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)
Raik growled and rushed her, lowering his shoulder with the intention of hitting her square in her stomach to knock her off her feet. Silke was ready for the move, gliding aside as she began to chant in a soft, compelling voice. The water spilled over Raik and the pastel colors. The light from the sword mingled with the water, turning the colors into soft watercolors.
Is it possible for you to get inside Raik’s memories and then describe the creature that bit him to me? Silke asked Tora.
No problem.
As always, Tora sounded confident. Silke appreciated her composure, no matter the circumstances, and had worked to emulate that trait.
Silke circled around Raik, keeping him moving, keeping his attention on her as he was forced to keep turning to face her. Each time he looked as if he might attack, the crystals in the sword brightened, blasting toward his face to momentarily take his vision.
Sending you the image, Tora said. Sea serpent? But large, like the Loch Ness monster is reputed to be. Dinosaur-looking creature. Savage teeth.
Silke continued to move around Raik, forcing him to face her. The purple stripe going up his arm was reactive to her presence and that of the pale colors in the sword. Beneath Raik’s skin on his wrist and going up his forearm, something moved, raising the skin. As it slithered, climbing toward his shoulder, she saw a darker, mottled purple rise with alarming force, shoving up beneath the skin so it was outlined. A scaly head with horns and distinctive curved teeth trying to keep track of her, although it was inside Raik, protected by his human form.
Raik howled in pain, his face a mask of agony as the large head swiveled back and forth, the teeth slicing at muscle and bone.
This one is classic but in the sea. I had no idea it could insert itself into a human, Silke told Tora. It’s a little alarming. There is no record of a sea monster embedding itself into a human being.
That is worrisome, Tora agreed. Will you be able to get it out of Raik without killing him?
That thing has teeth and isn’t opposed to attacking Raik. I’ll get it out, but hopefully it doesn’t try to kill Raik while I’m forcing it out of its host.
Silke took a deep breath and let it out. She had a bad feeling about the sea monster. It seemed willing to sacrifice its host to get to her, rather than seeking to protect itself from her as most demons did. That meant that the demon would come out fighting. She worried it would chew its way through Raik’s muscle and skin.
Raik lumbered toward her awkwardly as she reached for the demon, treating it as if it were an actual sea creature she could connect with. She had to approach the serpent slowly, so it was unable to detect her as she invaded. The mind of the monster was chaotic, raging, in a frenzy of hatred directed specifically at her.
She stayed very quiet, trying to observe the demon’s memories so she could find its original orders. The frenzy to kill was directed at her only because she wielded the crystal sword. If Tora had the sword in her possession, the serpent would have fixated on her. That told Silke for all the spies sent to Nachtbloem, Lilith still wasn’t aware who the demon slayer was. Between Tora and Silke, they had managed to keep that information from getting to their relentless enemy. Lilith wanted the slayer dead before she struck at Nachtbloem.
That made sense since the slayer in Dellys had managed to completely shut down her generals and hellhounds. Lilith was learning from her mistakes. This time, she was determined that the slayer would be taken out of the equation before she launched her war. That strategy was in their favor. It gave Tora and Silke more time to prepare. It also, hopefully, would allow the Carpathian ancients, the ones they needed so desperately, to arrive and get to know everyone before Lilith sent her army to slay them all. They would need to be able to work smoothly with one another, trust one another and strategize. Silke had her misgivings, but she was intelligent enough to keep them to herself and wait to form judgment.
Silke matched her rhythm and energy to that of the sea monster lurking beneath Raik’s skin. She had to do so delicately, keeping her touch light and energy low enough that the demon wouldn’t become aware of her as she flowed into its mind. This demon was powerful. Once she connected, she had to carefully sift through the creature’s memories to find out how Lilith had created the mutant and what orders she gave all the others lurking in the sea. Hopefully, she could find the actual number of sea creatures let loose in the sea on unsuspecting fishermen.