The crack obeyed, separating without a sound. Of course Bardolf would need his escape hatch to be completely silent. Icy cold air blew into the cave, swamping them with a bitter chill. Fen went through first. They didn't need the light as all of them were able to see in dark, but Bardolf had used torches to light the way.

They were in a passageway rather than an actual chamber. It was narrow and curved, and led only one direction as the entrance had been closed. Fen moved downward quickly, flowing as a stream of vapor. Bardolf had begun his exploration of Xavier's cave. Whatever traps lay in wait that he might trigger might catch the hunters as well.

The actual floor had broken away in several places, making it impossible for anyone who couldn't travel as they were to proceed. The narrow tunnel gave way to a chamber where originally there had been a large hole where one could descend to the ice city below. The chambers and caves sprawled for miles, and Xavier held rule over the entire underground lair. A great chunk of ice had pushed through that hole, making descent impossible.

Bardolf went this way, Fen said following the scent of the wolf.

There were no real tracks; Bardolf was, like them, streaming through as vapor, but he couldn't hide his stench after so many clashes between them. Fen led the others to a far wall where a large lava tube rose up from below.

He went down there.

There are guardians. Hideous creatures, Tatijana warned. He mutated vampire bats. They're larger and prey on deer and other victims. He fed them humans and even mages who had displeased him. They live in the walls of the lava tubes and anything disturbing them will be attacked immediately. As you descend they'll drop on top of you and begin eating you alive.

Great. Fen looked down the tube. It was pitch-black and he couldn't see a thing, nor did he really want to. How did Bardolf go down unscathed?

Maybe they're all dead, Dimitri suggested. I heard when they left these caves they tried to burn them out, isn't that right, Tatijana?

There is no way a single pair didn't make it through that holocaust. They've been breeding again. I feel them. When you live so close to that kind of danger, you know the feel of it and your body reacts. Mine, right now, is shuddering with fear.

Fen immediately poured warmth and strength into her mind. He didn't dare assume his body to hold her, but he wrapped his arms around her telepathically and let her lean on him for a moment of support. When he could feel she had steadied herself, he turned to the lava tube.

Lighting the tube to see what we're facing might awaken the creatures, he decided. I think Bardolf just flowed down without knowing they were there. He didn't trigger their feeding frenzy or we'd smell blood.

He took another cautious sniff, just to be safe. Tatijana was right. He smelled the odor of rotting meat. Something had been torn apart and feasted on down in that hole. Still, Bardolf had gone that way.

I'll lead. If I go down safe, Tatijana, you follow next. I can protect from below and Dimitri can protect you from above. Don't touch the walls, even with a single molecule. We don't know enough about these creatures and the danger they represent to us.

He sent another wave of reassurance to Tatijana. Going deeper into this maze of ice caves had to be her worst nightmare. Merged as he was with her, he felt the absolute determination that overrode the fear bordering on terror.

If it's possible to fall in love with you more, my lady, I am.

He didn't wait for a reply but turned and streamed into the lava tube, dropping straight down, moving slow enough that he wouldn't disturb the air. It was wretched inside the tube. He used the vision of his mixed blood to try to see what was inside. There were honeycombs in the walls, round holes that were stained with blood, fur and a few feathers. He was certain the mutated bat creatures lived in those holes.

I think I'm just past the halfway point. Tatijana, start down, but don't make the mistake of going fast. You want to keep from disturbing the air so anything living in these walls just stays there. Dimitri will be right behind you.

They didn't have bodies for the creatures to leap upon, but he wasn't taking chances, not with his lifemate or his brother. He continued to drop, fighting off the need for speed. It was necessary to keep his sense of smell from being so acute. The farther down he got, the worse the stench was. He wasn't particularly happy about that aspect as so far, he hadn't spied an opening from the tube to the cavern floor. If the bottom was closed off and the creatures ate their prey inside the tube, where did that leave them? He should have gone all the way down before calling to the others.

His superior vision was what saved them. The hole in the side where the tube had crumbled away had to be the entrance to the chamber. He drifted through and immediately the sounds of ice creaking could be heard. Now and then there was a tremendous roar as a great chunk shot out, driven from the ice wall from the tremendous pressure. The chunk hit the opposite wall and dropped to the floor below.

In the distance, from the opposite side of the chamber, near a door, a torch had been lit and soft light spilled into the cavernous room, turning the ice a deep blue. It was beautiful. He had forgotten that Xavier's school had also been a place of beauty with ice sculptures, fountains and intriguing formations.

You're coming up on the entrance now, Tatijana, he said, guiding her through.

