Although his collaboration had done shit so far.
Lilith needed a rest, a way out.
She turned into the nearest room and shut the door behind her. Panting short, sharp breaths, she considered her options. Running in circles was a doomed venture. She could squeeze Maggie and herself out of the loophole window and hope neither broke their neck on the way down. She could fight the dragon face-to-face, but unless he scaled down to man-size, she wasn’t likely to win. And there were only so many minions she could fend off at a time. She bit her lower lip.
Lilith didn’t think the girl would live through being shoved out the window, much less survive a dragon fight in the small room without squashing her.
Pressure twanged against her ribs and she vibrated like a tuning fork.
Lilith’s body grew increasing sluggish and heavy. She didn’t have the energy to fight much longer, and soon she would lose the chance to. Hell, she was too hungry to think straight.
Maggie stirred, turned in her arms, and pushed with delicate hands, but she lacked any sort of strength required to get away or defend herself. A squirming bug, already on its way out, twitching as the brain fired automatic signals, but no one was home.
Maybe the girl would prefer death.
Lilith licked her teeth.
Chapter 27
Lilith bent over Maggie. The girl’s unfortunate, fading pulse had her full attention, so when something grabbed her foot, it didn’t even register at first. It wasn’t until the grip became too insistent, too heavy, that she took her gaze off Maggie’s artery.
Lilith glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see a minion. Her eyes widened, she gulped.
The dragon hand had snared her.
His giant paw did three things at once. He squeezed her foot, crushing slender bones; he yanked, jerking her toward the door; and he twisted, snapping the tendons in her knee and loosening those in her ankle as well.
She bellowed in pain but didn’t let go of the girl.
The humbaba’s massive antlers scraped the bricks, too broad to let him through the narrower doorway. He swung his head and stones crumbled. Reflexively, Lilith clutched Maggie tight.
He’s going to kill me, Lilith thought, my leg is wrecked, and he’s blocking the only exit.
Cornered.
The perfect time for a distraction Where was Haniel? If the demon and dragon fought, Lilith could escape and generate a contingency plan for her failed contingency plan.
Her leg extended awkwardly across the ground, feverish with pain, and she knew she wouldn’t be running anywhere.
Lilith cupped the back of Maggie’s clammy neck. Maybe she could distract the humbaba with the girl’s corpse. One quick, theatrical pop of the girl’s spine might give Lilith time to flee.
Of course, then no one would get their happy ending. Not Haniel, not the dragon, and certainly not Lilith.
Fuck them anyway, she thought, if I can’t win, no one will.
Her fingers tightened on the back of Maggie’s neck. She set her other hand atop Maggie’s throat, ready to crush it from both sides.
The dragon’s eyes widened. He froze. His orange gaze flickered back and forth between Lilith and Maggie and back again. His neck extended as he thrust his head deeper into the room. His scales glimmered like flame in the dark. His teeth snapped menacingly. Steam sizzled from his nostrils.
“Any closer,” Lilith threatened, “and I’ll snap her pretty little neck.”
Maybe the dragon didn’t understand because he lunged, roaring. Hot spittle and miasma breath blasted Lilith’s face. A hard punch of fear slammed into her throat.
Something inside her cracked.
The spark ruptured. All that pressure crumbled from around her heart and exploded into the world. She needed to direct it, but the release hurt so much she could only half-think an idea. In an instant, the Becoming ate up every ounce of her magic.
The spark birthed a three-headed snake, bigger around than Lilith and three times as long. The serpent coiled its tail, reared up, and hissed at the dragon. Three sets of hoods flared. Each head bore fangs dripping with venom.
Lilith’s jaw dropped. She’d shot her load all at once, and that was bad. Now she had nothing left, and the avenging angel would be drawn to the atomic blast of power.
Heaven’s assassin would know precisely where she was.
On the other hand, the agonizing pressure had completely disappeared. Her very organs heaved a sigh of relief.
Plus, the three-headed serpent was gorgeous. It smelled of dry grass on crisp tundras, and its corded body rippled with powerful muscle. She’d never made a multi-headed snake before, never created something so big and fearsome.
