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Both Nevarre and I stabbed downward with our beaks at the same time, though I was slightly faster. Skewered between the sharp tips, the scarab scrambled and clawed helplessly, but we kept it pinned.
My phoenix flames flickered around me, protecting me from Ra’s tricks, but I was worried about the other Blood. I’d seen what one of these nasty beetles could do. Once inside a body, they deposited solar energy to melt from the inside out. At least I would be immune to it. Hopefully. :I’ve got it. Back away.:
Nevarre only pinned the thing with his taloned foot and pecked it again. :Tastes like a normal beetle.:
:So it tastes like a puddle of still-warm shit.: The dragon dropped to the ground with a heavy thud and came closer. :Send the hell horse out to stomp the shit out of this thing like he did the queen ant.:
:No need.: Nevarre lifted his head, giving a little toss back. :It’s dead unless it doesn’t need a head to survive.:
:Ask the headless knight his opinion on that little matter,: Leviathan replied.
Hesitantly, I loosened my grip on the bug, fully prepared to skewer it again if it moved. A bit of black fluid leaked from its body, the wings outspread but not moving. Legs crumpled and curled up like a dead spider. Unlike the scarab that had torched the Skye consiliarius, this one didn’t smell like Ra at all. There wasn’t a telltale glimmer of molten light inside it. :I don’t think it’s one of Ra’s scarabs. The ones we saw in New York were blue and green. Not red.:
:Only one?: Rik asked, his bond still cutting like a steel sword through us all. :Be very sure.:
A smaller, normal-sized crow dropped down beside Nevarre, hopping closer to the dead bug. :She wants to eat it.:
:Ask her if she’s ever seen a bug like this before,: Rik ordered.
I didn’t even try to follow the head bobs and short squawks between the two birds.
:Never,: Nevarre finally replied. :The murders agree. They’ve never seen this particular bug with this coloring. It’s very unique.:
:Don’t let her eat it, then,: Rik said. :If they’ve never seen one before, it has to be something magical. Keep it guarded until our queen can examine it to be sure.:
In the Blood bond, we all heard a heavy whomp and a deep, rumbling snore as Ezra slipped down to the floor with Daire. Both of them out cold.
:Lucky bastards,: Leviathan grumbled, though without any heat. How could he, when she’d drained him twice yesterday?
:She wants to see it.: Rik’s bond rumbled with the crashing roar of a landslide, clearly not happy at the prospect of putting our queen anywhere near this unknown threat, even if it was dead. :We’re coming out. Everyone assemble, but if you’re not already there, form a second ring around the site in case the first Blood are compromised.:
In a few moments, I felt Shara draw closer, the invisible blackhole pull of gravity inexorably dragging us all toward her. Though Rik halted her ten feet away from the hole I’d discovered. Somehow, I was surprised to see her sitting on the hell horse’s back. She’d never used the knight as a normal horse, at least that I’d seen, but if he’d been the one to stomp the ants in the last attack, it made sense Rik would want her off the ground.
:Bring the scarab to me,: Shara ordered. :Away from the hole. Just to be safe.:
Smart. I shifted back to my human form so I could pick up the bug and cradle it on my palm as I carried it to her. I smelled her blood, and an instant knife of hunger twisting in my guts, though I didn’t see a wound. She’d started using her magic to keep her blood from spilling out when on her period, and now that she was stretched so thin, she didn’t want to risk wasting a single drop. Though I missed seeing my queen clothed in nothing but blood. Hers. Ours. Mine especially.
The hell horse blew out a loud, rattling snort as I neared, so I let G smell the dead bug in my hand. Rik blocked my path too, silently holding his hand out to take the bug from me. Sure, his meaty fists could crush it in a heartbeat, but it still felt like a demotion.
Which I fully and rightfully deserved.
The scarab looked like a grain of rice against his gigantic palm. Shara studied it for a few moments. The smell of her blood intensified, making me shiver. Smoak rippled around me, a fiery cape of sunfire energy responding to her magic. Hairs prickled up and down my arms, though I didn’t see her do anything with my eyes.
A soft sigh escaped her lips, ending in a choked sound that jerked my attention to her face. Tears pooled in her eyes and her chin trembled imperceptibly. “I hoped it was a new Blood answering my Call.”
“They will come,” Rik assured her, gently tipping his wrist so the dead bug dropped into her hand.
The ground rumbled beneath my feet, sending me staggering into Rik. G shifted his weight to keep Shara balanced on his back without tack.
Whirling around so fast my braids whipped G’s flank, I watched as the ground suddenly fell away beneath the other two Bloods’ feet. Nevarre leaped into the air, taking wing immediately. The wolf dropped from my sight as a crater opened in the ground.
Shara screamed. “Xin!”
12
SHARA
Nevarre’s raven dived downward, out of my line of sight into the gaping hole. Sand and dirt blew up out of the crater as if a giant wind machine had been turned on, obscuring my vision. Closing my physical eyes, I focused on their bonds. I felt the sharp dig of talons in Xin’s fur. The strain in my raven’s wings, struggling against the hurricane-gale winds swooping up out of the ground. He surged up out of the sandstorm and tumbled to the side clutching my wolf, a blur of silver and black rolling free of the cavity.
