Chapter 71: Seventy-one.

Kael nodded his head then, and we broke away as I walked in the direction of the sound. I crept quietly, letting out a small gasp when my eyes landed again on the terrifying creature. It was scouring around the bushes, looking for us like a cat would a mouse.

The sound of footsteps echoed, and I turned abruptly to see Maya running out. It turned towards her then, and Maya raised her hands in unison, letting out a small string of fire that created a small glow in the clearing. Just as quickly, the Ammit raised its scaly, thick tail and blocked the fire.

"Its tail is immune to attack," she remarked loudly, before dropping her fire and making a move to run.

The beast ran to follow, but then Kael entered at lightning speed, dodging from left and right, making the beast whip back and forth as a distraction. Meanwhile, Rhydian jumped down effortlessly from a high branch, his glaive whirring in his hand. He landed atop the beast, slicing at it, but the sound of his glaive clanging against a hard surface echoed across the clearing.

He flipped back then, landing in a crouch with a frown on his face.

"There's an armor or shell that prevents penetration," he called out to the rest of us, and Kael sped out of the clearing onto the opposite side while the beast tried to follow him.

Maya nudged me with her arm, and I turned to her as she panted heavily.

"Why don't you revitalize me like you did on the boat? My flames were much stronger then. Perhaps it'll help," she breathed out, to which Ayla nodded, sitting back against the rock.

She had been feeling weak, despite the fact that I had healed her injuries, and I knew that it was because I had taken away the lethality of the wounds, but not the pain.

I processed Maya's words, turning my tepid gaze to where Kael's form had disappeared. He had told me not to use it, but if it worked, it could help the cause. I nodded eagerly, to which Maya reached a hand out to me, her cautious gaze on the beast that was looking for Kael on the opposite side of the clearing. Rhydian was somewhere up in the branches, and Abrax was checking in on Ayla.

Opening the door, I focused on Maya's hands, where I knew the power originated from. I pushed my power there until her hands were buzzing and my head was fuzzy.

"Are you okay? You're shaking," Maya asked, holding onto my shoulders, and I nodded numbly before pointing to the clearing.

"You should go, Kael may need you," I stumbled out, and she nodded before running out. I leaned against a tree as I watched Maya run into the open.

The creature was facing away from her, and she raised her hands, letting the power stream out. The fire was thicker than strings now, and the whole jungle was alight with the bright orange glow of her flame, making me gape even through the dizziness. However, before it could even touch the back of the beast, it raised its tail and blocked the attack yet again, making Maya curse loudly. It turned to her then, hurtling toward her at an insane speed with its large claws exposed.

Suddenly, Rhydian rushed in, standing in front of her, his glaive holding back the outstretched claws of the beast.

"In what way does standing like a vegetable in front of the enemy ensure a win?" he mused, looking at Maya with a side glance, who merely scowled back, folding her arms. The beast pushed against his glaive with so much force, I was afraid his weapon would snap. I nearly screamed in warning when it raised its tail to attack him.

It all happened so fast, Rhydian spun his glaive gracefully before swinging it powerfully towards the beast, slicing roughly through one of its claws, to which a bellowing roar broke through the clearing. It swung blindly with its tail, which Rhydian jumped gracefully to avoid, landing in a crouch.

"Move!" he commanded to Maya as the beast shifted its focus off its bloody claw to them. They ran into the opposite side of the jungle, leading it away from us.

My hair blew up with a gush of wind, and I turned to see Kael had run in, his hair matted down.

"I saw where the key is," he breathed out, and we all turned at this as Kael gestured to a small entrance to the ruins where a white glow emanated.

Abrax stood at this, folding his arms.

"How are we to get in there? The beast hasn't moved from there," he asked, and sure enough, I realized that although the Ammit was giving chase, it only ever stayed in the clearing so that it was close to the entrance.

Kael let out a sigh as Rhydian and Maya rushed in, a sheen of sweat making her skin glisten.

"What we do know is that it has armored skin and a tail used to shield," he commented, and Maya nodded with a huff.

I shook my head at his words, putting my hair behind my ear.

"We're going about this all wrong. We're talking about its strengths, but we should be looking for weaknesses," I explained, and Abrax made a noise of agreement.

