If snakes could smile, this one did. “You are not the only one who must challenge me. There is another who must prove their worth. You have shown to me that you do what your heart demands, not what others demand. And now, one more must face the same challenge.”

“Then I wish that person better luck than me.” Another twinge ran along my belly and up through my lower back. If I didn’t hate snakes before, I fucking well did now. I fought back a moan that started low in my throat, every bite on my legs burning and aching as I moved.

One step, and then another and another. Neither she nor her snakes got in our way.

Alex waved at me from about thirty feet away, his tongue lolling out, a big paw waving at me. “Alex listens.”

As I walked, the burning faded and the pain in my lower back eased. “Good job, buddy. You ready to run?”

He yipped at me, high pitched and excited. Sliding my two swords into their sheaths, I caught up to him and ran a hand over his head. Looking back, I saw Tespa watching us, her collection of snakes coiling about her huge body.

Tracking the Blood, I broke into a jog and headed toward them. The first vampires ever made.

The battleground where I’d face Berget and Jack. My heart squeezed as I realized in my hurry, I’d left behind the opal, the one thing that might give Berget a chance.

I was a fucking idiot, and she would pay the price for my haste, for my reckless behavior. The arid desert dried my tears before they slid down my face. There was nothing for it now; I’d made the choice, I would have to live with it.

And so would Berget.

The only thing I hoped was something would intervene, that maybe, just maybe the gods would favor me once.

If I was lucky, I’d be able to save at least Jack.

If I wasn’t, I’d be lucky to get me and to nce.Alex out alive without any new puncture marks, our blood still singing through our own veins and not someone else’s.

What a freaking awesome day.

Chapter 17

The sun kissed the horizon goodnight as we stepped into the long shadow of Ayers Rock. Hanging onto the threads of the Blood filled me with a sense of foreboding now that we were so close. Somewhere within the rock, those fanged fuckers were silently held. The energy of their lives gave off a low vibration, one that made my bones ache as if with a deep cold.

I put my hands on my hips and took a long deep breath. “It can never damn well be easy, can it?”

Alex mimicked me, wobbling to his back legs, not something he often did. “Nope.”

Ayers Rock was big. As in block out the sun big. Even if night hadn’t been falling, we’d be standing in shadow.

Nothing but to see where the hell the Blood was hidden.

Searching the rock was something akin to searching holy ground, or at least, that’s what it felt like to me. The age of the place weighed on me, the pulse of the past seeping into my pores. Moving close enough to touch the rock, I put my hand on black lines. I traced a design of a large snake surrounded by many, many squiggly marks. Tespa and her minions.

Perhaps here the people saw more clearly than at home, maybe the supernatural wasn’t so hidden from them. Of course, no one in their right mind would believe a tale of a giant snake. Not in our day and age.

Alex sniffed at the rock. “Vampires.”

I wanted to let out a groan. Surely Jack and Berget weren’t here already, were they? Or was Alex just picking up on the Blood? I tested that theory, but Jack and Berget still felt distant, though they were closer than before. I refocused on the Blood.

Locking onto the threads, I jogged along the length of the rock, trying to find a way into where we needed to go. “Alex, can you smell vampires still? Old ones?”

He put his nose to the ground, sniffing in and out, puffs of red dust blowing up around his face. “Yup. Oldy old.”

Perfect. Using his nose and my Tracking, we worked around the rock until the stars were our only light source. Dust stuck to my bare skin, the sheen of sweat acting like sticky glue of the worst kind. And the bugs, fuck me, were everywhere, sticking to me alongside the sweat and dirt, their flimsy wings tickling the shit out of me. I swiped a hand down one arm, came away with a mixture of muddy bugs.

“Fucking awesome.”

Alex snickered, then snapped at a large bug, catching it and then spitting it out, gagging. “Shitty bugs.” He took a step then froze, one ear flicking back. “Truck.”

I spun to stare into the darkened landscape. “You sure?” I couldn’t see or hear anything, no headlights, no rumble of an engine.

Alex nodded. “Truck.” Then he yelped and scrabbled away from the rock. I dropped to one knee, yanking out my swords, pointing them at the figure who’d snuck up on us.

Faris leaned against Ayers Rock, still all in black. “I told you I to ncds,could find you through the wolf’s blood, why again are you surprised?”

I blew out a breath, hesitating for a moment. “You’re actually going to help?”

“Are you actually going to kill the Child Empress?”

Ah, here we go. I nodded as I slid one of my swords into my back sheath, while I reminded myself I was not lying. I just wasn’t going about Faris’s plan his way. “Of course. Consider the Child Empress dead and gone from your life. IF we can slow her down first, which requires Doran. Can you get him?”

Faris stepped toward me and I saw the difference in him. The slightest glow of his blue eyes, the pink in his cheeks, the way he moved like water. He’d obviously fed, and fed well. “He’s on his way. Though I do not think you will be pleased with the shape he is in. No, not pleased at all.”

Despite the lingering heat of the day, ice seemed to travel down my spine. “No games, I said no fucking games. What do you mean?”

Faris seemed to fight with himself before spitting it out. “The snake, she gave him a fair choice. Either take her venom and pass, or stay behind.”

“How the fuck do you know that?” I glared at him, wondering if he’d somehow set up Doran. It wouldn’t surprise me. Nothing Faris did at this point would.

A tight smile slipped across his lips. “I watched from a distance, saw what happened, and then jumped the veil to where I sensed Alex. I have no need to face the overly large reptile.”

Fear tightened my throat but I forced the words out.

“Doran, he took the venom, didn’t he?”

The vampire gave me a grim smile. “He did.”