Title: Dark Moments

Author: Ageless Light

Beta-ed by: Nobody right now! But I'd like one!

Characters/Pairing: Zacarias De La Cruz and OC

Genre: Romance/Fantasy

Summary: Zacarias De La Cruz meets his lifemate a most inopportune time. When he re-awakens he discovers she is gone, and vows to find and claim her at all costs. Their possible union gains the attention of a powerful race but are they friends or foes to the Carpathians?

Rating: T (Contains content suitable for teens and older)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dark Series Universe or any of Christine Feehan's characters. I do own the OC's though. I went to babynames . com for my character names though. A nice reviewer PMed me and told me that the book the original concept of the Ways came from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Series. I however, have altered their purpose, make-up, and description to fit my fic. They are very different since I haven't even read the story, but if you like epic fantasy books, I encourage you to check them out.

Status: Continuous (Incomplete)

Created on: September 28, 2009

Word Count: 1,432 (Total- 31,123)

Spoilers: Up to and including Dark Slayer (The most recent novel in Feehan's Dark Series).

"Talk" – regular talking

Talk- Inner thoughts

"Talk"- Spoken telepathically

Chapter 9

The Wait

Part One

Swirling patters of light and dark flitted across her eyelids as the flames danced around in the night air. The only sound was the soothing crackle from the fire pit in front of her. Being in such a peaceful environment had allowed the blonde to relax and truly enjoy connecting with the elements around her. A disharmonic feeling wiggled its way into the stillness around her. At first she ignored it, but as the feeling grew, infecting the tranquility that she was enjoying she realized it could only be one thing.

Inhaling deeply, Iris, readied herself for the figures that she could feel were fast approaching. They would be there within a minute or so, if her guess was correct. After all, the air had slowly become increasingly charged with power. The power on the wind was obviously menacing, but did not hold any vileness to it so she was assured it was not vampires.

Now fully pulled from her thoughts, she sighed as she felt the serenity leave her. Without a sound four figures dropped down from the sky in front of her. She knew that had arrived because the earth had pulsed, warning her. Ethan had also jumped up from his chair alerting her to their presence.

In one swift motion Iris, placed her feet upon the ground and opened her eyes. Her bright sky blue iris' fell upon four familiar figures. The man directly in front of her was the stranger Ashe had healed, and the three men from early that morning. For a moment she stared at them before remembering the importance of her role. She had a lot to make up for and intended to do so. A genuine smile appeared on her face as she bowed her head slightly in greeting.

"Good evening. Thank you for coming. I apologize for the earlier actions of myself and my comrades. Please take a seat." Only after she invited them to join her did she raise her head and meet their gazes.

"A good evening to you as well." The silver eyed man spoke simply, the others nodded in greetings. She noticed that his voice had a slight accent and that it was different from others that lived in the in the area. Before more could be said, Iris formally introduced herself.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Iris Elodia the 25th, of the house of Airan. On behalf of my house and my people, I offer kind greetings from The Kylierion Empire." Several pairs of eye-brows rose at her formal speech. She could see bewilderment and caution still in their gazes but would not be deterred.

"The other's are on their way. Please forgive their tardiness. Several of my friends were injured from fighting the vampires and required attention and rest." Tourmaline eyes sought the man Ashe knew and she continued, "Our healer required much rest after using her abilities and we did not want to wake her or the other's prematurely." For some reason, she expected a reaction from the stranger, but he remained impassive. She couldn't be sure, but it seemed that after she had spoken the atmosphere dimmed considerably.

"We understand. Thank you for offering us a chance to speak. I am Gregori Daratrazanoff." Finally, she had a name to the silver eyed intimidating male, the obvious leader. Offering a nod in return to his greeting her gaze shifted to the muscular one that held a close resemblance to the remaining two.

"I am Manolito De La Cruz. This is Nicholas and this is Zacarias, our older brother." He motioned to each one as he named them Nicholas, though stern greeted her with respect and openness. Much like Gregori had. Zacarais however, had barely greeted her. She wasn't sure if he had jerked his head once in greeting, or if the flame's shadows caused her to see things. Uncomfortable, with Zacarias' intense and unfriendly gaze she brought her eyes to face the leader.