"The armor, it doesn't run all the way. It stops at the underside," he remarked, and Maya grunted at his words.

"Then that's where we need to be targeting our attack," she concluded, and Kael nodded in response.

"That'll work, but we need to also focus on the swinging tail. That packs a hit," he added, and I frowned at this, to which Rhydian raised an eyebrow, moving closer.

"Can't you hold it off with some force, Kael?" he asked, and Kael smiled, almost smugly.

"Of course I can," he answered simply, before nodding, and we broke off again.

"Don't look it directly in the eye!" Kael called out as he ran out in front of the beast, his gaze averted.

Almost as though it was planned, the beast swung its tail, which Kael caught aptly. He slid slightly against the ground, but then halted to an abrupt stop, making the Ammit growl loudly. I gaped at Kael's effortless movements, watching as he held onto it, his eyes closed.

Maya ran out then, a sneer on her face.

"Protect yourself from this now, ya sharmouta!" she exclaimed, pushing the flames out of her hands at such a speedy pace. I grimaced when the loud screech of the beast emanated across the jungle before looking to its underbelly, which was open for attack.

I ran in then, with Abrax on my tail. The creature reared its head away from Maya's attack to look at us, trying to charge, but its legs became submerged with sand, and I looked to see Rhydian's eyes glowing a vivid grey from where he was perched on a branch.

I moved in towards it, raising my sword with Abrax lifting his axe, yet I didn't anticipate the proximity of its raised claw as it descended down on us. Abrax hardened his skin in time and he merely stumbled down slightly. I, on the other hand, felt the claws hook into my stomach and let out a loud scream. I flew back with the force, landing a few meters away.

"Aeryn!" Ayla screamed, nearing me, and I winced as I looked at the four bloody gashes across my stomach, throbbing harshly.

It broke through the sand then, coming toward us, and I held onto Ayla, awaiting the impact, but Kael had stopped it with a hold on its tail, his jaw clenched in concentration.

"Move!" he ordered us, and I stumbled backwards with Ayla without hesitation, watching as he pulled it back as it roared, before swinging it, making it hit hard against a tree and fall down with a loud thud to the ground.

"Wow," Ayla breathed out, and I merely nodded numbly. However, it got up quickly, and now its tail was free from Kael's grip, and it swung it like a powerful whip towards Maya and Abrax on the other side of the clearing.

It was too fast for them to move and I yelped, but before it could reach its destination, a few sandstone pillars crashed against its tail, sending a dust of debris across the clearing, and I closed my eyes before coughing out the dust.

Opening my eyes, I looked to see Rhydian in front of Abrax and Maya, his eyes glowing like the moon and his hair waving erratically.

"You're boring me now," he murmured, his glowing, icy gaze on the beast.

It let out a growl of anguish, trying to move its tail but to no avail as Rhydian threw more sand pillars over it consecutively, his hair waving with the non-existent wind and his eyes glowing brighter. The clearing was full of dust as he continued, and I looked around with narrowed eyes.

I decided to move in then, my double sword in hand. My stomach was throbbing, but I ignored it as I neared, knowing that this was the perfect opportunity with its tail trapped.

It swiped its claws at me again, but Kael moved in at lightning speed, grabbing the claw with both hands. His veins were prominent on his forearms, a clear indication of his struggle, and I raised my sword high to stab it.

Until it turned and locked eyes with me.

I dropped my arms away as it looked at me. I tried to look away then, but I could hear its voice licking at my brain.

Drive the sword through your heart.

I clenched my teeth, trying to disobey, but all I could do was nod numbly, ignoring the calls of Kael. He wanted to move to me, but knew letting go of the claw would mean it could kill me easily. I raised the sword yet again, but this time to inflict pain on myself. It watched with glowing yellow eyes as I pulled the sword nearer.

"Snap out of it, Aeryn!" Rhydian's voice rang through, but it faded away with the yellow glint of the beast's eyes.

Let me taste your heart.

I pushed it towards my chest, but before it could land, I felt the air warp around me as Ayla transported near me, and then I felt a muscled arm wrap around my form, which the sword hit against and bounced off. Another hand covered my eyes, taking away the gleaming yellow and shrouding me in darkness.

