“I want to live…I want to catch him and use him as bait.” There’s a harshness that I haven’t heard before.
The dannedd are only a couple of yards away now. This close I can see their inch-long teeth when they give a lazy yawn. Their jaws are as long as my forearm, and I can’t imagine it’s a quick way to die. I’m more than happy to not find out.
I bend down and scoop up a handful of dirt with one hand and a few small rocks with the other. Not weapons, but enough to be a distraction and make the dannedd work for their dinner.
“There're more bones behind us,” Cillian says. “Or do you want this one back?”
“You keep it.” He knows more about monsters than I do. And I suspect he’s better at close quarter fighting and killing. “But we should probably head that way because the boulders will give us higher ground.”
Maybe the dannedd can’t climb.
They make a hissing noise as they get closer, long tongues tasting the air. My palms sweat, turning the dirt to mud on my skin.
Then they attack as one, rushing in from three sides. My heart stops and then explodes into a hundred beats a minute. A dannedd lowers its head and comes in sideways at my kneecaps. I step back, and remember the rope connecting us—I can’t go too far from Cillian—then toss the dirt in the dannedd’s eyes, not knowing if the dirt will slow it down the way it would a human.
Another dannedd hits me from the other side. They’re trying to knock us over and get us on the ground. Their heads and tails crash into us. We stumble, edging closer to the bones and boulders. Cillian strikes with the bone, it’s a white blur. A dannedd squeaks and lurches back, shaking its head, but one of its friends takes its place.
I throw pebbles in their mouths and at their eyes. It slows them down, but it’s also pissing them off. They hiss and rumble and double down on their charging behavior. I stagger, but there’s no slack in the rope and I fall hard on my side. The air leaves my lungs and a dannedd snaps at my face.
I roll toward Cillian and grab the rope. When the dannedd lunges at me I loop the rope around its neck and pull. Its teeth snap only inches from my face. My arms shake, but I don’t let go. I can’t if I want to live.
The rope cuts into my fingers and the dannedd starts to thrash and claw at the ground. Something connects with my thigh, leaving a trail of heat. Its struggles become weaker, as do I. I count out a few more seconds. Ten, then twenty, then thirty, and it goes still. I count another ten and then let go. I’m panting hard. A piece of bone goes flying over my head.
Cillian swears.
Then teeth sink into my leg and I scream.
7
Cillian
Flick’s cry carries through the night. A dannedd has latched onto her leg and is trying to drag her toward the breach. I have to follow, or I’ll fall and be dragged too. I use what’s left of the bone to smack it on the head, but it ignores me. The other one charges at me again, mouth wide. I shove the broken bone into its mouth, keeping its jaws open. It makes a startled squeak and claws at its face.
While it’s busy, I launch myself at the one attached to Flick’s leg. I kick at its legs, so it falls and has to let go.
She sits up and grabs the rope, her hands are raw and bleeding. I take the slack from her and kill the beast with the loop. Then I look around for the other one, but I can’t see it. That doesn’t mean it’s gone for good.
“How’s your leg?” Even in the starlight I can see the blood darkening her jeans. That will attract predators. Worse, we are far from help.
“It’s fine.” She loops the rope around one of the dead dannedd’s teeth and starts trying to saw through it. The dannedd has sharp teeth, but the rope is tougher.
I let her try and watch her hope fade, but she persists. I put my hand over hers. “You can’t walk out of here. I’m putting you over my shoulder.”
“I can walk.”
“You’re bleeding, accept my help, and we can both live.” I glance at the pitch-dark shadow where the breach is. The magic of faery hums over my skin, tempting me to go home, but it’s a false lure. That isn’t home. The outer realms are dangerous and inhospitable. Filled with creatures and twisted magic.
“We don’t know where we are, and we have no water. How long do you think we’re going to last?”
“Long enough.” I scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder. This time she doesn’t fight.
But she’s right, I don’t know where we are or where we need to go. I head away from the breach, toward the boulders, hoping that the higher ground will help me get a bearing.
“I really don’t like being carried,” she says.
“Got a better idea?”
“You could’ve let me cut through the rope.”
