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He has no time to think. Brandishing the knife, he relies on sheer force and lack of fear get through the mass. More than one stinger slices through his guard, leaving deep, burning aches in his legs. He ignores the pain.
“Use the fire!” someone shouts.
One of the humans jabs their torch at the scorpions, forcing them to cower away. Hands grab Arsene’s arms and yank him into their circle. Nur is there suddenly, tearing at his pants. Arsene tries to push him away, but Nur sinks to his knees and bites into the meat of his thigh.
Familiar suction. The world spins. Nur pulls off him and spits. The burning fades.
Nur scrambles to his feet. “Venom,” he gasps.
Arsene grabs him by the arms. “I’ll be fine. We need to get them to safety. Where are the rest of the humans?”
“Myra took them upriver.”
“Is anyone hurt?”
“Just minor scrapes,” Nur says. “Angel, we’ll never make it. There’s too many of them. And once the beast is finished we’ll all be easy prey.”
“Then what?” he demands. “I can’t kill her—not without my sword.”
“I can.” Torchlight makes Nur’s eyes feverishly bright. “You take the humans back toward the camp.”
“No,” he hisses. Panic floods him. Surely not even Nur could battle her and win.
“Isn’t that why you brought me here?”
It was supposed to be.The very fact that he’s hesitating to let Nur sacrifice himself for the humans—for Arsene’s mission—frightens him.
“Once I kill the beast, what happens to the rest of the chimeras?”
“They’re mindless. They follow her around to feast on her scraps. They’ll scatter, or turn on her.”
“Then we can pick them off. Take this.” He hands Arsene the butcher’s knife.
With a swipe of his claws, he shreds the clothes off his body. His transformation starts subtle, then it comes all at once. It’s no less horrifying now that Arsene knows what to expect. The now-soft line of his cheeks sink in. His eyes darken. His teeth lengthen. With the crack of bone reshaping he begins to grow, taller, broader, stronger—truly a monster.
Behind Arsene, Rhys gasps. “What in Hell?”
Nur wades into the scorpions fearlessly, sending them tumbling over the side of the cliff. The chimera growls into her meal, ignorant of the threat. But as Nur reaches nearly twice the height of the manticore herself, his earth-shaking steps rouse her. She rears up and turns her back to the cliff, her massive head swaying back and forth. Arsene can’t look away. Nur’s claws and teeth are like knives. Ropy muscle flexes in the moonlight. When the chimera leaps, he catches her blow straight on the chest and wrestles her to the ground.
The clash makes rocks tumble loose from the canyon walls, shaking Arsene out of his stupor.
“Get behind me,” he orders Rhys. “Use the torch to hold off her brood. I’ll go in front.”
With two armed humans protecting their left and Rhys holding up the rear, he moves the frightened group along the ledge. Behind them the ground shakes and the manticore roars. Arsene refuses to look back. His mission is to keep the humans safe, not the hollow.Nur can take care of himself.
But his primus isn’t convinced, and every noise makes him recoil.
They break free of the swarm and Arsene takes the rear from Rhys, fending off the last scorpions. They’ll be safest next to the fire—unless Nur can’t subdue the beast. Then there’s not much hope for any of them.
Ahead, Rhys shouts and waves his torch, and an answering call comes from the dark. A matching light appears. And another. Dozens of them emerge from the night, flickering like watchful eyes.
The rescued humans are quickly surrounded and embraced with cries of relief. Myra comes straight to Arsene. “The children?” she asks, her face grim.
“Just a scratch. They’re holed up in the wagon with Irvin. But the swarm moved on—they should be fine. For now.” He glances over the rest of the humans. It must be most of the caravan, minus the oldest and youngest. “What are you doing here? Nur said you’d gone upriver.”
“We don’t leave people behind,” Myra says firmly. “Where’s Nur?”
Arsene grits his teeth. “He’s fighting the beast.”
