Lindy’s scream was high and shrill, and would have been ear-piercing even without the microphone to amplify it. As it was, I could feel it all the way down to my bones. I wasn’t the only one. The snake’s head whipped around, homing in on the source of the irritation. Then it struck.
I caught a glimpse of its teeth as it shot past me, enough to know that they were long and sharp and far too plentiful. It moved like a freight train, mouth closing around Lindy and cutting her off in mid-shriek. The rest of the audience picked up the slack, screaming and rising from their seats as they stampeded for the doors. Most of the audience, anyway. The blonde women who’d been scattered through their ranks remained where they were, going so still that it felt like a joke to think anyone could mistake them for mammals. Nothing hot and fast could ever be that still.
“Thought snakes didn’t have ears,” said Malena. She was at my elbow again. I glanced at her long enough to see that she was in her human form before focusing my attention back on the snake.
“They don’t,” I said tightly. Anders was laughing and capering around Lyra’s body, the hole in his wrist apparently forgotten. He was one of our snake cultists, absolutely. But he hadn’t acted alone. I knew he hadn’t acted alone. “The vibrations from the noise must have been enough to catch its attention, and that was all it took.”
Poor Lindy. She hadn’t been my biggest fan, but she’d deserved better.
“How the fuck do we kill it?”
Hearing her say “we” was like a shock to my system. Here I was, just standing there, staring at the giant snake as if it was someone else’s problem. Well, it wasn’t. It was my problem, because I was in the building, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my family history, it’s that sometimes responsibility and proximity are the same damn thing.
“Get to my grandmother,” I snapped. “I need a gun.”
“On it.” Malena took off at a run, seeming to turn inside out as soon as she reached full speed. She hit the stage on all fours, slick black-and-orange hide gleaming like oil in the light. Some more people screamed. It was hard to know whether that was due to her, or due to the giant monster snake. Sometimes “why” doesn’t matter as much as we might want it to.
The snake was back in a holding pattern, swaying as it reared back to its original height. I needed more help. The edge of the stage was only about ten yards behind me. Careful to move slowly enough that I wouldn’t attract unwanted attention, I took a half-step backward and turned.
Pax met my eyes without hesitation, like he’d been waiting for my cue. I nodded. He stepped onto the stage.
Jessica grabbed his arm.
“I don’t think so, shark-boy,” she said. There was a gun in her free hand. Where did Jessica get a gun? More importantly, why was she holding it on Pax? He stopped, staring at her.
I started to take a step. Jessica turned her head, smiling sweetly.
“Move, and I’ll blow his head off,” she said. “He’s not human—did you know that? He’s some sort of monster. But even monsters need skulls. They get squishy and sad without them.”
“You’re one of the snake cultists,” I said. It made so much sense that I was almost ashamed of myself for not seeing it sooner—and actually ashamed of the snake cult for recruiting someone so obvious.
Then a gun cocked behind me, and I turned again to find Clint holding a pistol only a few feet away. The snake was still swaying behind him, although it seemed to have lost interest in wreaking havoc on the theater. Anders was down on his hands and knees, using Lyra’s blood to paint more runes on the stage.
“Oh,” I said. “You, too.”
“We don’t like the term ‘snake cult,’” said Clint. “It’s pejorative and retrograde. We prefer ‘dimensional capitalists.’ We’re going to be kings when this thing settles down and realizes who’s in charge.”
“No one’s in charge of a snake god,” I said. “That’s where you people always screw up.” There were a few drops of blood on the collar of his shirt. It was Lindy’s, it had to be. She’d had time to bleed before the giant snake swallowed her. “God, Clint, why? I liked you.”
“Why did you have to be a nosy parker who stuck her nose where it didn’t belong? I liked you, too, Val. You’re a good dancer. You’ve got a great ass. But you can’t just go hiring inter-dimensional bounty hunters because you want to get an edge in the competition.”
I blinked. Clint smirked.
Everything suddenly made a hell of a lot of sense.