A flicker of pride softened Lilith’s heart.
The flabbergasted dragon’s jaw hung open. His long ribbon of a tongue dangled down, nostrils flared.
Her three-headed viper’s tongues flickered. Coils rippled as it heaved itself forward, surging between Lilith and the humbaba.
The dragon stared at the snake and said, “Holy shit.”
Lilith gawked at the dragon. Her mouth hung open, speechless.
He talks? In his dragon form nonetheless?
“Holy shit, indeed,” she whispered.
He peered past the snake, at her, and demanded, “What are you?”
“Nothing,” she blurted.
He scowled and shook his head. Antlers scraped bricks right out of the wall. He stretched deeper into the room, trying to shoulder past the restrictive door. The snake intercepted his path, forcing the humbaba to talk around it.
“I want her,” he said.
Lilith frowned. The snake? She’d never created such a fearsome looking beast before, and she wasn’t keen on handing it over to a monster. Then again, the snake would die within a day anyway. They all did. When it keeled over, Lilith would be far away, hopefully long after performing the spell.
Lilith asked, “What are you going to do with my snake?”
“Not her.” The dragon shook his head. “The girl.”
Lilith had utterly forgotten Maggie, but she couldn’t simply give the girl away. Lilith needed Haniel’s key. Maybe she wouldn’t escape this room, but without performing the spell, she wouldn’t make it out of the city alive.
Lilith shook her head. “I need her.”
“Not as much as I do.”
“She’s dying,” Lilith hedged.
“Not as quickly as she was yesterday,” he said. “What will you do with her? Hand her over to that abomination?”
She blanched.
He sneered, brandishing big teeth. “Yes, I know all about Haniel. Maggie swore he’d come, he’d rescue her, on and on. She believed it, too, in the beginning. After the first night, she stopped speaking of rescue. On the second night, she stopped speaking of him at all. He couldn’t protect her, but I will. He may love her, but she’s mine. She knows it. My hearts know it.”
All these monsters fighting over a pretty, tragic girl.
It’d be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic, Lilith thought.
Maggie remained unconscious, unable to speak for herself. The woman hadn’t fared well in the dragon’s company. Then again, considering the old scars on her body, Maggie hadn’t fared well in this life at all.
“Better off dead,” Lilith said, much to her surprise.
The dragon flinched. “Wait,” he said. “Please.”
Please?
The word came bundled with insecurity and desperation.
“What is it about this girl?” Lilith scowled, not without jealousy. Had anyone ever wanted her that much, either man or monster? Let alone two at once? “What’s so special about her?”
“My hearts simply knew,” he said. “The minute I saw her, the instant I looked into her eyes, I knew. I’ve been betrayed by seven lovers, and had my hearts broken seven times, but Maggie…She’s the one who’ll heal me. She’ll make it right.”
A gong clanged in Lilith’s brain.
Seven hea
rtbreaks. Seven lovers. The seven-times betrayed heart.
And she saw the truth she’d overlooked. Whatever the key was, she didn’t understand it. Clearly, it wasn’t the only ingredient she’d yet to collect.
I need one of the dragon’s hearts.
Lilith, with her claws on the only bargaining piece, was totally screwed. If she gave Maggie to Haniel, she wouldn’t get the dragon’s heart. If she gave Maggie to the dragon, she couldn’t trade with Haniel for the key. She’d have to trick him. Hell, she’d make an enemy for life.
But she’d live.
Demanding a dragon’s heart was a steep ask. Because she didn’t want to make first offer in any negotiation, she said, “What’ll you give me?”
His mouth stretched wide, each gleaming, steaming tooth bared in her direction. “Give me the girl, and I’ll let you out of here alive.”
The snake raised its heads and hissed at the threat.
Lilith smiled. “This may be a fight you can’t win, salamander boy.”
