Its head tipped back, sharp pinchers at its mouth moving back and forwards.
Click. Click. Click.
My breath hitched. And in that one moment, the thing stilled. As if sensing my rapid heartbeat. As if hearing me.
It lurched towards my tent—and the scream tore free before I could stop it.
I threw myself out of the tent, crashing onto the cool grass. Air burst from my lungs. Fabric tore behind me.
The thing screeched, a sound that bled fear into my bones. I scrambled upright, my legs shaking beneath me. The thing’s two front legs tore my tent apart. It looked like it had walked straight from a nightmare. Straight from the deepest parts of the Seven Hells.
The crisp air was laced with a pungent, rotting smell. My eyes watered. I couldn’t move. Its head jerked towards me, six soulless eyes catching the firelight. It stood over ten feet tall on eight, insect-like legs. The sharp pincers of its mouth gaped opened, and a series of clicks echoed through the night, like bones clicking underwater. Every hair on my body stood on end.
MOVE,the voice in my head screamed. I turned and ran, pumping my shaky legs as fast as they could carry me. My power was drained. I’d used every drop on the Commander. I had no weapon. I wasprey.
The thing screeched, scuttling after me unnaturally. Solas intercepted the beast, broadsword gripped in his hand. He swung it in a wide arc, bringing it down towards the insect-like monster. It dodged, slashing at Solas with its forward legs. They looked sharper than any sword. I hid behind a tree, pressing my back against its rough bark to stay upright. I placed a hand over my rapid heartbeat and tried to steady my breath. Cerilla caught my eye from where she was hidden behind a tree near mine. Her eyes were wide as she pressed her finger to her lips, gesturing for me to stay quiet.
I peered around the tree. Solas was splattered in blood; whether it was his blood or the creature’s, I wasn’t sure. The thing attacked him and Solas’s sword collided with the creature’s leg. Its screech sent a chill to my bones as one of itslegs dropped to the ground, dark liquid spraying from the stump. The monster stood on its back four legs, lashing out in blind rage with the others. The blow caught Solas and sent him crashing through the undergrowth. Bright red blood sprayed in an arc as he crashed into the ground.
“No,” I whispered, staggering forward. I had nothing left. No magic. No weapon. But I couldn’t watch another person die because of me. Power trembled uselessly beneath my skin, thin and spent. I picked up a rock at my feet, flinging it at the monster. It spun towards me so quickly my breath hitched. Who cared if I died? I’d been willing to drown in the Dead Sea instead of being caged. I’d lived, but I still wasn’t free. And now, with my death, I could take out the Commander at the same time.
“That’s it, come and set me free, you ugly beast.” The only warning I had was a few unnatural clicks. It lunged. I held my arms open, squeezing my eyes shut. Perhaps it ripping into my flesh would distract it for long enough for Solas and Cerilla to escape.
The air vibrated with power. Something—someone—snatched my arm, yanking me sideways with bruising strength. I hit the ground hard, stars bursting across my vision. When I looked up,hewas there. The Commander of Death.
His eyes were pure darkness swirling with an anger so palpable, it felt suffocating. The sword he gripped made my skin crawl, dark flames licking up the glinting metal.
“Stay down,” he snarled, voice more animal than person. His body evaporated into shadows, disappearing.
The creature dived towards me. I froze. Its pincers opened inches from my face, breath foul and hot. It emitted a single, rattling click, then a shriek.
A blade tore through its skull, silencing it mid-scream.Blue-black blood sprayed across me. Its eight eyes clouded to milk, body collapsing into the dirt.
The Commander yanked his sword free with a moist squelch before jumping off its back and landing in front of me.
“Do you have a fucking death wish?” he growled, fury bleeding through every word.
“The thought of taking you down with me was too good to ignore,” I said with a glare.
He laughed—a sharp, startled sound that made him look unhinged. “Clever girl. Though, I had not realised I would have to stop you from killingyourself.”
He didn’t wait for me to reply, gripping my bicep and pulling me to my feet. I gritted my teeth against the bruising grip of his hand against my tender arm.
“What is that?” I asked, staring at the dead creature. He ignored me, shoving me towards his nightmarish horse instead.
“We need to move. Now,” he snapped towards the others. Cerilla was wrapping a bandage around Solas’s chest where a gashed oozed.
“That was brave of you Lyra, thank you,” Solas said, catching my eyes over the fire.
“No, it was fucking stupid.” The Commander glared over his shoulder at me, squeezing my arm tighter.
“I will start packing up?—”
“Leave the tents,” the Commander interrupted Cerilla. “Get on your fucking horses.”
As if to punctuate his urgency, a series of clicks echoed in the distance. A shiver ran up my spine. There were more of those things out there in the dark. Cerilla’s hands stilled for a moment. She hurried to tie the bandage before jogging to Sugar, her grey and white mare.
The Commanders’ hands circled my waist, throwing me up on the horse as if I were nothing. The horse broke into a gallop the moment his body shifted into the saddle behind me. The others followed close behind. The forest blurred around us. The horse’s gallop was a living thunder beneath us. I could still smell the creature’s blood on my skin. Acidic, metallic, wrong.
