A Turn of Tides (A Shade of Vampire #13)(36)

Well, crap.

What do I do now? I was away from the ogres’ nightmarish kingdom, but where was I now? Somehow, I doubted that I was any safer here.

I figured that the first thing I ought to do was get out of sight.

I felt so vulnerable on this hilltop.

There could be another wave of dragons passing this way any time, for all I knew.

Although my body was weak, I forced myself to scramble down the slope, toward the lush valley below.

It seemed that the one thing the ogres and dragons shared in common was a mountainous realm.

Dragons.

I still felt insane just thinking the word.

As I reached the dip of the valley closest to me—just a few hundred yards away from my hill—I realized that the green substance I’d thought was grass at the bottom was actually a swamp.

I climbed down toward it and stopped at its edge.

I eyed it warily, trying to figure out if there was any easy way to cross it or if I’d have to walk around it.

I had to swallow a scream as what I’d presumed to be a mossy log opened two gleaming yellow eyes and began moving toward me.

I stumbled back, reaching for the knife I still had on me and pulling it out as a giant reptilian creature began to crawl out of the water.

It looked similar to a crocodile, with its long sharp tail and gnashing jaws, except this was three times as long and wide as any crocodile I’d seen.

And much faster, too.

As it scurried after me, its jaws snapped near my feet.

I reached for the branch of a small tree nearest to me and managed to swing myself up just as its jaws closed on where my ankle would have been.

I forced myself up as high in the tree as I could and stared down at the beast.

It looked almost as ferocious as the dragons themselves.

I stared at the creature with bated breath as it turned its head upward to eye me.

For one terrifying moment, I thought that it was about to climb up the tree after me, but, snorting, it backed off and slunk back into the water.

It certainly didn’t look like the kind of creature that would be able to climb trees.

Great.

Now I’m stuck up a tree.

I can’t even get to the ground to explore without fearing that thing will notice and come chasing after me.

Goddamn it.

What is it with me and crocodiles? Only this time, I had to fend for myself.

Caleb wasn’t around to save my skin.

I cursed beneath my breath as I tried to find a more comfortable position perched in the treetop.

It was hard to do, considering that the tips of the branches were laced with thorns.

Once it was clear I wasn’t going to find a more comfortable position, I leaned my head back against the trunk, breathing out deeply.

My body was aching for rest.

Every part of me was beat.

I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep, if only for half an hour.

I was sure that I’d be able to think more clearly about my next move if I did.

Gripping the branches and lodging my elbows between them so it would be difficult to fall, I closed my eyes.

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t manage to sleep, though resting my eyelids did seem to do some good.

When I opened them again, I felt a little calmer.

I shifted in the branch, rubbing my eyes.

I looked back at the swamp.

The creature had resumed its place, playing a dead log as it waited for the next unfortunate passerby.

I looked back up toward the top of the hill I’d climbed down from.

Once I worked up the courage to climb down again, I’d have to backtrack and find another path to travel along—hopefully a less treacherous one.

I was about to begin climbing down the tree, my eyes fixed on the swamp monster for even the smallest sign of movement, when I heard it.

A strange, monotonous chanting.

It sounded like it was echoing up from the bowels of one of the mountains, on my side of the swamp.

The words were spoken by deep male voices.

The words, the way they were pronounced, and the intonation sounded like they were being chanted by humans, or perhaps witches—albeit in some strange tongue.

Bewildered, I lowered myself down slowly from the tree.

The swamp monster’s eyes didn’t open, so I jumped to the ground and began scrambling back up the hill, casting glances back every few paces to check that it wasn’t following me.

I was panting by the time I reached the top of the mountain where I thought the voices were coming from, and my mouth was parched.

I crouched down low on the grassy glade, afraid that more dragons might come flying by.

I scanned the area, trying to figure out where the voices could possibly be emanating from.

As I moved forward, I spotted a crater.

I crawled closer to the edge of it and peered down.

My eyes were almost scorched as flames burned up from the hole.

I crawled backward, moving around the other side of the hole to see if I could see any better.

The flames died and I found myself staring down at a circle of seven men, kneeling with their heads bowed.

At least, I thought they were men.

But on second glance, although they had humanoid features, they were clearly anything but human.

They were naked from the waist upward.

Their limbs were constructed as a human’s.

I could see that their shoulder blades were capped with shining scales, and their ears were sharp and pointed.