"Fight it, Aeryn," Abrax whispered in my ear, and I nodded, feeling myself come out of the haze. He let go then, and I averted my gaze from its eyes, but I could tell it was calling to me, begging me to look.

I looked to Kael instead, who was struggling with his hold on the claw, and the creature was pushing hard to get out of his hold.

"Rhydian!" he called for help, and Rhydian lifted his glowing gaze from throwing the pillars to raise his other hand towards Kael, and I watched as the ground submerged the beast's claws.

I knew it wouldn't last for long, and I watched as Kael jumped at the opportunity, leaping to the beast and placing his arms around its neck, turning it over slightly so its underside was showing. I lit up when I saw the unarmored bit.

"Abrax!" I called for help, which he seemingly understood, gripping my waist and throwing me towards the large beast. I landed on top of it and dug my double sword into its flesh as I landed, making it screech in pain. The double sword tore through its meat as I slid downwards, as gravity intended.

Blood was squirting against my face, but I didn't care at this point because the beast was lulling to an eternal sleep.

I fell down then, and Ayla steadied me as Kael jumped off the Ammit.

Debris was still flying as Rhydian carried on his actions, and I watched as Kael walked over and placed a hand against his shoulder.

"Enough, Rhydian, let go," he spoke in a stern yet indiscernible tone, and Rhydian dropped his hands, the glow in his eyes dimming, going to dark blue and then to his normal grey gaze.

He let go of the pillars then, and they toppled off with a resounding crash as he neared behind us, his form spotless unlike the rest of us.

"I told you the pillars could be used," I muttered tiredly, to which he smiled slightly before turning his gaze on the corpse of the Ammit.

"Rhydian," Kael said simply, his chest heaving from where he stood, and Rhydian nodded wordlessly before lifting a hand, his eyes glowing. I watched as the Ammit sank into the ground until it disappeared from sight.

"I've got the key," Maya called out, wiping the blood from her mouth as she walked over, holding the item in her hand, and Kael smiled.

"Well done," he muttered, his chest rising and falling.

We were all bloodied, bruised, and beaten, and I silently wished I had enough energy to muster to heal all of us, but it could wait until I was replenished.

And until I showered.

"And I can't believe you swore at the eater of hearts," Ayla laughed out, looking at Maya, and I shook my head, giggling.

"But nothing would beat Kael putting it into a headlock," I added, to which we all laughed.

We had all showered, healed, and were now sat on the beds to sleep. I was sat between Rhydian and Kael on my bed, facing Ayla, Abrax, and Maya, who were sat on Ayla's bed.

Maya snorted loudly, folding her arms.

"Are you sure? Because him swinging it into a tree would be a close second," she added, and I laughed before looking to Maya, who was pocketing the key we got, it was a key embezzled with white diamonds.

Kael had kept the clue and, as per usual, he would discuss it with Rhydian and Bomani to find where the clue leads.

I turned to Rhydian, rolling my eyes as he laid back, his hands behind his head and his eyes closed.

"Are you not going to thank me for the sand pillar idea?" I mused, to which he shrugged, his eyes still closed.

"Depends on what I get from it. No action should be done without gain," he answered in a deep murmur, and I nudged him.

"How about you do it due to the kindness of your heart?" I spoke in a sweet, sarcastic tone, and Rhydian opened his eyes then, giving me a dry look.

"Even you wouldn't be so foolish to believe that?" he ground out, and I raised an eyebrow.

"What? That you have kindness, or that you have a heart?" I drawled, and he smiled slightly before closing his eyes, but chose to say nothing else.

"So, who won that key, the boys or the girls?" Ayla asked excitedly, and I shrugged, turning to her as Kael shook his head with a smile.

"That.. we'll call a draw, because we worked together," he commended, and I nudged his arm with a smile. He had been angry with himself for the group's failure, and I was happy that he was past that now.

He merely smiled in response, opening his mouth to speak, but Bomani rushing out had our heads turning.

He halted in front of us, a tense look on his face, and Rhydian sat up at the sudden seriousness.

"What is it, Ustaaz?" he asked, and Bomani pursed his lips before looking down somberly. The words that escaped his lips next had a lump form in my throat.

"The fire Bakenanouke has attacked the Penta province."

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A/N: I hope we like it!

Thank you all so much for the support, truly appreciated!