That, sadly, is the truth,he agreed.As for harpy eagles, they won’t mate until they’re between four and six, and when they do, they produce two eggs. After the first hatches, the other egg is neglected and as a rule doesn’t hatch. They breed every two or three years, so that one eaglet is extremely important.
Laughter bubbled up.Are you saying you’re contemplating dropping me into the nest?
You’re small enough to fit. The harpies make their nest anywhere from fifty-two feet to one hundred forty-one feet aboveground. You certainly would fit. The nest can be four feet deep and over five feet wide.
I should have made a better friend of you,Sarika said.
Open your eyes.
How did you know I have them closed?
You’ve been fighting with yourself to open your eyes since I removed you from the ground. You’ve always wanted to fly.
Reality sometimes doesn’t live up to one’s dreams,she informed him. Cautiously, she lifted her lashes very slowly, just a tiny bit at a time.
Everything is moving too fast.She closed her eyes as tightly as possible, her stomach lurching. She wasn’t afraid of heights; at least, she didn’t think she was all that afraid. Her cousin seemed to be protecting her just as he said he would. She didn’t want to miss the experience.
I’ll slow down.
If Percy is watching, won’t he think this is crazy? Because I do.Very cautiously, she opened her eyes.
Luiz had slowed their progression, so the dizzy feeling abated.
He cannot see us. I’m shielding us from his sight.
Of course you are, because anyone can do that.
AnyCarpathiancan do that,he corrected.
Chapter
4
Slow down,Tomas advised his dragon.We are dealing with a master. I believe he may be an ancient.
We are dealing with scum,Kinta informed him. His voice, in Tomas’ mind, sounded filled with contempt.It matters little what else he is.
Tomas shook his head. His dragon had always had very strong opinions and had no trouble expressing them.
Knowing who he is can be important to the way we approach the battle,he reminded.
Kinta, like Tomas’ brother Lojos, believed in the direct method. His tactic was to press an attack and keep pressure on the enemy until he was slain. The dragon cared little about injuries. When in battle, his only thought, only purpose other than protecting his rider, was to slay the enemy.
Tomas studied the ground and the surrounding trees. Ancients were very adept at hiding themselves, even as vampires. This didn’t feel like Justice. Not once in tracking the ancient Carpathian had he felt they were close to him, not that he knew exactly what Justice would feel like. He was probably the most powerful ancient in their world. He knew an ancient such as Justice would be able to fly under the radarof hunters. He would be low-key, so much so that no one would be able to feel his presence. But when they did, he would be overwhelmingly powerful. Dangerous.
Just as you are,Kinta said.You have those same traits.
Tomas didn’t want to think too closely about that. When a Carpathian lived too long, becoming vampire wasn’t the worst he could do.
No one on this earth is as powerful or as knowledgeable as Justice,he cautioned his dragon.
He has been imprisoned hundreds of years. You have not,Kinta reminded placidly.
That was so like his dragon. Kinta was certain Tomas could do anything. Right now, the most important thing he could do was hunt down the master vampire and rid the world of evil. He studied the forest, not the ground. The rainforest was a living entity. A vampire was undead and therefore an abomination against nature. No matter how clever the vampire was, no matter how powerful, nature would retreat from the vile creature.
Tomas inhaled, taking in the scents of the woods, brush and flowers. The abundance of vegetation on the forest floor had its own smell. He noted that the thick debris was crawling with insects—far too many of them, as if they had been disturbed. When he urged Kinta to fly as low as possible so he could sweep along the ground to find definitive traces of the master vampire’s passing, the dragon did so with reluctance. He preferred fighting from the air. Flying low meant both rider and dragon were within reach of an inventive vampire’s attack.
Just ahead, the trees shivered slightly. There was no wind moving across the forest floor, yet the roots of the trees trembled.
