Page 47 of Artemis’ Bow (Halfling Academy #5)

I whip my door open, then race to help the giant, pretty sure he’s Orion. I honestly don’t give a fuck if it isn’t him at this point.

We have to help. He’s losing and we can’t allow that to happen.

The giant scorpion lashes out with its tail swinging so the stinger will pierce through Orion’s chest, but the giant dodges, swifter than he has any right to be. The problem is the scorpion has him on the defense only. He needs to actively try to kill the creature to send him back to the stars.

If there are any stars left.

“Raven, do you think you have a battle ax or something that would do the trick in this?” I ask.

“You’ve seen the size of that guy, right?” Raven scoffs.

Car doors slam and Dax and team jog over to us. “What’s going on?”

“You see the two giants fighting?” I ask, incredulous.

“Well, yeah, obviously, but why’d we stop?” Dax asks.

“You see the giant man? We think that’s the hunter Orion and the other is the Scorpio constellation. If Orion loses this battle, Scorpio is going to rampage through this city.” I plant my hands on my hips.

“So, what do we do?” Dax asks.

“Do you have an ax that the big man can wield?” I ask.

Dax shakes his head but turns to Kira. “You got something, babe?”

“I might but you guys are going to need to distract Scorpio for a few minutes.” She chews her lip nervously.

“Draven and Olly, you guys stay with Kira and protect her,” Dax orders.

“With my life,” Draven says, bowing his head slightly.

“I don’t need protection. I need time. Buy me as much as you can,” Kira snaps.

Draven is staring at her like she’s unhinged. I nearly laugh when she snarls at him and races to the trunk of the car. I love my friend so much.

“You guys have a spitfire on your hands. I can’t wait for the drama to come after this is all over.” I cackle.

“Let’s just kill this thing and get back on the road.” Jayden squeezes my shoulder.

“Agreed. We may need Orion, so if we can stop Scorpio from killing him, then we need to do everything we can.” My shoulders slump.

The food restored my energy but without sleep, I’m still not at my best. The road to Hades really is paved with good intentions.

I figured if we just got there, I could sleep for a while and be refreshed for the battle ahead, but I was wrong.

Now, we are facing yet another battle and I’m just tired.

“How do we even kill a constellation?” Dax asks.

“It’s basically been reformed to its mortal body, I would guess?” I say. “That’s what I think happened when we fought the giant crab Cancer constellation.”

“You guys have some crazy kills under your belts. I’m slightly jealous,” Dax says.

“Only slightly?” Raven teases. “You’re insanely jealous of all my stories of battles.”

The ground rumbles and we all sway, catching ourselves before we stumble. I turn to locate the source of the commotion and Orion on his ass, his huge hands holding the stinger away from his face.

“We have to stop this, now.” I reach for the lightning bolt charm and my whip unfurls in my hand.

I snap the whip out and my crackling white lightning runs the length of it. From the shore, I crack the whip across the scorpion’s head. It shrieks in pain and anger as it turns its beady gaze on me.

“C’mon, you big ugly bully. Focus on me. I’m going to take you out,” I yell at the creature.

Orion’s gaze snaps to mine and an expression of horror masks his features. “Young hero, do not do this. The great scorpion is too strong for you to handle.”

“I’ve got this, I promise.” I smirk.

Jayden steps next to me, his shadows swirling dangerously around his body and his shadow sword drawn. “What’s the plan?”

“Who said I have a plan?” I ask. “I just needed his focus off Orion.”

“So you jumped in headfirst without a plan… again. Unbelievable.” Jayden shakes his head.

I spin out of the way and flick my whip at the giant stinger that I dodged a second ago. The creature roars as the electricity crackles over its scales. It lashes out with its pincers, but Jayden shadow walks us out of the way.

“You’re gonna get yourself killed, Beth,” Jayden snarls.

“I’m not so easy to kill now, baby.” I grin at him and spin out of the way of a pincer.

The scorpion lunges again and I call my sword instead, sending the whip back into the ether. The electricity is helpful, but I need to be able to hack at this bastard.

My sword lights up with the same energy and I swing it in a wide arc the next time the pincer comes for me, wide open ready to snap me in half. The sword cuts through the center of the pincer, hacking the top clean off. The scorpion scuttles back with a scream but I advance on it.

“Hey, Dax. Can you get the stinger while we work on the other pincer?” I ask.

“Hey, what about me?” Raven asks.

“Just giving your brother a shot at being a badass like you.” I shrug.

“Fair enough,” Raven says.

“I’ve got this,” Dax shouts with glee.

