Ryker circled the beast. He didn’t make a single sound and there was something so intimidating about his single-minded focus on the creature. The monster followed him, turning its back towards me, and a long tail extended from its body and flicked in annoyance. It ended in a clump of scales that were raised like tiny little daggers.
I waited for an opening to go for the belly. The monster was mostly focused on Ryker, but I doubted it had forgotten about me, and I really didn’t want that tail slamming into me.
Suddenly, the monster’s right paw shot forward, fast, but not faster than Ryker, who darted underneath the outstretched claws and nipped at the underside of the monster’s leg before sliding out of range.
A pissed-off growl tore from the creature, but it didn’t go after Ryker, and when I darted forward, I immediately had to leap back to avoid the tail slashing at me. Moonsdamn it all. Why couldn’t it be big and stupid? Big and smart was just unfair.
“Girls are safe.”
I jumped two feet to the left and had my axe raised before my brain caught up to the fact that it was Bastian next to me.
“You assholes really have to stop sneaking up on me.” I glared at him, lowering my axe.
“Maybe you just need to pay more attention,” he replied evenly before turning his gaze to the beast. “Go for the belly?”
“Yep.” I eyed his daggers. They would be far better at slicing than my axes. “Actually, I’ll help Ryker distract it, you go for its underside.”
“Fine.” He pointed one of his daggers at me. “But do not take unnecessary risks. All you need to do is keep its attention.”
“Well, I was thinking about leaping into its mouth and letting it chomp on me a bit, but I guess I’ll come up with a different tactic now.” I flashed my teeth at him and darted away, moving around the beast to where Ryker was.
“Bastian is joining the fun,” I told him. “You go left, I go right?”
He let out a sharp bark in response that I took as a yes. We drifted apart a few feet, and the monster tracked our movement, opening its maw in a silent snarl.
For a moment, it was like the world paused, and I was equal parts terrified and exhilarated. This was just as much a part of who I was as the person who liked to curl up with a good book next to the fire. Whatever this thing was, it wouldn’t be killing any more of ours.
That strange feeling inside my chest thrummed, and I instinctively knew Ryker was going to move. We leapt forward at the same time. The monster spun, swinging its tail at us like a club. I dropped to my knees and bent all the way back until I was parallel with the ground, my momentum carrying me across the ice. Cool air rushed over my face as the scaled tail missed me with barely an inch to spare.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ryker jump over the tail, twisting midair so he landed facing it. His jaws snapped closed on it a second later, and the beast bellowed. Ryker dug his claws into the ice, pulling on the tail as the monster tried to yank it free.
The beast twisted, curling back on itself, jaws opening to snap at Ryker. I raced forward and slammed my axe into its face, the strike missing the eye and bouncing off scales.
Damn it.
I succeeded in getting its attention though. This time, those rows of sharp teeth were aimed at me. I spun away and ducked as it swiped even as I struck for the gap between its talons.
The monster roared, jerking its paw back as dark purple blood splattered across the ice. Not exactly a mortal wound, but it did have weak spots in that plated armor. Here was hoping Bastian could find one on its stomach.
When the monster raised its tail, Ryker let go and dropped to the lake. My heart stopped for a second when he slipped on the surface, now extra slick with blood, and barely managed to throw himself to the side as the beast slammed its tail right where he’d been standing.
A small crack in the ice formed at the impact, but the beast was already moving now that its tail was free.
So was Ryker. He’d regained his footing and raced around the creature, nipping at its face. When it lunged for him, I slammed my axe into its neck. The hit reverberated down my arm but didn’t make so much as a dent in the scales.
The monster pushed Ryker and me back towards the center of the river. We kept the pressure on, alternating who rushed in for a hit and trying to distract the beast if one of us slipped. Bastian was trying to dart underneath the creature, but the damn thing was aware of him and used its tail to take swings at him.
Finally, he succeeded, and it let out a pissed-off snarl before rising up on its hind legs. One of Bastian’s daggers was buried between its scales.
“Shit.” There was a seam where the scales met, but they were so tightly packed that Bastian’s damn blade was pinched between them. My hopes of being able to disembowel the monster vanished. “Get out of there, Bastian!”
With a pissed-off snarl of his own, Bastian rolled across the ice just as the beast stomped down with both paws. Bastian sprung to his feet and sprinted towards us, sliding to a stop next to me.
“Any other ideas?” he panted.
I wracked my brain as the monster stalked towards us. It was barely wounded. Meanwhile, all three of us were bleeding heavily. Both Ryker and I had been caught by its claws, and Bastian had been too slow on one of his dodges and the barbed tail had stabbed him in the side.
If we ran, it was unlikely to chase us for long, but it would almost certainly go back to the two wounded Velesians. We’d be leaving them to die.
