Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Because she was entrenched in the serpent’s mind, she saw that he was directing his offspring to enter Raik’s body, where they could feed and grow.
I’ve got him safe. You can destroy the little demons.
Silke was forced to take her gaze from Snaggle as she swept the crystal sword around the room in a meticulous grid to pierce each of the slithering tadpoles as they rushed at Raik. Raik suddenly surged to his feet, almost as if he were a puppet, a marionette, directed by another being. He swung his fists wildly as he lumbered straight at her.
Silke tried to dodge Raik as he hobbled toward her. His movements were jerky and very awkward as if he didn’t have control of his own body. She timed her evasion to avoid his wildly swinging fists. For all his awkward motion, Raik was astonishingly fast with his hamlike fists. One managed to graze her head as she ducked back, still targeting the sea serpent’s offspring as they raced to find a host.
The slight contact with Raik sent alarm skittering down her spine. He felt off. She had been certain she had managed to draw the serpent from his body, yet he still had the taint of demon. Why? That made no sense. It was one more division of her mind while she was attempting to destroy the many tadpoles, evade Raik and protect herself from the demon in the form of the sea creature as it took advantage of Raik’s attack to rush her with blinding speed.
I have placed a protection barrier between you and Raik, Tora informed her. It isn’t strong. I didn’t want to weave something Lilith might recognize as mine later, should she be drawn here by this battle.
Silke shot the dazzling vivid colors straight at the demon as it flung itself through the air straight at her throat. She was lucky the serpent had chosen to come at her so high. That allowed her to continue her sweep down to the floor as the sea creature dropped, shrieking, trying to protect itself from the vibrant crystals. Several holes appeared in the thick, round body, piercing through the armored scales. No more spawn burst from the many holes. Instead, orange and red embers flickered from inside the serpent. It shrieked and screamed continuously, the sound horrendous, playing on every nerve in her body.
Silke took the opportunity to finish destroying the last of the remaining tadpoles, burning them with the crystal lights. It took several more precious seconds to do a thorough job, giving the sea demon enough recovery time to launch another attack on her. He was shockingly fast. She was forced into an evasive maneuver as she tried to quickly analyze how the demon was becoming faster. He had been created specifically to draw energy from the softer crystal colors. The more vivid, stronger tones pierced through his armor, clearly presenting a danger to the creature’s life. Yet he was becoming faster.
Was he evolving? Becoming resistant to the crystal sword? His offspring had burned within moments of being exposed to the sword’s powerful energy. They hadn’t been born resistant. That meant the original sea monster, bred in a vat, was the most dangerous. Perhaps in time, the emerging offspring would develop a resistance, but when they first emerged, they had none.
Her brain processed information at high speed, analyzing and discarding the various possibilities. She had to conclude that the serpent adapted quickly to the crystal sword’s lights. If he began to absorb the energy, she could be in real trouble. Not just from the serpent but from any other demons Lilith and her mages created.
The serpent stayed low, not repeating the mistake he’d made in his previous attack. That also told her he evolved quickly. He learned as he went. She took a better grip on his mind, watching for the moment he decided to make his next move. Merged with him, she forced a hesitation, a doubt, giving her a split second to slice through the serpent’s long, thick body. Just in the short time it had been outside the host, the scales had thickened, giving it the appearance of the sea monsters depicted in the drawings from a hundred years previous. The teeth were longer and came to a wicked point.
She swung the crystal sword, the blue blade slicing off the head of the serpent as it rushed her. At the same time, she poured an entire tube of sacred water all along the body and severed head. At once, smoke rose. Holes appeared throughout the long body and head. She swept the colors of the sword at the shrieking creature. Instantly, fires sprang up, roaring through the holes from the inside out. The stench was horrific. Even with the head cut off, the demon shrieked for what seemed hours before the fire consumed it entirely. She had to ensure that not one of the ashes remained.