Dax was glad to see the helicopter lift off, taking with it the engineers and the professor and his party, minus their memories of anything but being caught in the violent explosion of a volcano. The only one who would remember Jubal, Gary and Riley was Ben, but only the experience of running for their lives from the volcano. He'd hesitated over that man, but something prevented Dax from removing everything. He'd relied on his instincts for centuries, and he wasn't about to stop now.

He was thankful only Jubal and Gary stayed behind with him and Riley. There wasn't enough room in the helicopter for everyone, and the pilot, a woman, Lea Eldridge, informed him that she'd seen the smoldering ruins of a home several miles to the east and a friend of Juliette De La Cruz resided there. She'd asked if they would check on the woman. As there was a good clearing for her to land, she would meet them there the next night. He had agreed that when he rose the following night, they would do so.

Miguel and his brother left to make their way home along with the last remaining porters. As far as they remembered, their missing men had died in the volcano, just as the professor and Todd Dillon believed Marty Shepherd had died in the ensuing mudslides. Capa and Annabel had been lost to the volcano as well.

Weston left with an additional gift from Dax. He couldn't watch the man his entire life, but he could plant the suggestion that every time he went to say something inappropriate to a woman or about a woman, he would croak instead. Dax found the solution rather fitting.

"Thanks for staying behind," he said to Jubal.

"There wasn't really room for us," Jubal said with a small shrug.

"There was room if you really wanted to go," Dax said. "I appreciate you watching over Riley when I'm unable to do so." He wanted to convert her, so he wouldn't have to worry that she slept aboveground and he was below. He needed her with him for his own peace of mind.

The sound of Riley's laughter drew his attention. Dax turned his head to see her standing beside Gary, laughing at something he said. His heart clenched hard. He had never thought to have her. In all the centuries that had passed, he never really believed she would exist for him. His life was one of duty and honor, not pleasure and joy.

She turned her head slowly, the first rays of the morning sun catching the gleaming lights in her hair. Her eyes met his and he had the sensation of falling into those deep, mysterious pools of cool, dark earth. Strangely, he actually felt his stomach tighten. Her smile was for him alone, her mouth curving, white teeth flashing. He knew every sweep of her cheek, the line of her jaw, the little indentation in her chin. He felt like he was soaring high, just as he felt when he'd been in the body of the fire dragon, strong and true, flying free over his world.

She had a way about her, something he couldn't define, but when he was with her, he felt totally alive, on fire with passion, as if he could do anything. Dax held out his hand to her. She didn't hesitate, but came to him, never once looking away from his gaze. She put her hand in his, and he drew her into the shelter of his body. "Are you two all right with setting up camp?" he asked Jubal. "I'll bring her back soon." He glanced at the sky even as he tucked her hand over his heart, holding her palm tight there with his.

The rain had washed some of the ash from the canopy, and the first streaks of dawn looked as if rays of light from stars bursting overhead shone through the heavy foliage surrounding the clearing. He loved the night, but the few early morning dawns he managed to catch held their own beauty.

Riley didn't ask questions, but she went with him, walking beneath his shoulder, fitting perfectly as if she was born for him-and he believed she was. She was ethereal, royalty, her body moving fluidly with hardly a sound. Already her skin had taken on the look of that of Carpathian women. She was more than halfway in his world, and he needed to let her know what was to come. He'd noticed she wasn't eating, particularly meat, which no self-respecting Carpathian would ever touch.

He caught her up in his arms and took to the sky. She loved flying as much as he did, and he took her up, feeling her delight in soaring so high.

This is how you make me feel whenever I look at you, he confessed.

She snuggled tight against him, her face turned toward the wind and the soft drops of rain still falling. I'm glad then, because I absolutely love flying. I can't wait until I can do it by myself, although-she rubbed her head against his chest-there are certain perks to flying with you.

He laughed, unable to contain the joy he felt when he was alone with her.

I can already feel the effects of your blood, she added. My hearing and vision are much more acute. It's becoming harder to be away from you. Is that normal?