He snorted fire. Her snake drew itself up until its skulls brushed the ceiling, fangs loaded and ready to envenomate. The humbaba squared off with the serpent, each evaluating if they could take the other. If a fight between the two leviathans broke out in this small room, Lilith and Maggie would be squashed.
“We don’t have time for this,” Lilith said.
Her hand tightened over Maggie’s thin-skinned neck. The frail bones were as delicate as a string of fish eggs, her pulse a weary rattle.
“Wait!” the dragon roared. Eyes big. Body hunched. Claws gripping the stone floor. Smoke puffing from his nostrils.
Then he melted. Antlers first, curling back against his skull like he was leaning into a strong wind. Muscles packed down. Gilded scales receded into skin like a sun-kissed sheen. His wings laid to rest on his shoulder blades, the torn one, too. His form flowed like an icicle weeping in the spring thaw. It was like watching time-lapse photography of a flower blooming in reverse.
The male rose from the crouched position and stood, naked, covered in freckle-like bite marks from his scuffle outside.
He held out his hand. “Please. Don’t. Just, don’t—”
“Jesus,” Lilith said. “You really love her.”
“She’s carrying a litter,” he said. “I’m the last one. I was the last one. We’re all but extinct, and then Maggie…she’s going to have my kits.”
Lilith blinked. That’s the last thing I expected.
“Give her to me!” he snarled. “What do you want?”
“Your heart.”
He smirked. “That’s all?”
“Why not?” She shrugged. “You have seven.”
His eyes narrowed. “What would you do with a dragon heart?”
“Protect myself.”
“Are vampires always so needy and vague?”
Her chin went up. “What do you know about vampires?”
“I’ve been imprisoned by one for centuries.” His lip curled. “You wouldn’t envy me what I learned in that dungeon.”
“Then you know we’re petty and we don’t like to lose. We’ll burn the world to spite a wrong.”
“Give me the girl, and I’ll give you a heart. Not a systemic one, but—” he winced—“the sixth one.”
Lilith hesitated. Handing an unconscious girl over to a monster was one thing. Letting a dragon use her as a brood mare for a litter of humbaba kits? Maggie probably wouldn’t be keen on the idea.
Haniel would have a conniption.
What would Fate want?
Lilith decided she didn’t care about any of it.
“Deal,” she said.
He reached for Maggie.
Lilith raised her claws and the snake hissed. “Not so fast, stud. Heart first.”
He bore his teeth, said, “Give me a moment,” and metamorphosed. Scales came first. He swelled, bulged, wings sprouted, antlers last. His condition was better than when he first walked in. Wing whole. Bite marks gone.
He sat down on his rump, looking so surreal, smelling of pine and ocean. His claw-studded paw tunneled into his lower abdomen, and he fished inside himself. Blood splatted. His antlers shivered, scritch-scratching on the ceiling. His keen, something like a cat screech and dolphin’s giggle, filled the room.
Lilith flinched and hugged Maggie closer, and her serpent curled around them both.
The humbaba plucked the organ like ripe fruit and held it on the palm of his red-gold hand.
It looked like a pomegranate.
Lilith reached for it, releasing Maggie at the same time that the dragon dropped his heart. She caught it in her hand, he reached for Maggie, and the snake lunged for his heel. The humbaba burst through the roof before fangs could touch him and was gone.
Chapter 28
Using her giant three-headed serpent as a crutch, Lilith limped into the courtyard. Her cleavage trapped the amulet, her parcel held her alchemist kit, and a dragon’s heart cooled under her arm.
Dead vampires littered the ground, vanquished in battle with a dragon. Still bodies and rank blood. Clouds grew dark and heavy, and rain began to fall. Cold, cutting raindrops truck her and chilled her skin. Her heavy dress grew heavier as it took on water.
Because life couldn’t be easy, she commiserated to the snake, who bumped one of her heads in the crook of Lilith’s neck.
Ozone stung her nostrils, but she didn’t see any lightning.
Angel incoming.
She picked up her pace, dragging her broken foot and mauled knee, setting down hard on the bones with each hobbled step. Agony radiated through her in unrelenting waves. Her snake swooped in and carried her to the center of the yard. She glanced skyward and saw the humbaba flying away with Maggie limp in his grip.
