CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
“I can’t fight Gertrude!” I scream, in case Hekima cares.
He doesn’t.
I back away and do my best to strategize. Even if I land a punch, I’ll lose.
The drekavac charges and whips at me with a tentacle.
I dodge.
Shrieking, the monster sends another tentacle my way.
I leap to the side but barely miss getting touched.
There has to be something more effective I can do, some way to penetrate this illusion.
Another tentacle strike, another dodge.
A chat with Pom suddenly pops into my mind. He once claimed that if he were awake, he could show me what Valerian really looks like, based on the assumption that an illusionist wouldn’t think to target my symbiont.
Two tentacles go for me at once, and I perform a backflip to get away. The crowd cheers.
The problem is that Po
