her hand. If she hadn’t been glaring at Zav, she might have already plunged it into the girl’s chest. The blood in the vat bubbled, filling the air with a disgusting salty metallic scent.
“If you want to go ahead and mow them all down with your power,” I told Zav, “I’ll scramble down there, get the girl, my necklace, and even your platter if I have time.”
“My what?” He didn’t look at me.
I was surprised he’d responded at all. “Whatever you called it. Your artifact.”
“I must have it, but I must also capture the two criminals to return to the court.”
“I can’t help you there. These guys all look the same to me. Are you going to attack them?”
“When they have worn themselves out, I will turn my power to knocking them out of my path.” He sounded as arrogant as always, but his voice was definitely strained. There was a frantic edge to his eyes as his gaze swept back and forth in a searching way.
On the dais, the female hefted the girl up and pressed her bone dagger to her throat. “Leave our home, dragon,” she called, “or I will slay this child before the ritual time is upon us.”
I was surprised I understood her—maybe my translation charm was somewhere nearby.
“I care nothing for that vermin girl or your infantile ritual,” Zav called down, his voice ringing with power. “Bring Yemeli-lor and Baklinor-ten, or I will drop the ceiling on your heads and bring the human automobile-way through your ritual chamber.”
Fearing for the girl, I was tempted to spring over the railing and run through the dark elves, but they were all armed and powerful. There was no chance I’d make it even halfway to the dais.
But there was a door in the wall beside the looming statue of bones and skulls. There had to be a back way to it. I remembered the stairs that had led downward at the same intersection the ramp had led upward.
“Here.” I set the container of bath beads down beside Zav’s foot. “Throw some of those down when you get a chance.” I backed away slowly, not wanting the dark elves to notice. “And try to keep them distracted. Keep saying arrogant things.”
Zav looked over his shoulder, pinning me with his glare. “I do not take orders from law-breaking mongrels who do not acknowledge the supremacy of dragons.”
“Yeah, say stuff like that.” I gave him a sarcastic thumbs-up. “You’re a natural.”
With that, I sped back the way I’d come, pausing only to check the fallen dark elves in case one of them wore my necklace. No such luck.
My lungs were inflating fully with blood soaring through my veins as I raced down the ramp, skidded around the edge, and ran down the stairs. My rapid heartbeats hammered my ribcage so hard that I could feel them as I ran. That manticore venom had either turned me into Wonder Woman, or I was about to keel over from a heart attack.
I came face to face with a dark elf running up the stairs and reacted a split second before he did, my reflexes faster than usual. Chopper’s hilt bashed down on the top of his head, bone crunching. I yanked his crossbow from his hand and readied my sword for another strike. He collapsed. Apparently, I was stronger than usual too.
“Definitely going to have a heart attack,” I muttered, racing off, though I had no idea where I was going, and Sindari wasn’t here to lead me this time.
I passed through several intersections, continuing straight and hoping for the best as I tried to gauge how far I’d come. Was I under the chamber now?
Booms and thuds echoed down from above me. The dark elves fighting Zav?
The ceiling quaked. He must have gotten his opportunity to throw an attack. Bits of rock and brick tumbled free all around me, pelting me on the shoulders. Fear drove my legs even faster as I envisioned the tunnel collapsing on top of me. I almost raced past a narrow set of stairs heading upward to my left.
Human and animal skulls lined the walls, and the handrail was made from femur bones. A velvet cord hung across the entrance, as if to deny access to the reserved seating area at a pretentious theater. I slashed through it with Chopper and ran up the stairs. This had to go to that dais.
As I charged up two levels, another whomp of power emanated from somewhere above. The stone