Page 49 of Of Flame and Fury
“We tasted blood, heavy with magic,” Aric tells her. “But there’s something else.”
Thewereclosest to us drools when Ileana takes another swipe at her face and resumes her rather enthusiastic licking. Gemini shoots him a warning glare, and he quickly resumes his watch.
“Mm, tasty,” Ileana says. It doesn’t matter that her hair is doused with body fluids. She tosses it back, her taut nipples pointing north when she moans. “The Fate’s power is delicious.” She grimaces, somehow maintaining her allure despite her sudden displeasure. “The other component isn’t good. It borders on poison.”
“Then why aren’t you sick?” Shayna asks.
Ileana smiles, regarding Shayna as if she’s the most important thing on earth. She has a gift of doing that. It’s more than her vampire charm; it’s a tactic meant to attract and make others want to please her. She perfected it centuries ago by the looks of it, and works it unfairly well. “My precious mistress of weaponry, what an excellent question you ask,” she begins.
Wow, layering the phony adoration with a title. Nice touch.
Ileana winks at me before continuing. She knows that I recognize what she’s up to. “Poison doesn’t affect me. I’m too old to be taken by such piddly methods. But while the taste reminds me of poison, it’s not what it is.”
“No,” Gemini agrees. “It’s different from the scorpion creatures we fought on the way here.”
Shayna stops stroking Koda. “Scorpion creatures?”
Bren rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you should have seen them. They were total freaks. One, the female, I’m guessing, had tits all along her underbelly. They dug grooves into the ground every time she moved.”
Shayna shoots a rather snarky look our way. Celia doesn’t notice, placing her hand on Aric’s arm to draw his attention. “There are females and males,” she says.
Aric knows where she’s headed. “Yeah, and they have all the parts from what we can tell. I don’t know if they can use them, or if they’re for show. But if they can, they’ll be able to breed. It’s not enough to get you out of here, love. We have to kill everything here.”
Ileana stretches her arms. “Unless they kill us all first, beloved alpha.”
I should pay closer attention to the conversation, but Edith Anne is seriously wigging me out. I start for her without thinking only to stop when I realize that’s not a rope she’s skipping with.
“Edith,” I say. “Why the hell are you jumping rope with intestines?”
Ordinarily, I would be met with several eye rolls and more than my share of insults. The remaining Catholic schoolgirls regard me with neither. They exchange looks before Agnes steps forward. “We encountered several winged serpents. Some had claws, others tusks, like boars. All were poisonous. Edith was struck multiple times.” She shrugs. “She’ll heal. The master said she would.”
“Why isn’t she sick?” I ask. “Vomiting or something?”
Agnes adjusts her tiny librarian glasses, blinking her almond eyes at me as if I shouldn’t ask. Her ponytails are askew, and her full lips pressed tight. She’s acting tough, but I can tell she’s worried about Edith. “From what I’ve determined, the poison contains parasites.”
Emme stops in place. “Parasites? As in worms?” she stammers. She turns to me. “I can’t heal that.”
“Nor should you try, sweet Emme,” Misha warns. “As a vampire, they won’t affect Edith like they will you.”
I take a step back. I don’t do worms, especially of the supernatural element. “Relax,” Agnes tells me. “They’ll crawl out of her brain sooner or later.”
“Jesus God,” I say, holding up my hands. “I’m going to stop your right there.”
“Nyte has come…” Edith sings.
Okay, she has everyone’s attention now.
“Nyte will kill… Nyte will open up your gills…”
Shayna leans in. “Gills?” she questions.
“I don’t want to know,” I admit.
“You can’t run…”
“Edith, stop at once,” Misha commands.
“You can’t hide…”