Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian series. That honor belongs to Christine Feehan. I do however, own the main characters in this fic and any other OCs. I hope you enjoy.
Dark Illusions
Prologue
Romania—1358
Caleb stepped away from the tiny female's broken body. "She's gone, Wilhem."
"No. She can't be gone. They call you a prodigy among healers, Caleb. You can save her, I know it!"
Caleb's twin, Jayden went to stand next to him and met Wilhem's gaze. "We did everything we could. We destroyed the murderous slayers and left no rock unturned. Caleb used all the resources at his disposal, Wilhem. But when it comes right down to it, even the greatest healer in the world can't bring back the dead, no matter how much we wish it otherwise."
Wilhem knelt down and pulled the girl's body close. Burying his face in her hair, he took a long sniff. "So young. Only twelve. Not even old enough to bring back colors." Still cradling the body, he looked up at his brothers with an unreadable expression. "Forgive me brothers, but I must ask you to leave me. I wish to spend my last evening on this Earth with what's left of my beloved Daniella."
"Wilhem, you can't be serious!" Jayden cried out. "It is no secret that your inner struggle was lessened in her company, but females have that effect on us all. The very presence of a Carpathian female gives us all hope to keep going."
"Daniella was not just any female. She was mine. It was different with her than with the other females in the village. Continuing this dreary existence was almost effortless when I saw her smile." Wilhem began to rock back and forth, clutching Daniella's body so hard that had she not been dead, she would no longer be breathing. "I can't go on. Not without ever again seeing her dark eyes sparkling up at me."
Caleb knelt down in front of his older brothers rocking form. "We can't afford to lose you Wilhem. With the increasing threats from slayers and vampires, we must be vigilant. We need every available hunter to protect not only Carpathians, but innocent humans as well. You can't ever know for certain if Daniella was yours. If you greet the dawn now, you could very well be condemning another female to a half-life. Please, Wilhem. You must keep going. We'll help you. We are brothers."
Wilhem once again looked up. "She was mine," he whispered. "I know it."
"No, Wilhem. You don't know it. You can't." Jayden reasoned. "We have already lost too much of our family. Mother, Father, our sister Ariana. They're all gone. We're brothers Wilhem. We have to stick together. If we work as one, we can hold back the darkness."
"I don't think our bond as brothers will be enough to sustain me, Jayden."
"It will," Caleb added. "It has to."
"We'll stick together and fight for our people. We'll fight for each other and we'll fight for a future we'll have with our females." Jayden joined his brothers on the floor. "And when we find them, and we will, it will all be worth it."
Wilhem looked uncertain. "I can feel the darkness closing in. I don't think I can hold out a month, let alone centuries."
"Then we'll make a pact—a blood vow between brothers," Caleb proposed.
"What kind of vow?" Wilhem asked"
"A vow that none of us shall greet the dawn until the threat to our people is lessened enough that not so many warriors are needed to fight."
"An honorable vow, my brother. I shall swear to the pact." Jayden held out his hand. "Wilhem, will you swear to the oath?"
After a few moments hesitation, Wilhem freed one hand from its grip on Daniella. He grasped Jayden's arm firmly. "I swear."
The three brothers exchanged blood three ways. The pact was official. None of them would greet the dawn until the threat to their people was diminished.
Romania—1490
"Caleb, I'm worried about Wilhem," Jayden announced as he entered the healing cave.
Caleb finished repairing his cousin Julian's ruptured lung. The warrior's rib had poked right through it. "You need to be more careful, cousin. I may not always be here to patch you up."
"I could have healed it myself, you know." Julian got up and misted out of the cave.
"Just once I would like a thank you."
"Thank you, Caleb."
"Too late, Julian."
"Did you hear me, Caleb?" Jayden inquired.
Caleb turned to look at his twin. His face was sickly white from overworking himself. "Yes, Jayden. I'm worried too. The darkness is beginning to consume him. I'm beginning to wonder if we should have allowed him the dawn all those years ago."
Jayden sighed. "I've been thinking the same thing. The last time we went hunting together, he nearly killed that farmer he was feeding from. If I hadn't have stopped him, the man would be dead. The worst thing is, I don't think Wilhem even realizes the significance of it. It's like he doesn't even care that his honor is slipping away. I fear he may turn if we don't do something soon. Perhaps we should consult with the prince?"
Caleb shook his head. "No. This is a family matter. Let's go find Wilhem and discuss this. As much as it pains me to say, we may need to convince him to break his oath."
"Wilhem, Jayden and I wish to speak with you." Caleb called on their private mental path.
"I wish to be left alone." The reply was terse and almost, sinister.
The twins followed their senses to their brother as they continued to contact him mentally. "Wilhem, Caleb and I are worried about you. You seem to be feeding far more than usual and with little regard for the humans you feed from."
"I've been hungry," he said.
Caleb and Jayden were speeding through the forest now, desperate to find their older brother.
"Jayden, when was that hunting trip you said you went on—the one when he almost killed the farmer?"
"Three nights ago."
"Hurry."
The brothers found Wilhem in the neighboring village. He was feasting on a young woman. She wasn't in a trance. She was whimpering in fear. The two of them burst into action. Jayden yanked Wilhem off the woman. Blood gushed everywhere. Caleb desperately attempted to stop the bleeding.
"Why don't you find your own dinner, brother?" Wilhem turned his now blood red gaze toward Jayden and bared his already-yellowing fangs. "That one was mine."
"How could you, Wilhem? How could you give into the darkness?"
"I was hungry. I just didn't see a point in starving myself anymore."
Jayden shook his head in defeat. "We were wrong, Wilhem. We should have let you die with honor after Daniela died. We were selfish. Now it looks like we'll be forcing death upon you."
Wilhem snickered menacingly. "No, Jayden. You weren't wrong in making me stick around. In fact, that's the only thing you ever got right."
As Jayden steeled himself to charge his brother, Caleb suddenly groaned and keeled over on the ground. His skin had turned gray. He hadn't the energy to help the woman. She was dead. Jayden started to turn back to face Wilhem, but the newly-turned vampire had taken advantage of the distraction. He was gone.
As Jayden ripped open his wrist and offered his vein to his twin, the two of them made a new pact. Neither of them would rest until Wilhem was destroyed.
United States, Pennsylvania – 1875
After centuries of playing cat and mouse, Jayden and Caleb were certain of their victory tonight. The twins had tracked Wilhem to an old mausoleum. Most likely the vampire had decided to feed from some poor grieving widow. However, when they entered the mausoleum, they found not one, but ten bodies littering the floor. Only one of them was drained of blood. The blood from the remaining nine had been used to spell out a message across the polished marble floor. It read: I will be back. I still need your corpses.
It became clear to the brothers that Wilhem had locked himself away inside the earth. Try as they might, they could not get a read on him. The twins established residence nearby. They would wait forever if they had to. Wilhem would be destroyed.