Page 106 of Mud

Make her submit.

How in the world could I do that without my magic? I tried to pull it out of me again, instinctively searching for my ring, searching for that spark that used to burn so brightly. It used to enlighten the inside of my mind so fast, and I took it for granted. Now that I was without it, I realized just how big a part of me my magic had been. It was what I’d turned to for anything—to fight, to distract myself, to play, to draw strength from.

And if a vulcera wasn’t about to bite into my neck any second, I’d have sat and let out the wave of tears that hit me from the inside right now.

Except, against all odds, that gnawing ache for my magic gave me hope.

Rainbow.That Rainbow with all those colors was in this game.

Never mind that Taland Tivoux wassomehowhere, and if he was actually reallyreal—which I doubted for obvious reasons—he was going to kill me if the vulcera didn’t first. Never mind that I had no magic to make this beast submit to me ifI tried.

So, Iwouldn’ttry.

Instead, I was going to force her to surrender with my body and my weapons alone.

Again, I didn’t really have any clear plan in mind onhowI was going to achieve that, but when the vulcera was three feet away, then lowered down another inch as she prepared to launch herself at me, I moved.

I jumped away from her reach and continued to run to the other side of the branch. Her tail missed me by a short inch.Run, run, run!my own thoughts urged me, and I did. I ran all around the branch like it was a perfectly natural thing to do, and the vulcera ran after me, never missing a beat. My long-bladed daggers were in my hands and I searched my surroundings as I went, jumping at the last second from one branch to the other to distract the vulcera because that’s the only strategy I had. She was faster than me, but if she didn’t know where I was going, she’d waste precious seconds making turns and jumping, seconds I used to my advantage as best I could.

No Taland anywhere—he’d probably been in my head—but other players stopped and stared at me as I went, curious, afraid, confused. I paid them no attention, until I saw a woman still waiting for her familiar, standing in the middle of two branches that met at the top to form an upside-down V, with ropes hanging in the middle of it.

It was exactly the kind of spot I was looking for to tie up the vulcera—properlythis time. One chance, that was all I’d get. I was already exhausted while the beast seemed to be perfectly capable of running for hours. The pain in my bad leg had turned up a notch, too. If I missed this shot, I was going to get eaten.

So, I screamed at the woman wearing dark red leathers, “Move!”

She kept looking at me, confused, brows narrowed, and she didn’t move right away, even though she could tell I wasn’t about to slow down. But once she saw and heard the roars of the vulcera behind me, she let out a small scream and jumped to the nearest branch.

I moved to the right as I sheathed my daggers for the moment, and I stepped on the side of the tree, no longer shocked at the fact that I didn’t fall. I continued higher up, and through the corner of my eye I saw the shape of the vulcera when she jumped with her paws raised to tear into me.

I jumped, too, onto the other side of the branch and reached for the thick ropes in the middle.

Not fast enough.

Claws on my back, and even though the leather that Poppy had spelled for me held, the pain was incredible. The impact pushed me forward, and I swung hard as the rope between my hands complained with a screeching sound. My back was on fire and I gritted my teeth, feet in front of me to kick the vulcera if she jumped me from the front, but she didn’t. She chased me around the back of the branch just like I’d hoped, so I let go of the rope and continued to the other side, going against my every instinct to run upside it. I’d leave Spiderman to shame with the way I moved all the way to the top, to where the thick branches connected with one another, where I had access to all four ropes that went right through the middle.

The vulcera roared as she jumped, the sound filling my head.

I jumped, too, with two ropes in my hands, feet in front, aiming for her face.

A scream escaped me when the soles of my boots slammed onto her jaws. The next moment could havemoved in slow motion for me because I saw every detail—when I made impact; when her head jerked to the side; when her paws tried to tear into my legs but slid down the leather of my pants; when she spun around at the last second, so incredibly fast when she was just inches away from the branch, and landed on her feet.

Thatpart I didn’t see coming.

I’d hoped she’d hit the branch on her side or back to give me a moment to tie these ropes around her neck, but she landed on her feet instead like a damn cat.

No time to change course, though—I was way too close. With another scream, I landed on the vulcera’s back, right on her antennas, and the roar she let out was as loud as it waspainful.

The movement of my own hands turned to a blur. It felt like I wasn’t in charge of my own body right now—my instincts had taken over completely. I wrapped both ropes around the vulcera’s neck twice as she wailed in pain, the sound of it cutting through me.

Damn it, I didn’t want to hurt her. It fucking killed me to hear her screeching cries, but I also had no choice. I had to secure those ropes around her neck as she tried to jump and get me off her back, used her tail to hit me on the shoulders hard, but I didn’t give up until I was sure she wasn’t going anywhere.

Then I jumped off her back and rolled on the wood, too disoriented to keep my balance. I ended up falling another few feet below.

Her roars didn’t stop. As much as I wanted to sit down and give myself a chance to breathe, a chance to calm down and rest my limbs, there was still a chance that she might manage to free herself, and I couldn’t let that happen. If shedid, I wasn’t going to be able to tie her up again. This was my last chance.

So, I went back to where she was still struggling between the branches, the ropes tight around her neck, the colors on her antennas half ruined where I’d sat on her back. I reached behind her for the other two ropes to tie her limbs as well. The fear kept me focused and the adrenaline kept me numb, so I moved fast. I tied her tail and her back leg as well as I could, then moved the rope around one of the vertical branches closest to me and pulled.

Her roars cut off for a second because the rope squeezed her neck tightly enough to choke her. By the time I came in front of her again, my dagger was ready. I grabbed her ear in one hand and pulled up her head a little so she could breathe, then pressed the tip of the blade under her chin where she had no scales.

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