Dark Tarot (Dark Carpathians)

Hellhounds continued to rush them from all sides, as if the pack were endless. Sandu rose swiftly above the threatening hound. It skidded to a halt, the head tipping back, those crimson eyes following him as it tried to spin its bulk around. Sandu shot two arrows into the eyes of the hound from above. Even as he did, he felt the spiders attack, leaping on him, webs casting over him, attempting to pin his arms and legs.

The dying hellhound dropped to the forest floor as he turned his attention to ridding himself of the spiders and webs. The beetles swarmed over the dying hound. Spiders sank fangs into him. The webs tightened around him, trying to drag him to the ground, where the hellhounds waited beneath him, heads up, eyes staring, fangs dripping.

The five carcasses the beetles had devoured were completely gone, and the bloated beetles began to move obscenely, blindly, scooting against one another, thousands of them, melting into one another until they formed themselves into a giant spitting black scorpion with a thick tail that curved over its back. The creature was fast, scuttling toward Dax, going for his legs, rising into the air, reaching toward him, spitting venom to try to blind him as he fired arrows at the hellhounds.

Adalasia emerged from the mist. She was in a long trench coat that swirled around her ankles. It was open, showing the many loops holding weapons that glittered with light and color. She wore light khaki cargo pants with long boots that crunched over the beetles as she walked along the forest floor. The beetles retreated from her rather than rushed to swarm over her. She held a long sword in one hand and a long vial of clear liquid in the other.

For a moment, there was a hush as if even the hellhounds feared his lifemate as she held the sword in front of her. She looked an avenging angel. Then she moved, straight toward the enormous scorpion, rushing at it with the blazing sword. The blade of the sword looked more crystal than steel, and it had a curious light to it, glowing first a soft blue, then green; then, as it approached the scorpion, which swung around in alarm to face her, it changed to a strobing white.

The tail stabbed at Adalasia, and she swung the sword, neatly slicing right through thick segments, dropping parts of it to the ground. She leapt right up onto the back of the scorpion and sliced off its head in one clean, very powerful swing of her arm. Using the back of the scorpion’s body, she sprang into the air and touched the tip of the sword to the web encasing Sandu and then dropped to the forest floor in a crouch. The web holding him retreated, as did the spiders, as if in fear of that sword.

“Hear me, demons sent by sister kin to take my lifemate from me.”

She plunged the blade of the sword deep into the forest floor. The beetles screamed as if she had pierced each of them with the crystal.

“This ground is lost to you. This shape is lost to you. Each form she sent this night is now locked in this consecrated earth.” She scattered drops of the liquid from the vial in four directions and then above her head and onto the ground.

The ants screamed as they seemed to explode in little puffs of smoke all up and down the trunks and branches of trees as well as on the forest floor. Spiders caught flame, the smell foul, and then the ashes floated like so much debris to the forest floor. Thrusting the vial into a loop in her coat, she yanked out a clear shield.

As if on some signal, the hellhounds turned their attention from the Carpathians to Adalasia, running at her rather than the six men firing arrows at them. The scorpions attacked the Carpathians. There were seven of them due to the fact that the ants and spiders had managed to get to three of the hellhound carcasses as they hung in the air. Adalasia had only killed one of the scorpions, leaving the others to do their mistress’s bidding.

Keep the hellhounds off me. Once I get rid of the demons Nera has sent, we can turn the hellhounds back through the gate on her.

Adalasia was already in motion, running toward one of the scorpions attacking Siv. He danced in the air, shooting arrows at the hellhounds while trying to avoid the stabbing tail and spraying venom of the scorpion. As she came up behind it, the creature spun, realizing she was there. The tail swiped at her and then stabbed in an effort to sting her, releasing venom from its thick sac. Her sword lit up as it cut through the segmented tail, and then she was on its back, slicing through the head, dropping it onto the forest floor.