It must’ve been around half an hour before I recognized some of the landmarks around me. The griffin stepped silently behind me, looking for all the world like he was out for a stroll. I glanced over my shoulder at him, and he snarled.
I jumped, but he was looking behind me.
That couldn’t be good.
“Where issssss my blood?”
Oh fuck. It wasn’t that I’d forgotten about the snake, it was just that… okay, fine. I’d forgotten about the snake.
“Change of plans,” I told it, gripping my Nim Cub a hair tighter and arming my other hand with a throwing knife.
“You broke your vow,” it hissed furiously.
“Extenuating circumstances.”
Behind me, the griffin trembled, and I risked a quick glance. He wasn’t trembling in fear. He was crouched, muscles vibrating in a way that told me he was readying himself to launch at the snake.
That would get ugly. We were both wounded, and the snake was mammoth in size and much faster than it should’ve been.
“I’ll give you blood,” I said tiredly. The snake’s tongue darted out as it tasted the air.
“The creature behind you. That wassssss the deal.”
“New deal. My blood, or we’ll all rumble. You may kill us, but I swear, I’ll do enough damage that you’ll regret it.”
The snake stared at me silently.
“Fine.”
I didn’t want to unwind the t-shirt from my arm, so I sliced a shallow cut further down. The griffin let out a low growl.
“I hear you.”
“Don’t you dare,”a low, furious voice snapped.
Samael had mentally reached for me again, just in time to weigh in on my decision. Awesome.
“I don’t have much choice, and before you say anything, the griffin is hands-off.”
My demon was a silent, enraged presence as I took a step forward. To be fair, he had a point. This was the height of stupidity. If the snake wrapped itself around me, the griffin may attack, but I’d still be dinner.
I’d done a lot of difficult things recently, but taking my next step was one of the hardest. The griffin stepped forward, ready to shove me aside, and I bared my own teeth at him.
“Don’t even think about it.”
He roared.
I almost dropped my knives with the urge to clamp my hands over my ears. The sound rumbled through my body, quiet at first, the threat raising the hair on the back of my neck. Then it grew impossibly loud, until it sounded like a 747 taking off. When he was done, the marsh was eerily silent.
No birds chirping. No insects buzzing. Nothing.
Despite the situation, I was impressed. “A little dramatic,” I told him. “But I think you got your point across.”
The snake didn’t exactly show any fear, but then, he was a snake. He drew back slightly though, waiting us out.
“I don’t like this,” Samael’s voice was hard.
“I mean, death by giant snake isn’t exactly my preferred method of carking it either.”
