Serpent Moon

by C. T. Adams

  She walked in the building as they took off at a run. Bobby Mbutu and Councilman al-Narmer walked past her, their dark faces ashen—abject fear in their scent. She wanted to ask what was happening, but they quickly got into a waiting brown sedan and drove off, tires spitting up a cloud of dust.

  Iris was waiting just inside, her face nervous. “They’re waiting for you downstairs.” She grabbed Holly’s hand and whispered. “Something really bad is happening. Everybody’s really worked up. Please be careful. I don’t want to lose you.”

  Holly walked down the stairs, trying to keep up her courage. Seers usually didn’t call to talk about good news. A couple was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. They were both wolves, but she didn’t recognize them. They had that certain aura that screamed pack leader. She lowered her eyes automatically, giving proper respect. “Someone called for me? I’m Holly Sanchez.”

  “Adam and Cara Mueller,” the tall man said. “Alphas of the Texas pack. The phone’s in the next room. We’re here to make sure the call stays private.”

  As Holly nodded her eyes happened to drop to the ban dage on the pregnant woman’s leg. It smelled . . . bad, like something was decaying. “Are you okay?”

  The woman shrugged, but her face was filled with pain. “Snakebite. I’ll heal.”

  Holly shook her head in disagreement. “It’s not healing. I can smell it.” She knelt down and ran her fingers over the ban dage, her face right next to the tightly stretched belly. The heat from the wound made her hand sting like needles were being poked in it. “Did you have Tatya look at this?”

  The alpha shook her head. “Dr. Santiago is sleeping. She exhausted herself before she got through with the most serious cases.”

  Tatya had exhausted herself? Holly had known the woman her entire life, and she’d never been tired enough to stop healing—even when Holly had nearly died. She’d passed out briefly, but had been able to continue to heal her the next day. And that was with near-death injuries. These were just standard wounds. Very strange.

  Adam tapped her shoulder. “You’d better hurry. The seers are waiting.” His voice was firm, but Holly didn’t stand up.

  “The seers can keep waiting,” she said firmly. “Your baby can’t afford to battle this snakebite. It could cause an early birth or miscarriage.”

  The couple looked at each other in shock and the woman’s hand went to her stomach. “The baby has been kicking a lot tonight, Adam.”

  Holly nodded. She could see the movements just under the skin. It worried her. Adam Mueller’s frown deepened, and he helped Holly guide Cara to a chair before she knelt down again by her leg. She closed her eyes and let power rise. It flowed into the leg. There was no need to unwrap it. She could see in her mind the pair of puckered wounds, the skin black around the entry points. It was very much like Annie’s wound, except the venom reacted to her magic by becoming even more toxic. Cara gasped and the scent of pain filled the air. Holly felt Adam’s hand brush her as he reached for his mate’s hand. She’d heard about Sazi snake bites, but had never actually encountered one.

  She pushed more energy into the wound and felt a sudden jolt of power that made the hair on the back of her neck tingle. What the hell? She saw Eric in a flash. He’d stumbled mid-run and couldn’t catch himself before he tumbled to the ground. Ivan grabbed his upper arm and hauled him back to his feet. Eric shook his head like he was dazed and the image faded.

  What did it mean? Obviously, Cat had been right. Their connection was at least a one-sided mating. Would she always pull on his power . . . ? Now it made sense. Lucas had been mated to Tatya, and was arguably the most powerful wolf in the world. If she’d been drawing on his power all these years . . . no wonder she’d been the most powerful healer. But maybe she wasn’t anymore.

  With the added energy, Holly was able to burn the toxin away from the wound and heal it with hardly any effort. She felt farther into the woman’s body to check for anything else that could be wrong, and felt a smile come to her face. The tiny life inside the alpha moved contentedly and then settled down, no longer trying to avoid the poison. “The baby’s fine. She didn’t get infected with any venom.” And Holly didn’t even feel mildly tired. She noted that when she didn’t need the extra power anymore, it dispersed into the background.

  I bet Eric’s going to want to talk about this.

