Wicked War of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 9) Read Free Page B

my arms, my legs, bulking me to preposterous proportions. I grew taller and felt a tail pressing against the Templar armor. The cloth grew to accommodate the extra appendage. My feet widened and the boots grew longer to allow for claws forming where my toenails had once been. I touched the seams of the armor at my ankles and wrists. The armor retracted from my feet and hands, revealing blue, scaly skin and black claws.
    Piercing pain exploded in my forehead as my horns formed. Flames flickered into my eyesight. My inner demon reached the boundary between completely losing myself and retaining control. I slammed a wall of will between my remaining consciousness and the infernal spirit vying for everything I had.
    Fire coursed through my veins. I spun around and faced the giant scorp. A claw lunged for me. I leapt, landed on top of it, and ran up its arm. Its other claw snapped at me. I jumped straight up, splaying out my legs to avoid losing any tender bits. The scorp's claw crunched into the chitin on its other arm, sending green gunk splashing on the ground. The creature shrieked. I landed on the other claw. The flexible feeding tube shot out from its underside. I gripped it and held the tooth-lined orifice away from me as it made sick sucking sounds. Squeezing with all my might, I crushed the semi-rigid tube and tied the end in a knot.
    The scorp let out an ear-piercing screech. I jumped from the claw. Swung on the feeding tube like a vine. It took me under the belly of the beast and between two of its many legs. When I reached the apex of the swing, I flipped backwards and landed on the scorp's back. It scuttled in a circle, one claw snapping at me, but its arm was too short to reach me. Unfortunately, its exoskeleton was slick and I went down on my side. I heard a whoosh of air and rolled to the side just as the scorp's tail lashed at me. It crunched hard into the creature's own back.
    Gripping a seam between the plates of chitin on its back, I managed to hang on. Rolled over. With an effort of will, I channeled a beam of destruction at the base of the tail.
    "Dodge this, you bastard!" I shouted as a sudden surge of malicious glee raced through my veins. The energy sliced through the chitin. Green blood bubbled like lava from the wound. The scorp's tail lashed at me again, but the damage was done. With a satisfying crackle, the tail toppled like a felled tree and slammed into the ground. The scorp retaliated by spinning in a dizzying circle. My hand slipped until I was only holding on by my fingers. For some reason, laughter burst from me.
    I think I just seriously pissed it off. My inner demon seemed amused.
    There had to be a way to bring this thing down faster than cutting off its limbs one at a time. The scorp didn't exactly have a head or a brain, but if it had a vulnerable spot, it probably had something to do with the awful face on the front. Holding on with one hand, I used the other to blow chunks from the scorp's armor with spheres of destruction. Using the divots in the armor as handholds, I dragged myself closer to the dome of its head.
    Even with all the noise from the scorp, Kassallandra's screams still rose above the fray. I glanced toward her and saw the infernal black arms still grasping at her body, drawing her closer and closer to the inky pond. I'd seen a lot in my short time as an incubus, but I'd never seen anything like what Aerianas was doing to her.
    I reached the dome of the monster's body and gripped another chink in its armor. I saw the huge face pressing against the chitin, its mouth peeled back in a rictus of pain. Squeezing my knees tight against holes I'd burned in the armor, I pressed both of my hands together and took aim.
    "Did somebody call bug control?" I shouted. Summoning all my effort, I channeled a thick beam of Brilliance right into the gaping mouth. Ecstasy flooded my senses. I felt as though I could take on an army of giant scorps.
    The scorp's shrieks turned to gurgles and its