Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

Movement near the edge of the reeds sent Fen plunging deep, rocketing through the water toward that telltale flash. Straight toward him, out of the reeds, hurtled a goliath tigerfish, one of the most feared freshwater fishes found in the world—but not in a lake in Romania. With thirty-two teeth as long as those of a great white, the monster opened its jaws wide and powered through the water straight at Fen.

Lightning fast, it streaked toward Fen, the olive-colored back barely visible. All Fen could see was the dagger-sharp teeth coming at him. The aggressive, powerful goliath was known to attack and kill crocodiles. With barely any lips and teeth set into the jaw, the fish was deadlier than the smaller piranha and once its teeth clamped down on its prey, the cut was so clean it was almost surgical.

Fen, using his Guardian speed, managed to just slip sideways out of its way. The huge body drove passed him by a few feet before the enormous fish could stop its charge. Fen dove below it, coming up under its softer silver belly, reaching around it to take a good grip.

His upper arm and shoulder, chest and side, every part of his body coming in contact with the fish, instantly burned like fire, the pain excruciating. He tried to pull away, but that soft underside was not the tigerfish’s own belly, but a solid sheet of thin silver. Already the metal burned into his skin, so that he was attached and unable to break loose.

The fish tried turning its head to snap at him with dagger teeth, but Fen stayed well under the body, fighting off the pain. He tried to push pain aside as Carpathians did when wounded severely, but the silver seemed to be melting, finding his pores and working its way into his body. The more he fought, the worse the pain and the deeper the silver went. Abel had come up with another form of Moarta de argint—literally—death by silver.

Fen forced himself to remain absolutely still, while the tigerfish whirled in circles snapping at him. Suddenly it streaked straight through the water as if it was as anxious to dislodge Fen and get away.

Dimitri saw the fish rocketing through the deep lake with his brother attached somehow to the underbelly. The goliath swam directly toward the reeds and the lodge that was partially dismantled. He spotted a single flash of movement and instantly dove deep, intercepting the second tigerfish head-on, his body between his brother and the new threat. He drove his silver sword through the massive, open jaws.

Dimitri, the underbelly is pure silver, don’t touch it, Fen warned. Take off its head, but keep a distance.

The werewolves are attacking, Tatijana reported. They’re coming at us in great numbers, maybe forty strong. Three hunters and Zev have spotted Abel. He’s commanding them himself.

Fen removed his sword with his free hand. If it was possible beneath the water while one was being rocketed across a lake, he felt as if he might be sweating. Between the pain that seemed to grow worse with every passing second and the thought of what was to come, he had to keep up a shield to prevent Tatijana from knowing just how bad it really was. She would come to him no matter the danger.

Abel has sent a clone. Gregori will know what to do.

You’re certain? He appears real enough.

It was all Fen could do not to snap at her. He snapped his teeth together instead and forced calm. Abel is here. He broke the contact abruptly. He couldn’t be in two places at one time, not when Abel was doing his best to kill the two biggest threats to him.

Without waiting he took the sword and sliced upward in one motion, removing his own skin from elbow to shoulder that had adhered to the tigerfish. He forced himself not to feel the pain, but managed a second slicing motion, stripping the skin from his waist, up his rib cage to just below his arm. Blood poured into the water. The tigerfish went crazy and began snapping at itself, the teeth missing him by inches. It took every ounce of discipline he possessed to make the last cut to free himself from the monster before slicing the head off the goliath.

Something’s happening above us, Dimitri said as he withdrew the sword from the tigerfish’s mouth, spinning to the side of the large fish and slicing down to cut the head off. Near the shore, there’s a disturbance.

Go. I’ve got this.

Fen stopped the flow of blood and dove deeper, ignoring the small bits of silver still burning through his body. He found an entrance to the underwater rooms in Abel’s lodge. To enter the lair of a vampire was a very risky thing. There was water in the first room. Part of the wall had been blown away. The Sange rau had stored his food there and the bodies had risen to the surface.