Page 77 of Shattered Veil
But I’m not ready. Not really. Because nothing could have prepared me for what happens next.
The trees thin and the dead, brown grasses get taller as I realize there’s a giant lake in front of us.
The lake’s surface ripples, sending out concentric circles that shatter the mirror-like stillness. My breath catches in my throat as I watch, mesmerized by the beauty of it. The air grows colder, mist rising from the water in ghostly tendrils.
Suddenly, the ice at the lake’s edge explodes outward. Shards fly everywhere, forcing me to duck and cover my face. When I look up, my legs turn to jelly and I’m rooted to the spot.
Rising from the depths is a creature straight out of a nightmare. It’s massive, easily the size of a house, with slimy, iridescent scales that shimmer in the weak sunlight. But it’s the heads that make my heart stop. Not one, not two, but seven serpentine necks stretch towards the sky, each crowned with a head bristling with razor-sharp teeth.
“Holy fuck,” someone whispers nearby.“It’s a hydra.”
The beast’s multiple sets of eyes, glowing an otherworldly green, scan the shoreline. I can see other students frozen in terror, some already backing away. But there’s nowhere to run. The trees seem to shift, hemming us in like a cage. The forest at our backs feels more like a prison now than an escape. My mind races, searching for any scrap of knowledge about hydras from our mythical creatures class. Damn. Why didn’t I pay more attention?
A piercing shriek fills the air as one of the hydra’s heads darts forward, snatching a student in its jaws. A sickening crunch cuts the boy’s screams short.
That breaks the spell of terror. Students scatter; some try unsuccessfully to flee back into the woods, while others desperately try to circle the lake. I urge myself to go forward, diving behind a large boulder as another head snaps at the space I just vacated.
My heart pounds so hard I can barely hear anything else.
Think, Brigid.
I peek around the rock, assessing the situation. The hydra’s massive body is still half-submerged, giving it a limited range on land. But those necks are long and lightning-fast.
Then I see Laria across the clearing, her face twisted in an ugly sneer as she shoves past a smaller student, using him as a human shield. The hydra’s attention turns that way, giving me a moment to breathe.
A memory surfaces - something Lochan taught me during training.“When faced with a superior opponent, don’t try to overpower them. Use their strength against them.”
Right. Easy for him to say when he’s not staring down seven sets of gnashing teeth.
I roll to avoid another strike, mud squelching beneath me. The hydra’s attacks are growing more frenzied, heads moving and striking with a speed that should be impossible for something that size. Some try to fight back with magic that seems to barely scratch the beast’s hide.
I’m about to make a run for it when movement catches my eye. Laria’s creeping up behind me. Should’ve known she’d try something.
“Hey, freak,” she hisses, lunging forward. Her hands connect with my back, shoving hard.“Why don’t you go play with your new friend?”
I stumble, nearly face planting into the muddy ground, but I stay vertical. The hydra’s closest head whips around, jaws gaping.
Fuck. No time to think.
Shadow magic surges through me, cool and familiar. I let it consume me, my body dissolving into inky darkness just as teeth snap shut where I stood a heartbeat ago.
Laria’s triumphant laugh cuts off in a choked gasp as she stumbles through my incorporeal form. She windmills her arms, trying to regain balance, but she’s too close to the hydra. One of its heads darts forward.
My solid form snaps back into place.
She whirls, eyes wide with terror as she comes face-to-face with certain death. Part of me wants to let her face the consequences of her actions. She tried to kill me, after all. But I can’t.I’m not a monster.
I’m not her.
I grab Laria’s arm, yanking her back. We both hit the ground hard as jaws snap shut inches from where she stood.
“Get off me!” Laria sputters as she pushes herself up. She uses her vampire speed to run.
Multiple heads swivel towards me, eyes gleaming with hunger. I dive behind a fallen tree just as a head strikes, its teeth sinking into the wood, splinters flying everywhere.
I press my back against the fallen tree, my mind racing. The hydra’s heads writhe above me, searching for their prey. I can’t keep dodging forever. I need a plan.
My shadow magic pulses beneath my skin, eager to be unleashed. An idea forms, wild and desperate. If I can’t overpower the hydra, maybe I can outsmart it.
