When Nick looked back over his shoulder, the shelled reptile appeared from around a bend in the tree line. It began to inhale, a roiling ball of flame gathering in front of its maw then lancing forth. Just before the conflagration hit them, they turned the next corner. The trees beside them erupted into rising pillars of flame for a few seconds, before the fire was extinguished between the drawing of one breath and the next.
“We have to do something,” Sophia said. “We’re not going to make it out of here at this rate.”
“Summon a wasp,” Nick replied. “I’ll buy you enough time to get it in the air.” They came to a skidding stop as a rising tide of terror broke over him. He summoned his arctic clarity to maintain focus and keep himself moving, although it couldn’t completely dispel his fear. He knew that if what they were attempting didn’t work out, it would be the last mistake they ever made.
But he didn’t have time to second guess himself, only to proceed with his plan and pray. Piercing ray, Nick gathered his will, pouring as much mana as he could into the spell coalescing between his hands.
Meanwhile, Sophia began to chant, somehow managing to increase the speed of her casting, judging by the flows of chitin and tissue that were appearing in the air beside her. Nick waited seven full seconds until his spell was nearing completion, then stuck his head out from behind the trunk.
He could feel the rhythmic pounding as the beast’s footsteps drew near, but he shut out his awareness of the creature’s imminent arrival. He knew it would appear from behind the bend any second. Before it did, Nick needed to select a target for his spell.
There! Just as the beast’s snout came into view, he visualized his trajectory and let loose his magic. This was the most powerful ray that Nick had cast yet, the whirling drill bit nearly as thick as his wrist. Instead of aiming at the beast, which he strongly suspected could either dodge, deflect, or endure the attack, he sent the ray screaming toward a thick row of trees, commanding it to bend so that it struck several towering trunks in succession.
Bark and branches went flying into the air as Nick panned the ray in a wide arc, tearing into living and charred wood alike, like a chainsaw attached to a bungie cord. As the cacophony of falling lumber rose to fill the air, the shelled beast skidded to a stop, watching the spell play out before orienting on Nick and preparing to breathe once more.
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Before its flames could coalesce, a sharp crack rang out, followed by another and then a third within as many heartbeats. The creature tried to get out of the way, but it was already too late. Before it could do more than retract into its shell, three massive trees came crashing down on top of it, burying the river king beneath an avalanche of wood and leaf.
It let out a furious roar from somewhere below the pile. It’s not hurt, just pissed off. Nick knew that his impromptu deadfall hadn’t been enough to wound the creature. He doubted that the falling trees could even injure it from inside its dense shell.
But winning the fight wasn’t what he’d been going for. He only needed to slow it down. Before the beast could dig its way free, Nick poured his remaining mana into casting a second, weaker ray, toppling several more trees with the spell before running back to Sophia’s side, just as she finished her summons.
“I managed to delay it, but it won’t hold the beast back for long. It’s time for your friend to shine.” She smiled back at him as they started running for their lives. Meanwhile, her wasp flew high, heading over the branches. To where the dragon-turtle was in the middle of freeing itself from Nick’s trap. The frostfury wasp wouldn’t be able to injure the powerful beast either, but that wasn’t what Sophia intended. It only had to distract the king long enough to get away.
Judging by the furious roar that shook the forest ten seconds later, Nick knew that their plan was working. Burning stamina like there was no tomorrow, the pair raced out of the woods, abandoning the river crossing in favor of fleeing for their lives.
For ten heart-wrenching minutes, the beast continued to pursue them, growling in the distance as it chased after them. Before it could catch them, they burst out of the tree line, retreating into the bog to find somewhere to hide. Fortunately, for all its size and ferocity, the great shelled beast was slower than they were on land.
They ran for another half hour, until they reached the bottom of their reserves, then came to a stop at the top of a small hillock and ducked behind a boulder to conceal their profiles. Nick took out his spyglass and started looking back the way they had come. Fortunately, it seemed that they had left the beast’s territory behind them, and it wasn’t inclined to spend all day chasing after what would only amount to a light lunch.
Since fording the river was no longer an option, Nick and Sophia would have to find another way across.