I jumped out of the way as its arms slammed down; the impact sending ripples through the floor beneath me. The demoness stepped through the hole, the look on her face a mix of anger and disbelief.

  “Another distraction,” she hissed. She was angry, but there was a calmness in her voice again. It was like she used the time to clear the blocked door to start thinking rationally again.

  The golem turned to face her, its four arms slamming down again.

  The demoness summoned an ice barrier to protect herself. The golem attacked again, its arms pounding into the shield.

  This is perfect. As long as the golem is keeping the demoness, I can focus on her.

  The massive golem’s four jagged arms moved with lethal intent, slicing through the air and chunks of ice. While the spider perched atop its back, hissing and twitching, pulling its puppet strings, I slipped around to its back. There was a metal plate protecting the spider from direct attacks.

  It really saved the best for last.

  The demoness, never taking her eyes off me, curled her magic around her like a snake. An icy trail curled from behind her to smash into the side of the golem as it tried to destroy her shield again.

  Stumbling to the side and falling on its side, the whole cocoon shook from the golem’s impact on the ground. The demoness didn’t look at the golem. She flicked her wrist and threw a volley of ice shards at me from her shield.

  I rolled to the side, towards the golem to use it as cover, and fired two shots at the demon, forcing her to defend herself. Both shots met a wall of ice.

  The golem was already rising and preparing another strike. With my cover moving, the demoness didn’t waste the opportunity. Ice coiled around her arm, forming into a sharp spear. She launched it at me, but the spider had other plans.

  The golem’s arms raised high and the massive claws came down to crush me into the floor. It was a simple matter to step out of the reach. The ice spear shattered against the golem’s other arm as it swiped at the demon. I could feel the web beneath my feet shifting under the weight of the creature’s blows.

  The spider hissed again from atop the golem’s back, mandibles clicking in fury as it yanked at the threads connecting it to the monstrosity. The golem’s legs came crashing down as it rose up and charged toward me, and I dove to the side, barely avoiding being flattened by the colossal limbs.

  I rolled to my feet, panting, my fingers tightening around the hilt of my gun. The dagger would be useless unless I needed to free myself.

  The demoness was still on the other side, dodging the golem. She wasn’t moving much, though. It seemed she was focused on the golem.

  The demoness screamed, raising her hands, a wave of frost spreading outwards. It froze the web floor, turning it slick. The golem stomped a foot and shattered the ice. Then the shards grew around the foot and pinned it to the ground. More ice crawled up the leg.

  The golem staggered forward, shattering its way out of the ice, its movement awkward at first, then smoother as the spider regained its equilibrium. It attempted to trample the demoness. She pushed herself off the wall and used the ice to slide around the room away from it.

  I dashed over to the golem, using the ice to slide around so that I kept the golem between me and the demoness. I had to catch myself on the wall.

  Behind me, the air grew colder, and I could feel the frost creeping up my legs. I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw her. Her fingers twitched as she slammed her hand into the ground. The ice shattered around me and floated around. Shards of ice hovered around me, suspended in the air for a second, before pointing at me.

  The demon clenched her other hand and all the shards flew towards me. I jumped up to avoid most of them. Some of the closer ones still cut my legs a bit, but I was five feet in the air. My legs dangled as I understood that I almost just jumped my body height.

  I twisted in the air and shot the demon. But the golem stepped in the way. The bullet bounced off its torso. The demoness laughed as she shot the golem with an icy blast.

  The golem stumbled sideways, and I fell from the air, landing hard on the floor. I pushed myself up and rolled out of the way as a claw crashed down inches from where I was.

  Her lip curled in a sneer, and she flicked her wrist, sending the ice shards flying toward me yet again. I ducked behind one of the golem’s legs, the frozen projectiles shattering harmlessly against its thick, webbed wood. The demoness snarled.

