Dark Slayer

The earth opened up right beneath Razvan and a giant worm burst from beneath, jaws open, serrated teeth clamping around Razvan's ankle. For a heartbeat, the thirty-foot worm hovered, with Razvan locked in its teeth, and then it slid back beneath the ground, the dirt pouring in after it.

CHAPTER 6

Ivory drew a wicked-looking, circular, crystal-centered weapon and held out her arms. «Now,» she called to her pack.

The wolves leapt into the air, diving for her back. Ivory was already plunging, straight down, hands in front of her face like a modern-day Olympic diver, changing form as she went, pushing through the dirt to follow the path of the large worm dragging Razvan deep.

Look to me. At me. I am with you.

No! Go back. He cannot have you.

Nor can he have you. Ivory blocked out everything happening on the surface. Gregori would fight his way clear of Xavier's mutations and get the prince free; he had to. She had one duty, and that was to her lifemate-keeping him out of the hands of the high mage.

I cannot shift and get away.

You have seen the worm, bred to travel through the earth. Once his teeth meet in the middle, he holds your form. She knew. She'd extracted that very venom to use with her own combination of chemicals to make the coating on her weapons to prevent vampires from shifting. He cannot have you. Do not struggle. Stay very still so it injects less poison. Keep your mind in mine. You have to trust me.

She felt him holding himself utterly still. It had to take a great deal of courage not to fight the worm dragging him deeper beneath the earth. It was easier for the worm to go through its tunnel, already carved through the layers of soil as it headed back to its master to deliver its prize. Razvan had to know where and to whom the worm was taking him, yet he ceased fighting.

Razvan had never been able to trust anyone once his father had died and his sister was lost to him. To give her that-to put his life, no, his soul in her hands-had to be nothing short of a rebirthing by fire because never before had he put his very soul into someone else's keeping.

I trust you.

It would take trust. Fighting a worm was extremely dangerous. Practically everything about the worm was venomous. The spikes that ran along his body to dig and propel himself forward and back through the tunnel, and the barb on the end of his lashing tail, all contained the same poison as the fangs and double rows of serrated teeth. The tail itself could break every bone in a warrior's body. The hide was tough and could slice through a hand or arm if brushed against.

Close your ears, Razvan. You cannot listen. The sound will be bothersome to you. It was the only way she could think to describe it, but she had to slow the worm down, disorient it. With the tunnel already dug, it could warp time with alarming speed. When it releases you, you will have only seconds to push the poison from your body so you can shift. You have to be ready. Seconds only. She had to trust that he would feel the urgency in her and obey.

Knife in one hand, arms outstretched toward Razvan, eyes locked with his, she began to chant.

I call to the element of air used for sound. Drum to the heartbeat of evil that digs through the ground. Pitch, harmonics, combine and align, Fight by attaching to warp evil's mind.

The notes she used were pitched to vibrate and disorient, triggering vertigo and time loss in the worm. The earth responded to the discordant notes of her command. The cadence of her song continued, but Ivory's tones altered, changing the vibrations of the earth so that they became in tune with the surrounding soil, drawing it inward so that it began to collapse and fill the tube. The wave of sound moved through the earth. The ground shuddered, trembled. Dirt rained in all around them.

Keep looking at me. Ivory kept moving toward Razvan, propelling herself down the long, wide hole. Remember, push the poison out fast when the worm releases you.

She had shifted form and was nothing but molecules traveling at a high speed but still not fast enough to catch up.

Keep your arms outstretched above your head, toward me, toward the surface.

More soil tumbled into the tube. A clap like thunder roared down the tube behind the worm and the creature hesitated. It was enough for Ivory to close the gap between them, her hands materializing. She shoved the weapon into Razvan's right hand and caught his left wrist. At once she began to sing again, this time the notes resounding through the earth. The sound was painful, crashing through their bodies and minds, turning their insides to jelly.

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.