I counted to three then took off running, building up to an all-out sprint towards the next tree. Gavin ran perpendicular towards me. Sulfuric odor filled my nostrils, pounding footfalls gaining on me. I nearly ran headlong into the tree and almost winded myself.

Gavin t-boned the hellhound to the ground, once again displaying a strength a guy his size shouldn’t have. If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have believed it. Again Gavin’s eyes glowed blood orange and the raw strength he exerted over the massive beast was awe-inspiring. Which made my situation all the more pathetic as I clutched the tree, desperately trying to draw power. But all the rough bark did was make my raw hands sting. This tree, like the last one, was Luckless.

A pattern emerged and I was not liking it at all. The third tree was around the body of water. It was not a straight shot. I wouldn’t be able to build up speed into a sprint.

I had a choice to make. Try one more tree, or tell my brother it was time to go home. But the car was a long way off—a long way for the hellhound to chase us. And, if we even got in the car, we’d have to drive all the way back home, endangering my family. I decided that the third time is a charm.

The Gwyllgi roared something fierce, sending shivers down my spine. Undeterred by the beast, my brother tried to manhandle it. The devil dog shook its skeletal head violently, chucking Gavin off.

As I sprinted for the third tree the park caretakers yelled to each other. One of them produced a rifle from the back of the truck. I was halfway around the little lake now and almost to the next tree.

The Gwyllgi sought to close the gap again.

A rifle shot filled my ears followed by another shot. They hit the monster but it did not even slow down. My brother was coming after it but he would never make it in time. Owl-Rob dove at the Gwyllgi from above, attempting to scratch at its face, but the Gwyllgi’s eyes were nothing but empty sockets full of fire. The helldog swatted my shifting friend to the ground.

I collided with the tree, bear hugging it.

No magic. Strike three. I was luckless, gunless, and swordless.

I had nowhere to run but the water. It was obvious, a creature of fire should hate the water.

But I hated it as well.

It took every ounce of my willpower to dash towards the lake. The closer I got the heavier I breathed. I forced myself to jog into the water until it was up to my calves.

I faced my enemy. The Gwyllgi stopped at the water’s edge. Slowly it dipped its front paw into the cool liquid. Its paw sizzled and fumes rose into the air. The Gwyllgi roared and recoiled. It paced the waterfront for a few moments then turned and let out a huge blast of fire. I did the last thing I wanted to do. I dove beneath the water.

Even though it was only a foot deep, a foot was all that was needed to send me into shock.

But what met me underwater was something I did not expect.

In the distance a light glowed far beneath me, outlining the silhouette of an aquatic castle. Another shape came towards me. A black stallion made entirely of seaweed, foam, and rushing torrents. It galloped upside down on the underside of the water’s surface. Its stringy mane dangled to one side of its neck and it dragged a long tail fin behind its hind legs. It was dark and terrible, making me feel like a fisherman under dark storm clouds surrounded by black waves large enough to capsize the boat.

At that moment I felt a connection to the stallion. I saw my sister’s death. Not the memory of it, not my imagination, but a clear vision of her drowning.

A salmon swam into my face obstructing my vision. Its tail fin slapped my cheek several times and then I heard the bubbly voice of Rob. “Snap out of it Sean. You’re not gonna drown. You’re okay.”

I thrust my pointer finger at the horse, causing salmon-Rob to jet stream bubbles out of his gills. “Yikes!”

I beat my arms frantically and resurfaced gasping for breath. Around me pockets of fire burned on the surface of the lake like a blazing gasoline spill, but luckily none of them were in my immediate vicinity. Though I was only in a few feet of water, when I had been underneath it seemed like there were endless depths beneath me.

The caretakers caught up in their pickup truck. The passenger riding shotgun fired the rifle at the Gwyllgi. He fired all the bullets he had but only managed to piss the Gwyllgi off. It spewed another wave of flame at me, forcing me underwater again. Panic set in again, but I held out long enough for the blazing wave to pass.

In a matter of seconds that I had been underwater the Gwyllgi had totaled the pickup truck and reduced it to a flaming auto frame. One caretaker was dead the other was dying. Gavin fought the hell dog with his bare hands, somehow unaffected by the heat or the fire. The water was my only safety from the Gwyllgi, but the water itself was no longer safe.

The water behind me erupted, showering me with a light rain. The horse I had seen emerged from the water and let out a powerful snort that sounded like the breaking of a dam.

“What is that thing, Rob?”

“It’s the Kelpie.”

The monster Nehemiah warned me about. The one aquatic monster I didn’t research. It was as if I suddenly found myself between a bear and a lion. Both of them wanted to eat me, but it was a zero-sum game. They’d have to duke it out first.

The Gwyllgi let out a fiery roar defending its territory and the Kelpie answered, galloping towards the hellhound. The closer it got, the larger the wave grew in its wake. There was not enough water in the lake to bring waves that tall against the Gwyllgi, but the Gwyllgi answered with an endless stream of fire. Furious elements of nature clashed in an explosion of fire, water, and steam. Boiling water ensued.

I grabbed onto Rob at the last moment as he did all he could to pull me out of the watery deathtrap, using his power to levitate.

Behind me the Kelpie trampled the Gwyllgi to death under foamy hooves and crashing waves, leaving hellhound a hollowed steaming husk of its former fiery fury.

Rob had enough strength to get me out of the water and back onto dry land. As soon as I hit the ground, Gavin, Rob, and I made a mad dash back to my car.