I don’t know where his knowledge comes from, probably with his job as part of the special forces, but I’m grateful for it.
“Nerezza!” mom shouts, pulling my attention to her. As I turn to look, something hits me from behind and sends me sprawling across the cave floor.See, I knew this is why Mom should have watched those action/horror movies with me.Never call out someone’s name and distract them.
Rolling over, I have a quick moment to glimpse a Nettlebug scurrying toward me, and I use my shield to bounce it away. Good news—my magic comes easily to me now. The bad news is I’m constantly feeling a sharp pulling sensation with every small draw of magic. Jumping to my feet, I pull my weapons and turn to face it, only to see the underbelly as it leaps for me. Instinctually, I raise my arms and get splattered with blood as the nettle bug impales itself on my glaives.
Eww. And I was hoping I would look good when I walked out of here. Now I look like a hot pocket exploded on me.
A roar rings out in the cave, and I turn, catching the Chimera running toward me.‘Kill, attack, underbelly,’that female voice urges, but before it gets close to me, Slayer drops down on it from the ceiling and wraps his tentacles around the lion’s head, tripping it up. How he got up there, I have no clue. Lynx’s manticore slams into its flank, causing the goat’s head to swing down and engage, leaving the snake as the tail open season on my men.
I catch sight of Reaper’s flames as he pounces on a nettle bug while his long tail trips up a second one running in another direction.He’s just a dog with his bugs having fun…that’s all.
Changing my plans, I run towards the nettlebugs coming my way and pray I can dodge around them to help my guys take down a Chimera. Water arrows fly in front of me and hit two of the spiders, killing them on the spot, as the last one in my way gets a sonic boom and explodes.
I don’t know what power-up Moni got, but it’s working. I run straight at the Chimera, drop, and slide until I’m underneath the monster and raise my glaives to cut into its soft belly when my feet are pulled out from underneath me, missing my mark. My back hits the ground hard, knocking the air from my lungs, but I catch something green moving and throw out my P.M.S. needles on instinct. Biting down on my bottom lip, I immediately taste blood as my side cramps from using magic.Fuck, it’s getting worse.
A hiss rings out, and I catch the snake writhing from my attack. It shakes off my needles and strikes at me while I’m still down. I roll and hit its back leg, and as a reflex, the leg kicks out and claws me in the side. Crying out, I reach for my side and feel something wet.Shit, now I have a physical and a magical one to deal with.But I don’t have time to worry about them now.
As adrenaline pumps through me, I push through the pain, get to my feet, throw my P.M.S. needles into the Chimerassoft belly, and hear three bellows as they continue to dig deep. Another flash of green, and I give up on the needles and attack the snake with my glaives. Pretty unfair, if you ask me, with how fast the head strikes and backtracks. I can’t get a hit on it as I barely move out of the way of getting bit. The leg I’m close to moves and knocks me down, pinning my arms to the floor, and all I see are two fangs coming at my head. Applying another coat to my shield, I send up a prayer to the Fates that this isn’t my last moment, and as the snake’s fangs are inches in front of me, it goes limp with dazed eyes. An agonizing roar pierces the air before the head goes thunk to the floor.
Looking over the head, I see my avenging angel and his sword covered in blood. Knots rushes over to me, and I’m about to cry with relief that he’s here. He slices into the beast’s tendons, causing it to scream again, but the leg jerks back, freeing me from what I thought was my certain death.
“Come on, you have more enemies to kill,” he tells me, offering his hand. I grip it and groan as he pulls me up. He takes one look at my face and then glances down to see my flank covered in blood. “You’re hurt,” he surmises, and I push away.
“I’ll live. We can’t say the same for everyone,” I tell him and rush over to the other leg, cutting its tendon and immobilizing the Chimera. Knots, knowing he can’t stop me, helps by piercing into the beast's flank and disemboweling it. He beckons me to his side where I watch as the monster falls. The goat and lion head are still fighting, but I leave that to Slayer and Lynx as they look like they have it controlled. They’re already slicing through their necks and making fast progress.
Moni and Chester are still fighting Neetlebugs, so Knots moves to help them. I quickly stop to take a breath before joining, but a shout stops me.
“Nerezza!” The demon’s voice calls out, and I spin to find him by the portal with another summoning stone. “Come with me,and I’ll allow your family to live,” he says confidently, raising the stone before rubbing it. Another portal opens up, and on the other side are more monsters. From the looks of their sheer numbers, it’s enough to know we won’t win.
“What do you want?” I cry out, tired of fighting.
“My master wants you. Simply come, and we will leave,” he says calmly, holding out his other hand toward me.
I hear the last death throes of the Chimera behind me as the other fighting ends, and I feel as if I have no other choice.
“NO!” I hear someone scream. Peering over my shoulder, I see my mother throw something at the demon. “You will not have her!” she yells, and magic expels from her hands. An explosion goes off at the portal, effectively closing it, and her magic hits the demon in the chest, causing him to convulse and fall to the ground.
Looking back in her direction in awe at her use of magic, I witness Ms. Teal’s evil smile as her wings unfold in an arc, slicing through my mother’s arm and into her back, causing her to fall.
No!
I take off running toward her, scared of what will happen next.
“Aww, poor Jillian. You did all that work, came all this way to stop me from grabbing your daughter, and all for nothing. How does it feel to lose, Jillian? To know you couldn’t save youradopteddaughter in the end? You can’t save her, just likeshecouldn’t. She has always been his,” Ms. Teal boasts.
“Hey, mom!” Moni yells out, and Ms. Teal looks up. Seeing Moni, she has an unsure look as if there’s a small heart of hope inside that horrid shell.
“Monikaloy? This is the first time you’ve called me that.” She beams, getting emotional.
“And it will be the last,” Moni says, bringing her arms out in front of her and letting out a booming clap. She sends a disablingsound wave that propels her mother into the jagged wall behind her, impaling her on the stones.
“Damn, sis, way to finish the job with flair. I give you twelve out of ten for badassery,” JP says, giving a confused seafoam-colored Moni a side hug.
“Thanks.” Moni gives a timid smile and laughs awkwardly. “I think. I’m just confused as to how I should be feeling right now,” she admits, and JP pulls her against his chest with a tighter hug.
I don’t blame her after seeing her mural and knowing that her mother did have a heart at some point. But it looks like JP and Chester have it handled as he joins in on the hug. I don’t stay and congratulate her. Instead, I rush to my mother's side.
“Mom,” I croak out around tears. She’s covered in blood, and there’s a hole the size of a dime that has burned through her torso that must have happened before we got here. Besides the slashes that Ms. Teal gave her on the arm and back, there are multiple cuts along her body that I can see, along with restraint marks along her wrist, as if they were cutting into them. Was she held hostage somewhere? Who did this to her? I reach for her, but I’m terrified as to where to touch without hurting her since she’s bleeding heavily and looks so weak. I thought she was dead this whole time, but obviously, her death was a cover-up.
