“We have to help them.” I focus on Algar, my heart racing madly. “They aren’t going to beat that thing on their own. Do you have any grenades on you?”
“Grenades? Have you lost it?” he yells. “No one carries grenades on their person unless they want to die.”
“I mean, I just assumed, since you’re a thief who likes to break into things and all…”
He cocks a brow. “I don’t usegrenadesto steal, Zaira. Much too obnoxious. Besides, the sorcerers who spell them charge way too much.”
“Right. Okay, um…” I peer around the tree, gripping the damp bark as Thane struggles to gouge one of the monster’s eyes out. Rynthea’s lower half is now wrapped up in a tentacle, while another with a claw tries taking snaps at her head. She punches the claw away each time, but I’m not sure how long she’ll be able to keep it up with the lower one squeezing tighter and tighter around her midsection.
I look at the monster again…and that’s when I see it.
Just below the right side of the swamp creature’s head are gills. From what I studied—no matter if it was a fish, beastial, or even a monster—the gills are a sure way to weaken a water creature.
“There!” I point. “The gills! They need to puncture the gills!”
“What?” Algar turns his head, utterly confused.
“The gills! They have to— Ugh! Never mind! Just follow me!” I grip the handle of my new dagger and pray for Orvena to protect me so I can, with her favor, save Rynthea and Thane.
I dash around the tree, and Algar shouts my name, demanding that I come back. I ignore him. If I don’t save them, they’ll die a horrible death because of me. And on top of that, there’s no way I’m making it to Elphar without the minotaur and the assassin. I need them.
I climb over jagged rocks and slide down a short, mossy embankment. My feet land in a deep, slushy puddle and nearly get stuck in the muck. As I grunt with frustration, struggling to free my boots from the mud with each step, I notice the monster is so much uglier up close. And it smells like pure shit.
“Thane!” I yell once I’m on stable ground again.
Thane whips his gaze in my direction. “What the shadows are you doing?” he shouts. “Get back to safety!”
“The gills!” I yell. “Stab it in the gills!”
His face warps with confusion. Either he can’t hear me, or he doesn’t understand what I’m going on about.
“Damn it,” I hiss.
I look in Rynthea’s direction. She’s now bound intwotentacles. She bites one of them with a growl, but that does nothing to the monster. Rushing her way, I clumsily dodge and duck tentacles until I stumble across her scythesword lying next to one of the trees and grab it.
It’s heavier than I expected.
Rynthea grunts, trying to break free, but the monster only squeezes her tighter. Her agonized cry makes my heart sink. One of the tentacles rises behind me, but I hold the handle of the scythesword in a firm grasp and use all my strength to swing. To my surprise, I chop the thing in half.
“Oh shit.” I pant, astonished.
The monster screeches once again, just as Algar appears in front of me.
He sticks his hand out. “Give me that damn thing before you cut your leg off!”
I place it in his hands, and he teleports to the other side of the tentacles that are death-gripping Rynthea. With a mighty holler, Algar swings the scythesword and cuts through both of them, sending black blood spraying toward the trees as Rynthea collapses on the ground.
“Rynthea.” I dash her way, trying to help her stand.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She presses her knuckles into the mud and pushes herself up.
We look for Algar. His clothes are now stained with inky blood. “Fucking disgusting!” he shouts.
“Give me my scythesword,” Rynthea demands.
Algar tosses it to her, and she catches it with one hand just as another tentacle aims straight for us. She whips the scythesword by the handle and slashes through it before it can strike.
“You both are meant to be hiding!” she barks at us.
