LITMIR.BIZ

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all depends on how you look at it,” Chestnut said. “To a male necklace snake, that stuff is a perfume.”

      “There are six guards. Moon Man, Leif and I will each spray two,” I said. Taking off my pack, I stashed it behind a tree. “Chestnut, you stay back here. Can you keep the snakes from grabbing us when they come?”

      “I’ll try. They have an excellent sense of smell so get clear once you spray that stuff.”

      “What about the guards in the trees?” Leif asked.

      “Aim high and be quiet about it.”

      Leif muttered to himself as the three of us fanned out to approach the Vermin guards. Chestnut stayed behind to communicate with the predators while we moved into position. Once our distraction arrived and the guards became busy dodging amorous snakes, Leif and Moon Man would find Marrok and Tauno and await my signal. I would spy on the Vermin in the camp.

      I crept through the trees, seeking a sign of the guards. I disconnected with the bats and reached out with my mental awareness, searching for the Vermin.

      Beyond the outer guards, I knew the camp held six people, three Daviians and three Zaltanas, yet I couldn’t detect them, which meant someone had erected a null shield. At least one of the Vermin was a Warper and he could be performing one of the Kirakawa rites while we snuck around in the dark. It was then I realized the sounds from the jungle had ceased.

      My heart drummed a faster beat as my stomach cramped with fear. A presence hovered above me and I connected with a man crouched in the lower branches of a tree. His mind was alert for signs of intruders, but he hadn’t detected me. Poking a hole in one capsule, I sprayed the liquid along the tree’s trunk, and then slipped away.

      Five minutes later, I found my second guard. She failed to notice my approach and I squirted some of Perl’s snake perfume on the bushes near her. I hoped she would rub against them at some point.

      As I retreated, I tripped over a buttress root and fell. I turned over on my back in time to see her aim an arrow at me.

      “Freeze,” she shouted. “Hands up.”

      So much for being quiet. I raised my hands and cursed myself for not reestablishing my link with the bats. Through their eyes, I never would have tripped.

      She called to another guard.

      “Stand up slowly,” she ordered. “Leave your weapon.”

      My bow rested on the ground within reach.

      She stepped closer and peered at me in the semidarkness. The guard gasped and said, “Soulfinder.”

      I rolled as her weapon twanged and snatched my bow. The arrow stuck the dirt. I jumped to my feet, swinging my staff in a wide arc. The end of my weapon caught her behind her ankles. I yanked her feet out from under her. She went down with a loud oath. The black shape of her partner grew bigger as he ran toward us. Great.

      The air filled with a strange rasp as if a person had pulled a rope from a wooden holder very fast. The noise grew louder and came from all directions. The three of us stopped. All thoughts of fighting banished as we searched for the source of the sound.

      A necklace snake slithered past my legs. It aimed for the female guard and wrapped around her with amazing speed. All my preconceptions about a slow-moving creature dissipated.

      The other guard looked at his partner and bolted. Another snake slid after him. The vibrations of the necklace snakes and Chestnut’s drum thrummed in my chest.

      I projected into Chestnut’s mind for an update. He kept the creatures from going after us, but he didn’t know how long he could maintain control.

      Faster is better, he said.

      Right. I switched my awareness to Moon Man. He and Leif had marked the other four guards. They waited with Marrok and Tauno for my signal.

      Running toward the campfire, I avoided snakes, terrified guards and broke through the null shield. I stumbled for a moment as an array of thoughts and emotions washed over me. The air was charged with magic and fear. My panic pressed on my back, but I forced myself to slow down.

      When I reached the edge of the Vermin camp, my blood turned to ice. Three men pulled out the stomach of one of the prone forms on the ground. The Vermin turned their attention to me, their surprise evident in their openmouthed gapes. I had moved without realizing it and stood in the middle of their camp, screaming at them to stop.

      10

      WE BLINKED AT EACH OTHER for a stunned moment. Blood and gore dripped from the Vermin’s hands. The three men then returned to their macabre task, ignoring me. Astonished, I moved toward them, raising my bow to strike when a blistering force slammed into me from behind as if I’d been struck with a red-hot iron pan.

      I hit the ground hard. My bow flew from my grasp. My breath whooshed out. Searing pain clung to my back; I rolled over, convinced my clothes were on fire. Gasping for air, I thrashed on the ground until I spotted what had attacked me. I froze in horror. The Vermin’s campfire had grown to three times its previous size. A man stood in the midst of the roaring bonfire.

      The man stepped from the burning wood. Scorched black from head to toe, small flames clung to him like feathers. He advanced toward me. I broke my paralysis and scrambled away from him. He stopped. A trail of fire linked him with the campfire.

      “Did I surprise you, my little bat?” the man asked. “Counted nine when there really were ten. Hot little trick.”

      He knew my consciousness had flown with the bats. But who was he?

      I scanned the surrounding jungle, looking for my backup. Leif and my friends were at the edge of the clearing. Their arms and hands were raised as if they protected their faces from a searing wind. Sweat and soot stained their clothes and they averted their gazes from the man.

      “No help from them, my little bat. They will burn if they come any closer.”

      I tried to project into the flaming man’s mind, but his mental defenses proved impenetrable, a Warper of incredible strength. Running out of options, I glanced behind me and caught sight of my bow.

      The blazing Warper pointed and a line of fire appeared between me and my weapon. I jumped to my feet. The heat singed the hair in my nose. The moisture evaporated from my mouth. I tasted ashes. A wall of hot air pushed against me and the Warper was before me. Yet his connection with the burning wood remained.

      “Fire is your downfall, little bat. Can not call it. Can not control it.”

      My body roasted as if I had been staked to a spit over a giant campfire. I cast my awareness into the jungle, hoping to find help. Nothing but the panicked thoughts of my friends and one curious necklace snake nearby.

      Just when I thought I would faint, he extended his hands and a bubble of cool air caressed my skin. The break from the heat was an intoxicating relief. I swayed.

      “Take my hands. I will not burn you. Travel with me through the fire.”

      “Why?”

      “Because you belong to me.”

      “Not good enough. Many others have made that claim.”

      “I need you to complete my mission.”

      “Which is …?”

      The flames on his shoulders pulsed in amusement. He laughed. “Nice try. Take my offer or I will burn you and your friends into a pile of ash.”

      “No.”

      Flaring brightly, the flames jumped in size before he shrugged. “No matter.”

      The cold air disappeared and I gasped. The heat’s intensity robbed my lungs of air.

      “I need only wait until you go to sleep, little bat. Then I will take you.”

      My throat strained as my vision

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