Page 136 of A Song of Air
She held her breath, testing movement in her injured wrist. It screamed with its pain, but she had to ignore it if she wanted to get out of this situation alive. She had to bear it. She had borne things much more painful than this. That was what she told herself, if only to trick her mind into believing the pain didn’t exist.
Gritting her teeth and suppressing her scream, she lifted both hands and gripped the edge of the ravine. White-hot pain shot from her fingers all the way up to her shoulder. Her vision turned white, and her mouth watered.
Don’t black out,she told herself.Do not fucking pass out down here.
Once she had her breathing under control, she found a good grip and tried to haul herself up. But the mud was too slippery, and it seemed like there were layers of it to where she couldn’t dig her fingers in and get a good hold. All she managed was to slide back down and fall back to the ground on her ass.
Her entire front was caked with sludge and she stood, ready to try again, but this time with a boost of magic. She reached deep into that well where her magic nestled and grasped at it with her fingers. It felt dormant, and the place where it usually was felt hollow. Still, she reached, stretched, and grasped its sleeping form, shaking it awake with all the desperation she could muster.
Before it awoke, the ground shook once again, a terrible vibration she felt straight down to her teeth. She fell backwards, putting her hands out to stop her fall. Her wrist screamed at the landing, and she felt the tears prickle behind her eyes.
The ground kept shaking, rattling her down to her skeleton. She tilted and fell, attempting to find her balance. She eventually made it to her feet, separating them hip-width apart and steadied herself. The walls of the ravine rumbled, splattering soil through the air.
Bryson’s breathing grew labored and her whole body shook as she tried to hone in her senses on whatever was making the ground quake. In the distance, turning the corner, she was met with a monster of nightmares.
Her scream caught in her throat, but she kept her legs planted firmly on the ground.
The creature was a gargantuan beast like nothing she’d ever seen before. Its wide, circular, gaping mouth sported several rows of knife-like teeth. Several eyes dotted both sides of its cylindrical head, and spikes jutted out down the length of its back. It was like a snake, with stubby, clawed legs down its torso and entire scaley length.
It crawl-slid towards Bryson, and each step shook the earth. It caught sight of her with its dozens of eyes, and for a second it froze. They measured each other before the creature threw its elongated neck back and roared.
It picked up speed her way, and Bryson had no other choice but to turn and run.
Her feet slid on the ground, and she fought to right herself as she darted between the tall walls of the maze. The walls shook and she had no idea where she was going. She ran aimlessly, feeling the hot breath of the beast at her neck.
It was too close. Far too close. Her body was screaming; she knew she couldn’t outrun it.
Predator or prey.
That meant she was just going to have to face it.
Bryson reached inside herself so deeply she screamed as she ripped the magic up by force. Her feet skidded as she whirled, surprising the beast.
Her hands shot out and she screamed as her magic obeyed. Wind burst from her fingers, shoving the creature back through the tight space between the walls. A riptide of a tornado spun from the bottom of its claws, sucking it into the storm.
The screech it gave was deafening. Its head thrashed side to side, hitting the walls on either side. A landslide of mud poured down from the force, and Bryson had to jump back to avoid being buried beneath the sludge. Her ankles were sucked in it, and she nearly tripped. Her magic flailed and failed. The wind whooshed down, blowing her backwards. The beast screamed as it fell to the ground and the entire world felt like it would split down the middle from the impact.
While the creature writhed on the ground in its attempt to right itself, Bryson forced herself to a stand, turned, and ran once again. It didn’t matter how light she tried to make her steps, they squelched and made too much noise in the mud. She slip and slid, and it slowed her movements. But she needed to put distance between herself and the creature, just enough so she could land another blow.
Bryson felt along the walls as she ran, hoping to feel something solid. If she put in enough distance, she could fly up to the edge of the ravine and away from the monster. But what were the odds that the queen and her guards would only surround Bryson and toss her back inside?
The odds of that were very high.
There would be no winning.
Not unless she killed the beast.
She was going to need a weapon for that.
The ground quaked again as the creature righted itself and went in search of its prey. Bryson quickly covered herself in mud, rolling against it so it caked her skin and face. Then, she pressed herself quickly to the wall just as the creature thundered down the path she hid in. It rushed past her, and as soon as it did, Bryson peeled herself off the wall to face its back. She took a breath and forced her magic out. It was like taking a knife to her chest and carving out her own flesh, but she gritted through it.
A gust of air pushed her through the air where she landed on the creature’s back.
It let out a roar of rage as she bent and gripped one of the spikes on its spine with her hands. Her wrists screamed and the spike cut through her flesh, but she pulled, using magic to aid her, and popped one off.
The creature cried out in pain and thrashed its tail in her direction, but Bryson was already moving away, jumping off the side of its body to land in the mud while its tail slapped down against itself, causing it to rumble angrily.
Bryson wielded its spike like a weapon. She didn’t care that it grew wet and warm with her blood. Her hands shook and she fought to contain her fear and rage. She steeled herself, so when the beast turned on her and charged, she was prepared. She met it in the middle, running, ducking under its soft underbelly. With a two-handed grip, she shoved the spike upwards, piercing past hard, leathery flesh. She screamed as she sawed through it, pushing herself further and further, gutting the creature.