  “A little girl?” Cara rubbed her stomach, smiling, and then elbowed Adam with a wink. “Told you it wasn’t a boy. Better hit that baby book again.”

  Adam dipped his head with closed eyes and his mate did the same. “Thank you, Healer Sanchez. Cara and I are eternally grateful.”

  Healer Sanchez. It was the first time anyone had called her that. Yeah, she’d been doing it for a while now, but for a pack alpha to bestow the title on her . . . That made it official. Word would spread through the packs.

  Her head buzzed. “Um . . . you’re welcome. I . . . I should probably go take that call now.” As she stood up, she noticed Cara flexing her foot with a delighted expression. That was the nice thing about healing. People were so happy afterward—even when everything else around them sucked.

  She walked into the room. Other than the phone on the table, there was no furniture. “Hello?”

  “We’ve been waiting for you for some time, Holly.” Holly recognized the disapproving voice immediately. It was Nana, the seer from the Boulder pack.

  “Nana! You’re okay!” She raced to the phone and picked it up, staring at it as though she could see the old Indian woman if she just looked hard enough.

  The excitement in her voice made the old woman chuckle. “Yes, I’m okay. As is your father. I know you’ve been worried.”

  Another weight lifted from her chest. “Does Iris know? Can I tell her?”

  “Of course.”

  A second woman’s voice cut in. “We don’t have time for this, Nana.”

  Then a third woman chimed in, her voice deeper, with a Russian accent. “We must make time for the social niceties, Josette. It keeps our family strong. Let the girl settle a bit. She’s had a difficult few days.”

  Holly recognized Josette Monier’s voice. She’d heard it when the woman had visited Uncle Raphael. It had been the first time she’d met a cat. Josette had made several cat noises for her, which had made her giggle. This time, she wasn’t laughing.

  “May I remind you both of the seriousness of the situation? She needs to get her hands on that knife and get it to those who can use it.”

  “Knife?” Holly felt her brow furrow. “What knife?”

  Nana sighed. “My associate shows the impatience of her animal today. Not surprising considering the matter at hand. But she is correct that we have a special task for you, Holly. There is a knife we’ve found mention of in old texts. The Duchess has seen you obtaining it, in a cave somewhere near your present location. We must ask that you bring this vision to fruition. It could save all of our lives.”

  “The Duchess” must be the third woman she’d heard, with the Russian accent. It was no use asking “why me?” She’d watched Lucas and the other pack members swear and roll their eyes at the strange demands of the seers. But they’d kept them safe and undiscovered by humanity for millennia, so they knew what they were doing. “What does it look like?”

  The Duchess spoke. “I saw a black blade, made of ancient volcanic glass, decorated with rubies and turquoise on the—”

  “Bone handle.” Holly’s blood had officially run cold. She’d seen that knife. Nasil had been fascinated by it on the plane ride. He’d remove it from a heavy metal box and moved it toward his hand, and then away again with a wince—as though simply getting near the thing hurt.

  “You have it already?” Josette’s voice was excited.

  Holly shook her head and felt a dull weight in her stomach. “No. But I know who does. Ahmad referred to him as Nasil.”

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Josette’s voice was livid and Holly had to step away from the phone when she let out a screech so
loud it would probably be heard upstairs. “Ea-Nasil still lives? Ahmad swore he’d been eliminated.”

  Holly shrugged. “No, he’s alive. He rode with me on the plane from Australia.” She hastened to explain, so they wouldn’t get the wrong idea. “I was his prisoner. He threatened my sister, and had me frozen about half the time.” She hadn’t mentioned that part to Eric. It was sort of embarrassing to be unable to move. “I got away at the airport, and I don’t know where he is now.”

  “Apparently he’s nearby, or Leyla wouldn’t have seen you with the knife,” Nana said after Josette’s tantrum was done. “You must still obtain it. And I’m very sorry, Holly, but you must do this alone. I’ve watched you grow into a confident, intelligent woman, so I have no doubt you know how dangerous this will be. Yet we must ask it of you—to save us all.”

