Crowned (Beholder #4)(29)

“Listen to me carefully. This deck is lined with doors. Do any of them lead somewhere you can stay safe?”

The merged creature stepped into the next Rushwa in line, getting larger.

Four creatures remained.

Jicho nodded. “Most of them are big enough to hide in.”

“Good.” I exhaled. “Then you need to go into one and stay put until I’m done here.”

“You’re going to fight them, aren’t you?”

Only two left now.

“I’m going to try. That’s why you need to get someplace safe.”

“I’ll try.” Jicho’s voice warbled with fear. “But I need to run the ship aground and turn off the stream engine.”

“Do whatever you—”

Before I could finish my thought, a massive hand wrapped around my waist, hauling me off the MAJE’s deck. Before I knew what was happening, the thing had jammed me into its mouth, swallowing me whole.

One moment, I was struggling against a monster’s grip. The next, I was surrounded by oily slop, unable to breathe or see. Panic boiled through my bloodstream, but I was able to lean into Necromancer training once more. With force of will, I kept my mind and body calm.

After that, I pulled even more Necromancer power into my body.

It was true that I couldn’t cast a spell, but that didn’t mean there was no benefit to pulling in power. Before I got trained as a Necromancer, I used magick to help with chores like chopping wood. Later on at the Cloister, I channeled the same power to climb the Zelle mountain. Petra said it helped my focus.

Petra. I pictured her once-beloved face tightening into a lined scowl. What would she say if I became this creature’s meal instead of Tsarina? The answer came from the pit of my soul.

Petra would say nothing because the Rushwa are not going to kill me. I’m climbing out of this monster’s stomach and then…

And then, I’d think of something.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

In reality, I had no plan here and very little chance of survival.

Even so, my lungs burned for air as I pushed all my magick into my forearms. After that, I scaled upwards. The creature’s throat was slimy and bubbled with the same sick energy. My power thrummed through my hands as I blindly crawled higher. When I got to the monster’s mouth, it let out a loud roar of frustration and pain. A welcome burst of air surrounded me. I took in a deep breath and held it in tightly.

That’s when I remembered the ruddy bird. The Rushwa had shivered with pain when that animal screeched. A plan formed in my mind. I had a lung full of air and magick that could enhance anything physical that I did. What if I tried some screaming of my own?

It wasn’t the best scheme, but it was better than nothing.

Using all my focus, I channeled my magick into my throat and voice box. My neck glowed with blue light as I set loose the mother of all screams. The gooey structure of the creature shivered around me.

After that, it burst apart.

I landed in the dark waters with a splash. Kicking my legs, I propelled myself through to the river’s surface. Bits of oily goo floated around me.

Now, I’m a death mage, but even I found that disgusting.

The ship was aground, so I paddled over to the side of the boat and hauled myself onto the deck. If there was one consolation in this battle, it was that my quick post-fight swim served to wash off most of the black tar from being ingested by that hybrid monster.

The moment I set foot on deck, one of the small doors on the floor flipped open. Jicho popped his head out. “Did we win?”

He seemed so excited, I couldn’t help but smile. “We did.” I rubbed my forehead. “There’s no time to celebrate, though. We need to get this ship back in the water and find Nan.”

“Sure thing,” said Jicho. “I have a toolkit that can help.” He knelt down and pulled at one of the small doors set into the deck of the ship.

All of a sudden, an arrow whizzed an inch away from Jicho’s nose, landing with a thunk on the metal deck.

Jicho hopped to his feet. “What was that?”

More arrows passed right by his skin, each one zinging close enough to scrape him without drawing blood. I’d seen this kind of attack before.

“Move slowly,” I warned. “Someone is warning us.”

Jicho rolled his eyes. “Uh, I think they’re trying to kill us.”

“Each of those arrows perfectly brushed you without striking. If they wanted to you injured, they would have done it by now. No, whoever it is, they want our attention.”

I raised my hands to shoulder height and palms forward. Little by little, I rose to stand and turned about to face the jungle. “We won’t attack you. Come out.”

A moment later, the jungle was filled with yellow eyes. Thousands of them. And they were staring straight at me and Jicho. The last time we saw those particular kind of glowing eyes, they were attached to tar warriors who tried to kill us.

Not an encouraging thought.

Rustlings sounded from the depths of the jungle. The yellow eyes grew brighter and larger. Whoever was out there, they were closing in. I held my breath and thought through my options. There weren’t many.

Straightening my spine, I prepared to meet whatever new menace approached.





Chapter Fifteen