Riley felt he wanted to pounce on her right then, and by God there was a part of her asking him to. Dax spoke in her mind. We will have lots of time for pouncing, I promise you.
"I'm going to leave that one alone for right now. Thank you for the bracelet." She was trying to find a way to break some of the sexual tension, but she didn't think there was a knife big enough. "What does sivamet mean?"
Dax smiled down at her, tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear. "You're welcome. I enjoy giving you things you like. As for sivamet, it means 'of my heart,' or 'my love' might be a better interpretation in your language."
Her heart performed a slow dizzy somersault. She had no words, but held his answer close to her. She just nodded.
"We need to get moving," he said gently.
"It's probably best. Where is the village we were going to?"
"Not very far, but we should explore the perimeter first and see what we find. And, Riley, be aware, Mitro's evil will be drawn to you like no other. Keep your mind open to me at all times."
"Dax, I made my choice." She rubbed the bracelet on her arm. "Mitro killed my mother, those villagers and how many others, and now he's out there right now and by all accounts doing it all over again. I don't think I can fight him, but I can do this."
"Take my hand. I have been blocking the area around us from your senses, but I am dropping the barrier now."
The difference was instantaneous. Riley was filled with information. Her power was not one she could turn off and on, only turn up or dim down. It was easy to tell where the village was. The slimy feeling sinking into her skin gave that away.
"He was here," Dax said. "But he's long gone. I feel his evil permeating the ground. He's left a few traps, and I'll get rid of those. He's good at masking his tracks, but there will be evidence. As powerful as he is, even he has to leave something of himself behind."
She closed her eyes and filtered through the information.
They walked the perimeter, in a very wide circle, looking for signs Mitro left behind. They'd circled halfway around the village when Dax suddenly stopped in his tracks. Evil lay so thick in the ground, she felt like she was swimming through it. She looked down at the ground and saw the soil moving. "What is that?" She was horrified.
The moment she spoke, ants erupted from the ground, the surrounding bushes, even dropped from the branches overhead. Dax snatched her up and jumped across a clearing of grass and dirt. The area was ant-free, and as Riley looked back, she saw that the spot they'd leapt from had already returned to normal.
"One of Mitro's traps. Let's continue." He was matter-of-fact.
Dax found two other traps, sprang them and cleared them unemotionally. But then, just before they completed their circle around the village, Riley halted abruptly without even knowing why. "Dax." She looked up at him, confused. "I'm not certain what I'm doing." She frowned. "There's something here. Do you feel it?"
"Yes," he said.
She looked up at him. "You would have found this without me. What is this? Some kind of test?"
"I didn't want to leave you there. It was too dangerous. If one person from this village escaped or lagged behind the battle, you would be the target. Here I could protect you as well as find out what you can and can't do." There was no remorse in his voice. She realized he wasn't going to apologize for choosing the best way to keep her safe.
She straightened her shoulders. "Let me try, then."
As he had done when they first reached the village, Dax blocked all the other information, letting her concentrate her senses on that one strangely empty spot. As she focused, Mitro's trail became clear. Riley began to shiver. The tiny spot wasn't empty. The evil was so concentrated, it froze her senses, the way ice numbed nerves.
Riley sidestepped away from the direction they had been going, and started following the icy trail, certain that this was the path Mitro had taken. Her instincts were directing her thoughts. Her abilities stretched out. Though they weren't as strong without using a ritual to focus and amplify them, with Dax blocking the "noise" from the rest of the forest, it was easy to follow the trail Mitro had left. Her mind raced along the icy remnants of his wake, twisting and turning as the vampire had until Riley was very far from where she started.
"That's far enough, Riley. We have enough to go on." His voice broke her concentration.
That wasn't what she wanted to hear. She was getting closer to him. The trail had a different feel, like it was growing stronger. She wanted to know her abilities every bit as much as Dax did.
"Sivamet, you've given us a start, but it's getting too dangerous." There was a firm command this time.
With a sigh, Riley let go of the trail and came back. Her body ached and her muscles felt as if they were hard knots, her legs like rubber. Dax was the only thing holding her up. "Why did you call me back? I was getting so close."
"You were getting tired. And Mitro might have been waiting for you. He has a gift for such things. He might have been able to strike at you in that form."
"I really don't like him." Her breathing was back to normal and her arms didn't feel like lead weights.
"I knew him before he turned vampire, and I didn't like him then, either." Dax stood and helped her to her feet.
She shuddered as the noxious sensations radiated out from the village, but she stood her ground. As she processed the information, she realized there was more, that the rhythm and pulse of the surrounding area vibrated in opposite tune. She could feel the earth fighting to expel the blemish on the land.
Holding hands, Riley and Dax walked together toward the village. They walked into three more traps, each of which Dax quickly dispatched, and then they broke through the forest into the cleared area of the village, and Riley found herself standing in the middle of the most horrifying sight she'd ever seen. Words failed her. The sheer number of bodies strewn across the ground defied belief.
"Mitro must have visited the outlying areas during his first night and brought more villagers here," Dax said. "I have never seen him work this fast before."
In the center of the village was a horrific altar of sorts. A wooden dais bore a crude throne fashioned from what looked like wood and human bones. Great black wings soared out on two sides, each covered in layers of black feathers. The wings were covered in blood that refused to dry in the humidity of the jungle. Like a macabre waterfall, blood continued to drip from the blood-soaked dais to the black ichor-covered ground below. Riley and Dax carefully circled the dais. Pinned like a crucified Jesus to the back of the bloody wings was Marty's tortured body, naked except for the insects that were feeding or hatching in his open wounds. Bile rose in Riley's throat. Most of Marty's organs were hanging free outside his body; his back had somehow been fused with the dais, and it was his blood dripping down the front. As they approached, the bloody, disfigured face lolled to one side and a bubbling groan wept from his lips.