and threw up gravel. Then the car jumped forward and started rolling, the front wheel sending up orange sparks.
Outside, the wetlands were pitch black.
Lucan pulled out his pistol. “What do you think, Earl?”
“Something tells me we better get ready for a fight, sir.”
Lucan handed a white card to Miri. It had a pentagram on it. “You handy with magic? We might have a monster on our hands.”
Miri nodded, even though she had never encountered a monster out in the open like this. She had taught a monster self-defense class a few years ago. But she struggled to remember what she had even taught.
Her hands trembled on the card, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to use it.
They climbed out. The night sky bore down on them and steam rose from the hood of the car.
A flat tire.
“Not good,” Lucan said.
“We’ve a spare,” Earl said.
A beastly, high-pitched shriek made Miri jump.
On the side of the road, a creature with ten tentacle-like legs slithered across the asphalt. It had a conch shell and two green, sickly eyes on both sides of its head. The shell was rounded at the back with a whorled pattern, and in front it extended over the creature’s face like a horn. The shell was cracked, and several of the creature’s tentacles were flattened from where the tires had run over them.
Earl reached into the driver side and pulled out a pump-action shotgun. He pumped, then fired, cracking the shell further.
Earl fired four times before the beast fell onto the road, screamed again and stopped moving.
Only then did Miri stop holding her breath. Her ears rung from the shots, and the monster’s wraith-like scream had made her feel light, as if the wind could blow her away.
“It’s dead,” Earl said, shouldering the shotgun. “You both okay?”
Miri knelt in front of the creature. Blood oozed from its lips and the road was covered in gray slime.
“This is a Magic Eater,” Miri said.
“Monsters are monsters,” Lucan said.
“I’ve seen them in books, but ... never in the wild. They are drawn to magic. They feast on it, and it gives them magical properties. If they eat enough of it, they can be lethal.”
“So?”
“They only come out in the presence of magic. The question is why it’s here now.”
“There must be something magical around here,” Lucan said. “Luckily, we’re just passing through. Earl, let’s get that tire changed.”
Miri clucked her tongue. No point arguing with Lucan, but she couldn’t stop thinking of questions.
Earl was already at the trunk. He lugged out a tire and a jack and started replacing the flat tire.
Miri kept studying the dead monster. She circled the body, cocking her head at the cracked shell.
“Why the hell are you so fascinated with that thing?” Lucan asked.
“It’s just unusual, that’s all.”
“We’ve had a Magic Eater problem for decades, long before you and I were born.”
“They normally live underground,” Miri said, thinking out loud. “They have claws at the bottom of their tentacles that they use to burrow into the dirt. They eat vegetables and are generally herbivorous, but have been known to be aggressive and will eat dead carcasses if there’s nothing left. But their favorite food is magic. In a shortage, they can live for two years without food. The magic they eat calcifies into their shells.”
“Thanks for the history lesson,” Lucan said, rolling his eyes.
“This one’s shell isn’t very developed,” Miri said. “It cracked easily, which means it must have just emerged from underground, where the dirt and moisture softened it.”
Miri traced a path through the grass. Lucan followed her to a burrow that looked as if it had been ripped into the dirt by several claws.
“It came from here,” Miri said. “Strange.”
She picked up the dirt and ground it in her fingers. “The dig is fresh, Lucan.”
But Lucan wasn’t interested. “Earl, how
Outside, the wetlands were pitch black.
Lucan pulled out his pistol. “What do you think, Earl?”
“Something tells me we better get ready for a fight, sir.”
Lucan handed a white card to Miri. It had a pentagram on it. “You handy with magic? We might have a monster on our hands.”
Miri nodded, even though she had never encountered a monster out in the open like this. She had taught a monster self-defense class a few years ago. But she struggled to remember what she had even taught.
Her hands trembled on the card, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to use it.
They climbed out. The night sky bore down on them and steam rose from the hood of the car.
A flat tire.
“Not good,” Lucan said.
“We’ve a spare,” Earl said.
A beastly, high-pitched shriek made Miri jump.
On the side of the road, a creature with ten tentacle-like legs slithered across the asphalt. It had a conch shell and two green, sickly eyes on both sides of its head. The shell was rounded at the back with a whorled pattern, and in front it extended over the creature’s face like a horn. The shell was cracked, and several of the creature’s tentacles were flattened from where the tires had run over them.
Earl reached into the driver side and pulled out a pump-action shotgun. He pumped, then fired, cracking the shell further.
Earl fired four times before the beast fell onto the road, screamed again and stopped moving.
Only then did Miri stop holding her breath. Her ears rung from the shots, and the monster’s wraith-like scream had made her feel light, as if the wind could blow her away.
“It’s dead,” Earl said, shouldering the shotgun. “You both okay?”
Miri knelt in front of the creature. Blood oozed from its lips and the road was covered in gray slime.
“This is a Magic Eater,” Miri said.
“Monsters are monsters,” Lucan said.
“I’ve seen them in books, but ... never in the wild. They are drawn to magic. They feast on it, and it gives them magical properties. If they eat enough of it, they can be lethal.”
“So?”
“They only come out in the presence of magic. The question is why it’s here now.”
“There must be something magical around here,” Lucan said. “Luckily, we’re just passing through. Earl, let’s get that tire changed.”
Miri clucked her tongue. No point arguing with Lucan, but she couldn’t stop thinking of questions.
Earl was already at the trunk. He lugged out a tire and a jack and started replacing the flat tire.
Miri kept studying the dead monster. She circled the body, cocking her head at the cracked shell.
“Why the hell are you so fascinated with that thing?” Lucan asked.
“It’s just unusual, that’s all.”
“We’ve had a Magic Eater problem for decades, long before you and I were born.”
“They normally live underground,” Miri said, thinking out loud. “They have claws at the bottom of their tentacles that they use to burrow into the dirt. They eat vegetables and are generally herbivorous, but have been known to be aggressive and will eat dead carcasses if there’s nothing left. But their favorite food is magic. In a shortage, they can live for two years without food. The magic they eat calcifies into their shells.”
“Thanks for the history lesson,” Lucan said, rolling his eyes.
“This one’s shell isn’t very developed,” Miri said. “It cracked easily, which means it must have just emerged from underground, where the dirt and moisture softened it.”
Miri traced a path through the grass. Lucan followed her to a burrow that looked as if it had been ripped into the dirt by several claws.
“It came from here,” Miri said. “Strange.”
She picked up the dirt and ground it in her fingers. “The dig is fresh, Lucan.”
But Lucan wasn’t interested. “Earl, how
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