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They approached a section of dirt that ran between two different waters. One side was blanketed in duckweeds with bubbles right in the middle, the other was muddy and still. Ingram diverted to the mud side on the right to avoid what had made those bubbles.

The hissing roar bellowing from the mud happened at the same time a Demon exploded from it. Emerie squealed as Ingram released a surprised bark.

Mud flung on them in a wave as the Demon with the crocodile head from before flopped with its long fang-filled maw open to latch onto a limb. Ingram reared back and yanked his hand up to his chest just in time to avoid being bitten into. He backed up to the left when he landed.

Emerie knew a trap when she saw one. Since nothing came out of the moss side, it was obvious the Demon had set this one up. It was frightening that it had beensmartenough to lay out a trap and wait.

Ingram didn’t hesitate to sprint forward to escape, forcing Emerie to hold on for dear life. Behind them, a hissing roar followed as the Demon gave chase, sprinting on four short legs. Its long tail swiped right and left, tossing dirty sludge and grass in its wake. Its fluttering wings gave it some speed, but not enough.

It was slow, out of its element on land, and quickly fell behind.

She chanced a glance back.Shit! That was a close one!

When Ingram’s left arm caved into elbow deep mud, he was quick to free it before he continued on. He was no longer being cautious, and in an environment where the ground was not as it seemed, that was dangerous. He was also being loud, whereas she sensed they needed to be sneaky.

That crocodile Demon had followed them through the water. What else would come and intercept them?

“Slow down,” she pleaded, patting the side of his neck to calm him.

“We are almost free,”he huffed out, diverting to the right just in time to avoid another Demon, a much smaller one, as it leapt from the water.

Up ahead, the world changed.

Across a sizeable body of still water was plain forest. They’d found the end of the swamp.

However, Ingram skidded to a halt in the middle of a large clearing. She followed his roaming gaze as his beak pointed from the left all the way to the right. They were surrounded by water except for the way they came.

There was swiping movement behind them from something – or many somethings – chasing them on land. Sticks cracked, wetness squelched, and mud plopped.

Oh shit,Emerie mentally screamed before flattening herself to Ingram. He was backing up. She only had enough time to really,reallymake sure she had a good grip before he sprinted as fast and hard as he could.

She’d known what he was going to do the moment she saw the water separating them from freedom. He was going to jump it. She just hoped she didn’t break a rib again like back in Zagros Fortress when he’d leapt to the wall to escape.

Holding back her scream, she clung as he leapt.

Seconds in the air felt like agonising minutes.

They’d make it, she knew they’d make it – that didn’t stop her from worrying they justwouldn’t.

Her breath was knocked out of her when they landed, and one side of Ingram’s body collapsed against the soft mud and dirt as he slipped. When they stopped slipping, she looked back to find a void-like figure on the land they’d just been standing on, staring at them with narrowed red eyes.

It didn’t sink into the water to continue chasing after them. She wondered if that was because of the bright sun bathing them in protective light.

“Are you okay?”he asked, his orbs white as he looked at her from over his shoulder. He rose to all fours.

“I knew I could trust you,” she whispered, wishing he could see her thankful smile. “However, we’re still a little too close for comfort. Let’s g–”

Before she could finish, a Demon shot from the water.

When something massive, dark, and horrifying shielded the very sun that had been protecting them, her heart nearly gave out. Neither one of them had time to avoid the eight long limbs that coiled around Ingram’s midsection, effectively trapping her to him.

With a pained hiss, she only had enough room between two tentacles to see the Demon had landed on its side. It flipped onto its stomach, sunk its body into the mud to protect itself from the sun as best it could, then swiftly dragged them into the water.

She managed to gulp a breath before she went under.

The water was so murky that it was impossible to see, but she knew the important features of the Demon that had them trapped. She didn’t think anything could be bigger than a Duskwalker, yet this octopus Demon was long, even if its body was thin and nearly human shaped.

Oh, god! I thought octopuses were only possible in saltwater!She’d grown up near the ocean, so she knew plenty about them.