“There is a power in you that is familiar,” the alien hissed.
Nali tilted her head inquisitively. She sensed... desperation. A ripple ran through the alien’s body, causing the fluid form to move in a mesmerizing wave. She smiled and raised her sword. It seemed the entity recognized the Elemental magic that had killed one of its own.
“I know why you are here. You will fail. I won’t let you take over my world,” she replied.
The alien’s form rippled again. “Your world,” it laughed, “—is not what you think. Regardless, this and all the others are pawns, put here to feed our whims,” the creature replied.
Nali shook her head. “I will not allow you to harm any more of my people,” she declared.
She slowly walked over the uneven stones as she spoke, tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword. She was ready when the alien shot out a long tentacle toward her.
She evaded and brought the sword up under the long spiral of thick liquid. The tip of the sword sliced through the tentacle, and the magic embedded in the steel turned the blade a blinding white. Unfortunately, she wasn’t close enough to destroy the entire alien, only the tentacle.
She instinctively lifted her arm, protecting her vision. The alien roared a second before another tentacle struck her. The power behind the blow lifted her off her feet. She twisted as she landed, rolling several feet before her shoulder hit the edge of the short wall that bordered the bridge. The sword skidded several feet past her.
Nali glanced at the alien before she looked at the sword. She rolled toward it. Before she could rise to her feet, something cold and wet wrapped around her ankles, drawing her attention to her feet. She hissed in alarm when the alien tightened its tentacle, and pulled her across the worn stone bridge.
She twisted, reaching desperately for the sword. It was then that she saw the thin river of black liquid in the wheel ruts, and realized the alien had distracted her with multiple attacks, sacrificing parts of itself while using the ruts in the bridge to sneak up on her. Nali frantically clawed at the uneven stones, trying to prevent the alien from dragging her.
“Those weak, green creatures that dwelled here were useless, but you—I sense the power of the ancients in you. A power you do not even realize you possess,” the alien mocked.
Fury burned through Nali like a wildfire out of control. The urge to transform into a larger, more powerful monster almost overwhelmed her, but she resisted the temptation. In any other form, she would be defenseless against the alien’s possession. Even now, she could feel the fluid material of the creature searching for a way to penetrate her skin as it slowly snaked its way up her body.
The sound of metal against stone brought her attention to another long tentacle pulling the sword toward the mass. The creature’s mocking laughter sent a chill through her.
For a moment, Nali couldn’t help picturing what would happen if she failed. She saw herself possessed, using her powers and the Elemental sword against her own people and the Seven Kingdoms. She banished the thought and tried to roll to her right so that she could grab the sword as the long blade slid past.
She dug her fingers into a crevice between two stones and held on with all her might while she stretched her other arm out, frantically reaching for the sword. A hoarse cry of frustration slipped from Nali when her fingers lost their purchase on the crevice.
A sense of impending doom built inside her. The form that kept her safe would also seal her demise. While the alien could not penetrate her flesh, the gargoyle form limited her ability to fight. Only in her softer form could she use the full power of her magic.
“If you want power, try this,” Asahi shouted.
Nali turned and saw Asahi standing in the entrance with his feet spread apart, holding a small weapon aimed at the alien. It was just like the one Mike Hallbrook had used on the first alien back on the Isle of Magic. She flinched at the loud reports when he fired the weapon.
She glanced down at her feet when the creature recoiled with a hiss, loosening its grip on her legs and the sword. She rolled, grabbed the hilt of the sword, and sat up. Turning her head to protect her eyes, she brought the sword up and sliced through the tentacle holding her. With a burst of light, it turned to ash.
Nali stood, holding the sword out in front of her. Asahi continued to fire the weapon at the alien as he strode forward. At his bark of warning, she backpedaled and turned, the sword poised to defend, but this time she couldn’t avoid the tentacle that struck her in the side. She stumbled, the back of her legs catching on the bridge’s low wall, and cursed when she tilted backward into open space.
Her boot heel was caught in a gap in the bridge and she teetered as she fought to keep her balance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another dark tentacle shooting out of the creature toward Asahi. She thrust the sword upward.
The tentacle hit the sword with such force that it knocked the weapon from her hand. Unbalanced by the blow’s intensity, she twisted to grab the enchanted weapon just as the bridge shifted. The small movement was enough to knock her over the side.
She spun as she fell and reached for the bridge. Her fingers found purchase in the bridge’s rough stone, and she hung precariously by one arm. Looking down, she
