The Vampire and the Scorpion (Blood and Venom Saga #1)

23. Twenty-Three

Twenty-Three

I plunged back into darkness and agony as I shifted, not knowing if the screams were issuing from my mouth or inside my head.

“What the hell are you two doing?” asked the intruder, their tone dripping with a fiery rage.

“We were... We were...” Billy’s voice said from high above me.

I scuttled behind his trainer, hiding from the intruder, before climbing up the back of his heel and nestling myself into the upturned cuff of his jeans. I vaguely registered that climbing vertically was not only possible, but easy.

“Billy was helping me clean up,” Latisha’s voice joined in.

I peered over the edge of the cuff of Billy’s jeans, not that my eyesight was of much use. As my hairs prickled, I sensed the intruder was male.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” he asked, his deep voice raised, a voice I could finally translate as Trevor’s. “Helping you clean up that heap of clothes, was he? Helping you clean up that paint off the floor? For fuck’s sake, Tish, I’m the shifter’s rep! You think I don’t recognise this ritual? So come on then, where is she?”

Neither Billy nor Latisha gave an inch.

“Do you know what?” said Trevor. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Whatever you two—I mean, you three— are doing, keep me out of it. I only came looking for you because Cassandra is unconscious. You want Ivan to kill you, too, Tish?”

He ran his fingers through his thinning tuft of brown hair, the lines on his face more pronounced as he scowled at my friends. He marched towards us and seized Billy by the front of his shirt. Billy might have been bigger and stronger than Trevor, but I felt him flinch.

“Dammit Billy, I can’t control what the witches do, but I’m responsible for you.”

“Sorry, Trevor.” Billy’s voice wavered in a way I’d not heard before.

“You bloody will be. Is that the bonded animal? Over there?”

I shrank back, terrified he’d seen me.

“Aye, it’s under the bucket.”

It was then I sensed the upturned bucket, still within the circle, a tapping noise coming from within. Trevor strode past us, picked up the bucket, gingerly flinging the scorpion inside.

“The deathstalker? You’ve got to be shitting me. If you ever steal from me again Billy, so help me... I’ll...” He growled as he searched for the words. “I’ll tell Anna how old you really are.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Don’t tell me what I would or wouldn’t do, you little gobshite!” Trevor’s voice echoed around the container, overwhelming my senses. “You’re bloody lucky I don’t hand you both over to Ivan right now! And if I find Ava, don’t expect me to cover for her!” And with that, he stomped outside, slamming the door behind him.

Both Billy and Latisha breathed sighs of relief.

“That was too close,” Latisha said, a hand on her chest. “You alright, Billy?”

Billy said nothing, head bowed, a drop of perspiration dropping from above and splattering on the ground.

“Where is Ava?” Latisha asked, and I gave Billy a little nudge with one of my pincered hands. He looked down.

“Stay where you are for now,” he said, smiling, though his eyes were frosty. “Do your best to stay alert to what is happening around you. You’ll need to attach yourself to Ivan before the fight. Preferably before we reach the clearing. Give me a wave to show you have understood.”

I waved a pincer, finding it easier than before, slowly gaining better control of my body. The images inside my head were becoming sharper, like I really was seeing.

“Until then, rest as best you can,” he said. “You’ll adjust to your new senses and soon won’t even notice a difference between these and your human senses.”

I waved again. Though exhausted, I’d struggle to rest, my mind still racing, and though I no longer felt a hammering heart inside a rib cage, I felt a surge of an adrenaline-like instinct. The instinct to protect myself. An instinct to kill.

Billy seated himself near the campfire, legs crossed below the knee so that I’d benefit from the heat radiating towards us but keeping me a safe distance. Others sat with him. One I sensed as Trevor, another as Marcus, but the rest were too far to identify. My sense of smell was stronger than my sight, so I’d worked out that they were werewolves, but nothing more than that. I had adjusted well to my new senses, and could build vivid pictures in my mind of my surroundings. It was only when I moved my limbs or tried to move my head that I was reminded of my new form, otherwise I’d have forgotten.

