Page 121 of The Last Guardian

They were all alive. Stuck inside the monster—locked up between life and death.

“Seven Hells,” I gasped.

In a flash of blackness, a figure emerged from behind me. Zaidkiel’s black flame curled around my feet as he jumped in front of the spider, drawing his sword from his back.

In a swift motion, Zaidkiel’s black sword burst into black flames as it met the spider’s skin, embers splashing onto the creature. It hissed in pain.

Smoke and ashes danced in a frenzy on the ground. When the sunfire met the black flames, the creature let out a horrifying screech. The sound reverberated through my entire body, the soil.

Seven Hells, how could such creatures exist?

Something deeper than fear washed over my body as I watched Zaid and Dax fight the monster. A deep instinct kicked in as I grabbed an arrow from my back and aimed at its disgusting head. The arrow whistled in the air before it lodged in the head. The creature stopped.

I stilled.

It didn’t scream. Its horrid crimson eyes turned once more to meet mine, slowly. I cursed myself under my breath.

That was stupid.

The creature hissed, pouncing with all its speed in my direction.

“Alyana, run!” Zaid yelled.

But the creature was already coming too fast for me to run away.

Even with the two men fighting it, it was stronger than them. Dax’s sunfire and Zaid’s black flames battled around the monster, who dodged their attack.

The spider ran at a speed my eyes could not follow.

Ashes and embers swirled as Zaid emerged, wrapping his arms around me, spinning me onto the ground. One of his hands braced the back of my head, and the other cupped my waist, cushioning the fall.

I panted.

Zaid observed me, making sure that I wasn’t wounded. But my eyes looked at the scene of Dax struggling to fight off the beast before it could reach us—his sunfire lanced through the creature, which squeaked once more.

Fire.

The fire caused it pain.

The creature had hissed when Zaid had charged his black flames, too. It kept turning its hideous head each time Dax’s ray of sunfire charged.

It was protecting its head from the fire.

Zaid’s body was still on me, protecting me from the attack of the creature. “It’s protecting its head from the fire,” I said to him.

Zaid furrowed his brow, perplexed.

“Light up one of my arrows,” I ordered, pushing my hand against his chest to make him move. “I will try to aim at its head with a flame-tipped arrow.”

Zaid glanced at his friend, fighting with the monster. His jaw clenched. “If it doesn’t work, you’ll run to the house.”

I nodded, and Zaidkiel stood up, his hand tightening around me to help me rise.

In a flash, I reached for an arrow as Zaidkiel summoned his black flame into his palm. The tip of the arrow touched the flame and ignited. No need for oil. The damn thing burned brighter than any circle of Hells.

Dax was still fighting the creature as I readied myself, my hand curling at the bow while the other aimed.

Then I shot.