He tightened his arms around her, feeling slightly guilty. He'd read things in Gary's mind he wished he hadn't. Like the present prince of his people who had been the one to inadvertently discover psychic human women could be converted without the danger of insanity; he wished he could be without the knowledge of what the woman went through before he'd started the process. The facts and images in Gary's mind were very disturbing.

I asked to come into your world, Riley assured him. It's been my choice from the first time I laid eyes on you. I felt your soul and the Old One's soul. I felt as if I'd come home. You're my home, Dax. I want to be with you in your world. You never said it would be easy.

He dropped his chin on top of her head, her silky hair weaving strands into his shadowy jaw as if tying them together. He was in her mind enough to know she took responsibility for her decisions. She had made a choice, and it was important to her that he saw it as her decision.

You're a courageous woman, Riley. I'm proud that you're mine. I'll live my life making certain you never regret giving yourself to me, or making the resolution to join me in my world.

Riley sent him the impression of a warm smile. Her hands tightened on his forearms and she turned her head a little to try to catch raindrops on her tongue. Laughing when she managed it, she bent her head to brush a kiss along his arm.

I know I can be of some use to you now. I was worried I might be a burden. I get afraid, but I know I can help you. Not fighting. Well, I can shoot a gun, but I don't want to get close to anything like those people we saw from the village. But I can be an asset to you in other ways.

Dax spotted the small entrance he'd been looking for. He'd seen the cave earlier and thought it had potential.

I have to take you back to Jubal and Gary in about an hour, but we've got this time. I want to tell you what to expect with the conversion and allow you to decide the when and where.

She took a deep breath. Now? Why don't we just get it over with?

He nuzzled the top of her head again and dropped down to the entrance of the cave, scanning automatically for traps and any living creature that might be occupying it.

"Not here, not now. Somewhere much safer." He sighed. "So it isn't entirely up to you, the when and where, but I'll get it as close as possible, I promise."

Very carefully, he set her down in the thick vegetation in front of the cave, waving his hand to the interior, preparing it for their entrance.

"I have no worries that I won't be safe with you," Riley said.

The ring of honesty in her voice humbled him. "You will need to rest and heal for several days, palafertiilam. We have a vampire to catch."

Riley smiled up at him. "I like when you refer to me as your lifemate in your language. And beloved as well. I feel beloved, when I never thought love would come my way."

He took her hand, ducked to gain entrance through the narrow opening and led the way. The ground curved down and around, dropping several feet as they walked until the hallway began to widen.

"My language is still very natural to me. I have to try to think of a proper translation in your language, but I'm getting better at it," he said.

"You speak with a perfect accent."

"I still don't always choose the correct sentence structure," he pointed out. "Correct me if I get something wrong."

"I think it's cute."

He turned back to look at her, knowing she wore that teasing smile he loved so much. He stopped abruptly so that she ran into him, his arms sweeping around her, holding her tight against him. The feel of her soft body melting into his astonished him.

"I'm crazy in love with you," he said.

She turned her face up to his. "That makes two of us. I can do this, Dax. I can make it into your world and be happy. I've given it a lot of thought. I've seen all the dangers, but I know I want this." She cupped the side of his face as she traced the strong line with her thumb.

He kissed her hard. Demanding. A little rough. She responded like she always did, not in the least intimidated. She kissed him back. Hard. Demanding. A little rough. Her slender arms circled his neck and brought his head down more fully to hers. She poured herself into the kiss, accepting his storm of turbulent emotion.

The volcano was inside him, buried deep but smoldering. He wanted her with every cell in his body, and he hadn't even seen it coming on. The force of his need shocked him. Hunger clawed at his belly, a new kind of hunger, but just as urgent, just as feral. His fist bunched in her hair and he pulled her head back to take better advantage of her soft, hot mouth. He lost himself there for long minutes before he finally, still kissing her, lifted her into his arms, high against his chest so he could keep moving through the hallway toward the open gallery.

Riley opened her eyes as the cool air hit her body. She was absolutely naked. Not a stitch covered her skin. The flames from hundreds of lit candles leapt and danced, surrounding her on three walls. Above her head, on the ceiling, blue stars glittered with a soft radiance, creating a midnight sky. The walls of the cave seemed to be studded with gleaming gems.

