The Magic Library

(A Court of Thorns and Roses) 5

The naga were sprung from a nightmare. Covered in dark scales and nothing more, they were a horrendous combination of serpentine features and male humanoid bodies whose powerful arms ended in polished black, flesh-shredding talons.

The four of them paused across the clearing, the Suriel between us, and I trained my arrow toward the one in the center.

The creature smiled, a row of razor-sharp teeth greeting me as a silvery forked tongue darted out.

"The Dark Mother has sent us a gift today, brothers," he said, gazing at the Suriel, who was clawing at the snare now. The naga's amber eyes shifted toward me again. "And a meal."

"Not much to eat," another one said, flexing its claws.

"Human," the Suriel begged.

If I remembered well, I was alone with ten arrows to shoot. The first one would be to the Suriel, the others I wasn't entirely sure. A plan started forming in my mind. I hoped Tamlin could find me fast enough.

I drew my bowstring back farther, my arm trembling.

And then I screamed. Sharp and loud and with every bit of air in my too-tight lungs. With the naga now focused entirely on me, I fired at the tether holding the Suriel in place.

The snare shattered. Like a shadow on the wind, the Suriel was off, a blast of dark that set the four naga staggering back.

The one closest to me surged toward the Suriel, the strong column of its scaly neck stretching out. They still wanted to kill me.

So I let my arrow fly.

The tip glittered like a shooting star through the gloom of the forest. I had all of a blink before it struck home and blood sprayed.

The naga toppled back just as the remaining three whirled to me, but I was already gone.

I raced for the stream using the path I'd calculated earlier, not daring to look back.

The crashing through the brush became louder, closer, and I veered to the right, leaping over the stream. A hiss and a thud close behind told me it did nothing to hold the naga at bay.

I didn't even have time to wince, not as two dark figures flanked me, closing in to cut me off.

My knees groaned as I pushed myself harder, focusing on the growing brightness of the woods' end. But the naga to my right rushed at me, so fast that I could only leap aside to avoid the slashing talons.

I stumbled but stayed upright just as the naga on my left pounced. I hurled myself into a stop, swinging my bow up in a wide arc. I nearly lost my grip as it connected with that serpentine face, and bone crunched with a horrific screech. I hurdled over his enormous fallen body, not pausing to look for the others.

I made it three feet before the third naga stepped in front of me. I swung my bow at his head. He dodged it. The other two hissed as they came up behind me, and I gripped the bow harder.

Surrounded.

I turned in a slow circle, bow ready to strike.

One of them sniffed at me, those slitted nostrils flaring. "Scrawny human thing," he spat to the others, whose smiles grew sharper. "Do you know what you've cost us?"

"I hope it was much."

They laughed, stepping nearer. I swung the bow at the closest. He dodged it, chuckling. "We'll have our sport—though you might not find it as amusing."

I gritted my teeth as I swung again.

A black-clawed hand closed around the shaft of my bow, and a resounding snap echoed through the too-silent woods.