A Gift of Three (A Shade of Vampire #42)(49)

“I think so.”

She didn’t reply, staring forward as we walked. I couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling—to discover that she was an Oracle, that all the Druid had said was true. I looked over at Aida and Phoenix. Would they start to experience visions soon too? Or did the Druid have it wrong, was it only Vita among us who had been passed the gift? Both Phoenix and Aida looked downcast. They had watched as Vita had convulsed painfully, they must have been wondering if they were next, and at least contemplating the fact that everything we had been told so far had a ring of truth to it.

I wanted to talk to them, but with the horned man here, now didn’t feel like the right time. He obviously knew something about us, or at least our presence in Eritopia, and he clearly knew the Druid. I kept glancing back at him, wanting to keep an eye on him. Field obviously had the same idea. As soon after we’d started our trek back, he’d maneuvered himself next to the stranger, keeping his distance, but ready to attack if necessary. I wanted to know what the man’s connection to the Druid was, and why he’d butchered his friend—and just left his body out in the jungle—after he’d seemed so devastated at his death in the first place.

There was also something familiar about the spears that had been shot down by the winged creatures in the sky. I tried to recall their detail, but it had been such a shock, and had all happened so fast, that I hadn’t really taken a proper look at them. I tried to think why they might have been familiar to me…and then I remembered. The painting in the house—the one that had been covered by the curtain, depicting the half-man half-serpent demon riding on the back of the horse. My mouth ran dry. If those were the creatures that had been flying overhead, then we had made a lucky escape. A really lucky escape.





Serena





[Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]




Eventually we re-entered the safety of the lawn. The ravens were sitting where we had left them, and as soon as we stepped onto the overgrown grass, they shot up into the air, squawking and screeching, before settling onto the roof of the house.

Damn birds.

I instantly felt guilty—they had tried to warn me away the night I’d followed the shape-shifting creatures into the swamps, and their protest earlier had been a kind of warning too, but I couldn’t help but be slightly freaked out by them…they were just regular birds, as far as I could make out, they weren’t supposed to know things.

The sunshine, bright and pure now that we were out of the swamp, burned down on us from its high mid-point in the sky. I tried to wipe the worst of the perspiration off my skin, but it was pointless, it just kept coming—snaking down my back constantly. If I didn’t drink a gallon of water soon I was in danger of becoming seriously dehydrated.

We all stepped through the still-smashed greenhouse door, and I idly wondered why the Druid had told me the house regenerated itself—clearly it didn’t in certain respects.

Field swore under his breath. He looked annoyed to be back, mission failed and in no better place than when we started off.

“This way,” announced the horned man, leading us through to the same blazingly hot room we’d first encountered the Druid. Once again, a fire was roaring away in the hearth.

“You have got to be kidding me!” I exclaimed. It had to be over one hundred degrees in here.

The Druid had been sitting in his chair, and at my explosion he stood up, looking at me as if I was insane. His eyes shifted over to his friend. His expression became questioning and he looked behind him as if waiting for someone else to arrive. The horned man shook his head. I guessed the exchange was about the other horned companion, but neither of them came out and said anything. For a split second, I thought I saw the Druid’s eyes flicker to black again, but it was so brief that perhaps it had been a trick of the light.

“Well?” Jovi demanded, breaking the silence.

Once again, the horned man looked silently at the Druid as if he was waiting for permission to speak. I found that curious—was the Druid his superior somehow? They were different species, but they obviously knew each other well. It made me feel strangely relieved…sort of glad that the Druid hadn’t been holed up in this house by himself. I couldn’t imagine how lonely that might be—how disconnected you’d feel from the world around you.

Permission had been granted, because the horned man turned to us all, his eyes focused on me, Aida and Vita, shining brightly.

“I’m Bijarki, an incubus—if you hadn’t already gathered, one of the many who live in these lands.” He bowed down low, a small smile playing on his lips.

I gaped.

I’d heard of the incubi, but never come across one before—though Field might have, as GASP had rescued some incubus babies from the harpy orphanage. From what I could remember of the details told to me by my grandma Rose, the creatures were incredibly ugly, with grey, ashen skin. Perhaps that explained the silver hue he had. Talk about an ugly duckling turning into a swan… I also recalled that in myth, incubi were reported to prey on women…huh. That would certainly explain his behavior. I couldn’t imagine it would be very difficult for a woman to fall in love—or, more accurately, in lust—with him.

“And the creatures above us? Why were they hunting you down?” Field asked.

“The minions of Azazel—you’ve heard of him?”