I held my ground as they raced closer, even though my instinct was to flee.
One moment they were there and the next they were gone as the ground collapsed beneath their giant paws.
The trap had worked.
I had to draw in several big breaths and wait for my heart to stop thundering before I let myself glance over the edge.
The pit was not only deep, but somehow Suri had managed to add rock spikes at the bottom.
Every terawolf was dead.
The three of us were breathing hard as we stared down at them. We were quickly joined by Suri and Io.
“I was off making those nets and had no idea that you did this,” she said to Suri. “Those spikes? That’s amazing.”
Suri ducked her head, as if embarrassed.
How had she managed it? I was about to ask her, but the stinging in my hand drew my attention. I needed to clean and bandage the cut.
“Your husband’s going to notice that,” Zalira said.
I was sure he would. I wondered how many marks and bruises I would have on me before the night was through.
“How are we going to get one out?” Ahyana asked, and none of us had an answer. I probably should have thought about that.
All the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood up.
“Down!” I screamed. My sisters all dropped to the ground.
The terawolf that I’d thrown into a tree earlier came straight for me, leaping over the trap, teeth bared, mouth open.
“Dea Erinys!”
It slammed into me, its foul breath right above my face. It kept snapping at me with its teeth. I used my left forearm against its throat to keep it away. The impact had caused me to drop my xiphos, but I reached for a knife in my belt.
“Lia!” Io screamed.
I plunged the knife up through the beast’s jaw. I kept stabbing until it collapsed on top of me, dead.
I lay there for a second, being crushed, until I shoved the terawolf off. I released my aspect as my sisters gathered around me.
“I’m fine,” I said. “At least now we don’t have to go down into the pit to grab one.”
Io hugged me fiercely and the rest followed.
“Can I get up now?” I asked, and they laughed, sounding relieved.
Zalira helped me to my feet and I noticed that the terawolf had four swords in its back. While I’d been attacking it from the front, my adelphia had been stabbing its other side.
After everyone had retrieved their weapons, Io asked, “How are we going to transport that thing?”
Suri went and found a sturdy stick and used the length of rope she had at her waist to tie the terawolf’s paws to the stick. Zalira and I, being the tallest, carried the stick on our shoulders with the beast hanging down between us. It wasn’t easy but it worked.
The soldiers at the gate gaped silently at us as we approached.
“You just killed all those monsters,” one of them said in an awed voice.
“Can you please help us transport this back to the palace?” I asked. Several guards volunteered and the captain directed the others to return to the posts and make sure the gate was shut. I wondered where he had been earlier.
