Page 55 of Shadows of Winter

She kept from shrieking—barely—and swam several strokes to the side, making exaggerated kicks in case she needed to strike whatever that had been in the head.

A huge creature with oily black fur and a fanged maw broke the surface five feet away. She didn’t know if it was the fur shark the men had spoken of, but that broad jaw and those long pointed teeth promised it could chomp her in half.

Giving up on treading water—and avoiding the men—Kaylina paddled as fast as she could toward the dock. The creature followed.

Something batted her foot. A fin? She kicked hard, splashing and praying to scare the creature away—also praying it wouldn’t latch onto her leg.

Kaylina glanced toward the dock, hoping it was closer than she thought. Legdar aimed the blunderbuss, not at her but at the water behind her.

Knowing how inaccurate those weapons were, she ducked under the surface. That might have been a mistake because that was the creature’s domain. She couldn’t see anything in the dark water, but her instincts warned her of danger. She pulled her knife out, twisted, and slashed outward.

The blade connected, but it clinked off something hard. The thing’s fangs?

The boom of the blunderbuss rang out, thunderous even with the water muffling sound.

Hoping it would scare the creature, Kaylina stuck her knife in her mouth to free up both arms and swam toward the dock. She looked up as she paddled and was in time to see someone in black spring upon Legdar. Vlerion.

His sword glinted yellow, reflecting the torchlight, as he swung it toward the man’s neck. The blunderbuss and Legdar’s head flew off the dock and hit the water.

Vlerion glanced at Kaylina, but Zerek was charging him with an axe, and he had to defend himself.

Water surged behind Kaylina. The creature hadn’t given up. She was only fifteen or twenty yards from the dock and put her head down, stroking and kicking as hard as she could.

Jaws wrapped around her leg, halting her as pain erupted in her shin and calf. She couldn’t keep from screaming, water flowing into her mouth and half-choking her. Terrified, she grabbed her knife and twisted, stabbing wildly.

Between the frothing water and the poor lighting, she could barely see the creature, but she thrust around her leg, hoping to get lucky, hoping it wouldn’t—

There. Her knife sank in deep, and the agonizing grip loosened.

A great roar came from the dock—what in all the altered orchards was that?—and the jaws released her completely.

Yanking her knife free, Kaylina swam away, praying she could reach land—and that the shark-thing couldn’t walk.

A tremendous splash came from her side, creating waves as something plunged in. She glimpsed short, sleek auburn fur. Another creature?

With fear and pain making her frantic, she kept paddling, sprinting for what she hoped was safety. More splashes and another roar erupted from the water behind her. The two creatures were fighting. Whichever one was roaring sounded enraged.

Glancing back as she swam, trying to figure out what was going on, Kaylina almost crashed head-first into one of the dock pilings. With water surging all around her from the nearby battle, she had to grab it to keep from being batted around. She clung to it with both arms and looked for a way up, but the dock and the walkway were higher above than she’d realized.

A shriek of pain came from the fight. She had no idea which of the creatures had made it, but the splashes stopped, the water growing still.

Afraid the winner of the battle was swimming under the surface toward her, she stroked toward the boat. It rocked when she lunged up to grab the lip, but it was wide enough that it didn’t tip. With all the strength she had remaining, she pulled herself out, flopping down in the bottom and crying out when her injured leg struck the side.

The wounds burned with agony, and she had no doubt as much blood as water was dripping off her. All she wanted was to curl on her side in the bottom of the boat and sob, but those creatures might be able to surge out of the water and pull her back in.

That thought sent energy into her limbs, enough for her to push up to her hands and knees. She gripped the edge of the dock and pulled herself out.

“Shit,” she blurted in surprise when she bumped a person lying dead on the boards next to a crate and a pair of boots.

Legdar. She’d forgotten.

Trembling, Kaylina crawled off the dock and used the rock wall to pull herself to her feet. Her injured leg didn’t want to take her weight, and she slumped against the wall for support as she surveyed her surroundings.

Zerek was also dead, floating in the pool near the edge, his axe on the walkway. She didn’t see Vlerion. She also didn’t see the auburn-furred creature that had engaged the fur shark. It, however, floated belly up not ten feet from the dock, one of its fins torn off and its head smashed in, as if a battering ram had struck it rather than claws. It was near enough to one of the torches that she could make out four parallel gashes in its flesh, the wounds deep enough that they’d half eviscerated it.

Remembering the enraged roars of the other creature, Kaylina rubbed her face with a shaky hand. Whatever it had been, it had saved her life, but that kind of fury and power was terrifying.

“Vlerion?” she called softly.

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