Broomstick recoiled. But then he saw the lake out of the corner of his eye, and he remembered his promise to Spirit that he would stay alive, in case they needed a second chance at the vault.

He brandished his sword and looked straight into the monster’s crystalline eyes. “Hello, Snowy. What brings you to these parts this fine day?”

The icicle creature roared again, then charged.

“So much for pleasantries.” Broomstick sprinted straight for the monster.

As soon as it got close enough, he leaped. Broomstick landed on the creature’s knee and scrambled up to find purchase. The monster swiped at him with icicle claws and tried to shake him off.

Broomstick raised his sword and plunged it into the creature’s thigh.

It didn’t react.

“For Luna’s sake,” Broomstick muttered.

He started hacking at the knee. Icicles broke off, and the monster took in a raspy inhale as his leg sagged for a moment. It didn’t give out, but it was a revelation for Broomstick—each shard of ice seemed to contribute to the creature’s power.

Broomstick hit the butt of his sword against more icicles. A few broke off, and the monster’s leg twitched. But now it was really angry, and it clawed at Broomstick with both hands.

An icicle stabbed his shoulder. He let out a cry and grabbed the wound.

The claws came again. Broomstick, bleeding steadily, still managed to avoid the blow by slipping around to the back of the monster’s knee.

What he needed was an ax to hack off the leg. But all he had was a sword. Broomstick wrapped his own legs tightly around the creature’s, held his left side with his arm, and started to saw at the ice with his sword hand.

The ice monster bellowed. It kicked out its leg and sent Broomstick flying off. He landed with a thud, and he skidded on the slick ground toward the lake.

No!

Broomstick dug his sword into the frozen ground to stop his momentum. He slid right into the blade, just inches from the water. The sword cut into his flesh, and even more blood dribbled out of him, two streams of red trickling into the lake.

Small waves began to form on the surface, and the water lapped farther up the shore, as if it were hungry for another body and mind to consume.

He clambered backward and yanked his sword from the ground.

Behind him, the heavy footsteps of the ice monster advanced, bouncing the cave floor with each stomp. It wouldn’t take much this time for the creature to knock Broomstick into the water. Just a flick of its gargantuan finger, and Broomstick would be done for.