The creature's jaws snapped inches from Auren's face, its frost-laced breath burning his skin like winter fire. He pushed against its bulk, muscles screaming in protest, when movement flickered at the edge of his vision.
Meredith, lurched upright, blood streaming from her temple. Her fingers scraped the wall, prying loose another jagged shard of stone that pulsed with an eerie light.
With eyes narrowed to slits, she hurled the shard with deadly precision.
The makeshift weapon spun through the air and sank deep into the abomination's left eye. It reared back, a howl of pain ripping from its throat that shook dust from the ancient ceiling. Auren saw his chance.
He yanked his trapped arm free with a snap that echoed through the chamber, bone grinding against bone, as he carved through flesh with a blade that had appeared in his grip.
"Meredith—the tiles!" he gasped, cradling the stump where his hand had been. "The enchantments!"
