Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [62]
The beast's round, gray-brown mass must have been at least twice the height of a man. A dozen smallish stalks protruded from the creature's surface-clear white eyes attached to the ends. It held itself suspended over the floor with just the two large tentacles wrapped around the pillars. The other tentacle and the three heads converged on Evelyne, surrounding her from all sides.
"Get back!" she shouted, waving her daggers at the snapping, hissing heads. "You know I don't taste good."
The tentacles came at her, all at the same time. She managed to bat one away, and slice another, but the other two were too strong, and Evelyne became quickly overwhelmed. A hissing serpent head clamped onto each arm, biting down and immobilizing her.
The Claw sprang into action, tumbling into the center of the fight and raking his blades down the entire length of one tentacle. A single long slice of flesh fell from the creature's body, the suction cups making a slight squish as they hit the floor.
The head attached to that tentacle hissed and reeled back, releasing Evelyne from its grip.
The Claw ran to the other side. Jabbing out with his fists, he pierced the snakelike hide and jammed his blades deep into the tentacle. The creature let out another hiss and pulled back, letting go of the half-elf's other arm, but yanking the Claw off his feet-his gauntlet jammed deep inside the beast's body.
The Claw was dragged across the filth-strewn floor, reddish-brown guts flying everywhere, as he tried to pull himself free. The creature flailed, its hissing turning into more of an angry screech as it flung him side to side, trying in vain to dislodge the bladed human. It smashed him into the ruined half bodies of the giant spiders, sending them rolling and wobbling across the uneven paving stones, leaving a trail of gore behind.
The creature slammed the Claw against the wall-upside down. Pulling himself over, he kicked his feet into the air, bracing them against the solid stone. With all of his might, he yanked down on his blades, using the wall as leverage. His razor-sharp gauntlets slipped through the flesh and came out the other side, and the Claw fell to the floor, finally free.
The round, rubbery abomination pulled back. Its tentacle was almost completely severed in two. Wrapping it against its body, the head hissed in the Claw's direction. Then the entire beast convulsed, its round core expanding and contracting in an undulating motion. Its eyes, protruding from its body on narrow stalks, darted this way and that, scanning the entire room.
Lowering its body close to the floor, it seemed to strain its muscles, as if laboring with something difficult. The pillars it held between two powerful tentacles cracked under the pressure, sending stone and dust tinkling to the floor. With one final push, the creature opened its backside and deposited a huge, silvery-white sack on the ground. Then the beast retreated, gripping the pillars with its tentacles and pulling itself through the room.
Ooze dripped from the side of the sack, and it began to move. Something inside poked at its edges, making strange shapes in the stretchy, elastic sides of its cocoon. Then a hole appeared, and a pair of long thin tendrils slipped out, forcing the opening to widen. Two more tendrils, then four more after that, groped their way out as the sack was turned inside out and a large spider appeared.
Maybe half as big as the smashed vermin whose guts were now caked on the flagstones of the chamber, this new spider had silvery legs that ended in bladed tips-natural swords attached to each of its eight spindly legs.
Evelyne dashed past him, grabbing his shoulder. "This way!"
Rolling back to his feet, the Claw followed. He didn't need to be told twice.
Evelyne led him deeper into the room, hugging the wall. The tentacled creature was on the other side of the chamber.