Something moved just above the frog’s head. Instinctively, Benedek leapt from the branch he was on to the next tree. A tree boa lifted its head, malevolent eyes following him. He’d narrowly escaped being eaten by the snake—a snake that lived in the Amazon forest, not there on the coast of Holland.
A shiver of awareness went through the little frog. In slow motion, he looked above him and found an owl staring down at him. Benedek leapt for the forest floor and plants and shrubbery he could hide in. He landed beside a clump of plants spread out over a diameter of several feet. The plant had pitcher-shaped leaves Benedek recognized as a trap for insects—and frogs. The plant was carnivorous—and it belonged in the Amazon forest.
Had the fog caused him to lose his mind? Was he hallucinating? The plants not only looked real but felt real. He didn’t dare shift from the shape he had taken, not when the fog acted as a map for the vampire.
Szelem. I am looking at trees and plants that belong in the Amazon. Not here.As he reached to connect with the ancient dragon, the little frog crept beneath the wide shelter of a moss-covered rock. The shadow of the owl passed overhead.
A rustle in the leaves alerted the little frog and he leapt from his haven, one huge jump after another until he gained the safety of the roots of a kapok tree. He raced up the side of the tree, aware of the lizard hunting him. Did the vampire know he had taken the form of the frog and was sending enemies to kill him?
The fog had grown very thick so that a gray shroud covered the trees, making it difficult to see. Benedek used the map in his head, the one that told him where the oak treeshouldbe. He couldn’t imagine that he’d been physically transported to the Amazon forest. It had to be an illusion Emil had built into the fog.
Look with the eyes of the hunter, not those of the hunted.
A lizard scrambled up the tree, tongue flicking out to scent the air. His lids came down and then back up as he visually inspected the branch he had clawed his way up.
You are the predator, not the prey.
O jelä peje terád, ainaakfél,Benedek swore at him in his native language.
For a moment there was silence, as if the forest held its breath, and then the ancient dragon laughed. The sound seemed to come from a deep hollow cave, the reverberating booming barely recognizable as a laugh.
You wish the sun to scorch your old friend?The dragon laughed again. This time he didn’t sound quite so rusty. He actually managed to sound amused.I stand by my advice,he added, the amusement fading quickly.
Benedek didn’t protest. Sometimes when he was speaking with the ancient dragon it felt as if they were talking in riddles, but as a rule, Szelem gave excellent advice. He simply had to puzzle out what he meant. The frog trembled and took another long leap away from the lizard to the closest tree.
He was to look through the eyes of a hunter, not be the hunted. Benedek contemplated just how to do that while the frog made its way from tree to tree. He continued to direct the small amphibian to the ancient oak from the map in his head. Looking around him did no good. It was disorienting to see a rainforest in place of the gorge with the stand of old-growth native trees and flora. Better to look with the eyes of the frog until he got to the tree with the sap running.
The answer dawned on him, and despite the gravity of the situation, he found himself sharing his amusement with the ancient dragon. He’d had it in his head that the vampire-beast was so much more powerful. How close was he to that same power? So close. He didn’t like to think of those scars on his soul, or his love of battle, but in all truth, those very traits were assets to him. He persisted in believing the worst of himself. But who better to stop the vampire than him?
I see you have come to your senses.
I am uncertain I have much in the way of sense at this point.
Why do men make things so complicated?
Benedek somewhat agreed with him. It was one of the reasons he preferred the wild. Preferred battle. Things were simple. Black and white.
Lightning forked across the sky, lighting up the forest around him in vivid deadly flashes. With each flash, the aftermath of sheer power burned bright through the fog. The momentary streaks of light illuminating the forest revealed the tropical plants and vines everywhere.
We are using the lightning to prevent Emil from escaping via the sky,Mataias said,but I feel his presence when I use the whips.
He is up to something,Lojos agreed.
Can he wrench the lightning from you?Benedek asked. The vampire was already controlling the fog. If he had special skills controlling weather, they could be in trouble. Mataias was adept with weather, and more than once he had stolen the lightning out from under a master vampire.
As more jagged forks rent the air, sparks scattered across the sky and rained down. The little frog stayed under the cover of a large leaf, waiting for the lightning to subside. The storm built in intensity rather than ebbed. Power moved in the fog. It was distinctive. Disturbing. Building with every flash of lightning.
Seal the sky without using lightning,he counseled.I believe he feeds off the lightning.
That can’t be,Tomas objected.We incinerate all vampires with lightning. If that’s true, how do we destroy this one?
It was a fair question. One Benedek had been asking himself ever since the thought entered his mind that Emil’s power was amplified by the lightning. Already, fortune seemed to favor the vampire. He was in command of the terrain, the weather and illusions. The vampire’s illusion of a rainforest was so perfect that it was difficult not to believehe was in one. The little frog certainly had to fight for its life as nearly every predator, animal, reptile, bird and plant seemed to be after him.
Weave the safeguards stronger in the sky so he cannot escape that way. Should I fail, it will take all of you to prevent him from being let loose into the world.
He stalls to force us to go to ground,Nicu observed.
Emil knows I hunt him. He will be drawn out.Benedek poured confidence into his voice, into their minds. He had to believe it because they had no other choice.
