Chapter 36
Tooth and Claw
Sadie had been injured in our escape. Her shoulder was a mess; she had been caught by falling ice. With the exit sealed shut and danger ahead of us, it was safer for her to wait here.
"Stay put, we'll look ahead."
"Just scout it out."
"Ready when you are, Fish."
I turned toward the passage ahead. The air grew a strange, musky scent.
"Smell that?" I whispered.
Zo nodded.
We rounded a bend, revealing a chamber of ice.
I could make out two massive silhouettes; they were at least twelve feet tall.
"Ice Trolls," Zo breathed, her voice barely audible.
"We should go back, get Sadie, find another way—"
Zo's fingers closed around my wrist. She tilted her head toward the passage ahead of us. Keep pace with me, the gesture said.
Then she launched forward.
Zo pulled ahead, the distance between us growing with each step. Her movements were almost airborne, each foot barely touching the ground. Her axe dragged along the ice.
Both creatures screamed and surged forward, their massive fists raised.
Zo charged straight toward them, unconcerned that either of them could crush her with a single blow.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! She's going to get herself killed.
I pushed harder, trying to catch up, but Zo was so far ahead, charging straight into a head-on collision with two mountains of muscle and ice.
Zo dropped and slid across the frozen ground. Shooting between the trolls' legs, twisting and driving her axe into the ice to slow down.
One troll immediately turned toward her, its massive bulk blocking my view.
I had no time to worry about her now. The other troll turned its attention to me, its movements slightly slower than the one Zo was fighting.
The creature roared, the sound vibrating through its body and into mine.
I rolled aside on pure instinct. As its massive claw tore past me, raking through the ice. The force of the blow sent chunks of frozen debris flying in all directions.
I scrambled backward, trying to put distance between myself and the troll. Another swipe of its claws missed me by inches, but the force of the blow lifted me off the ground. And hurled me backward again, slamming me into the ice wall.
The world tilted and spun around me.
Move. Move now.
I twisted my body, forcing myself to my feet. The worms worked frantically, reinforcing my damaged ribs, stopping internal bleeding.
The troll charged straight at me. Its attack was pure overwhelming force.
It was only a few feet away now, its claws raised for a killing blow.
Twin fists came down toward me from above to crush me. I stepped forward, directly into the attack. The troll's fists slammed into the ice where I had been standing. I was now within its reach, beneath its massive arms, staring directly at its pale-blue chest.
I gripped the sword and put my entire body into the slash. It bit deep, slicing through its hide. Blood sprayed across my face as the troll's leg fell away. It stumbled forward, thrown off balance by the sudden loss.
Its remaining leg slipped in the blood that now covered the ground.
I raised my sword again and drove through the troll's jaw. The blade punched into the roof of its mouth and into its brain.
The creature's massive body collapsed, its weight driving the blade deeper.
I stepped back, letting the troll's own mass finish the job. It fell to the ground with a thunderous impact, blood pooling beneath it.
I pulled my blade free from the troll. I turned toward where I'd last seen Zo, expecting to find her still locked in combat with the other troll.
Instead, I saw the second Ice Troll already dead on the ground. Its spine was piercing out of its back in a grotesque display of violence.
"Zo?"
"Stay back, just..."
I ignored her warning and moved forward to check on her. As I made my way around the troll's body, I saw Zo standing with her back to me. Her shoulder was clearly wounded, blood soaking through what remained of her clothing.
"I said stay back, Fish."
I stepped back. "Are you hurt badly?"
"I'll live. Go get Sadie. I'll be ready to go by the time you get back."
I stood frozen for a moment, unsure of how to respond.
"...I'll be quick."
I found Sadie exactly where we'd left her, alert and ready. She rose smoothly as I approached.
"The path is clear, we killed two trolls."
She nodded and looked me over for injuries.
"Don’t worry about me. Zo took a hit to the shoulder, though."
When we reached the chamber where the trolls were killed, Zo had improvised a shirt from a strip of the troll's hide.
"It should be clear now, we should keep moving before anything else shows up."
As we prepared to leave, I felt a strange power from the troll I'd killed. It was similar to what I'd experienced when consuming creatures for their essence, but different somehow.
I focused on the sensation, probing it with my mind. I could sense something new forming, something tied to the slain troll.
"What's wrong?" Sadie asked.
"I'm not sure, I think... I think I got something from killing the troll."
"Like what?" Zo asked.
I closed my eyes, concentrating on the new presence in my mind. It felt cold, massive, and strangely obedient… like a trained animal waiting for commands.
I reached for the presence, trying to understand what it was.
The world tilted.
My vision blurred, the cavern and Zo's concerned face dissolving into streaks of color. Sound became muffled and distant.
The pulling intensified. Something deep inside me was dragging me down, down, down into depths I hadn't known existed. My awareness compressed, folding in on itself repeatedly. The sensation was disorienting.
I felt Mabel's presence somewhere in the chaos; she was silenced. Even she seemed caught off guard by whatever was happening.
The world around me, Sadie, Zo, the dead trolls, the ice cavern… all of it receded to a pinpoint.
Then vanished entirely.