Page 139 of Mountain of Mirrors and Starlight
Aislinn spun round; the wargi’s paw had disappeared into an empty steam hole, the rock giving way as easily as tissue paper.
Aislinn hissed under her breath. She glanced at the manticore. Its face had turned towards the noise, but there was no recognition, not yet. Its eyesight was not as good as hers.
She gestured at Beau to keep the group moving and slid from her saddle, back to Luna.
“It’s all right,” she whispered, “stay calm.”
The rest of the party carried on moving, all apart from Dillon, who had dismounted to assist even though he had no idea what was going on. Aislinn whispered instructions in the dark as they tugged at the wargi’s paw, inwardly cursing with every word uttered.
The manticore was getting closer.
“Get Luna off,” she said finally. She didn’t want to abandon the wargi, but they couldn’t risk Luna’s life over it. Caer would never forgive himself. Aislinn would never forgiveherself.
Dillon nodded, hands reaching for her, helping her out of the saddle. They walked forward as Aislinn tried once more in vain to free the wargi.
It let out a slow, desperate whimper.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered back, “I’m so sorry.”
A terrific crash clanged through the cavern. Aislinn’s gaze spun towards it—Dillon and Luna had both fallen through the floor.
The manticore lunged.
Luna screamed. A massive paw rose up. Dillon twisted in the hole, covering Luna’s body with his own. Claws raked down his back. Aislinn raced towards them, but the wings flared out, knocking her to the ground.
“Dillon!” Luna screamed.
The manticore yanked him out of the hole and bit into his shoulder, only to spit him out a second later. Aislinn streamed forward, yanking Luna out of the ground, turning just in time to meet another swipe with her blade.
“Ais!” Beau raced towards her, the others standing in the line, glancing sightlessly at the scene before them, weapons raised, unable to act.
Beau skidded to a stop in the middle of the space, and flung his hands up into the air.
“Luminous,”he breathed.
Light erupted from his fingers like a flare, shooting up into the centre of the cavern…
And straight into the hundreds of bats sleeping there.
The second that it took them to react seemed to stretch into an age. Aislinn’s vision went everywhere at once, to the horror on Beau’s face, to the dismay of the dwarves, to Luna, scrambling through the shattered floor, and the Dillon, standing beneath the monstrous maw of the manticore, his arm torn halfway from its socket.
Aislinn charged.
The bats charged, too.
Beau slid into battle, conjuring a carpet of fire and flinging into the air like an enormous scythe, dividing the manticore from the cloud of bats.
Arrows flew. Aislinn sprang into action, slicing along the manticore’s belly. The razor-sharp tail whipped round before she could thrust, slamming her against the ground.
Fire flailed above, the flare fading. Beau could not keep this up forever.
The tail came again, stinger at the ready. Dillon flung himself against it, holding tightly. Aislinn scrambled to her feet, grappling for her sword.
The fire vanished. The enormous wings shook.
Diana’s grapple sprung out of nowhere, wrapping around a singular paw. She swung the chain around a pillar and pulled, holding it in place.
Darkness blinked in and out, illuminated only by the faint pulse of Beau’s next burst of fire, each growing dimmer and longer between attacks. There were too many bats, too manythings…
