Free The Last Druid by Colleen Montague Page B

froze. Mai felt her eyes widen in fear—that sound…
    No , she thought, please, no.  Do not let it be…   Not a moment later the source of that roar rose from the grass on the hill next to them.
    The hairs on the back of Mai’s neck stood straight up at the sight of it.
    The creature glaring down at them was huge, at least twice the height of any man of the mortal world and much broader across the shoulders.  It looked like some kind of lizard, its skin covered in large, hard-looking scales, spines rising from the top of its head down to the tip of its long, spade-shaped tail.  Its hands and feet had long, sharp claws.  Its head was clearly reptilian, long, narrow, and rather flat like an alligator’s with several long tusks rising from its lower jaw.  Its eyes glowed bright orange.
    Mai thought her heart had stopped beating.  “Oh gods,” she whispered faintly while Calla jumped behind her, clinging to her arm.  “This far?  How have they penetrated this far unaided, without our noticing?”
    There was a loud growling from behind them.  Turning, the girls were horrified to see a second creature standing a little too close to them at the bottom of the hill, the only difference with this one being a broken tusk on the right side of its mouth.  But even more of them were coming, walking towards them to stand behind each of the first two and cut off any escape routes.
    “There’s too many…” Cal la’s voice trailed off.
    Mai was already calling her magic to her , the earth already rumbling beneath her feet.  Without looking she reached up to yank at a gold chain around her neck; it came off easily, and she pushed it into Calla’s hand.  “Take this with you,” she said, her voice shaking.  “When I tell you, run in the direction we were going.  Do not stop running, do not look back, and do not wait for me—no matter what happens.”
    “Mai…”  The look on Calla’s face was a mix of confusion and horror all at once; she had a faint idea of what was about to happen.
    “Whatever happens, you must come to my Lady’s throne.  She will understand what will have happened.”
    “But—“
    “Go now!”  Mai shoved Calla hard in the back to make her run before focusing on the monsters around them, her power surging so that the ground erupted into a series of vines and brambles; only after this did she finally hear the girl take off, her feet pounding against the ground as she raced to get away.  She drew a shaky breath.  She still had a duty to perform, to protect the girl from these creatures and their masters—she wouldn’t go down without a fight.  She lashed out at the first two creatures with the brambles, wrapping them as tightly around the monsters’ scaly hides as she could manage; the thorns sank in deep in spite of the creatures’ thick scales.
    A s she searched for her next opponent a massive shadow loomed up over her.  She turned and was just bringing her arm up but it was too late; she screamed as the beast plunged its claws through her midsection, twisting its hand around, tearing at the flesh and what lay underneath.  As her eyes travelled around the plain desperately she heard someone scream her name.  Mai saw Calla standing off several yards away, watching in horror.
    She could not see the monster coming up behind her.
    Mai had failed—it was all over now, the world’s hope was now lost.  It was her last thought before she felt a sharp pain in her neck, and the world around her went dark.
     
     
     
     
    XII
    Dranl
     
    How much longer before the world is mine? Dranl thought as he stared out over the gray plains of his kingdom.  He couldn’t believe this war was still going on—it had waged on since long before his lifetime for reasons no longer remembered.  The priests in his city all kept telling him of the ancient prophecy, how he, a servant of the Dark One—their master—would face the Forest Child chosen by their enemy to decide the course creation