  The room spun, just a little, and Holly’s mouth felt dry. She knew she wasn’t the first to be asked to do something that could kill her, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. Not only did she have to go out and find Nasil, she somehow had to get the knife away from him and get it back to someone here. Words aimed toward Josette spilled from her lips without even meaning to. “Are you sure you didn’t just pick me because you think I shouldn’t have survived?”

  There was a long pause, and then Josette spoke. “I said that to Charles in confidence. I’m surprised he told you. Ahh. He must have had you involved in his hindsight. I’d apologize, but I stand by it. Much would have been different if you’d died. We might not be at this place now.”

  “Not true,” the Duchess said while Holly’s head buzzed with the implications. “My vision occurred years ago. The girl hadn’t even been born yet. It was only when you showed me the photographs of the packs that I recognized her. While it was only one possible future, her survival wasn’t a mistake. Nor do I believe she needs to do this completely alone. The impression I had was that there were two people in the cave where the knife is. The other was a male, and might well have been Ea-Nasil himself. But it also might have been someone else.”

  “One moment, Holly.” Nana’s voice broke in. “Let us confer.”

  The voices faded until she could just barely hear snatches of conversation. “I don’t see why not,” and “No, too many complications,” then “There’ll be no stopping him anyway.”

  There was the sound of shuffling feet and then brief static as someone picked up the phone. “Very well. There is one who, if he is at your location, may accompany you. The alpha wolf, Eric Thompson, can travel with you. He will not alter the future. Is he available?”

  She started to answer when a low, mournful sound abruptly filled the room. It pressed against her skin, pulled at the wolf inside her so strongly that she couldn’t resist it. She couldn’t even get out words. “That howl,” Nana said with an odd lilt to her voice. “It calls to me. Even over the phone. It sounds like Inteque’s father, the Great White Wolf.”

  Holly started to move toward the door without a word. She couldn’t resist that call. It boiled in her blood, yanked at her stomach, and dazed her mind. The outer room was already empty, meaning Adam and Cara had already responded. She shifted as she raced up the stairs and then she was outside, following the other pack members as they all tracked the sound.

  The closer she got, the more aggressive she felt. Something was making her incredibly angry. Her lips pulled back from her teeth and she put on extra speed, passing by lesser wolves. Faster and faster she raced into the darkness, the howl leading her. Lightning flashed all around her, striking the ground with enough force to make her fur stand on end. The incessant boom of thunder made her ears hurt.

  When she passed through a stand of piñons she saw it looming large over the bear and two wolves. A snake with wings, it seemed to be twenty feet long from the wide, fanged mouth to the slender, feathered tail. A thick band of feathers fluffed around its neck, so that it looked like it was wearing a clown collar. But this was no clown. It held in one taloned claw an unconscious, bleeding cougar. The other was wrapped around a small child who looked to be either asleep . . . or dead.

  The animals on the ground were looking around, trying to locate what their noses could smell. But she could see it. This must be Marduc. She raced forward past the others and leapt with all her might into the air. She sank her teeth into the leg, just above the talons. Bitter, toxic blood filled her mouth. She wanted to spit it out, but it ran down her throat as the creature screamed, the sound like a speeding race car hitting a barrier. But her attack had the intended effect. The talon opened and the big cat dropped to the ground. Holly let loose her jaws and tried to drop to the ground, but Marduc was fast. Holly screamed as her leg was impaled with a foot-long fang and all she could think to do was latch onto the other talon and worry on it until it too opened. The child dropped the equivalent of two stories and lay still on the ground.

  Eric howled again and more wolves leapt into the air, like Holly had. She felt the howl like a blow to her head. Her mind spun and she nearly choked as blood began to flow from her nose and mouth. It wasn’t just her either. Marduc pulled loose her fangs and shook her head. She dropped hard and fast, but managed to recover and spread her wings before she struck the ground. Holly took the opportunity to drop the rest of the way to the ground. Her wounded back leg collapsed upon impact. She rolled two or three times, and wound up on top of a patch of prickly pear cactus, too exhausted to roll off them again.

