Dark Nights by Christine Feehan

waning, Traian assured as he felt the violent energy around him lessen. A couple of minutes more and then we stay left. There’s a tunnel, an ice slide, very narrow but passable, that will take us down and away from them. I can close it after us if we are lucky and then we just have to find our way out.
    His eyes met Jubal’s over Joie’s head. Her brother was no fool. It wasn’t going to be easy finding their way out of the labyrinth. He hadn’t explained mages and quite frankly, he didn’t want to try. They were dealing with enough trying to get around the knowledge that vampires were real.
    The thundering roar died down, leaving only the sound of cracking ice and dripping water. He threw off the shield and jerked the two women up. “We’ve to go now. They are tracking us and they can move faster than we can.”
    They ran toward the left hallway.
    You could outrun them without us, couldn’t you? Joie asked.
    That is beside the point. I will not leave you.
    You’re wounded.
    Jubal entered the narrow hallway first. His shoulders scraped along the ice. “It’s tight in here,” he called back. “It dead-ends into a hole.”
    “That’s the chute. It is a long slide. It was passable the last time I used it and it is the best chance we have.” Traian didn’t add that it was the only one. What little strength he had left had to get them down that long slide without mishap and then close the way behind them.
    The three siblings exchanged a long, shocked look. Jubal studied the entrance, shining his light inside the hole to study what he could see of the narrow tube. “This is too dangerous, Joie. It goes down very sharply. We’d be sliding out of control within minutes.”
    Joie stepped up next to him and peered inside. She whirled around to face Traian. “Are you crazy? We’re not going in there.”
    “You have no choice,” Traian said quietly. “We may be trapped in these caves for a couple of days so whatever you have to do to stay alive, you will need to keep close.” He hoped that wasn’t so. He didn’t want to explain to them what would happen to him when the sun rose above them.
    Joie planted herself in front of him, her eyes glittering. “Obviously we aren’t like you. We’re human. Sliding down an ice chute without checking it out and knowing what we’re getting into is just suicide. No way can the three of us go in there.”
    “Then all of us will die right here. I cannot abandon you nor will I be able to defeat the vampires in pursuit of us. I am too weak. If you do not take this chance, the only answer is death. And if you must die, you do not want vampires to get their hands on you.” Traian spoke as matter-of-factly as possible.
    To him there was no other choice. He would stay with this lifemate and defend her brother and sister. In truth, his first reaction was simply to grab her and force her to go with him, but the bond between the three siblings was incredibly strong. Joie wouldn’t leave them unless forced and she wouldn’t forgive him if he took her. She wasn’t looking toward him to protect her, she would only enter the chute if her family agreed with the decision. He had a long way to go to earn her trust. The three of them trusted one another implicitly, knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. He was the outsider.
    Jubal closed his eyes briefly, glanced back in the direction they’d come and shook his head. “We have to trust you, but if anything happens to my sisters . . .” He nodded at his sisters.
    “I plan to keep you all alive,” Traian said.
    “Get your crampons off,” Joie advised Gabrielle. “You don’t want a broken leg. If we’re going to do this, we have to take every precaution.”
    The three hurriedly removed the crampons from their boots.
    “I’ll go first,” Gabrielle announced, her chin up. “If I get stuck, you’ll know you won’t fit,” she added over her shoulder to her brother. Her voice trembled but she was obviously