Hunters of Sian - Book 2. The Užaren Canyon

Pop Goes the Weasel

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Chapter Nine

Pop Goes the Weasel

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It took a few moments before the other boys noticed that Nell had thrown his water-skin aside and readied his weapon.

'What?' Marshall barely got the word out when the branches flew apart and a huge animal burst into their camp with a weird hissing shriek. It was looking between the light sigils, its nostrils flaring in and out.

'What is it?!' Jeremy shouted.

The boys scrambled to find stable footing. Marshall furiously rubbed the rain from his face, squinting at the creature. It was an odd-looking thing. It had a long, almost ferret-like body with fluffy grey fur and short little front and back paws like some huge weasel, but its head was completely reptilian and showed two long poisonous sabers which protruded from the top jaw. It hissed at them, its long body wiggling around into a coil.

'Is it a Lindwurm?' Marshall asked, panic clear in his voice.

'Can't be! Lindwurms only have two legs and they're massive!' Nell shouted back. As far as Nell knew, Lindwurms also didn't have fur and lived far from civilization. This creature was about as long from nose to tail as Thorn and the other dracks were. He'd heard a few stories about them, mainly from his own master who had been scared by a Lindwurm in one of his early hunts.

'It's an Itachi!' Derek barked. 'They're attracted to magic. That's why it's here! Extinguish the light runes!'

'But-'

The creature sprung, diving straight for River and Thorn. The drackina screeched. Unable to free herself from her bridle, she let loose a torrent of acid. Jeremy flung himself sideways to avoid the spray. The Itachi dodged, its odd slinking body curving around. Thorn's tail whipped out, the deadly spine on the end missing the beast by inches. The Itachi retreated and turned its cunning eyes on the humans. It seemed to be deciding who was the easier target...

'Look out!'

The way it moved reminded Nell of an eel in water. Its spine seemed disgustingly flexible as it twisted out of the way when Jeremy threw his harpoon. The throw was decent, but the body undulated around the projectile to leave the weapon planted in the mud. Jeremy cursed.

He darted forward to retrieve his harpoon and the Itachi twisted around to go for him. Nell jumped forward, blocking its bite with the shaft of his glaive. Unfortunately, the ground was now so wet, and the mud so slick, that the animal shook his head and Nell's feet slipped. He went down, his glaive still in his hands. Spitting mud, he rolled out of the way just in time as claws lashed at his exposed stomach.

'Hey, over here!' Marshall threw a stone, hitting the animal on the shoulder. The Itachi hissed and went for Marshall instead as Nell quickly rolled back to his feet. Jeremy was struggling to pull his harpoon free of the sticky mud. What was worse, the rain was falling ever harder, and Derek was beginning to extinguish the light runes.

'Are you crazy!? We won't be able to see the damn thing! It's here now, what does it matter if the magic attracts it?' Jeremy shouted. The Itachi snapped its teeth as Marshall sliced at its nose with his sword.

Derek's lip curled angrily. 'You want to be fighting more than one of these things? If there's one, there'll be more!' Jeremy's face went very pale.

'As soon as Derek extinguishes the last light, close in together. Back to back,' Nell yelled. Marshall scurried to Nell's side as Jeremy finally wrenched his harpoon free. The Itachi snarled, long trails of thick liquid dripping from its open mouth. It was watching Derek. Just as Derek scratched out the last rune, it lunged.