Bones.
Hundreds of skeletons sat in a pile, leftover from the animal’s meals. And curled up on top of the ribs and skulls and spines, was the Jarouki’i.
Raine scanned the room. Maeryn was unconscious, but breathing. She looked so small and helpless as she lay there. He shook with the restraint it took not to rush over to her, but she was too close to the creature. He couldn’t risk it.
Casimir crept forward, raising his arms. Ava unsheathed her sword. “Ready?” Casimir whispered.
He began to glow, concentrating on manipulating the gravity around the monster without affecting the rest of the room. Raine had always been fascinated by his friend’s astral magic, though he rarely used it. While powerful, astral magic was much more draining than earth abilities—requiring significant concentration and strength—and if Casimir wasn’t careful, he’d use too much and weaken, requiring him to rest and sleep it off.
The animal writhed as it floated a foot off the ground, angry at being disturbed. Its pincers clicked together with ire, tossing its head and flailing.
“Higher, Cas!” Raine called.
“I’m trying. It’s heavier than I expected!”
Casimir’s arms trembled, raising it high enough for Ava and Raine to get beneath. Raine lunged, impaling it between two segments of its body, Ava doing the same a little further down its length.
Blood seeped from its wounds, but it didn’t stop flailing, and didn't appear to be weakening at all.
“Again!” Raine yelled.
They repeated their motions, slicing and cutting wherever they could find purchase. The monster trembled, beginning to descend, then rose again, Casimir’s magic stuttering.
“Move!” Casimir yelled, unable to keep it aloft any longer.
They darted away before the animal came crashing down,the bones crunching and scattering as they flew across the cavern from the impact. Ava cried out as a shard of bone impaled her shoulder.
Casimir ran for the creature, but it wheeled around, its tail slamming into him. He flew across the room, hit the wall, and crumpled to the ground.
Ava screamed.
Raine sprinted forward, sliding on his knees underneath the belly of the beast as he used his sword to slice off several legs. But it hardly affected the animal—the damned thing had hundreds more.
Sensing Raine below, it slammed one of its sharp legs into the ground. Raine rolled away before he was impaled. He sliced off three more appendages, but that only angered it further. Dodging another attempt from the animal, he ran to the opposite side of the cavern, trying to come up with a plan.
Ava was on her knees, trying to help Casimir up, and Maeryn was still unconscious.
Using his magic, Raine tried trapping the animal, weaving roots in between its feet in hopes it would hold it in place long enough to injure it.
“Ava!” Raine shouted. “Help me hold it!”
On their feet again, Ava and Casimir joined Raine in tangling the creature’s legs together. It worked. Raine ran forward, sword raised, when its head turned faster than he could dodge, lunging with its pincers.
Searing pain burst across his face. He stumbled to the ground with a yelp, his sword falling from his grip. Blood poured down his face, the warm liquid dripping into his left eye.
He couldn’t see out of the left side. Oh gods, he couldn’t see.
He groaned, scrambling for his bow off his back, but between the throbbing in his face and the blood in his eye, hewas disoriented. Seconds later, Ava was at his side, dragging him away.
Casimir leaped forward and grasped one of the creature’s legs. With a bellow, the whole cavern glowed as he poured the entirety of his magic into the creature.
It thrashed and squirmed, attempting to escape the searing heat Raine could feel on his face. The carapace turned black, brittle, and fell to the ground in a pile of ash.
The cavern was silent, the sounds of their breaths hovering in the air as the three of them panted through their exhaustion.
“We need to get out of here,” Ava said.
“Maeryn…” Raine groaned.
