it, he told her as he recalled his magic, dissolving the combat form the Errul had killed. If the Errul had it, she would surely have ended me by now.
He groped through the memory of the Hive’s many victims for a template of a more suitable form. He needed one with the power to defeat the Errul. She might not possess the Destroyer at present, but power still blazed around her like a star. The conduit between her and her home universe pulsed with magic, tempting and menacing at once.
Indeed, Hivemother said. What a feast she will be. Take her for me, Valac, and the next two matings will be yours.
In the deepest level of his mind, where even Hivemother couldn’t hear, he thought, Assuming I live to claim it. She hadn’t felt the force of the Errul’s blows. How anyone using a human form could attack with such speed and power, he had no idea. They were such fragile, powerless creatures.
Vengeance definitely was not.
Strike her down, Hivemother purred, eager greed in her psychic voice. Strike her down and let me take her!
* * *
Grimly, Cheryl watched the black roiling magic as the scout began to reform again. She ached everywhere, and she suspected one of her ribs was broken, despite her armor. She’d thought that purple lizard was going to smash her like a cockroach. It had certainly hit her hard enough.
But Cheryl had survived, mostly because of the raw power blazing through her. Gaia was pumping so much magic into her crystal-augmented bones and muscles, it felt like drinking from a fire hose.
It was also more than a little terrifying, because it illustrated just how bad the spirit thought this fight was going to be.
Pacing grimly, Cheryl watched the black cloud suck inward, revealing her newest opponent. She recoiled. The fuck is that?
I have no idea, Gaia said. Something from another universe.
It was even bigger than the lizard, towering two feet taller than Cheryl, with four massive arms and two legs supporting a huge, misshapen body as pallid as a slug. A ring of eyes encircled its bulbous head, and it had no nose, only a series of slits running along its barrel chest. She suspected they were gills, judging by the way they opened and closed. Looks like a good place to sink my claws.
Assuming she dared get that close. Something she was in no hurry to do, because the thing’s mouth took up most of its head. The lipless circle was lined with serrated teeth, all pointed inward. It reminded her of the thing that tried to eat Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi.
Shit. Anything that goes into that mouth, I won’t get back.
It advanced toward her, dropping down on the knuckles of its lower set of hands to walk like a gorilla. The upper set of hands flexed, claws flashing as muscle rolled along massive arms.
All those crimson eyes glared at her as it opened its jaws wide. Which gave her a great view down its throat, lined with yet more inward pointing teeth.
Holy shit! It’s teeth all away down. Cheryl had never wanted to run screaming like a little girl so badly in her entire life. And never with such excellent cause.
If you do, Gaia told her in an icy voice, that thing will kill everyone in this hospital, including Brandon and every baby in the NICU.
Cheryl’s mind instantly flashed the horrific image of one of those massive hands picking up a preemie and…
Don’t think! Gaia snapped. Move!
Cheryl dragged magic from Gaia’s conduit, conjuring a pair of wakizashi. The short Japanese swords filled her hands, sparks dancing along the steel. There wasn’t enough room to swing a longer sword. With a howl of terror and fury, she sprang at the thing.
One of those enormous hands snapped toward her face. No way to dodge -- it’s going to tear my head off…
A wave of magic wrapped around her, flipping her toward the ceiling. Gaia, finally doing something. The huge fist missed her by half an inch. You do the attacking, Gaia snapped. I’ll navigate.
Another magical burst sent her shooting toward the scout’s massive skull like a rebounding cue ball. With a shrieking cry, the creature jerked aside so fast, Cheryl barely saw it at all. She managed to slash the blade across thick, pallid hide even as she flew by. Sparks snapped, filling the air with ozone and the smell of burning meat. The scout screeched like nails over a blackboard.
She bounced off the