He waited until his brother followed and then he set out after Bardolf. He moved much more quickly now that they had actual chambers large enough that they didn't have to worry about touching the walls or floors. He followed the trail of torches Bardolf had so conveniently lit . . .

Conveniently lit, Fen repeated for the others. He knows we're following him.

How? Tatijana asked. We haven't made any mistakes.

No, that was true, but they were dealing with a Sange rau. Bardolf couldn't feel energy from Dimitri or Fen, but he could from a Carpathian. As sensitive as a mixed blood was, Bardolf had felt Tatijana's energy, perhaps even when they had returned and she was in dragon form.

Me. I've endangered you.

That's what he thinks, Fen agreed, but you're our ace in the hole. You might despise the fact that you were here for centuries, but that's what's going to save us all, Tatijana. He doesn't know mage spells or any of the dangers here like you do. We don't know them either. He'll come at us, but it's you that's going to bring him down.

Fen could feel her turning what he'd said over and over in her mind. If she wanted to go back, he would have Dimitri . . .

No. No way am I deserting you. Her voice turned strong. You're right. I do know these caves. I do know spells. Bardolf was Lycan and he never studied at Xavier's school. I can trap him even if he doesn't trigger one of the older snares left behind by Xavier.

Let's do this then, Dimitri said into their minds.

It was Dimitri's mantra-get it done no matter how repulsive the task. Fen proceeded, allowing his senses to flare out to explore every aspect of the chamber as they moved through it toward the torch. Dimitri, he knew, was doing the same. Tatijana looked for any hidden tricks the high mage may have left behind.

They got through the chamber to the entrance itself. Fen studied that carefully before he streamed through. He nearly ran straight into webs of fire spiders. The thin threads glowed with flames. They were woven tight, layer upon layer, so had he even in his present form touched a strand, he wouldn't be able to get loose.

He's using fire spiders.

Fen felt Tatijana's instant rejection of his assessment. Fire spiders would never allow themselves to be used by Bardolf against a Dragonseeker.

How would they know who follows him? Dimitri asked with a little smirk in his voice.

The insects in this cave know everything. They aren't mere insects. Each species was mutated to some degree. The fire spiders, in fact most species of spiders, were our allies.

Fen had to believe her. How did Bardolf get through? He studied the glowing web. Bardolf had led them to the fire spiders in the hope that they would be trapped.

He couldn't have, Tatijana answered. He couldn't have gotten past that web. It's too big and thick. The spiders have been here for years, spinning that web. There are no tears in it and they couldn't have repaired a tear this fast. He didn't go through this entrance.

I smell him.

Then he went through it, stopped and came back. He had some time to explore this cave. This can't be the first time he's been in it. He probably found his lair the first night he was here, she insisted. I'm right about this, Fen. I am. If there's one thing I do know, it's fire spiders.

I believe you. We need to figure out where he went.

There were two other ways to leave the cave, each leading into another, larger cavern. One way dropped lower, leading to another level. The floor of the last entrance seemed even with the chamber they were in. Fen wasn't especially keen on exploring the maze of caves beneath them. The lower they went, the more likely it was that they would run into Xavier's safeguards.

The moment he neared the entrance to the next chamber, warnings rippled through him, yet he couldn't see any obvious trap-it just felt wrong to him. He approached cautiously.

I've got multiple warning signals going off all over the place, Fen, Dimitri said.

Me, too, Tatijana added. Maybe we should try door number three instead.

Fen waited a moment, thinking it through. Bardolf didn't have a lot of time to prepare for an attack. He had to have noticed Tatijana's dragon and had exited his cave into the ice caves for safety. The other alternative would have given him even less time to prepare-if he felt her energy as she'd joined the two hunters at the entrance to his cave.

Wait a minute. He went this way. He's trying to herd us that way. He didn't have enough time to set up many traps. He's using what he knows is already here.

Fen didn't wait for the others to agree; he knew Bardolf was close. Misdirection was an easy escape if the Sange rau could make it happen. Bardolf didn't want to fight them. He would if he was cornered, but if he could escape them, that would be his first choice. He was running.

He streamed through the arched opening into the next, cathedral-ceilinged chamber. The walls were covered in ice balls, great glops clinging to the sheets of ice, looking for all the world as if someone had thrown huge popcorn all over the walls to decorate them. Hanging from the ceiling were enormous icicles.

Good God, Fen, Dimitri hissed. This is a massacre waiting to happen.

Tatijana, don't come through to this chamber yet, Fen cautioned. If he's using your energy to track us, I don't want him to know we chose this way. Let me see what I can find before you enter.

But, little sister-kin, Dimitri cautioned, don't go exploring. Stay right by the entrance where we can see you.

