The serpent pounced on Astrael while its fangs dripped acid that hissed against the stone below.
Astrael didn't retreat this time. His muscles snapped taut like drawn steel, blood flaring red beneath his skin. He raised his sword high and roared—
"Clawdia, now!"
The feline beast exploded from the underbrush like silver lightning, with gleaming claws. She darted beneath the serpent's strike, impossibly fast, and raked her talons across the gaping wound left by the boulder. Flesh tore open in a spray of black blood, the serpent's hiss turning into a shriek that rattled the trees.
Astrael surged forward at the same instant. His blade, wrapped in writhing tendrils of blood energy, carved down into the soft scale of the serpent's exposed neck. The force of the strike jarred his bones, but he pushed deeper, gritting his teeth as veins bulged against his skin.