Dax had created a bedroom. The chamber was warm and inviting. The sound of water dropping into a deep blue steaming pool only added to the ambience.

"This is where I live," he whispered. He wanted her to love the night the way he did. She had gotten inside of him, wrapped herself around his heart. Her smile lit his world. Turned his body hard and filled him with such love, such emotion, that he felt shaken, vulnerable even, when he never had.

One woman. It amazed him that he could feel such intense emotion after feeling barely anything for centuries. She just had a way about her that took every sane thought from his head and replaced them with ... her. He found he was uncomfortable when others were close, because the wealth of emotion for her was nearly impossible to hide. It made him feel ... exposed.

He looked down into her earth-colored eyes. Her lashes were long and feathery, half concealing the heat of desire looking back at him. "You're so tempting," he said. Her lips were full and curved and made for kissing.

She moved in his arms, her silky skin rubbing over his, sending little electrical charges arcing between them. "I'm hoping you're tempted," she admitted.

He set her feet on the smooth floor he'd created for her, walking her backward until the backs of her legs hit the platform placed in the center of the chamber. She sank down, sitting on the edge of the hard surface. The action placed her exactly at the height he'd intended. Her head was just a little below him, just enough.

Dax widened his stance, stepping close to her, his hands going to the back of her head, guiding her forward. There was never hesitation in Riley. She cupped the weight of his balls in her palms, rolling and kneading before sucking gently. The breath left his body in a rush as her tongue traced a path up from his sac, along his thick, swollen shaft to the underside of the flared head.

He reached down and tugged at the binding around her long hair, releasing it so that black silk cascaded like a waterfall down around her. The contrast between her soft glowing skin and her blue-black hair was beautiful to him. Her lashes rose, and for one moment their eyes met. Watching him, she opened her mouth and took him in. Fire burned down his shaft. She tightened her mouth and sucked hard for a moment or two and then danced her tongue over him.

Riley had fantasized about loving Dax with her mouth. Tasting him this way. Her skin felt hot and sensitized. Her breasts ached and swelled, nipples twin taut peaks-for him. Every breath she took, every swipe of her tongue, made her crazier for him. The flower ceremony had shown her how addicting he could be and tasting him only made her crave him more.

She could taste his hunger, barely held at bay-for her. His shaft pulsed and throbbed, filling her mouth, stretching it in the same way he stretched her feminine sheath. He was hotter than a volcano. Her tongue curled around him again and again, lashed and danced and then her mouth sucked wildly, drawing the spicy nectar out of him.

The sounds he made, low and feral, only added to the wild need rising in her like a dark storm. She was desperate for him, desperate to feel him inside her mouth, her mind, her body. She wanted his mouth on her, feeding from her veins, taking the very essence of her life. She wanted to be his substance, his air, his everything.

His hips jerked. His hands did the same, tugging at her scalp. A low, dark moan escaped his throat. A growl rumbled deep in his chest. His breath sounded ragged and harsh. Riley lifted her lashes again, to watch his face as she pulled slowly off of him, licked around the flared head and then gradually, tightly swallowed him again. The flames in his eyes had gone red-hot, nearly consuming his entire eye surface in a haze of lust.

"O kod bels," he uttered between clenched teeth. His voice was harsh. Demanding. Darkness take it.

She laughed softly around the mouthful of a very hot spike. More like humming than a laugh, the vibration moving through him as she slid her mouth tightly up and down, his hands rough in her hair. Is that a Carpathian curse? Are you cursing at me?

There was such power in bringing him to the edge of control. Joy burst through her. She loved having him at her mercy. He was driving her just as crazy, her body so aroused she could feel the wet evidence of her desire on her thighs. Fill me. She whispered the urgent need into his mind. I need you inside of me. Hard. Fast. Rough. I want to be yours.

You are mine. He made it a declaration as he thrust deep one last time, feeling the heat of her silken mouth wrap him in glory. Using the fist bunched in her hair, he jerked her head back, forcing her to break the exquisite, tight suction.

He didn't wait. Couldn't wait, as desperate for her as she was for him. He pushed her back on the platform, so that she sprawled out, panting, her breasts rising and falling with her agitated breathing. She brought up her knees, planting her feet a good distance apart, lifting her hips in invitation.

