Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Vasilisa studied the tiny smudges that could barely be seen against the dark background. Now that she knew they were there, she saw them, but she wasn’t certain she would ever have spotted them in the first place. There were a few places where there were two rows of them. She indicated them.
Why do they appear like that?
He doubles back to see if he is followed, Afanasiv explained. He does it often. He has spies in the trees telling him there are wolves in the forest. He suspects those wolves are Carpathian hunters or the wolf pack that runs with Dimitri and Skyler, or Ivory and Razvan. Both are known to hunt vampires with their wolves.
Do you think they are doing so now?
Not Dimitri and Skyler, Afanasiv said. They are east of here, according to Nicu and Petru. I have no idea if Ivory and Razvan are in the area. These are most likely actual wolves, but they are slowing him down. I worry for the wolf pack, but their presence keeps Garald from harm for the moment and allows us to gain on Vitus.
As he spoke, fiery balls descended from the sky, streaking toward the wolf pack as they steadily weaved in and out of the trees moving to surround a herd of deer. Without thinking, Vasilisa countered, turning the fiery balls to ice so that when they hit the snow-covered ground, they were no more than a flurry of unexpected hail.
I’m sorry, she gasped the apology, but she wasn’t really sorry. These animals were part of her custodial duty. Aside from that, she felt a kinship with them.
No need. I would have done the same thing. You were faster. Go after Garald. I will engage with Vitus.
She wanted to protest, but he was already streaking after the vampire, hurling fiery spears at the dark figure to keep him from attacking the wolves—or her. He clearly didn’t want the master vampire to have the slightest inkling she was anywhere in the vicinity. Vasilisa didn’t waste time arguing. She gave the vampire and her lifemate a wide berth, using the cover of the night that enfolded her as Sorina had taught her. She circled around the larch forest below, feeling a little as if she were abandoning her lifemate.
Once she felt she was in the clear, she put on a burst of speed, abandoning the body of the owl to assume that of the Brazilian free-tailed bat. She added a headwind to give another boost to the already hundred-mile-an-hour speed the tiny creature could achieve with its aerodynamic body and longer-than-average wings. This was another form learned from Sorina.
In the freezing cold of Siberia, especially there, high in the region where Vasilisa and her family lived with the feral wolves and the independent and fierce people, many of these creatures wouldn’t survive for long. The small amount of time she used their forms as she pumped warm blood through their bodies did them no harm.
She caught up with her brother very quickly, long before he reached Dimitri and Skyler, where they would have been working in their wolf sanctuary. He hadn’t yet come upon the other vampires or demons, and remained unaware that he was in possible jeopardy—or that his brothers were.
Garald skimmed over the top of the snow in the way of the royal family, barely touching the surface. He was light on his feet and he leapt long distances, covering anywhere from ten to thirty feet at a time. When he landed, he did so lightly and in perfect balance, continuing his run without breaking stride. He was beautiful to watch, and she stayed in the sky for just a brief moment longer than necessary to admire him.
He turned his head to his left just as she spotted the “rabbits” crossing the snow using webbed feet. They appeared to be white as they converged on Garald, looking for all the world like the wolves she’d just seen hunting the deer in the forest. They came at him from all directions, attempting to surround him. The creatures blended in with the snow as long as they stayed low to the ground, but when they popped their heads up in an attempt to see where their prey was, they appeared to be a dark blight on the land. They were fast, disappearing in a flash, but the movement caught Garald’s eyes. He was too good a huntsman not to notice.
She dove fast, streaking down from the sky to land beside her brother, going back-to-back with him. “Demons,” she said.
“I got that. How many?” He didn’t question that she had practically fallen from the sky on top of him. That would come later.
“Looks like nine. I counted fast, though. They’re all aboveground. I locked the ground so they can’t come at us that way. They can’t go back, either. We have to find how they came through, Garald.” She was going to have to tell him about Andros and Grigor. Just not now. She needed his full attention on this fight.