It’s International Tiger Day! And with Solomon’s Seal just around the corner, I thought it was a good time to introduce you to my favourite non-saber-tooth-cat feline, so here’s a little taste as Livi gets a bit of help while facing off against a serpent dragon…
————-
The soles of my boots collided with the snout of the creature below and the impact jarred my stance. I careened to the side as I fell, scraping my bare flesh and knocking my skull against stone.
The pair of us—beast and I—fell, it under me and cushioning my fall as we landed. My helmet, still dangling from my belt, cracked on the ground and the light went out. I rolled onto my knees, drawing my guns, and fired, both barrels aimed at its head. I had eighteen rounds in each gun; that might be enough to cause some serious brain damage if I kept both trained between his eyes. Or I might fail—perhaps trying to kill things without a playlist was messing with my mind and I wasn’t thinking clearly.
I had no time to ponder it—the creature was coming at me and I scrambled up and back, firing at it, feet skimming across the floor. The pitch blackness of the rest of the cavern didn’t bode well for the possibility of more of them in there, but I forced myself not to think on it, to focus on the one I could see. Because if there were more, they’d eat me soon and there was nothing to be done about it.
Blood flew as the creature ran, crimson spraying across the floor, and its mouth was open wide, strong jaws ready to snap my bones. Its horrid nails clicked and scratched, and I swore I’d hear that noise every time I tried to sleep from then on.
My left foot stepped back, struck something, and even as I tried to right myself I went down. I landed hard on my ass, falling back onto my thankfully-padded elbows, legs slightly raised over what had tripped me—it was the body of the guy killed before he could follow Laurel. Dead eyes were open and stared at the ceiling and his head was partially removed, hanging from stringy bits with a flash of a white spine.
I looked up again and the beast was gone.
Dread rose and clawed down my back. My throat went dry, swallowing doing no good to ease the terror from it. I squeezed my guns and silently crept to my feet, gaze shooting around the space, listening for anything that might indicate where it went. Dirt scraped against limestone under my thick boot treads, echoing in the silence.
Three seconds later, it collided with me from behind.
The guns left my grip as I hit the ground, sliding across the limestone away as the hulking mass of several hundred pounds knocked me. My chin slammed against rock, blood blooming across my tongue from my lip. I twisted, struggled, reached for the knife at my belt and realized it had been left behind when we were attacked previously.
Fangs angled dangerously near my head and I dodged, banged my temple against the rough scale of its skin, but its incisors sank down into the dirt just inches away. I wiggled, shifting under the creature, pulling myself down away from its mouth, hoping to escape past its lower body.
A foot sank down on my left thigh and I howled in pain, its weight grinding my bones together mercilessly. I punched, fought—nothing moved it, nothing drew it off of me, but I felt its body twist, likely to attack. Pain was spiking through my thigh, burning with agony, and claws dug in to prick my skin until something wet and hot slithered down my leg. I tipped my head back, looked for my guns, couldn’t see a damn fucking thing—
The creature over me grunted as something crashed into it and tipped it to the side, slamming it into the ground hard enough that rock vibrated against my back. As it rolled, I scrambled, not looking back or worrying about who attacked; my gaze scanned the ground until it settled on my guns, one four feet away, the other seven steps to the left.
Blood seeped from my leg, messing with my traction as it coated the ground. I tried to walk but failed, scrambling up and forward instead, pushing on until I latched onto my first gun and then the second. I stood, spun, swinging the weapons around, trying to point in every direction at once, but there was no sign of the creature or what hit it.
The rope swayed silently in the pool of white light in the center of the cavern and I eased in that direction, swinging around after every cautious step in case something followed. Hot pain zigzagged up and down my thigh but my leg successfully held my weight. No voices called down to me, and I hadn’t a clue if Laurel made it up there or not—at least I didn’t see her body.
The direct light from above struck me as I stepped under the pitch. Fresh chunks of limestone and dust crunched and ground under my boots. My gaze gave the room another sweep.
Steps thundered and a hiss sounded; I did a one-eighty, swinging to fire at the reptilian lunging for me. It hit the light, gaping mouth stretching wide, tongue whipping out. I darted back, preparing for it to tackle me again, when it gave a hiss and was hauled back into the darkness.
Something howled and screamed across the cavern, and though I narrowed my eyes, I couldn’t make anything out. My grip tightened on the guns, fingers twitching and wanting to squeeze the triggers. Red cut across the ground from the darkness, blood arcing and splattering.
