Page 82 of Lady's Steed
Nothing like being spatteredby a monstrous rainfall. Droplets exploded and showered Avera as a massive creature propelled itself from the hole in the center of the lake.
Avera dumbly gaped. In her defense, she’d never seen such a thing. Wormlike in appearance, the body was a very pale gray, wrinkled, and slimy looking. The creature had several milky eyes set on the side of what might have been its head, not that its body had any distinguishing parts. Not even a mouth that she could see.
It hovered upright and remained still. Was it dangerous? Rather than find out, Avera decided to end her partial bath.
Splash. Splash.
Her motion in the direction of shore galvanized the lake worm. It flopped over, slamming her with a wave of water. The impact sent Avera to her knees.
“Get up and move,” Gustav shouted.
“I’m trying,” Avera huffed as she pushed to her feet and whipped back her wet hair. She might have made it to shore if not for the tentacle wrapped around her lower legs, yanking her down.
She ended up underwater, lungs tight since she’d not managed a breath. The appendage proved strong. It lifted her into the air and she gaped in horror as a spot between some of the monster’s eyes split into a mouth big enough to swallow her whole.
So much for her quest. She was about to be eaten by a giant worm before even making it out of the mountain.
The thought had her mentally slapping herself. No dying, not today at least, and not so ignobly. She reached for her dagger and as the worm released its grasp, Avera wrapped her fingers around the hilt. As she plummeted into the dark hole of its maw, she struck, the tip of her blade catching the flesh of its lip, if it had one. She dangled, holding on tight lest she drop into its belly. The thing shivered at the injury, but the pinprick barely bled.
“Avera!”
Gustav screamed for her, but she didn’t have the breath to reply. She huffed as she kicked her feet, seeking purchase to?—
Not climb out, apparently, seeing as how the mouth shut, sealing her in darkness. A nightmare she could have never imagined.
The body around her undulated, almost dislodging her. It occurred to her as the monster slithered back to its underwater hole that she couldn’t let that happen, but how to escape?
Her blood obviously didn’t protect her from this threat. Her dagger was too small to cut a hole. What option did that leave her?
The worm paused its escape, most likely because Gustav had engaged it. Could he hack it to death in time to save her?
It struck her then that her dagger wasn’t an ordinary one. The weapon was still so new she’d forgotten what it could do. With a slight press, the blade extended, and the monster shuddered as the weapon not only went deeper through fleshbut began slicing. Slicing a little too well. The weight of her body dragged the sharp edge down, not a good thing since she began sliding down the monster’s gullet.
In better news, the mouth opened as the creature exhaled what might have been a cry of agony. The fetid air it expelled certainly indicated it. Being able to see again, Avera noticed nodules on the inside of its throat. Her left foot slid over a slimy bump, but her right foot caught, and she stopped her descent. Her other foot found purchase, her toes gripping slimy flesh, and she stood, took a deep breath, pulled her sword, and planted it higher up. This time, she carefully put only a little weight on it, minimizing the tearing, using it more to brace her climb.
The worm shuddered and thrashed, almost dislodging her. Avera flattened herself to its slimy throat and held on. It flopped and Avera found herself falling, but not down to its belly. It had gone sideways, meaning she stood just inside its mouth.
Gustav appeared in the opening. “Quickly now. It’s sliding into the hole.”
The very idea of being dragged with it had her attempting to run, but the squishy flesh made it hard to keep her feet. It didn’t help that water poured in from the lake, tugging at her ankles as it filled the beast, making it heavier. Pulling it down.
Gustav reached for her, and she clasped his hand, gasping as he yanked her from the worm’s mouth, the force rough enough they both fell in the water.
“Are you okay?” Josslyn cried out.
Avera sat up, blinking through wet lashes in time to see the worm’s body slide out of sight. A moment later the lake stilled.
Gustav held out a hand to help her up. “That was unexpected.”
“You don’t say,” was her dry reply.
“Guess that thing explains why there’s no bones. Swallows its dinner whole.” His next unneeded remark.
“You are just a fount of positivity,” she grumbled.
“Is this a bad time to say you smell bad and look worse?” Gustav arched a brow.
Avera glared and then, despite the recent trauma, sat in the water and splashed around to remove some of the slime.