I smiled. “It’s too narrow for that. We have to go single file.”

“Mmm,” he said, with a small frown. “Oversight on my part. I’ll have to work on that the next time I build an amazingly brilliant impromptu bridge to save us all.”

“Next time,” I agreed.

Ever the gentleman, he let me walk first. Our horses had already gone on ahead, so we didn’t put much weight on the structure. Plus, he was right that our magic was more than enough to keep the bridge in its suspended state. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much we could do when a huge green-and-red-scaled serpent emerged from the lake’s surface and roared a challenge to us. Along with the tacky Christmas-color scheme, it had pointed gills radiating out from its body. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth and was more than big enough to swallow one of us whole.

“Really?” I asked with dismay. “We couldn’t have gotten a break just once?”

“Go!” said Dorian, with no trace of his earlier levity. “We’re nearly there.”

It was true. We were over two-thirds of the way across. Still remembering to keep the water in check, I sprinted forward. I could see the bridge’s end and knew I was about to reach the other side when the serpent roared again—practically right behind me. I turned and was just in time to see it make a lunge for Dorian. He dodged the attempt and dropped to the ground. Unfortunately, doing so broke his concentration on keeping the bridge up. I had enough presence of mind to continue making the water reject the earth but only where we stood. Behind us, all that rock and dirt crumbled away into the water.

I held out my hand to Dorian. “Come on.”

Dorian started to rise, and then, with speed that seemed too great for its size, the serpent struck out again and knocked Dorian back to the ground. One of its pointed gills or fins or whatever it was called made contact with Dorian’s forehead, and I saw blood appear. More pieces of the bridge started to fall, and I adamantly ordered the water not to accept them. Still, as I watched the serpent come back for another strike, I knew maintaining the bridge wouldn’t be enough. I acted quickly, doing the first thing that came to mind.

I removed all the water around the serpent.