Page 102 of Flame and Sparrow

After testing my theory a few times, I grew bolder. Once I was certain I had the beast’s attention, I swung the sword again…and this time I let it go, allowing it to clatter against the nearest wall.

The monster darted toward it as it fell.

I thought I could be quick enough to snatch the weapon back before it actually reached it.

I was wrong.

I dove for the sword and managed to get my hand on its grip, but the Ocean Marr’s beast moved much more quickly than it had prior to this point. All at once it wasthere, curving toward me and lashing out with its barbed tail. It struck my legs, sharp tips catching and ripping through fabric and skin alike.

My blood sprayed the ground. I cried out, a wave of dizziness flooding in behind the pain, but I still clutched the sword—so I could still control the beast.

Stumbling from the burning pain in my leg, I ran again for the door. Water roared up as before, but I didn’t need to get outside; only the sword did.

I sized up the distance between the ocean and where I stood. Deciding it was too far for my throwing ability, I turned to search for another option.

I half-hobbled, half-sprinted for the closest staircase, my eyes on the large window partway between the first and second floors. Reaching that window, I wasted no time swinging the blade into it. Glass rained over me. I tucked my head in, draping my arms over it for protection, and kept moving. My sights were on the landing just above.

I leapt onto the landing, turned several circles to gain momentum, and then released the sword and sent it spinning out of the window below.

As it tumbled away toward the sea, flashing brightly in the daylight, a horrifying thought occurred to me: If this did not work, I’d just thrown away my only weapon.

Time slowed to a crawl as I waited for the beast’s reaction.

It slinked up the stairs toward me, liquid shearing off it and turning the steps into a waterfall as it came. It stopped several feet before the broken window, rearing onto its hind-legs, its sapphire eyes flashing.

It gave a horrible shriek as it snapped forward with the speed and force of a crashing wave. I scrambled higher, dragging my bleeding self up and out of the way just as it turned and launched through the window, following the same trajectory as the weapon.

It was too big to fit through the opening, but it made a way just the same, its body slamming through the stone, popping it outward, sending several cracks twisting through the walls and the floor.

I cautiously but quickly followed it as far as I dared, sidestepping falling debris, glass, and fractured bits of steps so I could peer down and watch as the ocean-forged beast returned to the waves it had been made from.

It disappeared in a blink, leaving nothing but seafoam and ripples in its wake—and even these things soon settled, until only calm water remained.Soothed.

I watched for several breathless moments, waiting to see if it reformed or resurfaced.

It didn’t.

Exhausted, I slumped down against the wall, eyeing the cracks left by the beast’s chaotic exit.

One of those cracks began to widen. It overtook another crack, and then this second fissure alsobegan to expand. All around the room the ripple effect continued—with a swiftness that seemed unnatural—until the foundation of the tower itself began to groan and shift under the weight of the damage.

The entire side of the fortress collapsed before I could get to my feet and escape.

I fell.

Stone and dust and glass fell with me, battering my body. By some miracle, I avoided the largest chunks of broken and breaking things, and I remained conscious as I hit the ground. I missed the sea by mere inches, landing at the very end of the path I’d been running along earlier. I slammed hard onto my side, striking a jagged edge of a large, flat stone before rolling to a stop.

Most of the fortress debris fell into the water on either side of me. Nothing more than a few stray stones struck me after my sharp landing, but an alarmingly warm wetness was spreading from my right side.

I couldn’t move.

I could barely breathe.

The sky above me grew dark. I blinked and realized the blurry wall blotting out the daylight was a wave rising, towering over my landing spot, preparing to crash down.

I closed my eyes, squeezing out tears, waiting for the sea to finish me off. And waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

It never happened.

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