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CHAPTER EIGHT

IPATCHEDHarkat up as best I could, cleaning out his wounds ater froes If I’d been a full-vampire I could have used my spit to close his cuts, but as a half-vampire I lacked that ability

The wounds to his face - where the panther had clawed him - should have been stitched, but neither of us had any thread or needles I suggested i a small bone and anih stitches," he grinned "Let it heal as it likes I can’t get any uglier - than I already ahed as he swatted ain "If infection sets in ?"

"Looking on the bright side as usual," he groaned, then shrugged "If it sets in, I’m finished - no - hospitals here Let’s not worry - about it"

I helped Harkat to his feet and we returned to the edge of the pit to gaze down at the panther Harkat was liht li - but he said he wasn’t in th and thickly built As we stared at it, I could hardly believe we’d bested it in the fight Not for the first tiods existed, they were keeping a close watch onhand whenever I strayed out of my depth

"You knoorries me - the most?" Harkat asked after a while "Mr Tiny said the panther was - theleast of our worries That means there’s worse ahead!"

"Noho’s being pessiet the panther out?"

"Let’s wait until ood fire, eat, rest - and drag the panther - up toood toflinty stones to create sparks - I butchered the deer and set about carving it up Once upon a tio, but vampires are predators We hunt and kill without remorse, the same as any other animal of the wilds

The , but we ate ravenously, both aware of how fortunate ere not tobe the ht

I cli and prised the panther off the stakes Leaving the baboon where it lay I passed the panther’s carcass up to Harkat It wasn’t as easy as it sounds - the panther was very heavy - but ere stronger than humans, so it wasn’t one of our harder tasks

We studied the panther’s gleao "Maybe we have to slice it open," I suggested "There ," Harkat agreed, and rolled the panther over on its back, presenting us with its smooth, soft stomach

"Wait!" I shouted as Harkat prepared to make the first cut The hair on the panther’s underside wasn’t quite as dark as elsewhere I could see the stretched skin of its sto our e, then scraped away some of the hairs on the dead panthers stomach Thin raised lines were revealed

"That’s just scar tissue," Harkat said

"No," I disagreed "Look at the circular shapes and the way they spread out They’ve been carved deliberately Help me scrape the entire sto to shave the panther and reveal a detailed ed into the panther’s stoo, maybe when it was a cub There was a sht of the map, which seemed to indicate our current position Towards the left an area was circled, and so had been written within the circle

"Go to the hoelatinous globes"

That’s all it said We read it a few elatinous’ ot so to do with jelly," I answered uncertainly

"So we’ve got to find the world’s - largest toad, and grab globes made out of jelly?" Harkat sounded dubious

"This is Mr Tiny we’re dealing with," I re I think our best bet’s simply to follow the et there"

Harkat nodded, then set about the panther’s sto free the ers"