Now I have two of you worried about me. I'm perfectly fine right here. I'm really not all that fragile.

She felt fragile to Fen, but he wasn't a stupid man and he didn't say that to her. He wanted to take her out of there and just hold her tight, but there was no turning back. He kept close to the walls of the room, moving slowly to keep from disturbing the air. He matched the temperature of his molecules to the chamber's so that even that couldn't give him away.

He's here, he cautioned Dimitri. In this room. Hiding. Tatijana, move back a little more from the entrance. If he felt you there, he would think you were retreating toward the other chamber.

He's got a lot of weapons in here, Dimitri reminded, but so do we.

Tatijana moved away from the door and they lost sight of her. Both stilled, waiting. Patience was needed in the hunt. No one moved. Time passed. Water dripped and the continuous creaking of the ice became a strange music. More drops ran down the west-facing wall. Small. Like tiny beads of sweat. Hardly noticeable. Both hunters noticed.

The droplets rolled halfway down the sheet of ice before they froze there. Still, the hunters didn't take the bait. They waited in absolute stillness. Again time passed. The creaking of the ice gave way to a thunderous roar from a chamber quite close as the pressure pushed a giant-sized chunk out of a wall and flung it hard into the room. The chunk crashed to the floor with a resounding boom, shaking several adjoining caves.

With the strength of the vibrations, a few of the round balls clinging to the walls close to Fen broke free and fell to the floor, crashing and splintering into fragments like glass. A soft chuckle added to the music of the ice.

He believes we fell for his ruse and went to the next chamber, Fen said. He's going to be fast, Dimitri, he's fighting for his life and a cornered wolf is a very dangerous one.

His brother knew as much about wolves as he did, but still, he worried. He wasn't about to get Dimitri killed, and his younger brother always was patient about Fen giving him advice. He was quiet, often shaking his head, but he never seemed offended.

Both hunters focused on the corner, up by the ceiling where the drips had originated.

Don't reveal yourself to him, even if it looks as if I've staked him. He won't know you're close by and we'll get that second chance at him, Fen instructed. Tatijana, if he slips through, conceal yourself, don't try to take him on alone.

I would never consider taking him on alone.

She had that little snippy voice that told him she might be up to something, but he had to trust her word and know she would put her safety first.

The ice at the corner of the wall began to ripple as if it was coming alive. More water dripped and then ran down the side of the wall in a little stream. Bardolf didn't bother to keep his body temperature the same as the chamber. He preferred his comfort, and ice caves weren't for wolves.

Fen had never tried to kill a Sange rau without its body. He didn't even know if it could be done. At best, he might be able to force Bardolf into another form, giving Dimitri the chance to kill him. Nevertheless, he planned to try. He began drifting up toward the corner of the ceiling, keeping his movements slow, so there was no chance of his disturbing the air.

Bardolf was pleased with himself. He continued to chuckle out loud as he slowly removed his shelter. He had surrounded himself with a thick sheet of ice, blending it seamlessly into the wall, so it was impossible to detect. He just hadn't been able to force himself to be as cold as he needed to keep the ice from melting.

Fen remembered when he'd first come upon Bardolf's pack so long ago, when the Lycan had been the alpha. Even then he liked his comforts. His mate served him first and would massage his feet and back for him no matter how tired she was or what she'd done that day. He liked a hot fire waiting in his house and if it wasn't lit, there was hell to pay.

The ice in the corner shimmered. Slowly, Bardolf emerged. He had chosen to stream through the ice cave in the form of vapor as well, but because he needed warmth, steam rose around him, giving Fen a target to lock onto. As Bardolf moved forward, Fen attacked, shifting at the last possible second, a silver stake in his fist. He plunged it into the center of the mist, hoping to hit the heart, but knowing it would be nearly impossible. As he pushed the silver stake into the vapor, he melted all but the point so that the silver spread fast, coating every molecule.

Bardolf screamed in agony as the silver invaded his body, working its way through him. He shifted immediately, hands grabbing at the melting stake, trying to pull it from his body, even as he directed the icicles above their heads to fly at Fen.

Icicles rained down, sharp missiles seeking targets, hundreds of them, so that the chamber was filled with the sounds of cracking ice as they broke away from the ceiling to hurtle toward Fen. He threw up a shield around his body, but that split second it took to do so allowed Bardolf to shoot away from him, across the room, racing toward the arched doorway he had come through earlier.

Dimitri waited in absolute stillness, positioning himself directly in front of that door, Bardolf's only way to escape. The Sange rau ran straight into a silver stake, impaling himself on it. Bardolf had been moving fast and with Dimitri's enormous strength, the stake went deep, piercing the heart, but not going through.