"Hurry, Dax. Hurry."

He dropped over top of her, slamming his cock deep so that she screamed, arching her back and pressing harder into him. He thrust hard and fast, burying himself deep while her hot sheath suckled and gripped, the friction building their release fast. Too fast. He wanted this to last forever, but already he could feel her tightening, clamping down on him, the hot wash of her body, and the strong waves rippling through her, taking him with her. He surged forward again and again, slamming deep as her body locked down on his, squeezing and milking, demanding his hot release. His hoarse shout joined hers, and he collapsed over her, fighting for breath.

He wrapped his arms around her and rolled, taking her weight, loving how she sprawled over him like melted lava. "I think I left a little gold dust in your hair."

Her laughter was muffled. She didn't lift her head. "Everyone will think I have body glitter on. Those scales of yours are beautiful, but they do leave evidence behind." She yawned lazily. "It might come in handy if you ever decide to stray."

"Carpathians don't stray," he said, and bit her earlobe. He rubbed her enticing butt. "Sit up, we need to talk. We're racing the sun."

She yawned again. "I see how you are. Get what you can from a woman and then insist on talking." She rolled off of him reluctantly and watched him rise in his fluid, easy way.

"I want to talk to you about what will happen when I convert you," he said. "It's important for you to know. I looked into Gary's mind to find answers to why you, a human, would be my lifemate. In my time, there was no such thing. No one ever conceived of such a thing. The few times anyone tried to save the life of a human by converting them, it was disastrous."

Riley sat up slowly, pushing her hands through her cascading hair. The action lifted her breasts and made him hungry for her all over again. "That might be pertinent. What kind of disaster happened?"

He leaned forward and brushed a kiss over the sweet slope of her creamy breast. "I think you're going to have to put clothes on if we're going to discuss this. I have to go to ground and that means I have to put you safely in Gary and Jubal's care, so we don't have much time left." Before she could protest, and he was a weak man when it came to her desires, he covered up temptation with a wave of his hand.

"If you converted me, we would have plenty of time." She moved like a siren, in spite of her clothing, her hot gaze drifting over him.

"You are a very wicked woman," he decreed, catching her wandering hand. He needed clothes as well, a good distance from her if he was going to have a chance to resist her. "You need this information."

She made a little moue with her lips, those lips he always found irresistible. She definitely had an unfair advantage over him. If she pouted, or cried, he'd be lost.

"All right. I'll behave," she conceded with the smallest of teasing smiles. "Bring on your worst. But I won't change my mind."

He hoped not. He'd told her once started, there was no going back, and she was well on her way to being in his world. He couldn't reverse the process.

The smile faded from her face. "I'm listening Dax. I can see this is upsetting to you." She sat up straight and folded her hands in her lap. "Get on with it. I'm listening. What kind of disaster?"

Dax felt tension gathering in the pit of his stomach. "The men and women they tried to save over the last few centuries apparently became deranged and had to be terminated. It wasn't until the prince discovered his woman could be turned because she had psychic gifts that our species became aware a few human women might save us."

There. He'd said it. He'd told her the horrible truth he'd found in Gary's memories. There was more, but he needed to see her face. Feel her reaction. Check that he wasn't showing how, for the first time he could remember, fear held him in its deadly grip.

She nodded her head. "I see. As in deranged, you mean like those people in the village? Mindless? Intent on murder?"

He nodded. "Drinking blood much like a vampire. Sometimes turning cannibal."

She reached for her hair, bringing it over her shoulder, beginning to weave it into a long, thick braid. It was something to do with her hands, he knew. She hadn't blinked, but her hands were trembling.

"Okay then. Is that it? Because you haven't settled down."

"It's painful." He nearly blurted out the information when he didn't blurt. Ever. She was turning him inside out with the stoic look on her face. "Very painful." Just to clarify. And adhere strictly to the truth. "It's like dying, convulsions, I can show you the memories if you wish." He made the offer reluctantly.

She studied his face in silence. He worked at being completely expressionless, not wanting to persuade her one way or the other with his aversion to revealing the actual images.

