That had some effect. The salt actually sizzled where it struck the monster’s skin. The horrid thing screamed, and turned to see what had burned it. But turning sent the salt flying into its eyes and it screamed again, shaking its head in pain.

That gave Rosa the chance to charge it from behind, cutting through the air with her ax. The thing turned instantly, and stopped the cut only just in time, leaping backward in Giselle’s direction.

She backpedalled as fast as she could, and spied another ax buried in a stump beside the woodpile. It didn’t look like much, but it was better than two guns that had no effect at all! She dropped her revolvers, ran to the ax and wrenched it out, then turned to help Rosa, her heart pounding and her nerves on fire. Her breath burned in her lungs and somehow flooded her with electric energy. If only she knew what to do with it!

Rosa was fighting for her life. The Blood Witch hadn’t marked her yet, but the thing’s speed was incredible, and it was clear that it was all Rosa could do to keep the knife and the cleaver from connecting. It was concentrating on Rosa as the truly dangerous one, however, and didn’t sense Giselle charging it from behind until Giselle struck it in the back with her ax. She managed to hit it at the top of the thing’s humped back, between where the shoulder blades should have been.

The ax bit for a moment, and stuck, and the Blood Witch screamed. It was a sound so piercing, so painful, that Giselle fell helplessly to her knees, clapping both hands over her ears.

The Blood Witch whirled furiously to meet the new attack, only to have to turn back to face Rosa again as the Earth Master resumed her attack. Giselle staggered to her feet and looked for another weapon, as the Blood Witch redoubled her blows on Rosa, driving her back, and back and back—

Now she panicked. Rosa couldn’t bear up under that punishment for much longer! Something! Anything! I have to—

“RED CLOAK!”

Before the Blood Witch could beat past Rosa’s defenses, a deafening howl of rage and outrage shattered the night. The Blood Witch turned again, and Giselle felt herself shoved to one side as Pieter charged past her, his other hand outstretched to seize the monster.

The Blood Witch howled in response, and leapt to meet his charge, Giselle’s ax falling off its back as the monster jumped.

She landed on Pieter’s face, more like some kind of hideous insect than ever, and clung there, hacking away at his eyes with her cleaver. Pieter cried out. In anger? In pain?

Rosa threw her ax.