Bardolf wrenched himself away at the last moment, just enough to keep the stake from penetrating through his heart. Cursing, blood pouring from his wound to drip on the floor of ice, he used both hands to pull the stake from his body and slam it hard into Dimitri's shoulder, to drive him back.

Fen streaked across the room while the hail of icicles followed him, heat-seeking drones locked on to him specifically. Bardolf was already on the run, racing through the door to the next chamber. He uttered a cry of alarm, but then slammed a block of ice into the entrance, trapping Fen and Dimitri on the other side.

Tatijana, get out of there. Don't reveal yourself to him.

Tatijana watched Bardolf burst through the door. She was not alone. Branislava had felt her rising distress upon entering the ice caves and she had come, as she always had.

Spiders, spiders of firespun ice, hear my call, spin and splice. Create a web of finest thread to protect your sisters from harm or dread.

Thousands of tiny spiders raced down the wall, slipping out of cracks and crevices, coming up from the floor and down from the ceiling, weaving and spinning fine webs of silken orange-red flames. There were so many of them, coming from every direction that the density and sheer size of the web was astounding.

Neither Tatijana nor Branislava moved, remaining directly behind the fiery protection, facing the wounded Sange rau without flinching.

Blood poured from his chest, and he roared with fury, the sound reverberating through the ice chamber. Great cracks appeared in the walls, crackling and groaning. Bardolf shifted, his muzzle elongating, making room for his teeth. His eyes went red and fur sprang around his upper body and arms. Huge sharp claws burst from his hands. He stood tall on two legs staring at the two women with hatred and malevolence.

"Take it down and I will spare your lives," he bargained, his voice mostly growls. Saliva dripped from his muzzle in long strings.

Tatijana smiled serenely. "We are Dragonseeker, and we have faced a monster far worse than you. You will not pass."

Both women lifted their hands and began to weave a pattern in the air.

Air, Earth, Fire and Water, hear my call. See your daughters . . .

The force of the elements coming together, spinning into a tight woven power, sent energy crackling through the room. The air itself grew heavy with the intensity of the combination.

Air unseen, seek that which is closed. Earth that does hold open, unfold. Fire that burns, eat that which would harm, water that flows, break open this door.

Air whistled as it gusted around the block of ice preventing Fen and Dimitri from following Bardolf into the chamber. The mountain rumbled, shaking the block, loosening the edges as the wind continually battered the seal. Spiders raced to spin their fiery strands around the entire block of ice so that water ran in streams to unseal the door.

Bardolf raged at them. His blood, tainted with the vampire's acid blood, dropped in great globs on the floor, causing the two women to look uneasily at one another. The cave was Xavier's domain and blood would call evil to it.

Bardolf clapped his great claws together and chunks of ice fell on the thick fiery web. Instead of destroying the fire spider's web, the chunks melted as they dropped through, the silken strands glowing and leaping with fiery flames.

Behind him, Bardolf could see the door melting away. He chose the fire rather than facing the two hunters. Using his speed, he rushed into the web, expecting to break through. The webbing wrapped him up, trapping him while thousands of fire spiders leapt on his body, biting and feasting on his flesh. Flames raced through his fur, engulfing him as he fought to break out of the dense web.

Behind him, the door fell from a combination of the elements and the two men working on it from the other side. Fen and Dimitri rushed into the room so fast they nearly ran into the fire web themselves. Both stopped abruptly, shocked at the sight of the two women standing together, side by side, while the Sange rau struggled in the fiery webbing. It wouldn't kill him, but it certainly would slow him down.

The floor rippled, the ice pushing upward in places as if the cave had become unstable.

"Hurry, Fen," Tatijana said. "We can't stay here. There's evil coming for us."

She lifted her hands into the air, stepping closer to the web. Spiders, spiders, friends of ours, ensure your flames do my lifemate and kin no harm.

"Fen, now." Desperation edged her voice.

Muffled sounds came from beneath them, a booming, like a heartbeat, striking dread in all of them.

Seeing Bardolf covered in thousands of spiders, being eaten alive and burned at the same time, gave him pause, but he trusted Tatijana and he forced himself to step forward into that fiery web. He caught hold of Bardolf, trapped in the fire, expecting the flames to burn him, but when he touched the web, he felt only sticky silk against his skin.

Spinning Bardolf to face him, he slammed the silver stake in his fist straight through the heart. Lifting his hand, he caught the sword Dimitri threw to him and in one motion, sliced through the neck, so that the Sange rau's head rolled onto the shifting floor.