Page 72 of The Great and Terrible

With a roar of his own, Jasher finally did it. He swung.

The blade sliced into the floor of the dais directly beside the chopping block, avoiding me entirely. “Run,” he commanded the crowd. “The monstra come.”

The people dispersed, screaming and dashing for cover in the woods. Only Leona and Patch remained. The mayor dropped the pack and floundered, as if torn. Patch let the hat fly away and held up her fists, ready to fight.

Shock reverberated in my bones. Jasher hadn’t beheaded me. Had let me live. Had risked utter destruction. Now, the girls were hanging back, putting their lives on the line to help us.

Gripping the neckline of my shirt, Jasher hauled me to my feet and shoved a dagger hilt in my hand. “Lead as many as you can to the oasis,” he instructed, each word dripping with fury.

I’d saved him from himself, but he might not forgive me for it.

“I won’t leave you to battle the enemy on your own.” I wasn’t a skilled soldier, and yet otherworldly confidence accompanied the ring’s heat. A strength I’d experienced only once before, only in greater measure. Suddenly the dagger felt natural in my grip, as if it had become an extension of my arm.

“Lead as many as you can to the oasis,” he repeated, tossing a crossbow to Patch, who caught the weapon with ease. He lobbed a mini-whip at Leona, but she dropped it.

“I ain’t goin’ nowhere,” Patch announced over the thunder.

“M-me either,” Leona squeaked on a raspy plume of air.

All but spewing fire from his nostrils, Jasher jerked his ax free of the wood and withdrew the other from its sheath. “If any of you die, it’s your fault. I’ll accept no blame.”

The ring’s heat amplified to blistering, and I heard myself say, “No one is dying today.” The words spilled from deep inside my being, from a well I hadn’t known I possessed.

As rain beat upon us, the chorus of roars increased in volume. With the next flash of lightning, I spied them. The monstra. By a miracle I didn’t yet understand, fear remained at bay. Three creatures streaked through the sky, as grotesque as advertised. A twisted amalgamation of a dragon, bull, and wolf whose incarnations hailed from nightmares rather than nature. They were even bigger than the stuffed mounts inWest’s office with gnarled black horns spiked from their heads. Their crimson eyes were whirlpools of hatred. Smoke wafted from their nostrils.

Leona whimpered. Patch banged a fist into her temple, as if trying to beat out the terror.

“If you fail to survive this battle after I’ve risked everything to save you,” Jasher snarled at me, stepping up to my side, “I will be displeased.”

“Same, Tinman. Same.”

Closer and closer the monsters came. I breathed deep, bracing for impact, now understanding why he’d intended to save the serpens-rosa. We weren’t coming out of this without injury.

“Keep your eyes on your opponent every second,” Jasher commanded us all. “When a monstra makes eye contact, they can’t look away until you do. It will be mesmerized, unable to harm you or think past getting free of your gaze.”

Twitters of excitement replaced their roars as the beasts spotted us. They swooped low, coasting through the air, gliding closer… The one on the left seemed to smile before unhinging its jaw. The scales covering its throat flared and brightened, as if fire brewed beneath.

I can do this. “Patch,” I screamed. To my relief, she comprehended my order and unleashed a surge of arrows as the monstra sprayed its flames over the dais.

Those missiles hit the underside of the creature’s chin, disrupting his aim, allowing Jasher and me to dive to the ground and roll to safety. I flowed to my feet as if guided by invisible hands. The fire raged, unaffected by the rain.

A glittering golden light pulsed from my ring, and the creature looked my way, as if it couldn’t help itself. Our gazes locked, a surprise to us both. Determination met hatred, and the beast jerked. It passed over us, so close I could’ve reached up to touch it. No more flames escaped it. There was no swipeof its claws. It even spun mid-air to maintain our visual contact.

Jasher handled the beast in the middle, moving with a speed I couldn’t track in my periphery. Leona brandished the whip, successfully winding the end around the neck of the third until it sprayed yellow-green flames across the gravel streets. To avoid frying, she released the weapon and dove for cover.

On my creature’s second pass overhead, I jumped and swung the dagger. Metal sliced into a hoof tipped with claws. Thick, dark green blood spurted from the wound as the beast squawked with pain.

Patch used the last of her arrows, but none met their mark as the monstra thrashed in the sky. I was tempted to focus on the surrounding inferno but releasing my captive meant certain destruction. Then it happened through no fault of my own. Smoke billowed between us, breaking our connection.

Another roar sounded, this one familiar. I tensed as Nugget leaped through the gloom, slamming into Leona’s opponent before it could unleash a second stream. Rabdog and monstra rolled across the dirt, biting and clawing at each other.

The one I’d injured cleared the smoke, spitting fire. Flames consumed me.

CHAPTER 18

FLY, FLY AWAY

Iscreamed, expecting pain. But… I felt good. Better than good.

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