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It tried to shake my sword loose. I shoved it deeper, hoping to reach its brain. The tarantula charged forward, shoving me against the wall with its body, and pain blasted my torso. I almost lost my grip on Chopper, but I hung on with determination, twisting and driving the bladedeeper.
The tarantula backed up, only to ram forward again. My breath whooshed out as it crunched into me. I couldn’t take much more ofthat.
As the tarantula backed up again, I yanked my sword free. Hot blood and ichor poured out onto me. When the tarantula rushed forward to ram me again, I dropped to the ground and scrambled underit.
The forest of hairy black legs trampled down all around me, trying to smash me. I rolled and twisted, found my feet, and lunged upward, my shoulder against its abdomen as I rammed Chopper through its exoskeleton again andagain.
Nasty, sticky blood poured down, but the legs kept thrashing. I drove the blade deeper. The entire body trembled, and at the last second, I realized the tarantula was going to collapse. I tugged out Chopper and dove out an instant before the heavy body hit the tunnelfloor.
I flattened my back to the wall nearby, not sure yet if I’d killed my enemy, but not wanting Zoltan behind me. He stood in the tunnel entrance, watching. I pointed Chopper at the tarantula’s backside and Fezzik at Zoltan. He didn’t appear to be armed, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t throw more attacks atme.
Fortunately, the tarantula didn’t move again. I lifted a sleeve to wipe disgusting gore off myface.
“One of your lab critters got out,” I said in as bland and unperturbed a voice as I could manage. As if I weren’t breathing hard, a faint wheeze to my exhalations. Stupid asthma. My fingers twitched toward the pocket with my inhaler, but I didn’t want to use it in front of thevampire.
“Ah, do forgive me.” Zoltan bowed grandly, sweeping his long coat out wide. “I forgot to warn you about mypet.”
“Forgot. Right.” Pointing the gun at him, I walked closer to the labagain.
Zoltan backed away. I wasn’t sure if it was because he found me threatening or he was disgusted by the globs of tarantula ichor falling off my clothes and spattering onto thefloor.
“I hear you wheezing. Were your lungs punctured by the fangs of the tarantula?” When most men looked at my chest, they were ogling my boobs, but Zoltan had to be hoping to find fresh blood dripping from a wound. That was just asbad.
“No, and don’t sound so hopeful. I’m fine.” I tried to will away the tightness and breathe morequietly.
Vampires were probably among the magical with excellenthearing.
“An aerosol made from venom from the spiked tail of a manticore and mixed with liquid magnesium sulfate will clear the lungs right up. Perhaps you’d like to trade a small taste of your blood for such a concoction.” He licked his lips. The only thing worse than a vampire was a hungry vampire. “I have the ingredientshere.”
“No, thanks. Listen, Zoltan.” I stepped back into his lab and lowered the gun but didn’t put it away. “I need a few minutes of your time, and I’ll be happy to pay your hourly rate. Then you can go buy someone else’sblood.”
“Hourly rate? Madam, do I look like aprostitute?”
“Lawyers, plumbers, and consultants all have hourlyrates.”
“Do they? I must get out more in the world. What can I do for you? If I’m able to assist you, perhaps you can owe me a favor,eh?”
“No favors.” I pulled out a wad of cash and smacked it down on the nearest counter. To think Sudo wondered why I needed my combat bonuses delivered in hard currency. Was I supposed to PayPal a vampire? “Two hundred dollars for your time. Do youagree?”
“Is that what plumberscharge?”
“Yes.” As if I knew. I had a landlord that called theplumbers.
“Very well. I will assume this is reasonable. What is yourquestion?”
“First off, do you know who made this?” I carefully withdrew and unwrapped the vial. “And is there any way you can tell what potion it was holding? If so, and if you can give me an antidote that will magically heal the friend of mine that was made sick by it, I’ll paymore.”
“All this money you’re throwing around, as if I’m going to take off on a holiday to Hawaii withit.”
“Maybe you need another computermonitor.”
“Hm, yes. My equipment is expensive.” Zoltan took the vial from me, his hand cold when it brushedmine.
He went to a Bunsen burner and heated the bottom. I leaned forward, encouraged that he’d known about the heat-activation without me saying anything. I wished I’d thought to ask Nin for alchemist recommendations in the first place. Then I could have avoided that trip to Bend and the run-in with the government agents—and thedragon.
“Mm hmm,” he murmured, and walked to a bookcase full of thick tomes with yellowed pages. Few had titles printed in English. He pulled out one so old that the binding creaked. “Mmm.”
Val?came Sindari’s voice through our link.I cannot findyou.
