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She was right. The goat head was now a stabby statue, so not completely neutralized.

The lion head roared again. Stheno and I jumped in opposite directions. I raced up on his side and swung my axe. Spinning out of the way, he whipped his snake tail at me.

Did I want to shriek? Yes. Did I? Not as far as I recall. If anyone tells you anything different, she’s a dirty, dirty liar.

Stheno, on the far side of the Chimera, sliced her claws through his flank. When he jumped, his snake tail shot out at Stheno. She grabbed it, wrestling it a moment before the lion head shot another stream of fire at her.

This one would have hit her dead center if Bracken hadn’t shoved the top half of his body through the gap. Hands moving, he was throwing spells to protect us.

I heard a strange scraping sound, but in the midst of all this chaos, I brushed it off as something to worry about later.

Between the three of us, we were keeping the Chimera off balance. Bracken threw some sort of spell that caused the lion head to snarl and shake. I took advantage of the distraction and swung for his side, actually connecting.

On a roar of pain, he turned and shot fire right at me. I would have been toast for sure if Bracken hadn’t blocked the flames. When the Chimera attacked me, the snake end went for Stheno, wrapping itself around her neck while biting her over and over.

She laughed. “That venom is the good stuff. You’re going to get me drunk.” Using her sharp metal claws, she gouged the snake right below the base of its head and then ripped it apart. Its long green body flopped lifelessly to the ground.

The Chimera wailed, fire blasting at her. Stheno jumped out of the way, but just barely. The edge of her shirt caught fire and she had to smack it out.

I took advantage of the distraction again, slid to the far side of him, and swung, this time hitting him in the shoulder. Blood poured freely and Stheno shouted for me to back away.

“The viper’s blood is poisonous,” she shouted. “His might be too. Stay back.”

Bracken and Coco finally made it in, looking as though they’d been engaged in a battle of their own. Bracken grabbed the knife from his ankle. When he stood, though, it was a great sword.

The Chimera opened his mouth to paint the newcomers with fire, but Bracken was already in the air, leaping over the top of the Chimera, slashing down at his spine. The Chimera’s legs gave out as his head reared back, fire blanketing the ceiling of the cave.

Coco had a sword drawn as well. She shot her own fireball at the lion head, hitting him right between the eyes. He may not have burned up, but judging by the squeal of pain, it hurt like a mofo. While he was shaking singed fur out of his eyes, Coco jumped straight up and, with all her dragon strength, came down hard, her sword chopping through the Chimera’s neck, decapitating him.

“Stheno says the blood is poisonous,” I shouted. “Don’t step in it, especially in socks.”

We all pulled back from the dead Chimera. Thankfully, the blood was seeping into the dirt below, rather than spreading out. “We should probably get the hell out before it morphs into something else.” I replaced my axe in my sheath, but my hands were shaking.

Bracken was staring at his sword. “My blade enjoyed that blood a little too much.” He wiped his sword clean against the fur of the Chimera’s back.

“Good idea.” Coco did the same. She looked at Bracken’s sword and then at her own. “Mine doesn’t feel any different.”

Bracken shook his head. “Mine is fighting me. It doesn’t want to give up this shape. I need it back in my sheath and it doesn’t want to go. It wants to kill more.”

“That can’t be good,” I muttered.

“I don’t know,” Stheno said. “It depends on what we come across next.”

Bracken wrapped both hands around the sword hilt like he was strangling it. After a brief struggle, the sword finally resumed its knife disguise and Bracken was able to sheath it again.

He turned to Coco. “How badly were you hurt?”

She sheathed her own sword, shaking her head. “You got the worst of it.” She turned to Stheno and me. “We couldn’t get through. It wasn’t a question of contorting our bodies or scraping off layers of skin. We couldn’t fit.”

“Coco used her superior strength,” he said, “to rip at the rock edge until she was able to break it off.” He lifted her bleeding hands, silently saying a spell over them. He then pulled out his canteen, poured water over her wounds, and offered her the rest to drink.

She shook her head, flexing her obviously pained fingers. “It’s okay. We got through and they’ve stopped bleeding.” She dried her hands on her t-shirt. “I was worried there for a minute that the blood would make the sword slip and I wouldn’t get a clean cut.”

I went to what I hoped was the exit. “No worries there. You two saved our asses.” I slipped through more easily than I’d entered the Chimera’s lair. “I think this side will be easier to get through,” I called back. The journey continued.

Chapter 14.5

THE FERRYMAN’S REST, HOUR 33