Page 69 of Secrets of Ruin

The dragons unleashed more fire, and Alina remained on the ground, tossing aside or stomping on ophidians as she stalked toward Lexi. After a minute, she took to the sky again with a shriek; a trail of blood followed her.

As soon as she left, another dragon landed near Lexi. The shadows dragged the ophidians into the jungle, where their screams cut off.

Even as this was happening, Cole staggered back. His shoulders jerked from side to side like something was pummeling him, and then he went down beneath the weight of the goblins swarming him.

Orin sliced off an ophidian’s tail as he raced toward Cole, but an invisible force knocked him off his feet, and his back hit the ground. Sahira used air to knock aside the goblins while Varo pulled Orin to his feet.

Zeth punched an ophidian, knocking him backward as he caved in his face. Beside him, his wife tore the tail off another.

The brownies shrieked as they swarmed over the enemy, using their tiny swords and spears to stab them. They also tore at them with fists and teeth until one of the ophidians raced into the jungle. The brownies leapt off and ran to find their next victim.

Maverick, Belda, and Leland worked with a group of witches and lycans to hold some more of the ophidians at bay. A group of ophidians surrounded Ryker and the amsirah; lightning pummeled the ground around them.

Chaos ruled in the jungle, and Brokk pushed Kaylia behind him when one of the snakelike creatures rapidly approached them. When the creature was almost on them, he recognized it as one of the monsters who had enjoyed putting him on the rack to drive spikes into his back.

He took deep, calming breaths as fury thundered through his veins. The worst thing he could do was lose control and let emotions rule him.

He would destroy this monster but had to remain clearheaded to do it. When the ophidian was near them, it suddenly stopped, lifted a bow and arrow, and fired from only ten feet away.

Thrown off by the abrupt change in tactic, Brokk flung himself backward, grasped Kaylia, and pulled her down beneath him to shelter her body with his. They rolled before he released her and leapt back to his feet.

By then, the ophidian was already bearing down on him with a dagger. The man’s forked tongue flicked out of his mouth as his lips peeled back to reveal the lethal, hooked fangs dripping with saliva and venom.

The serpent was already too close for him to get his sword up between them, so Brokk released it and clasped the handle of the dagger the ophidian wielded. Rising on his tail, the ophidian used his towering height to bear down on him as he tried to sink the dagger into his heart.

The blade wasn’t made of fae metal and wouldn’t kill him, but it would weaken him, and he couldn’t let that happen. Brokk gritted his teeth as he pushed back into the ophidian’s impressive weight.

Saliva dripped onto Brokk’s face as the man hissed at him, missing him by inches. Brokk shoved back against him, but the beast had to weigh at least three hundred pounds more than him, and he used that weight and height to bow Brokk’s back toward the ground.

He was losing this battle.

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

His arms and back ached; he still wasn’t up to full strength, but with Kaylia behind him, he had a bigger reason to fight than this man. Not to mention, he owed this man for some of his scars.

His muscles quivered as he pushed back against the ophidian; his gaze locked on the monster’s yellow eyes. Their stares held for a minute before Brokk jerked himself to the side.

Unprepared for the movement, the ophidian fell forward as Brokk twisted the creature’s arms up and plunged his blade into his belly. Blood spilled over Brokk’s hands and pooled on the ground as he ripped the dagger upward.

Brokk yelled as frustration and rage rose within him. He was at the mercy of these beasts for months, and now he was slicing through one.

When the ophidian’s intestines spilled over his hands, he bared his teeth at the monster in a macabre grin as it tore into his rib cage. Jerking the blade free, he twisted the slippery, blood-coated weapon to plunge it straight up under the creature’s chin. It poked out the top of his head.

The man made an awful gurgling noise as blood slipped from between his clamped lips. Brokk reclaimed the sword he dropped and, with one swing, cleaved the man’s head from his shoulders.

When he turned to Kaylia, she had a hand on her head as she rolled to the side and pushed herself up. She must have hit her head on something while they were moving, as a nasty lump was already forming at her temple.

Then she looked up, and the color faded from her flushed cheeks. Her legs trembled as she rose, but then she locked her knees in place.

Her terrified gaze met his before she started running. At first, her movements weren’t as graceful as normal, but that quickly changed as she bounded across the ground.

Brokk followed her as she ran toward where he’d last seen Lexi, but now she was fighting off the invisible goblins swarming over her and Cole. The shadows still worked to pull many away, and flames engulfed Lexi’s wrists.

That wasn’t enough to deter the goblins as blood dripped down Lexi’s legs, and they tore at Cole. Streaks of blood crisscrossed his chest and belly.

From the corner of his eye, Brokk spotted Del staggering toward Lexi. Alina dive-bombed from the sky with her talons tucked under her belly as she screamed, “Move!”

Kaylia skidded to a halt. Del started retreating, but as he did, a group of ophidians slithered after him. Sprinting toward him, Orin wrapped his arms around Del’s waist, and the two of them hit the ground before Orin’s impact caused them both to disappear into the jungle’s foliage.