Haniel’s going to kill me.
The dragon’s rubbery heart slipped in her grip. She hugged it and glanced over her shoulder.
She needed to start the spell now or risk never finishing. When she’d used her spark, she’d summoned the hunter angel. She couldn’t sit and wait for Haniel to give her the key; she had to start casting.
She set the ingredients down on the ground and tucked the heart under her armpit like a football. Its sticky heat helped her focus. She’d beaten a goddamn dragon, for heaven’s sake. She could do this.
Lilith dug in the rucksack for the white-handled knife and prepared to draw a circle around her spellcasting area. If she cast a strong pentacle, it would keep evil, invasive energy inside, but would it prevent minions from entering? Would Haniel be able to waltz through? She had no way to know and no time to worry.
Lurching on a bad leg, she wobbled in a circle. The line zigged, zagged, and wavered. It was neither deep nor orderly.
Gotta start over. Gotta keep going.
She hobbled a few paces south, found a more even section of high ground where the rain wouldn’t puddle, and began drawing anew. This time, instead of coddling the busted stump, she ate the pain careening through her leg. The snake slithered alongside, just within reach, holding her up. Her firm, scaly body and supple strength helped Lilith draw the circle. It was as if the snake comprehended the import of Lilith’s mission.
I’ve birthed a little god, she thought, filled with unchecked pride. Performing a spell should be easy in comparison.
When she stepped back, the grooves she’d scraped into the ground more closely resembled a circle, but it was lopsided and leaned toward the southwest.
She wanted to scream. Panic welled up in her. Everallin had warned her she wasn’t the one destined to cast the spell and she didn’t know what she was doing. Would the false starts corrupt the pentacle? How exact did the lines and angles need to be? She knew from Faustus that all the points of the pentacle had to meet for it to close properly, but other than that…
Why did she think she could do this? She wasn’t a witch. Vampires were born of dark magic. Would the protection differentiate between her and demonic energy?
Hell, she might have drawn a self-destructive
circle.
Wouldn’t that be the funniest thing? she asked the serpent, but she didn’t seem to have an opinion.
Maybe I should run.
Thunder cracked, but she didn’t see a telltale flash of lightning.
Nowhere to run. The plane to Dublin was no longer an option.
She drew a whole new circle inside the wonky one, about a meter smaller, which turned out to be adequately rounded.
Lilith sat in the middle of the circle. She needed both hands but didn’t know what to do with the heart, didn’t want it rolling around, picking up grass and discarded gum wrappers. Lacking proper handling instructions, she plopped it in her lap.
Its warmth seeped out, spreading to her. Curious, tingling, distracting.
She retrieved the satchel of sacred salt and sprinkled it inside the circular furrow, filling the tiny magical moat up with salt.
With an old compass, she drew the first line of the pentacle, starting at the northernmost point, down to the southwest edge of the circle, careful not to break the line of the protective barrier. When she’d drawn the five-pointed star, which had somehow come out more symmetrical than the circle itself, she took five mirrors out of the rucksack and unwrapped them carefully, one by one.
Anxiety squeezed her. After the falls she’d taken and all the fighting…
Sure enough, a forked crack blemished the third mirror. Lilith moaned. She needed all five of the silver-backed mirrors, but she’d gone and broken one. If she wasn’t so dehydrated, she’d have cried.
Tilting the mirror this way and that to catch the light, she realized it was still intact. None of the shards had dropped out. The mirror wasn’t perfect, but it was still whole. Somewhat.
She had no another choice. She’d come too far. She’d perform the spell anyway.
“What can it hurt?” she asked her snake.
Three separate heads flickered their tongues at her, looking as pensive as snakes could.
Lilith crawled to each point of the star, poked a hole with the white knife, and inserted the mirror handles into the earth. She glanced around the star, examining the five upright magic mirrors. Her eyes lingered on the cracked one. When rain caught on the break and ran down its length, she thought of the River Styx.
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