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Krulnar shook his head.  There s a wall within Chetiera that stopped us
from bonding.  I-I can t break through.
 Maybe it s good. Ulnik rose and sheathed his sword.  Perhaps it is for
the best that you don t know everything.
Krulnar grabbed his leader s arm.  What are you talking about?
Ulnik turned.  Chetiera s father is the one who killed my brother.
 No, that s impossible Why would he do something like that? The man
she knew as her father was a peace-loving man.
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Of Cheetah s Blood Charisma Knight
 He was a peace-loving man. Until he allowed darkness to blind him.
Ulnik shook his head.
 If this is the case, why didn t you ever tell me?
 I am the clan leader, so I keep many unpleasant memories to myself.
Perhaps I ll know peace once I ve learned to adjust to having a Corselene.
Krulnar shifted his weight to his other foot.  What s your plan? You
know she ll need our help tonight.
 We need to locate Silhura; they ve veiled her presence, Ulnik stated.
 They plan to drain her of her blood. They only have part of her magick, not
all. Ulnik held his head down in disappointment.  Once they gain all of her
magick, they will wipe out the rest of the Dulhari. At least, that is what I
overheard the vampires speaking about.
 Did you know other Dulhari exist?
Krulnar s eyes widened.  But how?
 Only Silhura knows that.
Krulnar nodded before trudging off.  Apparently there s more to the
story. Please remove the barrier.
Ulnik waved his hand, and the shield disappeared.  Where are you
going?
 To find our mate. She s in danger.
Ulnik cursed before catching up to Krulnar.  You ll need my assistance.
 No, I don t think so.
 Oh, but you will, the clan leader insisted.  Trust me, there are some . . .
things your mate needs to know. He went silent for a few moments as they
strode down the large corridor.  She ll need your support in order to get over
this hurdle.
 What are you talking about?
 Her father did kill my brother. This was a few months after you and I
met, after the death of your father.
With that, Ulnik continued telling Krulnar everything he needed to know.
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Of Cheetah s Blood Charisma Knight
Chapter Eleven
 Chetiera, is that you? Silhura sent a mental message to the young
cheetah. She sniffed the air and narrowed her eyes.
 Are you all right? Chetiera asked telepathically.  Where are you?
 I do not know. I m in a cage, but where, I am unsure. She felt Silhura
pause.  You are not alone?
Chetiera stiffened as she became angry at the mistreatment of her Elder.
 I promise I will get you out of here! I m so sorry this happened to you.
Krulnar and Ulnik are with me. We re going to get you out of here!
She felt Silhura s joy.  You mean you ve mated with the Dhampirs?
 Now isn t the time. Chetiera smiled inwardly.  I promise to tell you
more once we ve rescued you.
Suddenly, there was an uproar. A large crowd charged in their direction.
 This is it, Ulnik said just before a smile curled the edge of his lips.
 Bring on the Cainen slaying.
 The Cainen Coven is just over this hill, Chetiera told them both.
Breathing deeply, she summoned all her power within to hurl a large energy
ball at the fifty or so members of the Cainen Coven who charged them with
venomous fury. Teeth bared and red eyes aglow, they burst into flames,
sending arms, legs, and other body parts high in the sky.
As she continued walking to the place where Silhura was kept, two
vampires charged her from behind. Quickly, Krulnar turned, holding up a
hand.  Desist and disperse! he chanted. Immediately flames engulfed the
shrieking vamps until they imploded. With that, the Dhampir turned on his
heel, sword in hand, and floated farther into Cainen Village.
Ulnik dodged a blow from an ogre-like vampire. With a growl, he
delivered a chop to the neck, knocked his feet from beneath him, and staked
him through the heart. He smiled as the hideous bastard turned into a pile of
sinew, blood, and gel. Another charged, and he quickly bested the fiend by
slicing him in half.
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Of Cheetah s Blood Charisma Knight
Chetiera captured ten vampires with invisible bands of energy, bounding
them together as one. Chanting, she raised the struggling vampires high into
the air, allowing the energy bands to cut clean through their torsos.
With Belladio shimmering in her hand, she took down three more
vampires with several swings of her sword. She d managed to half shift,
caught between human and cheetah form, when two more vampires stopped
her from reaching Charig. Anger briefly in her eyes, and she hurled a large
ball of energy toward them, which consumed them and their ashes floated to
the ground.
Krulnar instantly appeared by her side as more vampires charged her. She
smiled briefly, and without batting an eye, spun Belladio as fast as she could,
scissoring through a few vampires. Shredded and blooded, their remains
dropped to the ground with a splatter.
The Dhampir s sword caught the other two vampires. Bringing up the
rear, Ulnik pounced on one of the vampires, knocking the sword from his
hand. Dhampir and vampire tossed to the ground briefly in a tangled mass of
fists, claws, and fangs. With an unholy howl, Ulnik lopped off the vampire s
head. He rose, spitting gristle, blood, and sinew from his mouth.
Chetiera rushed to his side, but was sucker-punched in the jaw by none
other than Charig himself. The cheetah shifter hit the ground, rolled, and was
on her feet in a heartbeat.
 Where is she, Charig?
The vampire laughed an evil laugh. Red eyes glowing, he smiled as his
fangs lengthened below his bottom lip.  Ah, did we lose something, my
dear?
 I swear, if you ve harmed Silhura in any way, they ll spend an eternity
removing my foot from your ass!
Her face was contorted into a raging mass of fury just thinking of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]