Page 9

I clenched my fists, gathering that fiery rage inside me. I would find a way back to the mortal realm, no matter the cost. Once I returned, I would take back everything they had stolen and slaughter those responsible—starting with the magister.

I roared my vow into the abyss. “You hear me, Tiberius? I’m coming for you! This isn’t the last you’ve seen of Victor Custodis!”

Golden sparks exploded behind my eyeballs. Lightning crashed beside my head. I threw my arms up, protecting my face from the explosion of stones that threatened to pulverize my flesh. “What the—”

Thunder rumbled, and I pressed against the rock wall. What was this? A storm when there wasn’t a cloud in sight?

What sounded like the sonic boom of a jet rolled out from the cliffside and down into the valley, raising a circular ring of dust in its wake.

Trees swayed far below, birds launching into the sky, squawking their outrage at the disturbance.

Stone cracked, and a fracture sliced between my feet. “By thefates,” I gasped, straddling the growing chasm. Down it raced, carving a serrated path through solid rock. My heart hammered, lodging behind my tongue as I searched for an escape. I needed a fingerhold. A vine to grasp. Anything!

The ledge crumbled, and I plummeted. Jagged shards tore at my back. Stones battered my frame. I urged my sluggish limbs to grasp some small ridge, some outcropping to slow my descent—to no avail. Flesh scraped off my scrabbling fingertips. My shoulder collided with a boulder. Pain exploded.

Then, finally, I stopped.

Was I dead? Groaning, I eased to a sitting position, cursing at the agony such a simple task caused. Not dead, then. Nothing seemed broken as far as I could tell. I rolled my shoulders and cursed. Blazing daggers speared my tendons. At least it wasn’t dislocated. Anvils hammered my temples, and I clamped my hand to my forehead, wincing when my fingers came back crimson. Shallow cuts covered most of my body. My costly clothing? Ruined.

“Curse this disease-ridden realm!”

Here but a few minutes, and I was already injured, vulnerable, and bleeding in uncharted territory. Flashbacks of my childhood seared my memory. When I’d lived here as a youngling, it was the same. I’d been filthy. Broken. Scorned.

Weak.

That would not happen again.

My thoughts trailed off when the stench of rotten eggs and decaying vermin invaded my nostrils. I waved my hand before my face, coughing. “What is that smell?”

I’d landed at the edge of the woods, directly in front of a large cave opening. Scattered around me were piles of bones. Would it have killed the fates to drop me in the lobby of a five-star hotel?

“Surely, the gods are shitting on me today.”

No sooner had the words passed my lips than a low growl rumbled from the depths of the cave. No. Not a cave. A den.

Some creature had taken advantage of the various criminals the Council deposited here. And I was about to be its next meal.

Glowing eyeballs peered down at me from the darkness. Up high, near the ceiling. So, it was big. The creature’s foul stench wafted from the entrance with its movements. Strong enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Weapon. I needed a weapon.

I forced my shaking muscles to obey. “Argh! Blasted Tiberius!” Bit by bit, my limbs responded, and I struggled to stand. Sparkling lights danced before my eyes, my head swimming. Bile rushed up my throat, and I willed the putrid liquid to remain in my stomach. If I survived, there was no telling how long it would be until I found sustenance.

Through the spots dancing before my eyes, I zeroed in on a lengthy femur. It would have to do. I lurched toward the pile of bones and extracted my weapon, holding it aloft with quivering arms. None too soon.

The creature emerged from its dank hole. First, its gruesome maw appeared, lined with three rows of teeth, dripping yellow slime. Followed by its head. In its misshapen skull, a cluster of eyeballs sat like a spider carrying its young. Body resembling that of a walrus, it shambled out of its den.

Relief curled my lips into a smirk. With stubs for its front legs, it wouldn’t be difficult to evade this ugly brute. It seemed I’d been worried about noth—

The beast’s tongue slammed into my ankle, firing from its bottomless gullet. Before I’d processed the speed of the movement, the sticky appendage recoiled, knocking me off my feet.

With my makeshift weapon, I hammered the man-eater’s gooey tongue, my weakened arms moving with the reflexes of a sloth. Despite my feeble attack, the monstrosity reeled me in.

As far as deaths went, it was a bloody, embarrassing way todie. Me, Victor Custodis—Clan Leader of the Eastern Territories, leader of armies, defender of the underworld, the most powerful vampire lord in centuries—devoured by an oversized slug.

When last I’d been in this kingdom, my mother had warned that I’d die here if I didn’t leave. I was back mere minutes, and already, her warning was about to become a reality.

At least I could rest knowing there would be nobody to witness this travesty.