Before I could ask him how his arm was feeling, something bowled me over from behind and winded me. Something that ensnared my boot in its monumental jaws. Something that was now dragging me away.
I didn’t need to see it to recognize it for what it was.
A second beast had snatched me.
Chapter 34
With remarkable speed, the beast pulled me further away from Filip and any chance of rescue. I was dragged carelessly over a carpet of gnarled roots, prickling foliage and coarse detritus. But I refused to play the part of a docile captive.
I kicked and screamed and clawed at the ragged ground like a wild animal, even though my hands were raw and throbbing with pain.
My efforts were useless—the beast would not let go of me. It sped onwards as if I was nothing more than a rabbit caught in its snare.
At last, we stopped.
Rolling onto my back, I faced my attacker. Standing above me was the mirror image of the creature we had just slain. But this creature was not dead, and it was very, very angry.
I could faintly make out the sound of Filip shouting my name in the distance, but my attention was on the monster in front of me. The monster whose eyes promised a slow and painful death.
If the first beast had been fueled by primal bloodlust, this one was fueled by cold calculation and vengeance. I could tell by its eyes, which were sharper and more astute than its companion’s had been.
It assessed.
It sized up its prey, searching for any vulnerabilities, anticipating every possible move. And, when it was ready to pounce, it would not miss.
Breath evaded me and fear surged through my body, seeping out of my skin in a clammy sheen.
I backed away, my eyes never leaving the beast. My back pressed into something hard and jagged—a tree. There was nowhere else for me to go. The creature had cornered me now, and we both knew it.
It moved slowly towards me until it was so close that I could feel its hot breath on my face, the smell like carrion. I could see its dagger sharp teeth, poised to tear into my throat. And all I could feel was the erratic pounding of my heart in my chest and the wet, cold earth beneath my fingertips.
Wet,cold earth.
An idea struck me. It was crazy. I only had seconds—if that. But I was staring straight into the face of death and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to best it.
A low, lethal growl was my only warning before it lunged.
I thrust my hands forward, unleashing a torrent of water onto the beast’s face.
It recoiled. It wasn’t enough to cause harm, but it was enough to stun and distract.
I took that distraction and ran.
Trees, bushes, shrubs, boulders—they all blurred together as I sprinted through the forest. I moved so quickly that all the features of the surrounding woods merged into indistinguishable forms and colors. I could only focus on what lay directly ahead of me as I accelerated forwards, careful to avoid colliding with trees or stumbling on their treacherous roots.
The air whipped my face, its cold like lashes against my flesh. Still, my burning lungs gulped at it, knowing each breath could be my last.
The forest was shadow and silhouette, but my power was my map and compass. I knew exactly where I needed to go and what I needed to do. The question was, would I make it?
I was fast, but the creature was faster. I could hear the sound of its paws hitting the ground, its huffs of breath and its enraged snarls drawing closer as it furiously pursued me. It was gaining on me and I knew that, this time, it would deal its killing blow swiftly.
At last, I saw the stream. I raced towards the ravine, the beast inches away. Close—it was too close.
I barreled into the stream at the same time the beast stumbled over a branch-sized root I could have sworn hadn’t been there a second before. Its body tumbled into the water with a gargantuan splash.
Yelping, the beast rose. The water only reached its chest, but we were in my element now.
My feet touched the pebble-laden bed of the stream and my power reacted before I could even form a thought.