A growl sounded, rolling straight into my bones, and my entire body tensed. Footfalls padded on limestone, slow, steady. My breath held, pulse throbbing in my temples, and I kept the barrels of my Match pistols raised.
The edge of a paw hit the circle of light first, stepping from the shadows—a massive paw, white but for streaks of blood across the fur. My gaze traveled up, up, as it continued out of the dark and the head came into view. It was enormous, white fur framed with black stripes, ears twitching as if listening, predatory eyes watching me.
A goddamn tiger.
Great.
The distance between the tiger and me did nothing to diminish its size, shoulders at least putting it as high as my waist. No other sound permeated space, just its steps and my own fearful panting.
I shifted, my feet feeling their way backward as I couldn’t pull my eyes from the new beast to look where I was going. My guns lowered, coming close together to deliver a double headshot.
The tiger stalked forward more boldly, pushing me to retreat faster.
My fingers tightened on the triggers.
The light covered half its body now and it suddenly slumped, a partial step all it managed before collapsing. Moments later blood trickled from its side, snaking over the limestone; whatever happened in that tussle, it resulted in Momma Reptilian gone, yes, but the tiger injured. Its breathing was labored and despite another attempt to drag itself forward, it thumped on the ground.
“Ms. Talbot?” Laurel’s voice echoed down, falling into a squeak at the end.
I kept my guns aimed on the tiger but glanced back at the rope. I could be up and out in an instant.
My gaze returned to the big cat, meeting its eyes that drifted heavily closed for a moment before struggling open again.
Blue eyes.
Very, very blue.
I took a deep breath then lowered my guns inch by inch, bracing in case it was baiting me—no matter how illogical it seemed. When the tiger didn’t move, I eased my weapons into their holsters.
My thigh bled still but even as adrenaline wore off, I could still put weight on it—nothing broken. I eyed the pitch again, then the weakening tiger that had come to my rescue.
“Ms. Talbot?” Laurel whispered.
I sighed. “Do they have another stretcher?”
Silence followed, punctuated a moment later by feet scraping on stone above, as if she had to see the others for confirmation. “No.”
Damn it. “Harnesses, then? Belts?”
A few minutes later, a pile of thick nylon and leather struck the ground beneath the pitch.
I slipped off my own belt and gun harness, stuffed the guns, extra mags, and other items in my pack until I could barely get the zipper closed, then carted everything over to the big cat. I tensed as I knelt next to it, waiting for a swipe or an incisor in my jugular, but it never came. Instead the tiger watched me, heaving great breaths that shook its torso. The gashes on its side weren’t just red with blood but white with something bubbling—maybe the reptile fangs were more snakish and poisonous after all.
It might be foolish to take it with me—might be one of the stupidest things I’d ever done. But I believed strongly in trusting my instincts, and if I left it—him—down here, I knew I’d probably regret it.
I took the mess of harnesses, untwisting them and then attaching clips, fashioning them into something that could hopefully hold however many hundreds of pounds the tiger was. His eyes had drifted closed by the time I was working his hulking body into the contraption though he continued breathing and wheezing. It fell to me to grasp the nylon cutting over his torso and haul the creature several feet toward the pitch, and after a few minutes, it was clearly not happening.
I let out a frustrated sigh and looked back into the light. “Would you be a dear and throw down more rope?”
Solomon’s Seal is now up for pre-order!
EX-DEBUTANTE. SINGLE MOTHER. TREASURE HUNTER.
Disowned and left penniless for getting pregnant at seventeen, former celebutante Olivia Talbot was willing to do whatever it took to provide for her daughter…including become a treasure hunter. Since the Pulse hit, activating relics of legend, there are plenty of artifacts to be had—not to mention wealthy clients willing to pay top dollar for them.
Just as her daughter’s private school tuition cheque bounces, Livi gets an offer that could be the break she needs to return to some semblance of her former life. A potential new client wants her to travel to Ethiopia and retrieve the Seal of Solomon—a mythical ring said to control demons and djinn—and this bounty comes with one hell of a financial pay off.
The deadline: a week. The team: unreliable. The competition: her world-renowned archaeologist older brother. Nothing Livi can’t handle… Except the danger goes beyond a few subterranean serpent-dragons she might encounter or tangling with her employer’s deadly second-in-command. This client isn’t all he seems, and handing him the ring might be worse than what he’ll do to her—and her daughter—if she doesn’t.
Oh, this one’s going to be so awesome!
I’m excited about it finally releasing!