The worm completely stopped moving, opening its mouth wide in a scream that reverberated through the ground, releasing Razvan at the same time.
Now! Now! Shift when you can, holding the weapon. Follow me in. Fearlessly, Ivory became vapor only, streaming inside the giant opening of the worm's mouth.
Razvan pushed the poison from his body, ignoring the wrenching pain, closing off his mind to anything but following her. He felt the disc in his hand vibrating as he shifted and knew he still held it, which meant it was no mere illusion, but was constructed of natural earth and gems. He followed her without hesitation, past the double rows of serrated teeth, past the dripping fangs and pockets of thick amber venom, down the very throat of the beast.
Touch nothing inside; not the walls, nothing. These worms have two vulnerable spots, and both of them are deep inside Even going for their eyes does nothing. Look for scar tissue inside the throat-you will know it when you see it. Everything else is coated. The spot is where Xavier attaches himself to give instructions. The second place is much deeper and much more perilous to find.
Razvan didn't want to know how she'd discovered this information, but there was no doubt in his mind it had been hard-won through first-hand experience. She was too confident in her assessment, and her voice was tight with tension.
He scanned the walls of the worm's throat. Bumps and ridges in dark purple and black covered the membranes above and all around them. The worm pitched and bucked, fighting to get out of the collapsing tunnel, making it doubly difficult to avoid accidentally skimming along the wall. Venom dripped from the ceiling, raining down around them. As vapor, it was easier to avoid the drops.
There! Above and to your right, on the roof of his throat. Razvan spotted the small circle and recognized the stamp of Xavier. Welts and splotches made tiny rings and whorls, damaged for all time after contact with the mage.
We will only have seconds to get out again. The disc is iolite, a violet stone that enhances vision on the astral realm. Follow what I do and then move fast out of here.
Razvan realized there was a thin thread of blue-violet light emanating from the disc. Ivory took her normal form, hovering in the center of the worm's throat, dodging the strings of poisonous saliva. Hairy fibers sprang into action, reaching like tentacles toward the heat source. Ivory grimly eluded them and, using deadly aim, struck hard and fast with the light, using it like a spear or a laser, penetrating into the worm's tough wall, anchoring deep. She let go of the disc and it followed, slamming hard into the ring of scars.
Razvan mimicked Ivory's actions, releasing first the light and then the disc within a heartbeat of hers. Light burst from the two discs and lit up the walls of the throat, bathing them in a violet wash. Sound came next, high-pitched, the notes threatening to shred all reason, so that Razvan hastily muted the sound.
Ivory was already streaming back toward the mouth of the worm. The huge, cavernous body thrashed back and forth, rolling and bucking harder than ever. Hurry. The urgency in her mind convinced him to double his speed as nothing else could. Behind them, the violet light spread like a cancer, staining the venomous throat bluish-purple. Steam rose.
Ivory hovered just behind the double rows of teeth. Be ready.
Razvan had no idea what he was ready for, but the worm seemed more unstable than ever as all around them smoky blue-violet vapor curled, pouring from the two discs. He heard Ivory mentally counting, concentrating hard. Deep in her mind, he felt the exact moment she began to burst forward.
The worm opened its mouth to cough. The throat contracted, muscles squeezing down behind them, closing the gap as they shot from inside the worm.
Move. Move. Ivory didn't slow down, but kept driving through the soil, back up toward the surface.
Razvan followed, amazed at her skills, at her knowledge of the enemy and at the fast, efficient and utterly calm way in which she went about destroying it.
When we surface, the bats will be attacking. Come up near the prince to add to his protection. All of Xavier's twisted abominations will be fighting to get to him.
Around him he could feel the unstable ground quivering, rolling, as the worm thrashed and fought, sending shock waves undulating deep beneath the earth. The ground sank all around them, falling in on itself.
Faster. Ivory hissed the command in his mind. Take the lead.
She might be one of the best warriors he'd ever encountered, and by far the most knowledgeable dealing with Xavier's army, but he was still a Carpathian male and her lifemate. She wasn't going to be protecting his back, not when he could be protecting hers.
Keep moving. We are close to the surface, he informed her. Whatever is up there is not as bad as the evil Xavier had inside of me. Watch yourself.
He will go for the prince, Ivory reiterated. The one sure way to destroy the Carpathian people is to destroy the prince.
Razvan burst through the surface, emerging into a night filled with the sound of battle. Thunder cracked and lightning streaked across the sky, slamming into earth as bolts hammered into the crushing crowds of bats swarming over the ground. It looked like a living sea, bats walking on their wings, baring teeth at anything in their path. Flesh eaters, he'd seen the mutations in the caves Xavier occupied, placed there to guard, to sound the alarm and to provide blood from the animals they killed and dragged to the lairs.
Ivory emerged from the ground, shrugging, arms outstretched. The wolves leapt from her back and into the midst of the bats, snapping necks as they grabbed and shook their prey, fighting their way through the mass to the circle defending the prince. Ivory followed them, drawing one of her many homemade weapons, tossing it to Razvan and pulling another.
Razvan discovered the strange gun fired light, not bullets. He had never participated like this in a battle, with blood spraying across the snow. But he didn't hesitate, staying in Ivory's mind. She was a warrior through and through, wading through the bats, kicking them aside, spraying the bright light fed by a diamond across a wide path, severing heads.
«Keep the spray level with their necks,» she advised, and then called out, «Gregori! We're coming in.»
One of the bats seized Razvan's calf and tried to tear open his leg. Blaez, the second largest wolf, caught the malicious creature in strong jaws and ripped it away from Razvan, tossing the bloody body into a group of bats that tore into it with a viciousness that reminded him of Xavier.
Gregori slammed bolts of lightning into the center of the bats, opening the way for them. Razvan followed Ivory through the sea of bats, staying close to protect her back, his gun spewing the blade of light behind them in a wide arc. When the wolves hesitated, preferring to stay to the outside, Ivory hissed a command.
You will get eaten alive. Come! She held out her arms and the wolves leapt over the mass of furry bodies and merged with her back.
Ivory continued to wade through the bats, running toward the small group, fighting to keep from being overpowered. The group refused to just dissolve and abandon Gary, their human friend. It would be nearly impossible to protect him from the air.
«Get the prince off the ground,» Ivory yelled above the din to Gregori. «The attack will come from under the ground. This is a diversion.»
Falcon jerked Gary off the ground, no questions asked, as Mikhail rose as well. The hordes of bats went crazy, flying at them with renewed frenzy.
«I lost sight of Xavier's fragments,» Gregori warned. «They're probably in the bats.»