A Meet of Tribes (A Shade of Vampire #45)(52)

I needed to tap into my visions of the present without any herbal or physical aids. I was an Oracle, damn it, and I had to learn to be a good one fast. The Druid had talked about focusing and clearing our minds to achieve the mental state needed to tap into our visions, so I figured I’d try a little Zen and work my way up from there.

It took me a while to fully block out all the background noise—the birds chirping outside, the wind rustling through the tree crowns, my own heartbeat.

I wasn’t sure when the transition happened, but I found myself standing in the middle of a dark jungle, somewhere in Eritopia where the sun couldn’t pierce through the thick foliage. Murky water snaked alongside the narrow path ahead of me, and shadows moved between the gnarly trees.

Three succubi walked through me from behind, as if I were made of mist. They couldn’t see me, as usual, but I could see and hear them. They were young and strong, clad in black leather, and proudly displaying their red war paint and the scarlet feathers braided in their charcoal manes. Wide swords hung heavily from their belts. They walked to the end of the path, where a mountain stood tall and a cave opened at its base.

The one on the left carried a dead body wrapped in animal hides and tied with leather strings on her shoulder. Silver blood dripped from one end, leaving a trail behind them.

I didn’t like the feel of this scene. It was too dark and riddled with whispers and an overall feeling of something terrible about to happen. And the corpse… I shuddered.

Nevertheless, I followed them into the cave. None of them said anything as they went deeper into the mountain. The path was lit by small torches mounted on the cave walls.

Their white knuckled hands gripped the hilts of their swords. The succubi didn’t seem comfortable, but they didn't back down.

We reached a wide circular chamber, with a channel dug all around the wall that was filled with dark water. Several creatures sat in the middle, feeding off the corpse of a large long-tusked animal that resembled a pachyderm.

The feeding creatures seemed familiar. One by one, they sniffed the damp air and caught the scent of their visitors. They stood.

I gasped at the sight of them. They looked like incubi and succubi, but there was something horribly off about them. Their bodies were thin with white flaky skin, black eyes, and dark, rotten teeth bared in hissing grins.

The succubus in the middle addressed these gruesome creatures first, visibly disgusted by their jaws smeared with animal blood.

“We’re here to speak to Krol,” she declared, her tone heavy and determined.

Two of the creatures approached the succubi, but the scraping of swords being pulled out of their sheaths stopped them in their tracks. They took a few steps back, weary of retaliation. They hissed at each other, as if communicating. I held back a gag. They were so creepy.

The water in the canal splashed against the stone wall as something slithered beneath its surface. There was a creature in there.

The succubus on the left dumped the heavy load she’d been carrying on the floor, using the sword to cut off the leather strings and reveal the corpse inside.

I walked closer.

It was an incubus. He had been stabbed several times in the chest, judging by his wounds.

“Come out here, Krol!” the succubus in the middle shouted, her voice echoing around the cave. “We heard you needed a body. Got you a fresh one, right here!”

Before I could blink, a large, gray worm crawled out of the dirty canal water. It reminded me of a tapeworm, its mouth circular and riddled with razor-sharp teeth. It slithered across the cave floor, passing the other creatures and the dead animal, and stopped next to the deceased incubus.

It pushed its head into the corpse’s mouth and wiggled until it vanished inside.

“Oh ugh, ugh, ugh!” I exclaimed, utterly disgusted and thankful that no one could hear me. “That is just so wrong!”

I stilled and swallowed my words when the dead incubus opened its eyes. Its pupils were black as it sat up and looked around with a blank expression. I then made the connection. The creatures feeding on the dead animal—they looked like incubi and succubi because they were incubi and succubi. Their dead bodies were animated by these parasitic worms. I shuddered.

“There you go, Krol. A nice new body for you to enjoy,” the succubus in the middle said.

“Thank you, distinguished general,” the creature replied with a ragged breath, as if still adjusting to the new meat suit. “I assume you want something in return, other than to walk out of here with your beautiful bodies intact?”

“We want you to meet with Hansa of the Red Tribe and discuss an alliance against Azazel. He’s getting stronger, and people are dying, including your Sluaghs,” she replied. She kept her chin up, but she couldn’t quite mask her disgust.

The vision before me faded, and I cursed at my inability to hold it steady for long enough to gather more information. But as the darkness of the cave cleared out and I felt the warm attic light wash over me, I took a deep breath and felt thankful to still be here and not stuck in that cave.

So those are Sluaghs.

I shuddered again.

I did it.

The joy that came over me was delightful. I’d had a vision all by myself, without any external influence. I stilled. I noticed the black runes dancing across my skin again. I took a deep breath and let out an exasperated groan, as the markings disappeared one after the other. Soon enough, my skin was clear again.