Book Seven: Chapter 87

As she ran, she was knocked down from behind by the claws of a drake that had been circling overhead. Her hand chanced upon a ragged piece of wreckage, slicing open her own palm as she grabbed it. Picking it up, she swung it at the beast behind her. Though she didn’t hurt the creature, the attack startled it enough that she was able to run another thirty feet or so to a nearby cluster of rocks on the edge of the beach. The opening was just big enough for her and her newfound weapon to squeeze through. The drake that had chased her on foot squawked in indignation as it shoved its head through the opening and missed its meal by less than a foot.

It was there that she maintained vigil for the next four days. She watched in silence as the drakes carried off the remains of her family, shivering when the tide came in and covered her ankles. To stay alive, she licked moisture from the walls and slashed at the drakes whenever they shoved their heads into her sanctuary. She g