Chapter 9
Daniel swung his oar, but Esme got in first, smashing the creature right in the face. Thwack! As it fell, Daniel belted it with the other one. The boat pitched wildly as his oar connected. The creature collapsed backward.
It quickly recovered and propelled itself out of the lake again.
‘Duck!’ Esme cried, pulling Lillian down into the bowels of the boat.
The ray sailed right over them, its spiked tail lashing across the space where their heads had been only moments before. Enraged, it launched itself at them a third time—
But then stopped in mid-flight. Only inches from Esme.
The air turned cold around her.
Ice was forming around the creature, encasing it in a frozen prison. A blast of pale-blue air, sparkling with countless tiny particles of frost, was emanating from the
