“How can we restrain the dog?” Jason asked.
First propping the spear against the wall, Jugard gathered up a coiled rope of amber seaweed. He fashioned a knotted loop at one end. “Here is my leash.” After examining the length, he secured the other end around a stone protuberance.
They peered over the ledge. Puggles continued to rage up at them, twisting and leaping and scraping its claws against the stone below the shelf. Jugard dangled the loop, slipped it around the dog’s thick neck on the first try, and jerked it snug. The dog continued bounding at them, heedless of the rubbery noose.
“I left enough slack for the dog to get close to the cleft. You two will go to the end of the ledge, over by the cleft, and drop down. I will come up behind the dog, slash its hindquarters, and sever the restraining line. The animal should pay me no mind. As the conscriptor desired, it will be fixated on you two. Let me figure out the timing. At my signal your duty is to run as fast as you are able. Don’t hesitate. Macroid may be sufficiently quick to get all of you.”
Jason could feel his heart hammering.
Jugard squeezed a strand of blue-glowing seaweed and fastened it around Jason’s wrist. “You remember what I told you concerning the Word.”
Jason recited all Jugard had told him. Rachel listened with wide eyes.
“Very well,” Jugard said. “Ready?”
“Now?” Rachel asked.
“Is the crab underwater again?” Jason asked.
Jugard nodded. “Macroid is too bulky to stay out of the water long. I would stake your life on it.”
Jason managed a feeble smile.
“Take heart,” Jugard said. “You have a real chance. Get into position.”
Jason and Rachel walked along the length of the ledge until they reached the wall with the crack in it. Puggles moved with them along the base of the shelf until restrained by the seaweed leash. Jugard skillfully descended the ledge behind the dog, spear in one hand, stone knife in the other. The dog didn’t even glance at him.
The cleft in the wall was about fifteen feet beyond the base of the ledge. Jason turned around, dangled from the shelf, then dropped to the cavern floor. The boarhound snarled in ferocious frustration, testing the elastic limits of the seaweed rope. The effort only tightened the noose, strangling the dog’s growls.
Jason could not help feeling like this was happening too quickly. He wished he had more time to get used to the plan. After all, the crab was huge, and it had killed before! Rachel dangled from the ledge, and Jason placed his hands on her slender waist, helping her land lightly. The enraged boarhound retreated a few paces, then rushed forward, stretching the restraint enough to get frighteningly close as Jason and Rachel edged toward the crack. When the dog lost momentum, the seaweed recoiled, dragging the boarhound end over end like a spasmodic fish on a line.
Jason stood at the cleft, trying to prepare his mind. “Wait,” Jugard called. “The boarhound is strangling.”
Sure enough, the beefy dog had not regained its feet. It thrashed on its back, emitting choked snorts.
“I will sever the rope at the neck, slashing the dog with the same motion. When I spring forward, you run.”
“Ladies first,” Jason murmured, relieved that his voice didn’t betray how tense he felt.
Face rigid with worry, Rachel entered the cleft.
Jugard discarded his spear and moved in close, stone knife poised. He jumped forward, bringing the weapon down in a savage arc. Jason did not see the blow strike. He propelled himself through the cleft in five long strides, and bolted into the chamber of the titan crab, only a pace behind Rachel. The bit of seaweed he had dropped earlier still glowed green on the ground, mingling its light with the blue luminance of his seaweed bracelet.
Water sprayed in his face. Macroid had been surging up from the water before they had even entered the chamber. Jugard must have drawn blood. As Jason sprinted forward, intent on the gap across the room, the titan crab, after the briefest pause, darted toward him, a massive blur glimpsed in his peripheral vision.
There was nothing Jason could do except run, even though the crab would be on him before he was halfway across the room. Where was the dog? What if it was too asphyxiated to get up and chase them? What if it was attacking the convenient target of Jugard?
Rachel was fast. Running full speed, fueled by desperation, Jason could barely keep pace with her. When the crab sprang, he would try to dodge, maybe buy Rachel some time.
Deep baying rang harshly behind him. The black crab skidded to a stop. Jason hazarded a glance back. The boarhound was racing into the chamber, gaining ground even as the crab pounced at the bleeding canine, slicing Puggles in half with a lethally timed snip.
Jason stumbled, taking several awkward steps forward before Rachel slowed enough to grab his arm and keep him upright. To fall was to die. The gap loomed before them, slightly wider than the previous cleft. Jason could hear the crab scuttling after them, closing fast. The scuttling stopped. The crab must be airborne! They were almost there.
A tremendous force slammed into his back, pitching Jason forward through the gap. Whether the impact came from outstretched claw or armored body he could not distinguish, but it struck him with the blunt power of a battering ram. He bounced and rolled forward out of control, bare skin colliding with stone. Beside him Rachel tumbled as well. As she lost the momentum of her fall, she scrambled onward. Shouting in pain and fear, Jason rolled deeper into the recess, ignoring the scrapes and bruises on his elbows and knees.
The shearing snip of razor claws rang desperately behind him. Looking back, he saw a black claw reaching into the gap, scissoring open and closed well out of reach. Jason panted, watching in mesmerized horror as the crab returned to the gory remains of the boarhound and began dissecting the corpse in a frenzy.
“Oh my gosh!” Rachel exclaimed, voice trembling. “We almost died. I can’t believe we made it!”
“That was close,” Jason grunted.
“You alive?” The hoarse shout came from across the cavern.
“We made it!” Jason cried out, still trying to fully accept that they were out of danger.
“First since Galloran! Good luck to you. Safe journey.”
“Thank you!” Rachel called.
Jason crawled deeper into the cleft, emerging into a small room with no visible exit and no water. Sunlight filtered in through a tall shaft in the ceiling. He slumped onto his back and closed his eyes, hesitant to examine his injuries. Shock had dulled the pain, but even so he could feel his skin burning where it had torn, throbbing where it had bruised.