Vanity's Brood - Lisa Smedman [53]
"Does the dais work like the amber ring?" he asked. "Do we need to be touching to go through together?"
The dwarf eased himself to the side, slightly increasing the distance between them. "No. Once activated, it will transport anyone who steps onto it, but only for a brief time. Be ready."
"I will."
Arvin was glad the portal was almost ready. The tingling in his forehead had grown strong. If it was an iron cobra, it was getting closer by the moment. He risked a glance up at the lip of the crater but saw no sign of a snake, iron or otherwise.
As he started to turn back to the portal, something in the sky caught his attention. A creature flew toward Mount Ugruth from the direction of Hlondeth. It was big, with a serpent's body and four arms. With a sinking heart, Arvin realized who it must be.
"Sibyl's coming!" he warned. "She's headed straight for us!"
Pakal glanced in the direction Arvin had pointed then back at the dais. "She is still far enough away," he said. "We will be in the jungle, with the portal closed behind us, before she can reach us. The portal will not reactivate until tomorrow's sunrise."
Arvin nodded, only partially reassured. Sibyl a day behind them was all well and good if the Circled Serpent was destroyed by then, but destroying it wasn't Arvin's goal. A day wouldn't give him much time to trick Zelia into telling him where Dmetrio was, steal the second half of the Circled Serpent, and rescue Karrell.
"There," Pakal continued. "You see? It is ready."
He was right. The entire inscription glowed. Pakal placed a foot onto the dais. Arvin did the same. The tingling in his forehead turned into a steady burn…
A loud hiss and clatter of loose rock startled Pakal. One foot on the dais, one foot on the ground, the dwarf stared up at the source of the noise and cursed. Arvin, realizing it must be the cobra, grabbed the dwarf by the arm and boosted him onto the dais, leaping up after him. As the world beyond the inscription began to shimmer, Arvin saw the iron cobra he thought he'd defeated come skittering down the slope. Its hood was bent flat against its head and several of the iron bands that made up its body were jammed together, but it was moving again. Fast. With a screech of metal it heaved itself up onto the dais with them and bared bent fangs.
"Watch out!" Arvin yelled, yanking Pakal back. "It's going to-"
The mountainside vanished. For a heartbeat there was nothing under Arvin's feet as he fell sideways through the dimensions, still holding tight to Pakal's arm. Then his feet landed on something solid. A roaring filled the air: water. It slammed into Arvin's calves, knocking him prone. He had just enough time to register the fact that the portal had transported them to the bottom of a narrow, cliff- walled canyon filled with a rushing river before the force of the water dragged him off the submerged portal they'd materialized on. Then the river swept them away.
*****
Karrell heard something moving through the jungle off to her left. She froze. Rain pattered on the slab of bark she held over her head like a shield, making it difficult to hear. Already the bark felt spongy; the acidic downpour was eating through it.
Whatever was moving through the jungle, it was big, larger than the dretches the marilith had sent to search for her.
Karrell touched her belly, soothing the children inside her. They could sense her fear and were kicking. She began to whisper the prayer that would disguise her as a tree but realized the sounds of branches breaking and sodden vegetation squelching were moving away. She sighed in relief.
The sounds stopped. A voice she recognized grated out guttural words-the marilith, casting a spell.
Karrell croaked out a prayer. "Ubtao, hide me in my time of need. Protect me from my enemies; obscure me from their sight and do not let them find me."
The jungle reacted to her,