The Hawk shouted, and Anji caught the glint of her mask behind the Scorphice’s tangle of legs. Anji stumbled away, and though she knew she should be helping, knew she should start hacking at any part of the beast she could, she had to watch. The woman moved like liquid, dodging in and out of the monster’s heavy swipes. She jabbed at the eyes, puncturing one with a sickening crunch, loud enough for Anji to hear over the rattling legs and howling wind. The Scorphice shuddered, a guttural growl radiating from its entire body. The Hawk wrenched her sword back and made another greedy swipe at the nest of gleaming eyes, but the right mandible caught her in the chest. Anji gasped as she watched the woman fly through the air and land on her back, sliding through the snowpack like a stone. She lay still save for one hand groping desperately for the sword just out of reach.

The creature whipped its dripping face, splattering black blood on the snow in a dribbling arc, a short, gasping shriek echoing off the mountain faces as it bounded toward the Hawk.

Without thinking, Anji yelled. She was surprised to hear her own voice fighting for purchase in the clatter of the carapace, the susurrus of clacking legs on ice and rock. She threw her arms up. “Hey, ugly!”

The Scorphice skidded, legs clicking in unison. Anji stared wide-eyed at the bloodied mess of eyes over a gaping maw, snapping open and closed. Rows of tiny teeth, like hundreds of filed glass chunks.

Anji sidestepped as the Scorphice careened toward her, flailing claws thundering down into the snow, spraying powder and rock chips into the air. She hauled herself up an outcropping of rock, fingers digging into the pitted stone, sword slipping on the frost. At the top she waited for the monster to line up. There.

She jumped. Cold air streaked past her cheeks, her scalp. Time seemed to freeze; her thoughts centered on the writhing form below, the Hawk clambering to her knees, sword in hand, watching. Anji squeezed the hilt of her stubby sword. She was going to miss—the thing was moving too fast.

She landed on the armored back, wind bursting from her lungs, nearly slipping on the slick carapace. Balancing as best she could with it flailing, she scrabbled toward the Scorphice’s head. She drew herself up and locked her knees, clenching the muscles in her thighs, willing her body to stay upright. The Hawk gave another strangled cry as one of the claws smashed down again, but Anji ignored it. She raised her sword in both hands and brought it down with all her strength directly into the mass of eyes.