  Holly looked up to see Marduc assessing the number of wolves, cats, and bears who were leaping and snapping just short of her talons. Apparently she decided the odds weren’t as good as mere moments before. As the sky flashed she let out another screech that was lost in the immediate clap of thunder, and then the fierce quetzalcoatl flew off into the sky.

  Holly blinked dazedly and then Eric was beside her in wolf form. She hadn’t ever hunted with the pack when he was in Boulder, so she’d never seen his wolf. He was a pale yellow, identical to his hair color, with a broad chest and powerful legs. As he looked down at her, his eyes began to glow a brilliant, deep blue. His panic at the sight of her bloody, battered body was apparent. When he changed forms and reached down to pick her up, it was with thickly muscled bare arms, and magic-filled turquoise eyes.

  If she hadn’t been in so much pain she might have smiled.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I’m ready for you. You shall serve me now, my alpha.

  Nasil woke with a start, sweat pouring down his face. He sat up on the air mattress so quickly that Bruce nearly rolled on top of him.

  He carefully slid out from under the thick comforter and stood. He ran a hand through his hair, and then shook his head again, trying to wake up. He remembered Bruce arriving and eating the dinner of fried chicken that had accompanied him. They’d made love and it had been good, but not as good as it once had been—before Bruce became so ill.

  Then he’d dreamed of a dark woman with long, silver hair who called to him, raked his skin with poisoned teeth to taste his blood, and made his mind putty. He looked down to see that the dream had aroused his body too. When was the last time the thought of a woman had aroused him? Yes, he’d had women in the past, but that was before he’d met Bruce. The innocent human had stolen his heart and made him betray his old master.

  I can do more for you than a human, my alpha. I have chosen you. You will be my mate and will implant your seed in a goddess.

  The voice in his mind made him stumble and crack his head against the wall of the cave. Marduc! Fear filled him so completely he nearly vomited. And yet, his body was hard again. What the hell is happening to me?

  The low, feminine chuckle in his mind made his skin both twitch and ache. I have happened to you. You are my chosen. Kill your lover and come to me, Ea-Nasil. We shall be one and we shall rule together. A low hiss followed her words. It filled his mind until nothing but the sound remained in the dark room. He had to obey her. Had to have her.

  He felt himself walk to the farthest corner of the wide roo
m and open the lead box. The black knife should have been invisible in the darkness. But instead, it glowed from within, as though begging to be used for the purpose it was created. He felt apart from himself as he picked it up and walked back to the mattress. He looked down at the man snuggled under the covers, his arm spread across the empty space where Nasil’s body had lay. Bruce’s formerly smooth cheek was pockmarked with sores now, earned from spending too much time with Nasil’s poisoned body.

  The knife was raised high over his head, though he didn’t remember doing it. Part of his brain realized what was happening and rebelled. He would not kill Bruce just to please her.

  Obey in all things, my mate, and we will lay together as only snakes can. At last you will be the god you were destined to be.

  It had been a thousand years since he’d had sex with a female of his species. Sargon had instructed him not to breed. Now he could be what his lord had dreamed of being—but hadn’t been strong enough to become.

  But you’re strong enough. I feel it. I would have you inside me.

  No. Not at the cost of Bruce.

  You must. I command it.

  His muscles twitched. He was fighting, but as the knife inched downward, he knew he would lose. Bruce rolled over just then to lie flat on his back. It would be so easy. And he was dying anyway.

  He dropped to his knees from the sheer force of the presence in his mind. He couldn’t seem to open his mouth to warn his lover. He closed his eyes because his lips were locked tight, his arm out of his control. He was mute and helpless as the knife made an arc through the air. Again he fought, but he felt the weapon plunge into something soft that spilled warmth over his hand. The scream that followed made bile rise. He couldn’t look, couldn’t think. All he could do was race out into the night. His legs moved of their own accord and even the frigid night air hitting his skin didn’t relieve the heat that was boiling his blood.