“In the cave, Saraphina,” Riah growled. He swung his arms out and two long golden swords appeared in his hands. Light flashed and his gold armor covered his body.
The bushes parted and a dark shadow leapt out in front of us, dirt spraying in every direction like a wave. This monster was a quarter of the size of the T-Rex, standing about the same height as Riah, but it looked even more vicious with black talons with edges so sharp they glistened in the sunlight. The talons on its feet had to be the size of my foot and the first two curved into a claw for gouging.
“NOW!” Riah barked.
I didn’t want to leave him, but with Olli in my arms I was no use in a fight. I spun and lunged for the cave opening —
The dinosaur jumped in front of me. I gasped and slid to a stop. I glanced over my shoulder and my jaw dropped. It wasn’t the same one. There were two. This one had the same grayish-brown lizard-snake-like scaly skin as the other. I scurried back until I slammed into Riah’s back. My heart pounded in my chest. Olli trembled in my arms. The weight was getting too much to hold. The citrine crystal dangled between my wrist and Olli’s arm but I couldn’t reach it – and even if I could, I couldn’t hold a sword and Olli.
The dinosaur in front of me stuck its long nose in the air and its nostrils flared. Big puffs of air came out like clouds. Then it made a strange bird-like noise deep in its throat and I gasped. I know that sound! I remembered it in the movies I watched with Bentley. I couldn’t remember its name but I knew it. This dinosaur was the one that traveled in packs and communicated with each other. It was the smart one. Clever girl.
WAIT.
“These run in packs!” I hissed to Riah over my shoulder.
“We’re surrounded,” he whispered back. And then I felt the tips of Riah’s swords touch the sides of my calves as he tapped to signify where there were others. “Listen for my call.”
There was a cold, steely tone to his voice and I recognized it as Commander Zachariah’s voice. Except now, it came with sweet relief. He knew how to handle a war with hundreds of Lilith’s demons…he could handle a few dinosaurs. I rolled to the balls of my feet, ready to move the second he told me to even with my heart lodged in my throat.
The clever girl in front of me threw its head back and opened its mouth to let out a seal-like call that made my heart stop. Its teeth were as long as my hand. Its eye locked on me.
“Riah…”
It lowered its head and swished its tail from side to side. It hissed and growled.
My stomach dropped.
Riah tapped his sword into my leg once…twice…thrice…
“Drop!”
I dove to the ground just as the clever girl lunged for me. I landed on my side in the dirt. My shoulder made a sickening crunch and Olli grunted. Riah spun, swinging his arms in opposite directions. One of his long golden swords flew right over me and impaled the dinosaur in the chest. I gasped and looked up in time to see Riah’s other golden sword sink into the first dinosaur’s stomach.
The trees to my left swayed and then another veloci-somethings leapt out, shrieking like nails on a chalkboard. Riah threw his right hand out and his magic exploded out of him in a silver cloud that coiled around the dinosaur. It wailed and flopped onto its side like it’d been burned alive. His body disintegrated into nothing but dust.
A loud growl echoed through the trees and the ground rumbled. A split second later, a fourth one of these dinosaurs charged out of the forest.
Shit! I released one arm from around Olli and gripped the raw citrine crystal hanging from my bracelet. Gold armor shot up my left arm, over my shoulders, and down my right arm. The second the gold sword materialized in my hand I tossed it straight up in the air.
“RIAH!”
He plucked my sword out of the air with his left hand and swung his arm in a huge upward arch, slicing the dinosaur’s throat. Blood gushed out, spraying in an arch as it dropped to twitch on the ground at our feet.
Riah spun back to face me. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine —BEHIND!”
Two more dinosaurs jumped from out of nowhere, coming in from both sides at the same time. The first was faster, it landed on top of Riah and knocked him down to his knees. I saw him reach for a dagger tucked into his boot and then the other one landed with a thud right in front of me. Olli yelped and dove for the cave entrance. Please, Goddess, give me SOMETHING. I threw my hands up and pushed…gold glitter exploded in a weak, faint cloud around my hands.
Something flew through the air, glistening in the bright sunlight as it wrapped around the dinosaur’s head. I gasped. Fairyflies!! There had to be a thousand of them. They coiled so tight around its face they blocked its vision. The beast swung its head left and right and swatted at them. I scurried back until I hit the cave wall, just in time to see Riah be lifted off the ground. The dinosaur dug its claws into Riah’s gold armor.
Our eyes met.
My heart stopped.
His armor was ripping.
And then I spotted his sword protruding from the dead dinosaur’s chest beside me. I leapt over and gripped the hilt. It took all of my strength to pull it out and even then the sword was too heavy for me to wield – or maybe I was just that weak.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Catch!”
And then I threw it as hard as I could. My balance faltered and I toppled back to the ground. I looked up and watched it fly in tight circles horizontally. Riah tapped his chest and his armor vanished. The dinosaur flew back. Riah landed on his feet, then lunged forward and snagged his sword out of the air. Large silver wings sprouted from his back. He spun, slicing his sword into the dinosaur’s gut.
The fairyflies buzzed beside me, swarming around my body. I gasped and looked up. I’d been so preoccupied with Riah I’d forgotten one of the beasts still stood in front of me. It let out that seal-like call and then shook the last of the fairyflies out of its face and dove for me— Riah landed on its back. He reached up and gripped the dinosaur’s mouth in his hands…then pulled, ripping its head right off its jaw with his bare hands. Blood exploded.
“RIAH.”
He snarled — a huge jaw clamped down on Riah’s left shoulder.
I screamed.
Teeth the length of my hand sank into his bare skin. The dinosaur’s bite covered his entire shoulder and down across his body. It picked him up like a dog with a toy and shook him back and forth. Blood poured over his body and a roar tore from his lips. He threw his one free hand out to the side and tapped his fingers to his palm. Gold armor covered his forearm and a sword materialized in his palm. He swung his sword up, plunging it right into the dinosaur’s skull.
Power exploded out of him and the dinosaur convulsed, exploding into flakes of dust.
“RIAH!” I screamed as his big body fell into a heap on the ground, his body shredded and mangled to pieces. “NO!”
I sprinted over and slid to my knees beside him. His body was already pale, his lips already turning blue. The gold in his eyes was fading.
“No! No, no, no, no!” I screamed and tears burst free like waterfalls. “Stay with me!”
There was blood everywhere. I slammed my hands into his wound to apply pressure. And then I felt it…his life force…his soul…it was fading…leaving his body. NOOOO! I was the Death Card. I felt spirits and souls. And I felt when they left a living thing’s body. Over my dead body are you taking him! I screamed to the Goddess with my mind. Give me some magic! You OWE me this. PLEASE.