Page 386 of Hunters and Prey

Chapter 12

Adrenaline coursed through me as I prepared to swing my axe, when suddenly the canopy above us shattered and a torpedo of inky black scales and ivory claws landed on the ground before us. It was Vesper, smaller but still in dragon form.

The Rednaps were not pausing, though. They landed on him, tearing at his scales, eager to get to the flesh beneath. And the tiny man let out a scream of rage.

“Stop. Stop, fools. He is blood bound. Blood bound!” His scream bounced off the trees but didn’t penetrate the Rednaps’ bloodthirst.

Something landed on my back and needles of fire sank into the side of my neck. The pain was an icy inferno, sudden and overwhelming. The Rednap was latched on, sending fresh waves of agony shooting through my shoulder with each chomp. Off. I needed it off. My hand slipped and slid, slick with my own blood, trying to gain a grip on the creature to dislodge it, but its mouth was a vise on the juncture of my neck. The world dimmed at the edges, and with a sudden flash of agony, the critter was torn off. My knees hit the dirt, head spinning, nausea pooling in my belly. The thud of Dante’s sword cut a scream short. Dead, was it dead? My neck ... needed to stop the bleeding. Vesper still thrashed beneath a pile of hungry Rednaps.

Dante’s hand cupped my good shoulder.

“Help Vesper.” I shoved him away from me. Shit, I was losing blood fast.

Dante swiped his blade across Vesper’s back, dislodging several Rednaps in one swipe. Crap. Rednaps at three o’clock. Come on, Jezebel. We’ve got some hacking to do. Standing on unsteady feet, I swung with all my might, catching the two Rednaps in a sweep that knocked them off their feet and sent them flying into a tree three meters away. The world swayed, forcing me to lock my knees to brace myself.

“Bring it on, fuckers.”

A fresh wave of Rednaps leapt at me, drawn by the blood, by the fact that I was injured prey, and then they just froze midair, eyes wide, mouths ready to take a chunk. The world went silent and still. But my body still swayed and darkness threatened to claim me. I was hallucinating. The blood loss ... it was making me see things.

A voice so beautiful it made my heart ache filled the clearing with melody.

“It pains me to see my word so easily disregarded,” it said. “It angers me that you would defy your liege.”

There was a lethal edge to these latter words that even the musical quality of the voice couldn’t disguise.

I turned my head, afraid that the movement would upset my precarious grip on gravity, that it would desert me completely and I’d go floating off into the ether. My eyes stung, and my lids closed reflexively against the assault of the glowing figure standing in the center of the mangled clearing. It took a moment, but finally my eyes adjusted enough to take a peek. The man stood tall and lithe, his shoulders broad and strong. His face, framed by long, golden hair, was etched in calm, but his eyes betrayed him—blazing with fury. He pinned them on the tiny man who’d delivered his warning and flicked his wrist. The man exploded, spattering the clearing in flesh and gore.

Yes, the Rednaps were frightened now. Immobile but somehow still shaking with fear. The glowing man looked to Dante.

“My people have assaulted your blood. The contract has been broken. What boon will you ask? What punishment will you mete out?” He sounded resigned, weary even.

Dante sheathed his sword. “Nothing, old friend, except to ask that we re-establish our agreement. Times are hard. I understand that you must feed your people. I appreciate the circle of life, but this Skin is important to the cause. Will you grant her your protection?”

The man inclined his head. “I grant it.”

Vesper shook himself and then his body morphed, shrinking until he was man-size, the shadows around him seeping away, leaving him in human form and dressed in inky black clothes. My vision blurred, and I fell forward, bracing myself on my hands. My fingers slipped into the moist earth, clawing to maintain my balance.

“Something wrong ...” That wasn’t my voice. It was too weak and reedy.

“Anya!” Dante was at my side, his scent sharp and invigorating, but not strong enough to keep the impending unconsciousness at bay.

“Rednap venom,” the serene voice said. “You’ll have to ....”

But his words were drowned out by the rush of blood in my ears, and then my tenuous grip on consciousness slipped.

Heat smothered me and layers held me trapped and immobile. My lids were too heavy to lift, but my hearing snapped on, clear and sharp.

“You could speed this up by drawing the poison out,” Dante said tightly.

“Yes. I could,” Vesper said, without intent.

“Fucking hell, Vesper. Do you want me to beg?”

“No. I want to know why you’re getting your nuts in a tangle over this Skin female?”

“Seriously? Were you not just in the arena with her?”

“So she can fight, and she can somehow tap into our psych link. She’s a fucking mutant, and mutants have abilities. It just so happens we haven’t come across this particular one yet.”

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