“Emma! Get out of there!” I screamed. I gave chase, though I couldn’t catch up with thebiezwhile hauling my sword around.
The sound of the crowd drowned out and became mute as my sights focused on my mate. The smile slid off of Emma’s face. A visage of complete horror took over as she turned tail and ran in a zig-zag pattern, to try and get thebiezoff her tail.
For as big as it was, it was also agile. It had no trouble following after Emma until eventually, it caught up with her. Its jaws snapped forward, and Emma screamed and tripped. She grabbed her sword and swung it upright just as thebiezwas going to sink his teeth in her.
The sword ended up stabbing the creature in one of its giant eyeballs. The demon screeched, and rubbed a paw over the eye that was currently gushing blood as Emma scampered away.
I caught up with thebiez. I stabbed my blade into its side, but barely broke the skin before it turned around. The monster lowered its head and hooked one of its antlers around my body. Thebiezthrew its head back, and sent me flying. I hurtled ten feet and dropped my sword somewhere along the way before I came to a rolling stop on the grass. I groaned, feeling the hit my back had taken as I’d slammed against the ground. That wasn’t an easy fall.
I got on all fours and bared my teeth. Screw the sword. Time to do things the old-fashioned way; with teeth and claws. I transformed. A snarl emitted in my throat as I jumped skyward and landed on the monster’s back.
I sank my teeth into its shoulder, and immediately, a vile taste filled my mouth. Thebiezrolled— I barely managed to avoid getting crushed under its weight. I ripped my mouth away and aimed for the jugular, but the monster reached backward and wrapped its long fingers around my form before it slammed me into the ground. Its sour breath filled my nostrils as it bent downward, fangs dripping saliva.
I was certain I was done for until I heard Emma give a heathen cry behind me. There was the sound of blade slicing though sinew, and thebiezloosened its hold on me. I wriggled free. Emma had stabbed the monster in the neck, but she’d missed the artery, and now her sword was stuck. She struggled to yank it out, eyes growing wide with fear as the monster hissed and reared back.
“Leave it!” I charged. I managed to snatch Emma up with my teeth, tossing her upon my back and getting her out of the way before one of thebiez’sclaws sliced her in half. Emma’s sword continued to stick out of the monster’s neck, but it didn’t do any damage. The beast merely scratched at it, like it was a minor annoyance. Emma clung to my scruff as I raced to the other end of the arena, so we could get a second to breathe and come up with a plan.
“How are we supposed to kill this thing? It’s immune to everything we’ve tried!” Emma shouted. She slid off my back, and I changed. Not even my wolven form was any use against this monster. It was like no matter what Emma and I did, the creature just shook it off.
“Got any ideas?” Emma asked as the monster turned. It proceeded toward us in slow and deliberate movements. As it grew nearer, it began to crouch… like it was planning to deliver the final blow.
This wasn’t any good. To hunt abiez, you needed to stay far away and chuck things at them, like bombs. We didn’t have any of those, and now, neither of us had our swords. It was dangerous getting close range with these things. We’d gotten lucky so far. One hit, and we were done for.
But what we did have was magic.
“Ethan!” Emma screamed as thebiezwent to spring. “What do I do?”
“Use your magic!” I screamed.
“How?”
“Get creative!” I brought my hand backward before swinging it forward again, like I was pitching a ball. A jagged purple fragment, like the end of a spear, sailed through the air like a throwing knife. The magical weapon hit the front of thebiez’schest and sank in, making blood squirt everywhere. The monster groaned in response.
I threw several more, and all of them hit their target. Although they slowed thebiezdown, they didn’t kill him. Blood covered his chest where my magical throwing knives had hit him, but it wasn’t enough to destroy him.
Emma had her eyes closed. Her hands had formed a circle before her chest, and in the middle of them was a large blue ball of light— one that was growing larger and larger by the second and was swirling with a magic I’d never seen before. My mouth dropped open in wonder. The ball of light crackled with intensity and power. How was she doing this?
Emma’s eyes opened, and the green of them flashed a bright blue before she shouted, “Ethan, stay back!”
I didn’t ask any questions. I just got the hell out of the way. Emma tossed the vibrant blue ball in her hands as thebiezleapt to attack. The monster screamed, opening its mouth to devour us both. Its shadow loomed overhead— waiting to swallow us whole.
Emma’s ball of light sailed past thebiez’smouth and down its throat. It was then she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way. We tumbled forward together as thebiezsailed past us and crashed on the ground. Instinctively, I put my arms around her so I’d take the brunt of the fall. She landed on top of me, and I cried out as I smashed onto my hurt back again.
I expected thebiezto get up, but it didn’t. It lay perfectly still, its body smoking. Emma and I slowly rose to our feet and approached the beast. Its eyes were blank, mouth dangling open. There was a large hole in its gut that Emma’s magic had made, and organs were leaking out. The insides were black and smoldering, as if they’d been burned… or frostbitten.
By the gods. It was dead. Emma had done it.
The roar of the crowd returned again, and it was deafening. We’d really given them a show. We’d certainly proved we deserved the monarchy with a performance like that.
Roses and other flowers were tossed from the stands and onto the field as sorceresses came forward. They levitated the body of the beast out of the arena before another steel cage was brought in for the next contestants. As we left the arena, Steward Soloman’s mouth was dangling open in shock. He quickly shut it before he ushered the next couple through. No more than a few feet away, a couple of lords had their heads together, flashing Emma looks of disbelief as we passed.
“Emma, that was incredible.” I couldn’t believe this was the same girl who’d struggled to lift a rock a few weeks ago during class. What had changed?
“It was the same way I’d killed the Black Claw recruit back in Detroit when he tried to murder me,” Emma said. “Just a lot bigger.”
When we got back to the tent, our entire court was waiting for us. “Emma! Holy shit!” Delmare threw herself around Emma and squeezed her tight. “That magic was incredible!”
“Well done, man.” Stefan clapped me on the back and handed me a beer. “Though I would’ve gotten it done in half the time.”
