Page 63 of Of Serpents and Ruins
I placed my hand over my collarbone and pressed the necklace down hard against my skin, fighting to calm myself. If the earthquake had been responsible for the curse advancing in time before, could it—
Brandt’s body shook. He ducked his head, his black-and-red scales glistening. The long whiskers drooped. "Stella—" His voice became more guttural, his coils tightening around the rock.
Low growls echoed up the dark chamber. My gaze jerked up as Brandt’s head remained down. His horned eyelids slid shut. Over a dozen yellow eyes glittered in the dirty waters, swimming against the current with impossible grace and strength.
Kapis.
Their powerful tails sliced through the current, their bodies submerged except for their eyes. The churning and swirling eddies meant nothing to them.
Thrusting my hand against Brandt’s side, I pointed with the other hand. "The kapis are back, Brandt. Brandt?"
His breaths had grown more ragged, his head drooping, though the rest of his body had gone rigid.
Dread chilled me more than the cold waters. No…no.
The kapis’ glowing eyes drew closer, their guttural growls louder.
"You can fight it, Brandt!" The words slipped out of my mouth as I helplessly pressed my hand to the red stripe running the length of his body. Could he? Who knew?
His head lowered again as if a great weight pressed upon him. Pure fear glowed in his eyes even as the rage and madness crept in. He shook his head. What little fragment of him remained fought desperately to retain control. It was like watching it swallow him alive, sucking him down into a narrow vortex of hate and rage. The fear intensified, pulsing in those brilliant red eyes, and that fear was only for me.
Tears stung my eyes. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t will myself to speak. We both knew jumping in the water was a death sentence for me. Without my water serpent form, I had no chance of surviving, especially facing over a dozen kapis. And as soon as the curse seized him, it would take only one bite.
The haze swept over me again. I placed my hand flat against his scales and stared up at him, watching as he struggled and shook. Dread pounded within me. I didn’t want this. Dying was one thing, but to know he would have to bear it for the rest of his days? His fear sliced into me even deeper, sinking its hooks into my consciousness.
All I wanted was to say I loved him, that I forgave him. This wasn’t him, and it wasn’t his fault.
He kept his gaze locked on mine. Then—with great effort—he lifted his heavy head once more, took a sweeping glance around the chamber, and grunted. He drew his tail up out of the water and snapped it around me.
The coils pulsed tighter. For one devastating moment, I thought he was going to crush me. But then—as the kapis swam closer—he looked me dead in the eye and flung me toward the ledge that led from the passage.
"Brandt!" His name tore out of my mouth as I sailed through the cold air.
He didn’t follow. The last remnant of his humanity vanished from his eyes as he released his grip on the stone and launched himself back into the frothing waters at the kapis.
STELLA
The narrow ledge of stone that connected to the main passage hit me hard. My ribs protested, taking the brunt of it along with my right arm. My legs splashed into the rushing waters. Instinct alone gave me the presence of mind to seize hold of it with my left hand. Sharp pain jarred up my side, but the ragged cry that tore from my lips was for Brandt.
He vanished entirely beneath the frothing grey waves. The glowing eyes of the kapis blinked out as they dove after him.
"Brandt!" I sobbed, my voice weak and broken. My lungs cramped, rebelling against my pleas for air.
Another chunk of a crystal formation broke off and crashed down into the water, sending up filthy streams of water. Red swirls, bubbles, and froth rose in the water.
No.
By all that was good in this world, this wasn’t how it was going to end. It couldn’t be!
Shaking, I dragged myself up the ledge and to my feet.
The waters dipped and then returned. Brandt surged upward, a bloody kapi corpse in his maw. His powerful jaws snapped left and right, crushing the kapis between razor-sharpteeth. Blood filled the churning waters as he whipped his muscular body back and forth, slamming the creatures against the cavern walls and rending with his claws.
They mobbed him, lashing out in attack. Their teeth and claws cut and scraped, and once they found a wound, they focused on it.
The kapis kept coming, a never-ending swarm of crocodilian fury. They slashed at his sides, working in concert. He thrashed about, dislodging some and seizing another in his jaws. With a roar that vibrated through my very core, he surged back into the frothing waves, tearing through the snarling beasts. In seconds, his massive form erupted from the churning waters that were now more red than grey.
I couldn’t wrench my gaze away. My body trembled from the cold. He couldn’t keep this up forever, but the kapis also couldn’t keep coming forever. Once he finished going through the kapis, he would turn on me.
