Chapter 25

Lucy's POV The serpent's arrival was preceded by silence. One moment, the cave hummed with ancient power; the next, everything went quiet. Even the lava's glow seemed to dim. "Felix..." I started to say, but he was already moving, pulling me behind him. "Don't breathe," he whispered. "Its venom is airborne." The creature that emerged from the shadows defied description. It was bigger than the bat had been, its scales shifting colors like oil on water. But worse than its size was its presence – raw power, older than vampire kind, older than night itself. "Well," its voice slithered through our minds, "what do we have here? A ghost walker and a nexus mother, carrying forbidden knowledge." It moved with impossible speed, its coils filling the chamber. Felix and I backed away, but there was nowhere to go. "The scroll," Felix said quietly. "It called it here." "Did you think such knowledge came without guardians?" The serpent's laugh was like breaking glass. "The mark's secrets are