Riley threw her braid back over her shoulder and stood up. "I don't want to see. I'm not stupid. I knew in order to cross into your world, I'd have to leave mine. Your body is very different from mine. I knew from the beginning that a change wouldn't be easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is." Her eyes met his. "Believe me, Dax, you're worthwhile."

She stood up and crossed to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Women have babies knowing it could hurt, but that a small few moments are nothing compared to the joy they'll receive when they have their child in their arms. Whatever I have to do, I'll do." There was absolute resolve in her voice and in her eyes.

Her face blurred for a moment, forcing him to blink rapidly.

"When you deem it safe, I'm ready. I want you to just finish, and while you're doing it, remember the kind of woman you tied yourself to. I take responsibility for my own choices. I don't do what other people tell me to. I like information shared with me, and I want respect and a partnership." She lifted her chin. "I would never be silly enough to argue with you over safety, or even health, which I've observed are your two big issues, but I like to make my own decisions."

He gripped her upper arms. "Is that a warning?" His heart felt as if it had swelled so large it was too big for his chest.

"Take it any way you like. I know you're afraid I haven't really looked at the real you. I have. You tend to be a very dominant man, and that's okay with me, it really is. But I'm just as afraid that you haven't taken a good look at who I really am. I make my own decisions and I've never done well with someone telling me what to do."

He read the small hint of fear quite easily and it turned his heart over. Heat skittered through his belly and settled low. He pulled her tight against him. "I'll cherish you forever, Riley."

She had made up her mind, but she still feared her decision. It was a huge one, and her life would be changed forever. If he abandoned her ...

"It is impossible for me to abandon you," he assured softly. "I'm taking you back to Jubal and Gary, but I'll be sleeping just beneath you. Reach for me if you have need and I'll wake." He kissed her thoroughly, wanting to remove every doubt from her mind. He knew it was impossible, but he would keep trying until she was just as certain of him as a Carpathian lifemate would be.

She wrapped her arms around his neck when he lifted her into his arms. "I hate to leave this place. You made our time together beautiful for me. Thank you."

"I want you to remember that I love you, Riley. You. The person you are. This is going to get uglier, and you'll need to hold on to any good moments we can find," he warned.

He took her through the hallway back out into the early morning light. The sun, obscured by the haze overhead created by the ash, still hurt his eyes. The light on his skin burned, but the scales moving beneath the surface protected his body, allowing him the freedom to take to the sky. He took in the early morning, breathing in the rain and scent of the forest.

Movement was constant in the canopy below. The sounds were far different as the birds called to one another. Monkeys scolded and added to the chaotic movement. The forest was waking up just as he was going to sleep. He could see it would be difficult for Jubal and Gary to sleep during the day and his respect for them grew. They were going out of their way to protect what was his.

The two men had already set up a net and tent with a sleeping hammock for Riley. They had chosen an area easily defensible and one where he could find a resting spot without the water table being too high. He found both of them extremely efficient. They were definitely well versed in the ways of the Carpathian people.

He greeted them formally, giving them the respect they deserved, clasping their forearms as one warrior to another, before relinquishing Riley into their care. He found it much more difficult than he'd anticipated to leave her, even for a few hours. She looked alone, although she stood straight, her chin up and even managed a small smile he kept with him as he opened the ground and allowed the cool soil to greet him.

They cautiously approached the clearing Lea Eldridge had told them about. Long before they were close, the stench of death filled their nostrils.

Riley glanced uneasily at the three men. "Not again. I could feel Mitro as we've gotten closer to the river. He came this way for certain. I hate that my ties to him seem to be getting stronger."

"That's the Carpathian blood," Dax explained. "Not any tie to him. Your abilities are growing, and that has nothing at all to do with Mitro. He's a killing machine. There is no goodness in him, no mercy, not for anyone. There's no redemption for him. If his lifemate couldn't save him, no one could. Arabejila is long gone, and evil has completely taken him over, although, in all honesty, I think he was already completely evil."

"Some people are born with something not right," Riley said. "We want to say it's always the environment they're raised in, but sometimes, it just happens. Maybe it happens in every species."

