The skittering intensified, and I caught a gleam of silver rushing along the rock walls of the gap toward us. It took a moment for my brain to understand what I was seeing, and when it did my skin crawled.
Beetles.
Hundreds of beetles as big as a fist.
“Run!” Ravi grabbed my hand, and we broke into a sprint.
The marsupin continued to squeal.
The swarm of bugs followed us, the skittering, chattering sound of their collective feet on rock getting louder and louder as they gained on us.
“We throw the creature to them,” Ravi huffed out. “They slow down to eat it.”
The bones. The animals that had been picked clean…The beetles had to have done it. “No way.”
“Dammit!”
We were close to the end of the tunnel. So close to Vasuki’s chamber that surely these creatures would give up. Surely there was a boundary they wouldn’t cross.
But what if there wasn’t? What if the rules didn’t apply here?
The marsupin squealed again. Ravi’s idea was sound, but I couldn’t sacrifice an innocent to save my skin. I just couldn’t.
And what about the drohi and all the oppressed? Was a marsupin’s life worth all of theirs? If I died, who would free them?
The thought was mine and yet not mine. I pushed it away. Every life had value. I wouldn’t, couldn’t, sacrifice this one.
The light ahead was swallowed by a dark pulsing maw, ivory pillars curving down from the roof of it.
The beetles swarmed behind us. The maw yawned up ahead.
There was nowhere to go.
“It’s a snake’s mouth!” Ravi called.
My stomach dipped, and a fresh burst of heat rushed through my veins.
There was no time to dwell. No time to consider. No other option but to run into the serpent’s mouth.
Chapter 19
WHO DOESN’T WANT A GEM AS BIG AS A FIST?
The light crystal gave me a stellar view of the inside of the serpent’s mouth, and honestly, I could have done without it.
Ravi grabbed ahold of me, pulling me tight against him as we fell back onto its tongue. The marsupin who’d done nothing but squeal for the past few minutes was now silent, content to nestle in the space between us. Maybe this meant we were truly safe.
“This must be Vasuki,” Ravi said, his voice a hush.
I was suddenly thrown forward and lost my grip on Ravi. His bellow of shock echoed in my ears as I hit hard ground.
I scrambled to my feet, spotted him a few yards away, and rushed toward him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me close, the marsupin still clutched under his arm. A soft scraping sound rose around us, and the hairs at my nape stood to attention.
The darkened chamber, the pile of fist-sized iridescent gems to my left, and the glistening waterfall to our right all faded into the background as Vasuki rose in front of us, tilting his epic head to peer at us with bright silver eyes pinpricked with darkness.
I tensed as something moved to my right and quickly glanced over, heart slamming against my ribs at the sight of Vasuki’s gargantuan body sliding around to circle us.
For a moment, I was back in the labyrinth in that serpent’s grip. A fist closed around my throat, and I flinched as a soft, sibilant voice filled the chamber.
