Thisby Thestoop and the Wretched Scrattle by Zac Gorman

Author:Zac Gorman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

Thisby was far too preoccupied by the glowing red eyes of the creature slinking down the wall behind them.

Bero was easily a foot taller than the boy and outweighed him by a hundred pounds, but Thisby got the impression that he wasn’t the kind of man who could even comprehend that that was the sort of thing that could be used to one’s advantage.

“Vas,” rumbled the one-eyed man.

“What is it?” snapped the boy, who Thisby was quickly beginning to dislike.

“Trust him. He’s got good”—the one-eyed man paused to consider his wording carefully—“intuition.”

Vas placed his hands on his hips.

Bero’s cheeks turned pink at the compliment.

They continued to talk among themselves, but by that point, Thisby had lost track of their conversation. She was far too preoccupied by the glowing red eyes of the creature slinking down the wall behind them.

Before she had a chance to consider whether it was really a good idea, Thisby burst forth from the tunnel, waving her arms over her head and shouting like a madwoman. The one-eyed man spun on his heels and drew his longsword, as the larger man ducked and covered. Vas shot Thisby a look that moved imperceptibly between being startled and angry before returning to startled when the beast lunged at the group. It landed inches away from where Vas stood.

The monster wasn’t one that Thisby had ever seen before in the dungeon. It stood taller than her at the shoulder and resembled something like a bull crossed with a lizard, yet for how clumsy it looked, it moved like a ballet dancer. The one-eyed soldier ran at it, putting his body between Vas and the monster. He slashed it with his longsword but only managed to catch one of the many rigid spines protruding from its back. The beast responded with a tail whip that caught the man square in the chest and sent him flying across the room.

“Donato!” yelled Bero.

Vas took off running, but before Thisby even had time to properly curse him for being a coward, she realized he was running toward the monster. The blond boy grabbed a bow, which had been left propped against an unlit brazier, and nocked an arrow. Thisby watched the shot sail wide, and the monster turn its attention toward Bero.

Bero, for all his size, looked about as tough as a bag of overripe bananas. He threw his hands up in what Thisby could only think of as a “not in the face” pose and turned away from the monster as if that might make it disappear. The monster charged.

Mingus squealed helplessly in Thisby’s ear as her mind raced. “Do something!”

“Like what?” snapped Thisby.

“I don’t know! Something!”

So she did. Something.

Thisby dropped her shoulder and ran, slamming her entire body as hard as she could into the side of the beast, T-boning it midstride. It wasn’t much of an impact, and it definitely hurt her more than the monster, but it was enough to ever so slightly alter its course. The beast missed Bero by mere inches and skidded to a halt.

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