Page 35 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
“This isn’t some sort of duel,” I hissed, grimacing against the pain. My wounded leg hadn’t liked that much weight landing on it.
“If it was, you’d be winning.”
“That won’t mean much if it’s feasting on our corpses in a few minutes.”
“It will to me.”
I shook my head, my eyes tracking the chimera as it recovered and paced back and forth warily. “Are you flirting with me?”
“I’m scared. That’s all,” Ella said, as if that explained everything.
I lifted my hand as the chimera shook the snow free of it, and once again my snow globe popped back to life.
“How do you kill it?”
“Quickly,” I said, going on the offensive. “I hope.”
Ella fell silent as I stalked toward the mighty beast, forging more of the mountainous snow into an icy blade that ran down the length of my forearm. In my other hand, I wielded a very simple club. It wouldn’t survive more than a blow, but that’s all I needed it for.
I broke out into a run, each step shooting pain up my leg. The chimera stopped its pacing and faced me, the jaws of the lion spreading wide, twin fangs each as big as my head ready to crunch down and end my life.
If I let it.
Reaching full speed, I took command of the snow under the chimera. In the blink of an eye it turned to ice around its feet that held it solid and tunneled out a groove right under its body.
I dove forward, sliding easily on the ice as I aimed directly between its legs. The lion’s jaw snapped down with blinding speed, aiming to bite my head clean off. It was greeted with my club, but instead of bashing it, I shoved the giant stick right down its throat. The beast gagged and reared upward as I slid onward, rolling onto my back.
The blade on my forearm thrust upward, and neatly sliced a two-foot-long gash in the chimera’s underbelly. I popped up on the other side, and with a quick whip of my arm, sliced the tail from the body, removing its deadliest weapon.
But not all of them. The chimera howled with rage and agony as it tore a hind leg free, driving it into my midsection.
Air was expelled from my lungs with a mightywhoofas I was flung thirty feet away, bouncing and rolling painfully. I took out a young sapling as I went.
At least it wasn’t a brellwood this time.
“Dirk!” Ella’s cry was full of fear and something more.
Concern?
Whatever it was, I didn’t have time for it. The chimera was between Ella and me now, and if it didn’t die fast enough, it could still kill her. Leaping to my feet, I charged at the beast, throwing myself on its back as it bounded toward Ella, who turned and fled.
The goat’s head screeched its unsettling cry as I landed, and the chimera bucked. Violently. Once more I was thrown free. This time at least I ended up closer to Ella, even as I went headfirst into a snowbank.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing me by the foot and yanking. “Stop slacking off.”
I extricated myself just as the chimera arrived, bleeding profusely and trailing some of its innards from its belly. I went down as it tried to trample me, but the mess of snow and slowing of its energy did little serious damage. Another few bruises and welts on my body wouldn’t matter much at this point.
Rolling free, I got to my feet and hauled back, slamming my fist right into the beast’s flank. The chimera let out a pained roar and fell onto its side. More things that should stay on the inside slipped free of the belly wound, and the beast cried out in agony once more.
I stuck my fist into the snow at my feet, coating my arm in a fresh weapon. Stalking forward I swiftly drove the two-foot-long icicle into its eye, ending its pain and its life immediately. No wild animal deserved to suffer, even if it would have preferred to eat my intestines while I still lived.
With a jerk of my arm, the blade snapped free of me, remaining embedded in its skull.
Limping painfully over to Ella, weaker and more out of energy than I should be from such a quick fight, I looked her over. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she said, hurrying to me.
“Good.” I staggered to one knee.
