Page 160 of Vasmora

No one moved. Not even the bloodbinder.

From the ceiling, drifted one of the tiny jellyfish creatures. When it landed on the mercenary’s outstretched arm, he gave it a hard flick, knocking it through the air, but it darted back for his skin. More drifted from the ceiling. He let out a whimper, quickly silenced when Daelan pressed a finger to his own masked lips.

The jelly creatures gathered in front of him, forming a drifting scrap of purple moss that resembled the clusters across the ceiling overhead. They blanketed his outstretched arm, and even when he quietly lowered it, they clung to him. More drifted, the cluster at his arm growing thicker, climbing from his forearm toward his fingertips. His whimpers heightened, and he flailed his arm in a poor attempt to shake them off.

Daelan gripped his shoulder, giving him a hard squeeze as he whispered in his ear, but the swarm at the mercenary’s arm grew thicker and the man broke from Daelan’s grasp, thrashing his limb. Quiet, hysterical sounds leaked from mercenary’s throat.

Movement at my back had me glancing behind to see Lothare pushing through the crowd. “What is happening?” he whispered before his gaze slid toward the soldier. “Oh, fuck.”

“Get off me!” The mercenary flailed harder, and as he opened his mouth, Daelan slapped his palm to the man’s face, muffling the sounds of distress that beat out of him.

As quickly as they’d swarmed, the jelly creatures flashed away.

Leaving nothing but a bloody stump at the mercenary’s elbow.

Daelan’s hand failed to contain the gut-wrenching scream that tore from the mercenary’s throat.

A loud clank echoed through the tunnel and panic pounded through me as I shifted my attention to the bloodbinder who’d broken free from his captors.

He tore the muzzle off his face, slamming it against the tunnel wall, and let out a stomach-curdling roar.

A rumble of wet growls erupted, like a nest of hornets had been disturbed. The creature below me snapped its teeth where it lay on the ground, swiping out at the too-small gap between its claws and our feet.

“Guard the portal!” Lothare commanded, his voice hammering through my skull. “Don’t let them near it!”

The entire group collapsed to the ground as the levitation spell must’ve broken. On impact, I knocked the creature below me onto his back, and before it could scramble to its feet, Zevander swiped up my hand and hauled me forward. Screams and shouts filled the narrow tunnel, drowning out the growls of the hungry beasts. I froze, glancing around to see them crawling over the walls and ceiling, dropping down onto the line of Wrathborne behind us.

Zevander tugged my arm, and I stumbled after him, noticing the tunnel narrowed ahead to what must’ve been the portal. A bottleneck of bodies fought to get through.

Crouched and clinging to the rock wall at my right, one of the creatures seemed to lock its eyes with mine, crawling over the surface toward me. It leapt through the air, and I threw out my palm. A flash of light across my hand was the only warning before a gust of Aeryz sent it flying upward toward the ceiling where one of the stalactites pierced through its protruding ribs, orange fluids dripping down the pointed rock that impaled it. The creature let out a wet, gurgling sound as it slid down the stony spear onto the ground.

A heavy blow struck my shoulder, kicking me a step to the side, and I whirled around in time to see Zevander toss one of the creatures over the edge of the jagged cliff. Three more dropped from the ceiling, and Zevander thrusted his palm forth. Like a flash of light, they scattered, one of them darting for me. A talon bit into my calf with a white-hot flash of pain, and a tingling numbness spread out from its grip, an unbearable gravity dragging at my leg as if my boots were filled with iron. Weakened. Before it could sink its teeth into my flesh, I gripped the top of its head with my blackened fingertips and summoned the death glyph. Within seconds, flesh crumbled to dust and scattered on the ground.

The thick feeling in my leg dissipated as I shook my foot, and I spun around in time to see Zevander plunge his sword into one of the creatures and fling it over the edge of the cliff. Twisting further showed bodies disappearing from our group, creating gaps in the lines, while the mercenaries fought the beasts with magic and weapons.

Blood painted the walls.

Screams echoed around us.

Pain pierced my arm, and I snapped back to an Aqedormisz latched there, that heavy sensation settling over my elbow and crawling up to my shoulder. As I fought the numbing paralysis settling over me, the creature quickly released me on its own, hissing and baring its teeth. It collapsed to the ground, violently shaking, orange foam spilling from its mouth.

I raised my arm for the bite that bubbled and fizzed, the same orange fluids pulsing out of it and spilling down my wrist.

The heavy sensation faded once again.

Gentle hands gripped my arm while Zevander stole a moment to examine me. “Are you all right?” he asked.

I nodded and caught sight of a creature crawling over the ceiling toward him. “Behind you!”

He swung around in time to capture it by the throat before it leapt on top of him, and as he held its snapping teeth away from its body, I took hold of its clawed foot, watching it crumble to dust that spilled from his grasp.

Ahead of us, the monsters ascended on one of the wolves in a swarm that left her yelping and thrashing.

Zevander slammed them into the walls with a hard gust of Aeryz, and the wolf stumbled to her feet, gouges in her flank glistening with exposed flesh and bone, where they’d attempted to consume her alive. She staggered to the side and kept on, her injuries slowing her.

Scorpions plummeted from Zevander’s palm as he set them loose after the Aqedormisz that’d attacked her. One of the arachnids leapt into the gaping mouth of a creature who’d positioned itself on the ceiling above. Just as we passed below, its organs spilled over us in wet, orange globs.

“The end is just ahead!” Lothare called out, spinning around in time to hack the head off an approaching Aqedormisz. The craggy ceiling of Devil’s Teeth gaped like an opened maw, swallowing us as we funneled closer to that portal.