The golem smashed the rock behind Nagrak, obliterating whatever glimpse of enlightenment had flickered in his mind. The moment was shattered, along with the stone, sending Nagrak reeling from his reverie, shrieking as he bolted out the other side of the crevice into the teeth of the storm.

The golem’s pulverising blows send shards of stone hurtling towards him. The debris struck with brutal force, knocking Nagrak off his feet, and sending him sprawling into the snow. He scrambled for distance, clawing frantically through the drifts, desperate to escape.

His salvation came unexpectedly, and terrifyingly so — a massive talon descended, claws crashing against the rock, piercing through snow and ice and then snapping shut. He was paralysed, unable to scream or brace for impact. When the claws ensnared not him but snatched up the golem right in front of him, Nagrak was truly, quite literally, scared shitless.

Up close, Nagrak recognised an unsettling detail: the creature possessed not two, but three taloned feet, an anomaly that defied reason. Each claw held a captive. One gripped the avian beast, another the voltera, both pressed tightly against its underbelly, secure among its thick plumage. The third claw clutched the golem, lifting it from the ground with a terrifying ease as it rushed past Nagrak, a giant silhouette against the storm-torn sky.

As the monstrous form swept overhead, the heavens unleashed a cascade of jagged ice shards, a sudden cascade shooting out from the storm above. Three massive ice spears plunged into the avian beast, their frigid tips rending feathers and slashing flesh. More shards struck the mountainside, dislodging more stone. In its pursuit of the golem, the avian beast had flown dangerously close to the slopes, where the assault threw it into disarray. Its left wing, battered by wind and laden with ice, smashed into the mountain, tearing wounds that turned the snow below a dark crimson. The protruding rocks offered no purchase; the narrow path provided no place to land.

<<  Previous Page

Next Page  >>

<<  Previous Page

Next Page  >>

Pages:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80

Pages:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80

Pages:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80