I gave a massive shout as my sword cleaved through the monster’s neck, cutting through the spinal bone. The head fell off, neck rearing backward and splattering blood everywhere.
A grin broke across my face. One head had been dismembered. Only two more to go.
My victory quickly turned to shock as a horrifying sight took shape. From the base of the severed neck,anotherhead began to grow. A duplicate of the head I’d sliced off formed on Ailen Dierdra’s neck, until I was met with a replica of the head I’d just decapitated. The monster raised his lip as he snarled at me, displeased at the actions I’d taken.
There was a vicious howl on the other side of the cavern, and I looked to the opposite side of the cave. Finlay managed to slice off the third head, but as soon as the creature’s skull hit the ground, another head had regrown in its place, spitting fire and growling.
“Decapitating it won’t work!” Finlay cried out as he avoided being burned alive. “It’ll just regrow the heads!”
“It won’t bleed to death, either!” Arthur called out. He’d managed to slice a large cut in the neck of the middle head, which poured blood for only a moment before the wound healed on the spot.
Fear overtook me. How could we defeat a creature that couldn’t be beheaded, and healed instantly?
“Get out of the way!” Stefan cried as the creature spun around, swinging its massive tail at us. I ducked, but Emma wasn’t fast enough. I saw a flash of blue light as the tip of Ailen’s tail slammed into her body, hitting her full-force. The wind was knocked from my lungs as I watched her body sail across the room and crash against the wall. I winced as I felt the impact through our bond. The force of the blow had made my knees shake.
I ran to her side as Stefan tackled the tail to the dirt and held it down. There were sounds of a fight and the roars of rage behind me, but I let them fall into the background as I skidded to my knees beside Emma.
“Onawilke!” I reached out for her face, which was pale and cold in my palm. I shook her body, and her head lolled on her shoulders.
She’d been knocked out. I wasn’t sure if the blow had truly hurt her, and I couldn’t assess her injuries in a situation like this. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the rest of my companions were running from Ailen Dierdra. The monster chased them around the cavern, growing closer every time it reached out one of its snapping heads.
I wanted to help, but I could not slay Ailen Dierdra and protect my mate at the same time. Emma was vulnerable. I stood over her and gripped my sword, just in case the monster stomped over this way.
Ailen had all but won. Finlay and Amantha were both pinned under one of Ailen Dierdra’s massive feet. The head they’d been fighting was leaning down, about to take a bite out of them both.
Stefan was trapped beneath the claws of another foot, struggling to break free. He thrashed his wings and tail, emitting jets of flame, but Ailen Dierdra did not let him up.
Arthur had been pinned to the wall by Ailen’s tail, and try as he might, he couldn’t budge the monster’s hold. Ailen hissed again, and the room grew hot as he prepared to exhale a fire breath that would erupt the whole cavern and burn us all alive.
Ailen Dierdra had only one purpose in life, and that was to protect the silver crown. He had no other reason for being, no thought that did not relate to this goal. Therefore, he would not let us go free. He’d bring our lives to a close, for threatening to steal what he was bound to protect.
This monster had killed us all. We were just waiting for the inevitable end.
Several jets of blue magic whizzed by my head, and they slammed into each of Ailen Dierdra’s faces. The force of the magic was so immense that Ailen Dierdra staggered backward, setting my companions loose.
I was shocked to see the arrival of several allies. Lord Lucien had cast the spell, flanked by Evonna, Vocheck, and Faylin. They must’ve come to help!
Lucien continued to fire at Ailen as Evonna moved in. She withdrew a sword of her own as Ailen reared on his back legs, heads hitting the ceiling as he attempted to avoid Lucien’s spells. Evonna stabbed at the belly of the beast, although all her swings missed.
I never saw two elderly people move as quickly as Vocheck and Faylin did. They cast Unseelie magic in unison, their spells bouncing off the monster’s impenetrable scales as they approached as warriors.
I knew Vocheck and Faylin had been formidable in their day, and they displayed the full height of their dark power as they hurtled spell after spell after the monster. They crushed crystals in their hands, which dissolved to ash as they used their telepathy magic to lift Ailen into the air. With all their might, they tossed the monster into the wall, which caused a minor earthquake. Vocheck cast out his dark magic, which began ripping stalactites from the ceiling. The rocks fell and smashed into Ailen, breaking several bones.
Faylin harnessed the extent of her Unseelie magic, turning an entire bag of crystals to dust as she formed the blood that fell onto the floor into knives. The ruby daggers flew through the air and embedded themselves into Ailen’s sides, causing deeper injuries.Their magic put Ailen Dierdra on the run, his claws creating gutters in the earth as he struggled to escape their joint assault.
Vocheck saw that the monster was stampeding toward Emma, who still wasn’t awake. He threw up a shield to stop the monster from careening any closer, putting himself directly in the monster’s path in order to protect his granddaughter.
Ailen used his massive bulk to smash through the shield, and fragments like a shattered mirror went flying everywhere. I put up an arm to shield my eyes, and several pieces sliced into it, drawing blood from stinging cuts.
When I’d dropped my arm, I’d gone breathless with disbelief. Before Vocheck could cast another spell, Ailen had reached down with one of his heads and bit into Vocheck’s body, shaking him from side to side. I heard Vocheck’s spine crack, and teeth sinking into flesh. Shock overcame me as Ailen let Vocheck’s body drop from his fangs, seemingly drifting to the ground in slow motion. Misery overwhelmed my senses. I was only grateful that Emma hadn’t watched.
A man was screaming in unfathomable loss. I didn’t know who it was, until I managed to piece together that it wasLord Lucien.
Vocheck was dead before his body fell to the ground. I knew it was true as I watched his limp form smash against the stone. Faylin emitted a lonesome wail as she saw her mate’s limp body lay on the floor, mangled and bloody from Ailen’s teeth. Lucien was shaking as he stared at his father’s corpse, unable to make another move.
Faylin’s pain was immense. To watch your mate die in front of you, in such a brutal way… it was enough to drive anyone mad.
And that’s what happened. Faylin lost her mind to grief. Her cries of sorrow turned to screams of revenge as Faylin rushed at Ailen Dierdra with the power of a thousand Unseelie sorceresses. She conjured a massive black spear of Unseelie power, and aimed it at Ailen’s heart. She flung back her arms and gave a delirious scream as she sent the Unseelie blade whirling at Ailen’s center. Ailen reared up, preparing to smash Faylin underneath him. Lucien reached out to grab Evonna, and pulled her out of the way as the massive creature hurtled downward.
