Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 363

Chapter 363: An easy meal
Ford held on as long as he could, with Mia growing more and more tense beside him.

This was a precaution, he reminded himself. Even without him cloaking the entrance, the monsters might pass by, uninterested. It was strange, though, not to see them at all. Hiding the entrance seemed to hide it from both sides.

That was a bit disorienting.

In a way, he wanted to see the monsters leave, with his own eyes. He trusted Mia, certainly, but the desire to know and see for himself was strong. Assure himself that they really were going to be safe heading the rest of the way up the cliff.

“I can’t hold onto this forever,” He felt his already strained supply of magic dwindling. It wasn’t really something he could see, but having drained it fully more than once now, he could feel the warning signs of resource exhaustion.

Mia’s eyes were closed as she concentrated. She gripped his hand, as if willing them both to hold out long enough.

“The last one is that direction,” She pointed a finger up and to the right, tracing its position slowly as it descended the cliff towards them.

“How long?” Ford’s voice didn’t sound any stronger than he felt.

“Just a moment,” Grandpa looked at him with a complex expression, then moved away, pulling a pair of gloves out from where they were tucked in his belt. He began looking through his saddlebags, and Ford’s eyebrows rose.

He recognized the bag that Grandpa pulled out.

“Will that even work, if it comes down to it?”

Seth’s question was measured, but Ford couldn’t hold on any longer.

“I’m sorry,” He whispered as he let his magic dissipate. Ford’s legs buckled under him, and he was in danger of losing consciousness once more. Mia wrapped her arms around his waist, keeping him upright, while moving him back away from the entrance.

Everyone followed suit, with Seth and Daniel leading the horses as far out of sight as they could.

Grandpa stood nearer to the entrance than anyone else, the first line of defense if the last monster–or monsters–should come looking for a meal.

Could there be any defense against such creatures?

Mia lifted her hand once more, pressing it to her lips and then pointing. The monster was almost directly in front of the doorway.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath, staring at the opening while Ford struggled to remain conscious. Grandpa pressed his back to the wall next to the gap.

The strategy was obvious. If the creature lunged into their space, the worst place to be would be directly in front of its jaws. To attack from the side stood a much better chance of success.

In his gloved hands, Grandpa cradled the bag, opening it slowly, carefully.

Ford’s legs were weak beneath him, and he longed to drop to the floor to rest. Mia’s arm tightened around his waist, holding him fast, and he drew strength from it, insofar as he could.

When the snout came into view, the air seemed to grow colder around them. It was as if a frost invaded the overhang, and Ford could almost swear he could see his breath in the soft glow of the sunlight reflecting off the beast’s white scales.

No… it wasn’t a reflection at all, was it?

The scales were softly luminescent. The monsters before hadn’t been. As they’d gone by, they hadn’t been, at all. They were plain and white, not glowing. Was this one special?

But an image flashed before his mind’s eye. Dozens of monsters with wide-open jaws facing the torrential downpour of the heavens, absorbing the flashes of lightning and retaining a share of the brightness within them.

But that had been his dream!

His eyebrows drew together, the mix of dream and reality clouding his thoughts. Was this a sign that what he dreamed really was true? But how could that be?

Did Trace have that kind of—

Ford’s thoughts were cut short when the monster stopped its progress. Its eyes were not yet in view, but its nostrils flared with the slow deliberation of a deadly predator.

The monster remained still for several excruciating seconds while the humans watched in horror. Ford could feel the tension in Mia’s form against his side. He wanted to move her behind him, but no one dared move or make a sound.

Even the horses sensed the danger, and stayed deathly still.

Alarm burned through Ford’s veins when the giant head turned towards him. Towards Mia, and the others. Did he fight it? Push the others aside and lay claim to the monster’s attention until Grandpa could attack?

The behemoth seemed in no hurry to pounce as it took one murderous step forward, then another. Its eyes, milky white like its scales, stared into the dimmer area of the cave as the glow of its body reached the humans.

Caught like mice in a trap. There was nowhere to go. The monster’s body was as wide as the entrance, blocking any possible escape.

Up close, it was abominably ugly. Its lumpy head and slightly gnarled feet spoke of age and experience. That might be why it didn’t lunge forward recklessly like the one in the water had.

It was smarter than that.

Grandpa waited until the creature’s eyes passed the threshold of the alcove, and then sprung into action.

Dumping most of the bag onto the monster’s eyes, he leapt back out of the creature’s immediate reach. He held a handful of the flowers in a gloved hand, between himself and the creature, whose eyes now gushed a greenish blood from deep wounds.

Hissing, the blinded creature thrashed, its head swinging to the side from which the unexpected assault had originated.

The area was not wide enough. Grandpa was slammed between the monster’s long face and the wall.

The sound of the breath being thrust from his lungs made Mia gasp with fear and Daniel cry out.

But the monster wasn’t yet done. Turning on the rest of the humans, it snapped its toothy jaws into the narrow space.