Gary nodded his head. "Even animals are born with problems, both physical and mental." He shrugged. "It happens."

Mitro had been twisted from the first time, as a boy, Dax had met him. There had always been a cunning savagery about him. His need to hurt animals and the other boys drove others away from him.

Dax shoved the memories away. In the clearing ahead, the smoldering remains of a home came into view. He halted abruptly and caught Riley's forearms, effectively stopping her. "You'll need to stay here, sivamet. The stench of evil is strong here."

Her body rocked against his. She frowned up at him. "He's gone. You know he's gone."

"He leaves both carnage and traps behind. Neither is for you."

She raised an eyebrow. "I think you're mistaken about that. I think he left both behind for me to find. He knows I'm following him."

"That he does, sivamet. And we'll get him."

"He should never have gotten out." Riley glanced over his shoulder toward the smoldering ruins of the little house there on the side of the river. "I should have been able to stop him."

"Riley." Dax said her name softly, shaking his head. He stroked a caress down her long sweep of hair. "You have to know you aren't responsible for any of this."

"Of course I am. He got out. He's killing people, destroying lives. How many more will he kill before we catch him?" She blinked back tears and gestured toward the cabin. "Whoever lived there had a life and it's gone because I wasn't powerful enough, or fast enough to keep him a prisoner in that volcano."

"If you believe that, you have to believe that ultimately, the failure is mine. I have had centuries and yet, I failed." Dax kept his voice very low, very matter-of-fact. His guilt was not in his inability to defeat the vampire, that was part of the job. Sometimes the hunter won and sometimes the undead prevailed. All hunters knew and accepted that premise.

At once Riley's expression changed and she shook her head. "No, no, Dax, please don't think I ever thought that. Of course it isn't your fault ..."

"It isn't yours, either. Mitro is evil. I have no idea if he was born that way, or what shaped him, but he wanted to be evil. He embraced that darkness in himself. He had every chance to move to the light, but he clearly made the choice to be what he is."

He dropped his arm around her shoulders and began walking away from the scent of smoke and death. "He seems to need carnage and suffering. It feeds some deep need he has. He's been around centuries, and maybe it is not our destiny to stop him. But we will continue to try, Riley. There is nothing to gain by blame or guilt. Neither serves any purpose, not in a life-and-death hunt. I need you to be at your strongest and most determined. He can't ever see weakness in you. The moment he does, he'll use it to attack. Remember, vampires can get into your head."

Riley nodded. "I hate that you, Gary and Jubal have to see what he's done and I'm protected from the worst of it."

He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her mouth. "I never want you to have to see any more of his work than necessary. I can help to distance the horror from Gary and Jubal should they ask, and they know enough of our abilities to ask if they have need. I have dealt with this most of my life and can look upon death and torture without repercussions. I have the ability to push all emotion aside."

Riley turned, stepping in front of him, halting his forward progress. She linked her fingers behind his neck as her eyes searched his carefully. "I don't know how you've done this so long, Dax, but I admire you for it. I wish I had the courage to tell you I'm going with you no matter what, but I already feel sick just with the thought of it."

She pressed her face against his chest, right over the steady beat of his heart. He was such a rock. So calm. So completely confident. There was no doubt in her mind what he would find when he approached that little cabin. Lives were lost, others changed forever. She sighed, wishing she could somehow prevent him from having to witness the depravity and cruelty of Mitro.

Dax caught her chin, tipping her head up, his strange, beautiful eyes staring down into hers, captivating her with those spinning colors and the bright flame that shone with such intensity every time he looked at her. "I appreciate that you would spare me this, Riley. It is enough that I know you don't have to see."

"I wish neither of us had to do this. And poor Gary and Jubal. Traveling with me, they had no idea what was in store for them."

He bent his head and brushed a gentle kiss across each eyelid and then blazed a trail of fire to the corner of her mouth. "Don't worry about them, my gentle heart. I watch over them. They're good men and good friends to our people. I won't let them see more than they can handle. They're tough, both of them, and they've done this many, many times already."

"You're a good man, too, Dax. You're so worried about everyone else that you don't take yourself into consideration," she protested. "I love that you want to shield all of us, but I'm just saying, I wish I could do the same for you."

