to go. Why? Why must I leave?” He knew the Carpathians well enough to know she wasn’t playing some kind of hoax on him.

Ariel gave the house a nervous look, “Dyson, trust me this one time and believe me that it is for your safety that you need to leave for the time being. “ She knew that at any moment, Mikhail could come after her, she needed to hurry. “I have a spare set of rooms above my shop, go there and enjoy some time for yourself. I will get word to the Marchioness.”

Dyson gave her a reluctant nod and climbed into the Murcialago. Soon he was gone and Ariel perched in the top of a nearby tree. Who would know more about Le Noir? Who could tell her how to combat her? Who or what were the oldest and most experienced in habitants in RhyDin?

Ariel cringed, “dragons” came her whispered realization. She didn’t really know any dragons, with the possible exception of one who called himself Tass, but would he be willing to help her? Would he tell her even if he knew? There was no choice but to seek for him and try. Tonight could see the irrevocable loss of several Carpathians if she didn’t hurry.