Billy and the others were talking. When I chose, I could easily translate the vibrations, but equally, I could ignore them. Billy had been making small talk in his usual upbeat tone. If I hadn’t known the plan, I wouldn’t have guessed anything was amiss.

His giant fingers reached down towards me as he pretended to adjust the cuff of his jeans, giving me a gentle prod. I peeked over the cuff. I couldn’t see the caravans but heard a powerful scream from their direction. A scream I recognised as Ivan’s.

“Oh, God, what now?” Marcus’s small voice whined.

“I think I can probably guess,” Trevor said, though so quietly the vibrations of his voice barely reached me.

“We had better check it out.” Billy got to his feet, brushing himself down from the ash and dirt from the fire.

“Do we have to?” Marcus asked. “I’d rather avoid Master Ivan if he’s pissed off.”

“I’m afraid so. Ivan is worse to those he knows are afraid of him.” Billy pulled the young man to his feet.

“Which is everyone,” said Marcus.

“Stop your moaning. Just be grateful it’s not you he’s angry with. And let’s try to keep it that way.”

The shifters ran toward Madigan’s caravan. Even when running, I could grip onto Billy’s jeans easily, aware of the motion but not bothered by it, similar to driving a car with the window open.

Ivan’s booming voice grew louder and louder until he came into view.

“Where is she?” he seized a smaller man roughly, knocking him to the ground.

Madigan...

My stinger twitched instinctively.

“I don’t know.” Madigan spat blood onto the ground, getting back to his feet and brushing himself down, resuming his usual stance, head held high. “She spiked my drink. I’ve not seen her since. Why don’t you get your mad dog to sniff her out?” His tone might have been mistaken for normal, but there was an underlying hurt that penetrated my soul.

Dominic emerged from Madigan’s caravan and I noted that though he’d resumed some of his usual appearance—his skin was no longer leathery, nor his irises white—his ears remained pointed, as were his canines, on full display as he flashed a wicked smile.

“Oh, I’ll find her,” he said, unable to hide his excitement.

“Not yet.” Ivan cracked his neck. “She won’t get far. We have important business to attend to, and the entire coven must be present. Latisha!”

She stepped forward from the group of onlookers that had gathered. “Yes, Master Ivan?”

Ivan backhanded her across the face with a sickening smack, drawing a cry from the witch as he knocked her to the ground. “It was your job to guard the caravan. I’ll deal with you and your lot once this is all over.”

He turned to look at his coven.

I shrank back into the fold of Billy’s jeans.

“What a pathetic bunch you are.” Ivan’s eyes were wild, lips peeled back as he bared his teeth, his false pleasantness nothing but a distant memory. “You should think yourselves lucky that you have me protecting you, and you’re about to see what happens to those who don’t count their blessings.” He grabbed Madigan by the back of his collar and shoved him forward. “Walk, scum.”

Ivan barged past the onlookers too quickly for me to crawl forward and attach myself to him. Both he and Madigan led the crowd towards the woodland. Billy quickened his pace to get closer, but another kept getting in his way—Dominic.

“Back off, William,” Dominic said. “Trying to get near the front? Want a good look, do you?”

“Wind your neck in, pal,” Billy snarled in response. “I’ve done nothing wrong. What’s your problem?” He came to an abrupt halt as Dominic blocked his path.

“Know your fucking place, ratbag. Vampires near the front, vermin at the back. Got it?”

Unable to get to Ivan, attaching to Dominic was my best chance. I made a break for it. As fast as my eight legs would carry me, I scuttled out of the fold in Billy’s jeans and bolted towards Dominic.

“Aye, sir,” Billy said with a one-fingered salute. Though I could only hear him through the vibrations, I could still sense his sarcasm.

“Lose the attitude, or I’ll see that Ivan culls you from the ranks next.” Dominic’s last taunt bought me enough time to crawl up onto his boot. I clung to the back, hoping he wouldn’t notice me. I’d a tougher time gripping onto leather but clasped onto a strap as best I could. Dominic turned and hurried to re-join his master.

“Are the preparations complete?” Ivan asked him.

