As he was dragged forward, Gandash plowed into the line of soldiers from Squad Three, knocking one of them flat on his back, and sending another stumbling to the side.

Seeing Gandash being pulled across the stone, Xerxes lunged forward and wrapped his free arm around his friend’s leg. That stopped Gandash’s momentum for a moment, but then both of them inched toward the woman as she slowly but surely dragged them toward her.

Arrows flew, smacking into the Abhorrent. Xerxes barely made out spears being thrust in her direction.

She snarled, released Gandash, and used her whipping fingers to engage with the soldiers harrying her.

“Get up,” Xerxes said, helping his friend to stand. Before Gandash was all the way up, Xerxes grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. “And get back.”

He stepped around his friend, keeping his burning hand clenched into a fist.

“I’m not leaving you alone,” Gandash said.

“Gan, get back here,” Bel said from further behind.

The Abhorrent woman threw a dead soldier off the bridge, then ripped a spear from the hands of another, spun, and hurled it at the mages.

Xerxes reacted on instinct, and his Asgagu-enhanced hand knocked the weapon out of the air, partially melting the spearhead in the process. “You don’t have enough melam to cast, Gandy. Get out of here!”

His friend backed away.

Glaring at the monster, Xerxes shouted, “You want a mage? You got one!”

Trying to stoke his anger hot enough to banish the fear that lurked in every corner of his body, he kept his hands up to protect his head and inched forward. On either side of him, Squad Three soldiers stepped up to include him in their line. Behind the Abhorrent, Sergeant Tamharu had his shield up and sword extended as he tried to sneak closer.

Gotta keep her occupied, Xerxes thought.

Rubbery white fingers shot toward him, but he was ready. He dodged each and every one of them, and then snapped his hand out and severed one of them. Gluey fluid dropped onto the toe of his boot.

Tamharu lunged, swung his sword, and severed three spidery legs. The Abhorrent roared, spun, and used her fingers like a whip to flail the sergeant. He had his shield up, though, and he kept his knees bent, allowing him to weather the attack.

Xerxes took that opportunity to take a deep breath and start running forward.

He wanted to scream a battlecry, but instead bit his tongue, clenched his hand into a fist, and put all the power he could muster into a single punch.

His scorching fist slammed into the monstrous woman’s side. Flesh melted and burned, and his hand penetrated deep into her abdomen. The scream that erupted from her mouth nearly deafened him. He felt pain as a finger stabbed into his side. Another wrapped around his wrist and ankle. However, she’d grabbed the wrong wrist. He shoved his fist further inside her, trying to push it toward where he assumed her heart was.

He felt his feet go out from under him, and before he knew what was happening, he was flying through the air. She’d thrown him.

He saw the bridge parapet nearing and knew he was going to fly over it. He flailed his arms and legs.

By chance, he snagged a rough chunk of stone, halting his momentum. The rest of his body thumped painfully against the stone as his legs dangled over nothing. He buried his burning hand in the stone, then heaved himself back onto the bridge.

He looked up. The Abhorrent was trying to disengage from Tamharu and some other soldiers, but they were giving her a hard time.

Singular Lethality faded away, which meant that if he wanted to keep fighting, he would have to cast it again. Maybe it was stupid, and maybe he would die, but he didn’t care. He was going to destroy this monster.

Back on his feet, he walked forward and simultaneously cast the spell again. His hand flared with lethal light as he closed in. The Abhorrent’s back was to him, so he ducked forward and used a knifehand strike, managing to sever some spidery legs. Unlike her fingers, they didn’t regenerate, and yet, no matter how many legs got chopped off, she always seemed to have plenty to spare. But that was all. Fingers stabbed into him again, and he dropped to one knee. His neck was injured, and other places too. Arm? Side? Blood was pouring out. He flailed his hand but hit nothing.

Master Ligish came out of nowhere, smashing into the Abhorrent like a force of nature. His hands moved faster than seemed humanly possible, blocking her writhing fingers while simultaneously striking her rapidly with fists and palms.

The Abhorrent woman stumbled away from him.

That was when Xerxes felt himself being tugged across the bridge. He rolled his eyes up to see Gandash pulling him.

“I got you, Xerk,” he said.

“Gandy, what are you doing? You’re supposed to be—”

“You’re bleeding! BEL!”

Gandash dragged him a bit further down the bridge. On his back, Xerxes couldn’t see the fighting, but he could hear it. Ligish and Tamharu were coordinating to try to take down the monster.

Bel leaned over him and cast a spell. When she touched his chest, melam swirled into him. He gasped at the heat, and the odd sensation of flesh and muscle reconnecting. In a matter of seconds, he was whole again.

He sat up. “Where’s my sword?”

Ligish and Tamharu had the Abhorrent pinned down, but he wasn’t going to assume they could deal with the creature alone.

“Here, Seer Xerxes,” Captain Ishki said. She handed him his weapon. “I want you and the other mages to get out of here.”

“We’re not going to leave you, Captain,” Gandash said.

“Dammit, Seer Gand—” she said, but a scream cut her off.

They all looked over to see that Ligish had been stabbed in the side.