I really hope I didn’t just get Dax killed. I think both my friends will hate me if he gets skewered by that stinger.

Dax takes a running leap and flips several times before landing nimbly on the scorpion’s back. The scorpion jolts and thrashes but Dax has crazy balance and easily keeps on the scorpion’s back. The stinger strikes out at him, but Dax blocks it with his battle ax without a moment’s hesitation.

The other pincer that’s not a mangled mess lashes out at me, and I duck and slice up, catching the side of it but not doing a lot of damage. I glance back at Orion.

“How do we kill this thing?” I call to the hunter.

“You don’t. You’re simply a demigod. I’m shocked you managed to injure it at all.” Orion shakes his head.

“I’m not simply anything. Now, tell me how to kill it,” I growl.

This pompous jackass is lucky we may need him or I’d zap him back into the fucking stars.

I scan my surroundings before zeroing back in on the scorpion.

Its center of gravity is close to the ground.

Could its underbelly be its weakness? That’s usually the case with most creatures unless they are indestructible.

I spin out of the way of the pincer and bring my sword up to block its attack. The scorpion is insanely strong, but I manage to hold it off until it retreats.

“We need to get under this thing. Its underbelly is most likely its weakness,” I call to Jayden and Raven.

“It’s in the water. Do not go in there, Beth,” Jayden yells.

“That’s why I asked you to do it,” I say sweetly. “I’ll hold off the pincers while Dax keeps the stinger busy. We are the distraction.”

“Fine,” Jayden grumbles as he races into the water.

I jump back when the mutilated pincer swings at me with the deadly, sharp jagged pieces that are left of it.

“Raven, go to the other side,” I say.

“On it, bestie.” She races around the opposite side of Jayden.

The pincer swings her way, but she flips over it and into the water next to the creature’s side.

“Kira?” I yell. “How’s it going?”

“She’s in her zone. She won’t hear you,” Draven calls back.

“Well shit, I guess we won’t be getting whatever she’s creating for us in time.” I flip back away from the pincer again.

The razor-sharp pincer grazes my arm, cutting it open, and blood gushes from the wound. I yelp at the pain but all it does is piss me off more. This motherfucker is going down. It’s not making it out of the water alive.

I toss my sword to my opposite hand, the one not mangled by that damn pincer, and I twirl my blade in an arc as I advance on the scorpion. I slam the blade in the side of the pincer, but it clanks off like there’s metal armor on that part of the creature.

“Shit,” Dax cries.

I glance at the creature’s back and gasp in horror as Dax falls off the back of the scorpion, his left arm hanging limply at his side. There’s a large hole in his shoulder.

“Dax,” Kira screams and rushes into the water with a large metal object in her hand that I have no idea what it is.

“Kira, get back. This thing is fucking feral right now,” I scream.

“No, Dax is hurt. I think he’s been poisoned.” Kira lands on her knees in the shallow water.

The distraction costs me and the pincer slams into my side, throwing me ten feet back. That’s it. I need to end this right fucking now.

“Everyone get out of the fucking water. I’m ending this now,” I scream.

Standing, I dust myself off and prepare to use my magic instead of playing fair. I was worried about all the sea life in this water, but I’m done caring.

“If you can get a message to any sea creatures nearby, Thad, I would do it now. This thing is about to get barbecued,” I snarl.

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea, baby,” Jayden says as he drags Dax’s unconscious form from the sea.

“I’m not shooting electricity at it. I’m going to throw it.” I shrug and dodge that damn pincer again.

This battle needs to be over already. Dax needs medical attention, and I need to clean the cut on my arm that’s throbbing with pain.

“Fill this with your power and then launch it at that fucker,” Kira says, handing me the large metal object.

“What does it do?” I ask.

“Just trust me, it will get the job done.” Her grin is feral.

I’m glad we’re friends because her wrath is terrifying.

Once everyone is on the shore, I do as Kira suggested and imbue the metal object with so much power it’s crackling and glowing white.

I glance over my shoulder to make sure everyone is far enough back and then launch the object at the scorpion.

The scorpion screams as a white-hot crackling net secures itself over the top of it and encases the scorpion in a cage of lightning.

“You might want to protect your head,” Kira calls. “It’s going to explode.”

A deafening boom follows directly after her words. I curl in on myself with my arms over the back of my head to protect it.

“You could have warned a girl,” I shout. “What the fuck, Kira?”

“There wasn’t time,” she says, and I barely hear her through the ringing in my ears.

“It did the trick, though.” Raven chuckles.

“It did.” I stick a finger in my ear in an attempt to stop the ringing.