From Ashes and Dust (Book One)

Chapter 28.2

The closer she got to the beast, the more the details took focus. Like Mercury and Laverna's forms were different, so was this one. The creature in front of her was quadrupedal, its four limbs bent at the joint in an exaggerated angle far above its body. Vatra wasn't sure the purpose of such a design until it leapt like a frog, clearing the top of her head with plenty of room to spare.

Vatra stopped in her tracks, watching the belly of the beast pass over her with a slack jaw. She was in awe. It was like watching a waterfall, or a herd of caribou run for the first time.

The creature's back scraped along the ceiling above them before it slid to a halt, and turned back in their direction. Vatra shook her mind into focus.

"What the actual hell." Nat stumbled over her words, but managed to hold out her godkiller with a steady hand.

"The stomach is the weakest point," Vatra said. "We need to get underneath it somehow."

Nat inhaled sharply. "How do you suppose we do that?"

"Ever fix up a car before?" Vatra twirled her dagger, then took off at another running start toward the creature.

"Vatra!" Nat shouted.

"Keep up, Nat!" Vatra called back.

If her intuition was right, the beast would try the same move again. It didn't appear as well suited for a fight as the other two had been. There were no obvious fangs or long claws. Its legs were broad and powerful, meant for broad jumps, not striking or stabbing. No, as long as Vatra didn't allow herself to be squashed by the beast, it appeared rather straight-forward.

Just as expected, the creature leapt into the air as soon as she approached. Vatra matched its leap, pushing herself off the ground just as it crossed over her head. She extended her dagger out above her head as far as possible, scraping into the creature's belly. Barely.

"Nat!" Vatra yelled, hoping she was smart enough to follow her lead.

Luckily, she was. Nat used the godkiller to finish what Vatra started. The length of the sword tore through the creature's flesh with ease, dumping out a blackened mess of blood and innards over the metal flooring. It slopped to the ground with a sickening plop.

Vatra steadied herself upon landing and turned, making sure their opponent was truly dead. "Nice job. We don't have time to hang around. There's still a few more levels to clear, and then we'll circle back to the ship. We'll take down any stragglers from there, and hopefully find Hisato and Geb in this mess somewhere."

"I'm sure they're hidden away in one of these stores," Nat said. She wiped her blade along her thigh before catching up to Vatra.

"Knowing those two, I doubt they'd be hiding from this excitement," Vatra commented.

They both stopped at the level's dead end before turning back for the stairwell. Their steps never slowed as they ascended to the next level, their music switching to another Metallica song. The loud guitar and drums sang out their presence like a call of challenge. And their call was accepted.

Vatra didn't even have time to peer around the corner before a clawed arm swung into the stairwell. She ducked, avoiding the half dozen talons. The claws dug into the wall behind her, scraping into the metal as if it were made of paper. The screech of them dragging back across the wall made Vatra's teeth ache.

Stepping back down a step, Vatra looked over her shoulder at Nat. "That was a close one," she said through a shaky breath.

"Not like you wouldn't have just come back from it. That's why you're in front, right?" Nat raised a brow.

A frown tugged at the corner of Vatra's lips. "Don't be so sour."

The creature stepped into view, towering at the top of the steps. It stood on two legs, three extra sets of arms extending out around it into the stairwell. Talons dug into the wall, curled around the handrails, tapped along the ceiling above its head.

The beast was huge. Its gray, sickly skin looked oily and slick with saliva. As it hovered at the top step, the creature opened its slit of a mouth. Rows and rows of shark-like teeth gleamed down at them.

"Where do you suppose this one's weakness is?" Nat whispered.

Vatra steadied her breath. "Um, not sure," she said. "I don't see any soft spots, do you?"

"No," Nat answered. "Then again, we don't know what the other side of it looks like."

"I'm assuming just as armored up as the front," Vatra grumbled. She eyed for a way around the beast. It took up their entire path to the next level.

Vatra considered turning and leading the creature back to the Agkistrodon. It was too much for them to handle by themselves, especially with her one dagger. But, she couldn't help but wonder how many other creatures had already been drawn back to the ship. She grumbled under her breath.

"It's not going to wait for us to make a decision here," Nat warned.

Sure enough, the beast mimicked their steps. As they slowly retreated down the steps, it followed them down. It didn't rush them, though, which was good for them, at least.

"Shit," Vatra cursed. "We need to take this one back with us. I was hoping we'd run into more duds like the last one."

They turned and took off in a sprint. The creature behind them was too bulky to maneuver through the stairwell as gracefully as they did. Vatra and Nat descended the levels with time to spare, and the beast practically fell down the last steps. They watched with a watchful gaze at the chaos before them.

As the beast tumbled down the stairs, Vatra noticed a pale spot around the beast's neck.

"Give me your godkiller," Vatra said hastily.

Nat handed over her sword without hesitation.

Taking the sword, Vatra ran toward the creature. Its legs and clawed arms flailed about clumsily as it tried to gain footing on the slippery metal. Vatra gave it no time to gain traction. She brought the sword above her head with both hands. Bringing down the godkiller with all of her strength, Vatra decapitated the beast with one swing.

A final screech tore from its throat, then its limbs fell limp.

Vatra's broken arm screamed at her from the action. She inhaled deeply and exhaled just as long. The exertion of running and fighting was finally catching up to her.

"You could have let me do that," Nat said. She walked over, taking the sword from Vatra and replacing the dagger in Vatra's uninjured hand.

A chuckle forced itself from Vatra's heaving chest. "Not to sound full of myself, but do you think you could have done that?"

Nat shrugged her shoulders and headed back toward the stairwell. "Not sure, but we still have some levels to clear. Are you coming, or are you too tired?" A smug grin slowly creeped to her lips.

"Oh, I could take on way more of these things," Vatra lied. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and followed Nat, secretly hoping the rest of the levels were empty.