The darkness seemed to slither and grow, coiling in on itself even as it stretched higher. Icy sweat rolled down her back as a high-pitched shriek of absolute fury swelled from below. The sound grew in intensity as the darkness climbed higher, its formless mass taking shape.
Effie barely scrambled back in time as a monster surged up out of the hole, Lucian dangling from one of the scales on its back, his weapon nowhere in sight.
She had no name for the creature towering above her. It looked like some kind of corruption-mutated wyrm. The monstrosity was the color of midnight, its cylindered body covered in blue-tinged scales. Its eyes were red slits on either side of its narrow head, and its mouth was pointed. When it opened it up to shriek again, Effie noticed row after row of deadly teeth and a long gray tongue that dripped with slimy black saliva. A drop of the acidic spit fell and Effie dodged just as the vicious black fluid splashed on the ground, melting through the debris.
The wyrm began to buck, clearly not appreciating the man hanging from its back. If the wyrm hadn’t been so tall, Lucian could have easily dropped to the floor, but stretched as it was, Lucian was four or five stories high. A drop from that height could be fatal.
“Lucian, hang on!”
That he didn’t bother with a smart-ass reply only emphasized how much effort it was taking him to cling onto the writhing creature.
Her mind was racing, frantically seeking some vulnerability they could exploit to slay the monster without risking Lucian. There was no obvious answer.
In an act more desperate than brave, Effie swung her sword, praying it was sharp enough to cut through the body of the beast. Her arms vibrated from the force of the blow, but she didn’t so much as scratch it. She did, however, piss it off even more.
No longer worried about Lucian, the wyrm’s head swiveled and its mouth opened on another petrifying shriek. Effie was blasted with a wave of breath so hot and putrid it must have come straight from the bowels of hell.
Mother, if you have any tips to share, now would be a really great time to enlighten me.
Effie was frozen as the monstrous head began to dip down in her direction. “Oh no, I didn’t get this far just to become wyrm food,” she muttered, starting to run.
The creature gave chase, slithering along behind her with more speed than anything that size had a right to. She risked a glance over her shoulder and almost stumbled as she noticed Lucian shimmying up the thing’s back.
“What in the Mother’s name are you doing?”
“Trying to save your life!”
“Maybe you should be more worried about your own.”
“Speak for yourself.”
Effie bit off a curse and kept running, heading straight for a wall of Shadows. If it came down to fighting them or the thing chasing her, she’d much rather test her luck with the plague bringers. At least she knew how to kill them.
“Effie!” Ronan roared.
She didn’t dare look back. She pumped her legs harder, jumping over piles of rubble and bodies like she’d been doing it her entire life. Effie had no clue where she was running, but she knew as soon as she stopped that thing would strike. Maybe if she kept it distracted long enough the others could figure out a way to put it down.
The Shadows snickered as she drew near them. She was close enough now to make out the snaking black lines in their eyes.
Sudden instinct told her to dodge left, so she did.
The ground trembled as the wyrm cried out. Effie threw her body over a half-crumbled wall and landed in a graceless heap. She’d just managed to cover her head with her arms when more of the deadly black spittle flew from its mouth, landing right where she’d been heading—right where the Shadows were still standing.
Their wails of pain were a deafening chorus as the acid ate through their skin. Effie stared in horrified fascination as what was left of their flesh and bones melted away. One by one the group of Shadows dropped to the ground, their bodies writhing in pain until their cries grew silent and their bodies still.
Those that had not been hit by the acid wasted no time fleeing. As far as wins went, it was a questionable one, but at least there was only one foe left for them to deal with.
Her body ached with protest, and she pushed herself up from the ground, the tip of her sword scraping against the dirt and ash as she rose. The wyrm twisted its head, its hellacious eyes finding her due to the tell-tale sound.
“Mother’s tits,” she rasped. There was no way she was going to defeat this thing on her own, but a little bit of a break would have been nice. Even if the temporary safety was only an illusion.
The wyrm reared back, preparing for another strike. Effie was grateful that her hands were steady as she lifted her sword. If the damn thing wanted to eat her, it was going to feel her blade sliding down its fucking throat. Determined, she steeled herself, preparing for the attack.
“Don’t you dare give up now,” Lucian roared, swinging around the creature’s neck, his arm cocking back. With a savage battle cry, Lucian swung his fist and slammed it straight into the wyrm’s demonic eye.
Effie fell to her knees as the creature let out a deafening screech, the earth trembling in response to its outrage. Her mouth fell open on a soundless scream as Lucian was flung from its neck. She started to crawl, pushing herself up with some misguided notion of trying to catch him.
His arms windmilled as he fell through the air and time slowed to a crawl. Heart in her throat, Effie threw out her arms as if her will alone could hold him suspended in the air, and she prayed.
When Lucian didn’t crash into the earth, Effie blinked and then blinked again. It worked. He was still falling, but it was a controlled, graceful descent. Shaking now, Effie looked at her hands, wondering if this was some newly discovered Guardian power.
Lucian’s voice was a bit breathless as it filled her mind. “I hate to disappoint you, fledgling, but you aren’t the one responsible for this.”
Wide-eyed, she looked from Lucian to the man whose hands glowed a soft blue. Joquil. The Kiri’s Master of Magic had managed to use his power to control Lucian’s fall. Tears spilled from her eyes as she let out a grateful hiccup.
The sudden silence finally registered, and Effie spun back to the wyrm. Why wasn’t it pressing its attack?
The answer pulled another startled laugh from her. It was frozen, completely coated in shimmering ice crystals.
Effie darted forward, flinging her arms around the Master. “Mother bless you,” she gasped, squeezing him as another tear slipped down her cheek.
Joquil returned the embrace with an awkward pat on her back. “I would have helped sooner, but we were a little tied up.”
Lucian stood beside her, blood dripping from a gash in his head and entirely coated in sweat and grime. He’d never looked more handsome. Lucian pulled her up in his arms, grunting when she wrapped herself around him.
“Stop doing that,” she hissed.
“Doing what?” he murmured, burying his face in her neck.
“Almost dying.”
“I told you, I’m very hard to kill, especially now that I have so much to live for.” He lifted his face, his dark eyes scorching her as he let the words sink in.
Effie pulled his face to hers, lips aching to claim his.
Crack.
As one, Effie and Lucian turned back to the wyrm as it somehow managed to break free of its icy prison.