Whatever it was, it wasn’t messing around.It smelled immortal blood, and it was fucking starving.
The gate slid a little higher.A massive serpent-looking creature burst out.It had a long snakelike body covered in scales and hundreds of legs, like a giant centipede.Its head was all dragon, like something from a messed-up fairy-tale book, only with glowing, hungry eyes and multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth designed to tear skin and flesh and grind down an immortal’s bones.
“Not seeing any way to get through the scales on that fucker,” I called.
As soon as I spoke, Silas charged forward, sword held over his head, his feet literally lifting off the ground from the brutal swing he brought down on the creature’s body.His blade rang out like it had struck steel.The monster spun around, and Silas dove to the side, rolling out of the way before bounding back to his feet.“We need to get under its scales,” he yelled over the creature’s roars.“I’ll distract it and you get around to the other side,” he said.“The wider, thicker scales must be protecting its most vulnerable organs.”
That would make the most sense.
Silas waved his arms and ran to the right.As soon as the serpent spun to him, I sprinted in the opposite direction.I glanced up and Nathaniel and Eloa were flying high on their side of the arena, watching us and no doubt hoping for our demise.
The creature jerked its head forward, trying to take a bite out of Silas.I dodged its flinging tail, ducking and sidestepping as I got closer—then jumped, digging my feet into its thick scales and quickly climbing it so it didn’t crush me.Straddling it, I gritted my teeth and dug my axe under one of the thick, wide scales by my thigh, and wrenched it back as hard as I could.It popped off, going flying and revealing soft, vulnerable flesh beneath.The monster shrieked and thrashed, and I swung my axe, burying it into its flesh so I wouldn’t fall off.Blue-green blood sprayed from the deep wound.
It bucked harder, but there was no way I was letting go.I shoved my axe’s blade under another scale, and with a grunt, tore it off as well.The creature thrashed like it’d been shocked, and this time, I was bucked off, my body hitting the hard-packed earth with a bone-crushing thud.The beast spun in my direction, its legs a wave of movement, carrying its long body as it charged me at full speed.
Silas slammed into me, shoving me out of the way a moment before it smashed into the stone wall, stunning itself.I bounded back to my feet and ran at the creature, then jumped back up, Silas following.We wildly tore off more scales, repeatedly thrusting our blades as deep as we could.
Its blood coated us as the creature’s shrieks and wild thrashing slowed, the monster growing feeble as we hacked at its vital organs.It let loose one final shriek as its head swayed, before falling with a thunderous crash to the ground.
“I’ll check it’s dead,” Silas said, then slid down its back and jogged to check.
I climbed down after him right as the monster lifted its head, opened its mouth, and snapped its huge jaws around Silas, eating him whole.
“Silas,” I screamed and ran toward its clamped jaws.
Silas’s sword burst through its snout before I could reach him, and the monster’s mouth fell open.Silas stood there, jerking his sword from the roof of its mouth.I stopped short, my breath punched from my lungs as relief slammed through me.
“Found the weak spot,” he said and stumbled out.
He was covered in its blue-green blood, like I was, but there was also deep red dripping onto the ground around him.“You’re hurt,” I said and rushed forward.
“It’s just a scratch,” he said, panting.
“Bullshit, let me see.”His suit was torn at his side, and there was a deep gash in his skin that steadily leaked blood.Fuck.It was bad.Was the creature’s saliva venomous?Panic filled me.I didn’t have my bag.“Do you feel okay?Any dizziness?Nausea,” I asked as I applied pressure to the gaping wound.
“It wasn’t poisonous,” he said, seemingly unconcerned.
Well, I was.I was more than fucking concerned.“You’re losing too much blood.”
“I’ll be okay,” he said as the crowd roared their approval all around us.
“We need to treat it.”
He covered my hand with his, his gaze holding mine.“I’m okay, Urs.”
“You’re not fucking okay!”He was immortal.He’d live, but seeing him like this had set off a panic inside me that I couldn’t lock down, which was fucking stupid and proved what a moron I was for allowing myself to get close to him again.
He squeezed my hand.“Take a breath.”
“You take a breath.”I pulled my hand away from his because, honestly, I wanted to keep on holding it.“I’m breathing just fine,” I said, while I did my best to steady my stupid gasped breaths.“Worry about your own damn breathing.”
His hand slid over my shoulder, and his fingers curled around the back of my neck and rubbed, but whatever he was about to say to me was swallowed by the sound of the stone wall lowering between us and the angels.
I stepped back, and his hand dropped away.On the other side, Nathaniel and Eloa took us in, exhausted, and in Silas’s case bleeding, and smiled.
How the hell were we going to best them?“Their wings are too much of an advantage.”
Fury filled Silas’s eyes.“This next event, you take Eloa and leave Nathaniel to me.”