Scott McCall's Arc

Chapter 30 of 30

The Acheron whipped around and struck Scott across the jaw. He hit the gym floor hard and didn't get up. Water surged from the creature's chest in two thick ropes, pinning Derek and Malik flat against the wall. They thrashed. The ropes only squeezed tighter. Stiles climbed down a row of the bleachers, bow drawn, the gilded arrowhead notched and burning gold. He tried to line up the shot. The Acheron darted side to side, too fast, a blur of black water. "Hold still," Stiles whispered. "Hold still, hold still." The gym doors banged open. Kira ran in, katana already drawn, rain still streaming off her shoulders. She didn't slow. She leapt onto a stack of mats, kicked the skylight latch, and the glass swung wide. Storm air poured down. Kira raised her blade into the open sky. Lightning answered. White light cracked down through the skylight and into the katana, then into the Acheron. The creature seized. Its water-body locked stiff, crackling, steam hissing off its shoulders. Stiles exhaled. He loosed the arrow. The gilded silver shaft punched clean through the Acheron's chest and buried itself in the floorboards behind it. The creature shuddered once. Then it collapsed into a wash of plain, gray water that spread across the tile and went still. The ropes holding Derek and Malik fell apart. Scott pushed up on his elbows, ears ringing, and saw the arrow standing upright in the wood, gold light fading along its edges. The Acheron was gone. But Malik was already looking at him, eyes flickering weak gold, and Scott understood the cost wasn't paid yet.