Prologue

The agony is unbearable. Unbearable and endless.

His scream echoes through the cavern as another pearl of venom drops from the serpent’s tooth.

The pan, once a source of brief relief, now overflows one drop at a time. The woman who emptied it is long dead.

He doesn’t notice the limestone dust flutter down from the ceiling; he doesn’t hear the rumblings of machinery above. And neither does the snake.

The single stalactite shudders. It draws the viper’s attention. But too late. The stalactite snaps and falls like a rock spear, taking the snake with it and pinning it to the ground. It dies instantly.

He strains to gaze at the snake, his neck creaking. Despite the agony, and for the first time in more than a thousand years, he smiles.