"May I ask a sensitive question?" She asked, politely, and tried to control her patience. By the Stars, the others are going to be so surprised at how well I'm playing my role. I knew I should have taken Travis' bet. For a moment none of the men answered and she almost panicked at her stupidity.

"Well are you going to ask?" Manolito questioned her, with a small smile, obviously aware of her unsure thoughts.

"Would you be willing to tell me about this morning? We hoped that you were able to leave, and we hoped we did not reveal too much of you to the townspeople."

"It was nothing, that could not be handled" Gregori said smoothly. A frown formed on her brown as she tried to discern what could have happened from his unspecific answer. With a small shake of her head, she continued with what she wanted to say. "We have not encountered your kind before, I think. So I attempted to place the least harmful barrier around you. I just want to ask after your well-being, I hoped I did not cause any of you injury."

"We are fine, there was no lasting harm done."

"I am relieved. If that was not the case, I'm sure our healer would be happy to assist you in your recovery." Suddenly three sets of eyes glanced at Zacharias, all with varying looks. Amusement could be seen in his brother's eyes, but the eldest brother found no enjoyment and simply glared harshly at them as if daring them to ask for assistance. Manolito just returned his attention to the female in front of him and questioned her on her last comment.

"You created that barrier?" Their gazes became more intense, as if they wanted to see if she would lie. They obviously don't think a young female is capable of such a feat. Which is ridiculous because they obviously know nothing about us.

"I did. Shields and barriers of various sizes and uses are…a family specialty." She could tell they wanted to ask more but refrained from doing so.

The air crackled around them, and the flames in the pit flickered, dying down for a moment before returning to their strong blaze. Both were signals that power was released. It was obvious that Kylierions had passed through the Ways, announcing their presence. Ethan looked at Iris for guidance. With a flick of her wrist she gestured for him to walk to the treeline where Ashe and Caleb would emerge, with Amelyn hidden behind them.

Not wanting to drawn any more attention to herself after her earlier actions, Iris anxiously smoothed her hand down over her outfit. Fingering the collar to her sky blue collared shirt, she carefully made sure that the black suit was arranged perfectly. Smiling reassuringly at their guests, she turned slightly, feeling that her friends were arriving.

Noticing movement to her left, she glanced back at the party. All of the men altered their stance and were facing the arriving party. However, it was odd, that not all of them were looking in that direction. Zacarias and Gregori were looking at the tress, waiting for the party to emerge and join them. Surprisingly, Nicholas, and Manolito were carefully watching their older brother's face.

She didn't have to turn around to know that her friends now joined Ethan and were walking towards them she could clearly see the moment they became visible by watching their guests faces. Zacarias was entranced by her best friend and his dark gaze did not waver from her form. His chest heaved as he breathed deeply in through his nose, as if he was committing her scent on the wind to memory. The brother's had looks filled with a mixture of relief and satisfaction on their faces. Iris filed all of her observations away in her mind. Soft padding upon the nearby earth signaled that Caleb, and therefore the party had now reached her and their guests.

Tearing her eyes from the men she glanced at her best friend. Finding a polite smile on her face; her posture spoke of confident and comfortableness. Ashe was dressed in a light grey suit pants and a tight knit black sweater. A full length soft leather coat completed her outfit and her famous platinum blonde hair hung free, framing her face. A large, midnight colored wolf stood proudly at her shoulder. Despite Caleb's intimidating size, he was radiating calm. The youngest of their new group, Ethan, had resumed his post at Iris' left side. Inhaling a deep breath, Iris opened her mouth to start the introductions so the true meeting could begin.

This completes Chapter 9! I know it was short, but since I posted two chapters at once, I hope you don't mind! Can you believe that my fic is over 30, 000 words!

Please hit the little button on the bottom and leave your thoughts/comments/questions and advice in a review! I look forward to reading your thoughts and advice on how to improve my writting. Your reviews fuel my passion for writting!

~Ageless Light