Leisa could fight even if she couldn’t cast fireballs. She wasn’t bad with a sword, besides. She darted behind an outcropping of rock, fireball screaming passed her. Her face felt hot, and not because she had nearly been vaporized.

I’m going to kill that filth! She told herself forcefully despite her heart trying to thump its way out of her.

Serin and Naikal fought the other two fellbeasts while Lord Jalen and the captives ran for their lives.

She didn’t come all this way to watch a spoiled lordling run craven while she fought to stay alive!

A Fellbeast clawed at Naikal. She jumped, landed into a roll behind the creature, then drove her spear into its back.

The monster howled. It whipped at the Hansa with its claws, but she was too quick. She backed away, spear in hand as a body enveloped in flame shot into the air. It was one of the captives—charred into nothingness.

The monster in red was focused on the others. Leisa’s heart thumped harder but she took the opportunity, darting out of cover, sword raised.

Only a deep stab—in the heart!—would kill it. Her thin blade wasn’t heavy enough to lop limbs off.

Falan rushed the creature, but he failed to land a blow and was knocked to the ground. He was about to meet his end.

Her foot snagged on an outcropping. She grunted as her hands slammed against the wet rocks, her sword clattering metalically. Coughing, she rose to her knees as fast as she could. The monster was still unaware of her.

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Moving up behind the monster, she thrust her sword into its thigh, which was the size of her torso.

The monster screeched. Snarling, it swiped at the blade as if slapping at a particularly annoying bite fly. The sword snapped in two, hilt clanging to the rocky ground as the monster turned on her.

Liesa’s heart jumped into her throat.

She had little time to react. She ducked the claws, rolled between the creature’s legs and scrabbled to reach her sword hilt—it still had two handspans of blade. But then...

NOOOO!

One of those clawed hands enveloped her forearm.

She screamed, kicking to get away.

Bones cracked and Liesa cried out. He struggling was futile as the monster lifted her to its snarling maw.

Abruptly she was on the cold rocks, shrieking against the knives in her arm and the knew pain in her hip. She hardly heard the howling as heavy footfalls thumped away from her.

Falan shouted but she couldn’t hear. Not through the pain. She felt dizzy. Her vision seemed to be closing in around her. What was happening?

Wincing, she shook herself, glanced toward Falan. His feet were off the ground, his body surrounded by thick hands, the claws surrounding him like a cage of knives.

“Falan!”

He didn’t have much time but she could still save him. She pulled the clawed hand from her forearm. The bloody stump still squirted, putting blood and filth all over her.

Knifing pain shot through her arm. She screamed. Stifling her cries, Leisa kicked over the course wet rock, good arm clawing while she held her broken one—gods, it hurts!—against her side.

She grasped the broken sword, pressed the blade against the monster’s heel where tendon met calf and leaned into her slice with as much strength and weight as she could muster.

Blood flowed.

The fellbeast howled, lost balance and fell, falan still in its grip. The monster tossed him like a doll, then used its only arm to deliver a killing blow toward Leisa’s head.

She yelped, raised the broken hilt. The force of the creature nearly drove what was left of the two-edged blade into her face.

She screamed, kicked at the snarling beast as she tried to get away from its clawed reach.