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.Vikirnoff pushed off and they slid deeper into the freezing world of blue and crystal ice, spiraling fast down the long, cold tube.His arms kept her from ice splinters and the thicker, jagged crystalline protrusions that hung above their heads.It was breathtakingly beautiful, yet utterly frightening in that she knew the formation was unnatural.Natalya felt a little dizzy by the time they reached the bottom and she held onto Vikirnoff until she knew her legs would support her.In a narrow hall of ice they both were able to stand up straight without fear of hitting their heads on the ceiling."Are you all right?" Vikirnoff kept his arm around her until her legs stopped shaking.She shook her head."I feel strange.Afraid.I'm not usually afraid all the time.My heart is pounding so loud it's hurting my ears.And I feel sick to my stomach.Worse"?she looked up at him as she pressed her hand against her body, low, to the left, just below her stomach?"the dragon burns.A vampire is close.""Ahead or behind us?" He was already scanning, as he had been since they'd entered the ice caves and was dismayed to find he couldn't locate the vampire.And that meant it wasn't Arturo.Arturo couldn't hide his presence from the hunter.He sent up a silent prayer that he wouldn't be facing a master vampire when he was already wounded."I can't tell." She began to jog, hurrying through the tunnel.The hall ended abruptly, the floor dropping away to a great abyss.Vikirnoff caught her before she ran off the edge of the precipice.He held her against him."That was close."Natalya stared at the ice bridge glittering so invitingly.The structure was made of ice and stone, very narrow and had several holes in it.The bridge appeared to be the only way across.She frowned, gesturing toward the gaping holes."I'm not going to set one foot on that thing." She grinned up at him."I knew you were going to come in handy.""Are you expecting me to carry you?" He lifted an eyebrow."Without a doubt.We go to the other side."Vikirnoff reached for her, gathered her close.Natalya wished it felt impersonal, but his touch was electric, heat coursing through her body, making her acutely aware of him, aware of the definition of every muscle in his body as she leaned into his strength.It seemed natural to be in his arms and his body was familiar.Perfect.She fit exactly.She closed her eyes and savored the feeling of him being so close as they moved together through the air to the other side of the cave.Vikirnoff was careful, holding her even as he settled onto the ice floor, looking cautiously around before allowing her feet to touch the ground."I feel the level of danger elevating.Hurry, Natalya.Find what you must and let us leave this place."Natalya didn't need him to prompt her.She wanted out of the cave more than he could possibly know.She hurried through the chamber, past a small alcove and turned back abruptly.She held a glow stick high so that it shone on the wall of ice.Her breath caught in her throat."Vikirnoff," she whispered."Look."Scales covered the body of an enormous creature.A long serpentine neck supported a wedge-shaped head.The extended tail ended in a spike and the wings were folded in close along the body.Sharp claws, made for rending and tearing, looked as if they had been digging in the ice as if trying to scrape free.One beautiful eye, a sparkling vivid emerald green stared at them hopelessly through the thick wall of ice."A dragon, Vikirnoff.How would a dragon be trapped in the wall like that?" She wanted to weep for the creature.She put her hand on the ice, fingers spread wide, right over the claw as if to hold it close to her."Who would do this to a dragon?" She couldn't look away from that one, brilliant eye."Not one, but two." His voice was grim.He peered closer."There is a second one, side by side with the first.You can see the outline of the leg and claw."Natalya pressed against the wall, until her nose turned blue.Unconsciously, her fingernails dug at the ice, trying to get to the mythical creatures."This isn't right, Vikirnoff." She wanted to weep.Her chest burned and felt too tight."Can we get them out?"His hands were gentle as he pulled her away from the wall of ice."Is this what you are after? More than one vampire are now seeking us.I feel the presence of Arturo and several others.Unfortunately, I worry more about the ones I cannot feel.I sense the presence of evil, but cannot tell where it is.We cannot take a chance of removing a wall of ice this thick without the entire mountain coming down on us and even if we could, we do not have the necessary time.""I wish I had come for the dragons.This is just not right.I had no idea dragons were real.""They are and they are not." He turned her away from the ice tomb."You are much too sensitive.Your grief is as strong as it is unexpected." And her compassion only endeared her to him more.He tugged on her until she followed him."Which way?"Natalya took the lead again.The hall opened into a gallery.Tall columns of intricately carved, Gothic-style architecture rose to the high cathedral ceiling.Crystals and ice pillars formed two rows of columns down the room, each holding several round globes of various colors.Natalya stopped abruptly."This is the place.I'm supposed to come here, to this room.Don't touch anything, Vikirnoff.There are traps everywhere.I can feel them." She paced a distance down the wide-open room and then returned to him.Mythical creatures rose up from the floor in life-size sculptures made of clear crystal.Blood red pyramids made of stone gleamed from chiseled archways in the walls.If she stared too long at one of the many spheres, it came alive, swirling and changing color, trying to draw an unwary victim to the intense beauty.On the floor, beneath the ice were strange squares, pyramids and starburst patterns of stones.In the center of each shape were hieroglyphics, pictures carved deep into the rock."This is the way out," Natalya said
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