“Jacob and Sebastian headed to the woodland about an hour ago. They should have finished by now if they value their lives.” Dominic bounced alongside his master to keep up with the giant’s long strides.

“Perfect.”

“It’s the little touches that make these events so exciting. Randall is collecting the stragglers. We don’t want anyone to miss such a spectacle!”

Once again, I felt my singer twitching. It would’ve been easy to crawl up the leg of Dominic’s trousers and find a sensitive spot. Perhaps the back of the knee? Perhaps higher... The image of him draining the blood— the life —from Greg flashed before me and my stinger raised in an arc behind me. The bastard deserved it. I’d have him writhing in pain. Maybe he’d even die. The scrawny bag of bones couldn’t be that resistant to my venom, could he? A small drop of venom oozed from the tip of my barb.

No.

I composed myself. Dominic might deserve a good sting, but my venom took time to replenish. Better save it for when I needed it. Besides, I didn’t want to be detected and stomped on before I’d completed my task.

Instead, I turned my thoughts to Madigan. He must have thought I’d abandoned him and fled. A shiver ran through my body.

I hope you can forgive me one day...

We reached the clearing in the woodland, and something immediately overwhelmed me with a powerful, chemical stench. It was emitting from the centre of the clearing, so strong but I couldn’t identify it. If I’d been human, I was sure my eyes would have watered. My every instinct told me to let go of Dominic and run, but I pushed these thoughts aside and held on tighter. Madigan and Ivan went on ahead, while Dominic turned.

“You maggots stay back,” he commanded the coven. “Enjoy the show.”

He then walked on, following his master. The darkness didn’t hinder my senses. As we grew closer to the centre of the clearing, I sensed Jacob and Sebastian.

The ground differed from when I’d last been here. Once where there’d been only grass and mud, was a vast ring dug into the ground filled with branches, issuing the potent aroma.

“After you,” Ivan gestured for Madigan to enter the ring.

Madigan took one last glance towards the coven, like he was looking for someone. With a sigh, he returned his sights to Ivan, his eyes cold, a muscle working in his jaw. He removed his tailcoat, tossed it aside, and entered the ring. As lanky as his legs were, he had to hitch his knees up over the tangle of branches. Ivan followed, stepping over them easily. Those same branches towered above me, a forest in their own right. I hadn’t been able to attach myself to Ivan and now they’d entered the ring, Dominic wouldn’t get any closer. I’d have to run for it.

I let go of Dominic’s boot and dropped into the grass, scuttling as fast as possible towards Ivan. In reality, I was close, only a few feet’s distance, but in my tiny form, the fighters appeared miles away.

“Ah, Randall, you caught us up. Is everyone accounted for?” asked Dominic.

“Everyone is here.” Randall’s nasally whine came from somewhere within the crowd.

“Good.” Dominic cleared his throat. “We have gathered to witness the formal challenge between Ivan Terrell and Leonard Madigan for leadership of the coven.”

The glee in Dominic’s voice made my stinger spasm, but I pressed on, pushing past the blades of grass, using my pincers to force them aside and let my eight legs carry me closer.

“The challenge: a fight to the death. Ivan, do you accept Leonard’s challenge?”

“Yes.” Ivan’s booming voice echoed around the clearing, the vibrations issuing from him acting like a beacon, drawing me closer. The chemical scent was almost overpowering me, but I kept going. Closer and closer. The branches were inches from me. All I had to do was navigate them and I’d be within the makeshift arena.

“Then let the challenge begin!”

I heard a scraping sound above me, followed by an orange glow, like a UFO flying through the sky. But this UFO was on a collision course, crashing down to Earth. I watched helplessly as it flew down towards me. Had I been discovered? Was this Dominic’s way of disposing of me? I realised with horror that it was a lit match, and at last, identified the chemical scent. Petrol...

CRASH!

The light collided with the branches, erupting into a towering wall of flames that caused me to scurry back as the intense heat washed over me. I was sure it had hit me, certain that my body was aflame. I took cover in the grass, examining myself. I had not caught fire, but the flames still irritated my skin, making it tight and itchy.

The fighters were illuminated by the flames that encircled them, whilst I was trapped on the other side, unable to reach them.