If I could confuse it with my scent, perhaps I stood a chance of slipping behind the creature and grabbing the keys.
Hastily, I yanked my cloak off. Rolling it into a tight ball, I launched it across the monster’s rising head, to the other side of the tunnel. The prongs on the creature’s tongue twisted, following the direction of the cloak, just as I had hoped.
I used the distraction to get to my feet and sprinted around the monster, still only half-emerged from the ground, the rest of its thick, worm-like body hidden in the soil below. It seemed my distraction had run its course though, as those awful prongs tilted back toward me now. Its tongue lolled as hot, reeking saliva dripped from huge teeth that may as well have been daggers with how long and pointed they were.
Its large hand swatted forward, batting me to the ground as if I were little more than a fly. I hit the floor with a thud. A moment later, searing pain sliced through my leg. I looked over my shoulder in time to see the tip of one claw carving the length of my calf. Agony, blistering and hot, shot along my nerves as the talon shredded my skin, straight down to the bone.
The prongs darted along my calf even as I yanked it back, the pain acute and unbearable. The monster reared its head, teeth bearing down to strike. I lifted my arm at the same time, a pressure building inside of me. Razor blades sank deep intomy forearm, and heat sizzled through me, not from the pain of the creature’s teeth tearing through my flesh but something entirely different. My blood was boiling, bubbling beneath my skin, and just when I thought I would explode from the intensity of it, lightning erupted from my fingertips. Electric blue, so bright it momentarily blinded me. There and gone in a flash.
I screamed, loud and harsh, as hot blood – the monster’s or my own, I wasn’t sure – gushed down, splashing onto my face, my neck, in my mouth. The taste was bitter and vile, and I gagged. The creature shuddered violently atop me, teeth grinding further as it spasmed from the force of the brief current. The scent of singed flesh permeated the air. My throat was a ragged mess of vocal cords as sounds I did not recognize ripped free from it.
And then, there was light again.
This time, golden and intense. It illuminated the space so brilliantly my eyes shuttered against the glare. I forced them back open, blinking several times. I may have been hallucinating from the pain, but there was Lana, sunlight pouring from her skin, her hair haloed in a wreath of gold as she approached, looking like an avenging angel.
Her mouth twisted into a grim line when her gaze flickered to me, and then she was running, sprinting up the quivering monster’s arm. She leaped from its shoulder blade, her dagger arching in a silver blaze as it tore through the air, sinking deep into the monster’s skull.
The ground quaked as the creature rolled to the side. Its teeth wrenched out of my arm with another agonizing stab. It twitched once, and then went still.
A slew of curse words strung incoherently from my lips, and I shivered, clutching my arm to my chest.
“Lirah!” Lana’s face hovered above mine. “Take my hand.”
She helped me up, pulling off her coat and tunic, ripping the sleeves to form a makeshift tourniquet just above the wounds on my arm and calf. Blood flowed much slower from my injuries now, but I still felt so weak and cold.
Lana crossed to the creature, bending over its head to take the set of keys. Propping one arm beneath me, she said, “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“Moric?” I asked as we hobbled away from the monster, stepping carefully around it to avoid the cracks in the earth.
Lana’s throat bobbed. “I can’t find him anywhere.”
My heart sank. “We can’t leave him here.”
“Let me get you out of these tunnels first. I don’t think you realize how much blood you’re losing, Lirah.”
One thing to be grateful for, I supposed, was that my acorn trail was mostly intact. I breathed a sigh of relief at the pinprick of light that grew steadily bigger as we left the tunnel network behind us. My knees wobbled as we broke free at last, a cold breeze kissing my clammy cheeks. But the feeling of relief was nothing compared to the euphoria at seeing Moric pacing before the caves.
At the sight of us, he rushed forward, his hand reaching out to steady me. “Thank the gods.” His voice shook.
“Don’t thank them,” Lana muttered. “They had nothing to do with killing that thing down there. That was all Lirah.”
“You’rethe one who killed it.” I shot her an appreciative look. “That’s twice now you’ve saved my life.”
Lana shook her head. “I didn’t do it on my own. That current you sent through it was lethal. You wrecked your arm trying to kill that creature.”
I glanced down at my arm. Blood leaked from it in a steady stream. My calf was a mangled mess of torn flesh and had long since gone numb.
Moric shoved a knotted brown vine into my hand. “Eat that.”
“What is it?”
He shuffled uncomfortably before us, his head lowering. It took me a moment to realize he was embarrassed. “I went into the caves when you guys did, but I only made it a few feet before realizing I couldn’t see anything. And my leg was burning from where that arrow-tailed lancer pierced it. I’m a fucking coward for leaving you guys in there, I know. When I came out, I did a bit of exploring behind the caves and found this.” He gestured to the vine in my hand. “I recognized it as impid root.”
He pulled at the torn fabric of his pants, revealing nothing but unmarred brown skin.
“It’s healed!” Lana’s eyes were wide. “It worked?”
Moric nodded.
