I barely knew what happened. Talen threw me, then caught me, threw me again and then stopped me from sliding across the ice. I pushed myself back up on my knees as he mumbled something about being sorry. The stupid kid, he had just saved us.

At least, he saved me. He collapsed on the ice and I jerked the wand’s light towards him. From under him a pool of blood spread out quickly, horrifyingly quickly. I went to turn him over, but his hand gripped me.

“No.” He said, a small smile stuck on his idiotic face.

It must have been bad. I shudder to think of it now, but his spine was probably revealed through the burnt flesh.

“I need a second.” He said, “Don’t die on me.”

Me don’t die?!

“You’re the one that shouldn’t die!” I screamed, but his body had gone limp. The brat had died on me.

“Shit shit shit!” I screamed.

I stopped swearing only as I heared a growing series of splashes in the acidic water. I turned and pointed the wand through the thick green smog in the direction of the sound and waited. Something loomed in the darkness, an ominous shape lumbering in time to the splashing acid.

Oh shit…

I couldn’t even think the words in that moment. I was about to fight something that was strolling through acid that had killed Talen. The creature stopped, his form lifted and dropped and a spitting sound cut the air moments before the web came. I pressed my hand against the base of my wrist and my blue flames poured out into the air. The web was encased, and incinerated in moments. I didn’t look at the cinders falling to the ice. My eyes were glued on the shiny eyes that were peering back at me from the creature. Eight legs, mostly submerged in the acidic waters shifted side to side. The spider was huge. My heart was pounding in my chest as I pushed myself to my feet. I didn’t know what to do, where to go. Should I run? How big was the ice sheet I was on? I couldn’t turn the wand to the ice to check or I’d risk getting hit by that spider’s web.

Shit shit shit shit shit.