"But you do," he assured, bending his head down to brush his lips back and forth across hers like a soft whisper. "That's what you don't understand. You wipe out every bad place I've ever been. I see only you when you're with me. Loving you is the easy part, Riley, and when I'm with you, everything else disappears. Just wait for me here. Don't put your hands in the ground; you know he's gone. Just sit quietly and wait for me."

"I'll stay here and wait," she promised. "I'll stay in sight of you at all times. I don't feel that horrible dread that signals he has a terrible trap for us. I think you'll be getting the worst of this one."

"At the first hint of trouble, if you, even for a moment, feel something isn't right," he said, "reach for me. I'll be close."

Riley flashed a small smile meant to be reassuring. "I'm really not all that brave, Dax. I'll be yelling at the top of my lungs for you as well as screaming in my head."

"Do you have the weapon Jubal gave you?"

She nodded. "I keep it ready at all times. It might not kill Mitro, but it might slow him down and for certain it would slow down the creatures he creates."

"He won't make a try for you himself unless he's cornered, or if he finds himself with a certain opportunity, otherwise, he's too cunning for that. He'll let someone else do the killing, and that's what worries me the most. He was trapped in the volcano and he managed to delay your mother and then get others to kill her for him. He can do the same to you. You can't trust anything, not animal, insect, bird or even man."

"Dax." She raised her hand to his face and traced his jaw. "If you're trying to scare me, you don't have to. I'm terrified. I'm not the heroine type."

He couldn't stop the small smile and shake of his head. "You really don't see yourself at all, do you? Fear has nothing to do with courage, and you have more than your share of courage."

She shook her head and tipped her head up to kiss him briefly on the mouth. There was nothing sexual in her kiss at all, just a warmth of companionship, a trust that squeezed his heart hard. "Be safe," she murmured.

Dax turned away from her abruptly. It was getting much harder to give her the room she needed. He'd been so long without anyone and the threads binding them were getting tighter so that needs and wants became the same. Hunger for her was growing with each passing hour he spent in her company. He had set out to coax her to fall in love with him, spending time in her mind, an intimacy difficult to resist, but he found he was the one falling off that cliff.

Long strides took him back to where Jubal and Gary were waiting. "This one is going to be bad," he advised. "I'll go in first and try to find any traps Mitro left behind. You two stay just at the edge of the tree line. Don't step into the clearing. There's no way of knowing what will trip any ambush he's set."

"We'll have to find them before we leave this place," Jubal said. "Otherwise someone innocent could come along and be injured or killed."

Dax nodded grimly and shifted into mist and streamed into the clearing beside the river. The cabin was very small, no more than a single room with a small covered porch that had been up on stilts. Now it was tipped on one side, blackened and burned. Nothing was left of the house but three half walls, a mere husk surrounding a smoldering ruin. The roof had been constructed of tree branches and leaves as many of the huts were when natives were on the move. This one had been built hastily and there was little there to say anyone had lived there long. He moved around the cabin carefully, testing the air for any sign of Mitro's inevitable traps.

Dax found the body a hundred feet from the burnt-out ruins. She'd been young. He knelt beside her for a few moments, waving away the insects and touching her hair briefly in a salute to her. She'd had courage. She'd been pregnant, and she'd tried to protect her unborn child. He shook his head and signaled the two waiting men.

Jubal arrived a stride or two ahead of Gary. Dax saw Gary's face. He knew exactly what he was going to see. There'd been too many of these times, humans ripped apart by a vampire.

"Mitro's a bastard," Jubal stated.

"She was jaguar," Dax said. "And pregnant with a jaguar baby. The baby is over there." He indicated the infant with his chin. "A boy."

"He killed the baby in front of her, didn't he?" Jubal asked grimly.

Gary took off his shirt and wrapped the baby's body carefully in it. "He took the baby while she was still alive, drained the baby dry and then attacked her. He likes to play with his victims. Jaguars need to be burned. They never leave bodies where others can examine them."

"Let's get it done before the helicopter comes for us," Dax said grimly. He glanced over to Riley. "There's no need for her to see this. It will be bad enough telling her about it."