"Kirja?" Vikirnoff swung around, slipping the photo into his shirt next to his heart. "He is the vampire?" There was a thoughtful note in his voice. "No wonder this one is difficult to find. Kirja was a great warrior."

"I fear he is involved in a conspiracy to kill the prince."

"I have spoken recently with Gregori and all of us suspect that a large army is massing against us. What of Kirja's four brothers? Do you have news on them?"

"I believe they are all involved, but I do not know for certain. When he talked, he implied it was so."

Vikirnoff examined a pile of boulders that had shifted slightly out of position. "What is off in that direction?"

Rafael studied the landscape. "The mines." His dark eyes blazed with grim realization. "Vikirnoff, he has gone to the mines. Colby told me they boarded the entrances up years ago because they were dangerous. No one goes there."

"So he wouldn't have access to ready prey?"

Rafael shook his head. "No, but he would be able to call the unwary to him. He is incredibly powerful."

Vikirnoff nodded. "I remember all of the Malinov brothers. They were very powerful even while young." His cool black eyes studied Rafael. "As was your family."

"We were good friends, and yes, we tested the limits of the law, but we agreed, all ten of us, my brothers and Kirja's brothers, that we would follow our prince and live with honor. I do not know why the Malinov brothers chose the dark path." There was a lingering sadness in his voice.

Vikirnoff glanced at him sharply. "He is no longer your childhood friend. Let us hunt the undead, and remove the threat to you and your lifemate before the sun rises too high and forces us to ground."

They shifted at the same time, Vikirnoff choosing the owl and Rafael, the harpy eagle. Both flew low to the ground, scanning as they quartered the most direct route to the mines. Kirja would have stayed beneath the ground. However he had managed to be awake after the first light of dawn, Rafael was certain the effect couldn't last too long. Kirja would have prepared his escape route before he had launched his attempt on Colby's life.

Vikirnoff? Do you think it strange that the male child of Rhiannon died and yet there is no word on the fate of the females? Colby said she was told her father died, but not how or when. There was open speculation in Rafael's mind.

Wizards were not immortal. They had longevity, but ultimately, death claimed them. It is one of the reasons they came to resent us. For all their abilities and power, they could not sustain their lives. The prince believed that was the motivation for kidnapping Rhiannon. Xavier wished her to breed with him, to give his children immortal life. Xavier wanted her blood for himself and for his heirs.

Through the harpy eagle's keen eyes, Rafael noticed a slight shifting of dirt, still fresh, as if a mole had pushed upward and dislodged the soil. He circled it. What if Xavier succeeded? Rhiannon would not have willingly converted him, but he may have found a way to use her blood to convert himself. Colby is proof that the Dragonseeker blood was passed to what appear to be humans. We do not know for a fact that Xavier died or that his son and his grandson have died. The women have been told this, but there are no details.

Vikirnoff considered the possibilities. You are saying it is possible that our greatest enemy is alive and has adult children to help him continue his work.

Rafael spotted the mines just ahead and flew higher, taking in a wider range. Kirja would not go into the mines without safeguards and numerous traps. He studied the ground and the entrances to the two shafts, both blocked with massive boulders. I think it is possible, yes. I do not believe that any child of Xavier would easily be killed. And if they carry Dragonseeker blood, it would be more difficult than ever.

Rafael landed in the branches of a large fir, a short distance from the mine entrance. Vikirnoff settled beside him. They studied the area around them with sharp eyes before settling to earth and shifting into their Carpathian forms. From their position, they sent their acute senses in every direction, paying particular attention to the position of the boulders blocking the entrance as well as the structure of the sloping mine.

"This woman I am following," Vikirnoff ventured, "has vampires hunting her. Is it possible they know she carries the blood of the Dragonseekers?"

"I do not know. Colby carries the blood of the Dragonseekers, but Kirja did not seem to have knowledge of it." Rafael studied Vikirnoff's weathered features. "We are surrounded by treachery these days, making it impossible to tell enemy from friend quite often. This woman may be leading you straight into a trap."

Vikirnoff shrugged. "It is of little consequence. I am no fledgling and have been long in this world. I have acquired a few skills along the way." There was a hard edge to his face, a darker shadow moving in the black eyes. "I am not so easily killed." He shook his head. "Something about this is not quite right."

"I agree. It seems off-kilter, but I cannot say how."

"There is a substantial wind, yet the leaves of the bushes near the entrance of the mines do not even waver. They remain still when the leaves all around us are moving. The breeze should move all the leaves, not just those near us," Vikirnoff pointed out.

Rafael studied the phenomenon. "Are we perhaps looking at an illusion? A scene Kirja set up as a safeguard?"

"If so, it is one I have not seen in all my centuries of hunting. It is an extremely large illusion to hold while he lies sleeping beneath the ground."

"Kirja is no ordinary vampire," Rafael said. "He was never ordinary as a hunter, but showed exceptional skills as did all of his family. If any of the undead could do such a thing, it would be Kirja. And I doubt if he is resting."

Vikirnoff shifted, and in the familiar image of the owl, spread wings and took flight, spiraling over the area, dropping lower and lower as he circled the mines. If it is an illusion, it is a good one.

"It is," Rafael said aloud. He shifted once again into the eagle form, leaving the safety of the trees to fly over the massive boulders at the entrance. They looked real enough, but Rafael no longer trusted his sight.

The owl flew toward the largest boulder, feet extended as if to land. At the last moment, he veered off. There is nothing there. I would have hit the ground.

Rafael landed on the ground off to the side of the mine entrances. "We are going to have to forget sight and use our other senses to tell us where the actual entrance is."

Vikirnoff shifted beside him. "We could try going underground. Kirja has already made a tunnel beneath the earth."

Rafael shook his head. "Not his tunnel. He is a master at fighting beneath the ground. The opening is here. I will find it." He shifted once more, becoming a small unassuming bat.

Vikirnoff watched the dipping and wheeling of the bat. The night creature would be able to feel any objects in its path and know the exact distance to them. Very simple, but very clever.

It is an illusion. The entrance to the mines is ten feet to the left. We can go in through the cracks using mist. At least we know we are in the right place. He must be in there to have set up such an enormous safeguard. He could not hope to keep it throughout the daylight hours.

Vikirnoff joined Rafael in the same form, using the bat's radar to judge the distance to the boulders at the real entrance to the mines. They moved with care, streaming as a vapor trail through a large crack between rocks, making their way into the dark tunnel. It was safer to proceed as vapor, not touching the walls or ground where they might trigger a trap. That worked until they turned a corner and encountered a giant spider web. The strands of the web were closely woven. It was impossible for even vapor to slip through without disturbing the silky threads. A very small spider sat in the corner of the web.