  The golem, slow as it was, began to pivot on the ground. It attempted to claw at me with its other hand while it stood up. Avoiding it was as easy as crouching underneath it. The floor beneath me vibrated with every step it took. Every movement filled the air with thick sounds of creaking wood and straining webbing.

  It tried to drop its entire weight on my head as I hid directly underneath where its torso and legs met.

  Time to move.

  I darted out from behind the golem’s legs, making a beeline for the other side of the cocoon. Every step I took was shaky, the ground beneath me barely stable, and with the golem’s constant stomping and slamming its weight around, I wasn’t sure how long the cocoon would hold.

  But that wasn’t my biggest problem. The demoness had thrown out both arms. A spinning saw blade of ice was heading towards me. More followed the first.

  I ducked under the first two blades and weaved through the others, but the last one cut my face.

  It was so cold it burned like fire; the blood dripping down and burning through my eye. My vision blurred as the pain radiated from the cut. Behind me, sections of the cocoon were cut by the blades, poking small horizontal holes.

  I took a deep breath and sprinted around the edge of the cocoon, hoping to keep the golem between me and the demoness. The spider, still shrieking from atop its mount, yanked harder on its threads, pivoting the golem and followed me. Its massive arms swung in wide arcs, crashing into the walls and sending webs flying.

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  More damage to the walls caused a sudden drop in the room.

  What was that?

  The room dropped seven centimeters. It seems a support tether was damaged in that last attack.

  I didn’t have more time to consider what that meant. The demoness wasn’t done. I could feel the temperature drop again, even as I ran, frost clung to my skin. I glanced just in time to see her summon a massive spear of ice, nearly as tall as she was. She hurled it toward me with a flick of her wrist.

  I dove to the side, hitting the ground hard. The spear missed by inches, embedding itself in the webbed wall with a sickening crack.

  The room dropped again.

  Five more centimeters.

  English measurements, Orange. I don’t have time to convert it.

  One point nine six eight five zero three nine three seven zero zero seven eight seven four zero inches.

  There was too much going on to scream at Orange in my head for such a stupid answer. I scrambled to my feet. The spear exploded into countless shards. I covered my face with my metal arms, but the blast still knocked me back and several shards still struck me. I didn’t have time to check the damage.

  The golem was getting closer now, each step sending shockwaves through the floor. I could hear the spider screeching. It’s concentrating on me. I need to get those two to focus on each other, not them both on me.

  I slid under a claw as it slammed down and rolled out of the way of a foot.

  The demoness wasn’t going to give me a break, either. I saw another rotating shard of ice fly at me.

  I couldn’t dodge this one. I threw myself sideways, but it embedded into my shoulder just before my arm turned to metal. It cut through my flesh and bone, and pain surged through me. My right arm went numb and fell limp, and blood seeped around the wound.

  With the golem’s back turned to the demoness, a heavy ball of ice struck it in the plate covering the spider. Instantly, it turned the puppet around and charged the demoness. While it did, I pulled the ice shard from my shoulder.

  I felt something pop, and the numbness faded, replaced by an agony so intense I could hardly breathe. Blood soaked my shirt and jacket and the smell of it filled my nose, making me nauseous. It was warm and sticky, and I could feel it running down my arm. But the tingling in my arm built. My nanites were closing the wound and movement returned to my arm.

  The assassin hammered into the golem as it charged her, breaking off chunks of wood.

  The golem staggered, its movements becoming jerky and uneven. It swung its arms wildly. One of its limbs crashed into a nearby wall behind the demoness, tearing through the webbing.

  The room dropped again, this time more than before.

  Six inches lower.

  An idea sparked in my mind.

  Maybe I don’t have to kill them directly. Neither one seems to be reacting to the fact the room is lowering each time they damage the walls. Orange, how much more damage needs to occur before the whole place goes falling down?

  Insufficient information.

  I turned to the entrance to see a wall of ice just past the opening. There’s no way I’m getting past that.

  The demoness pushed away from the golem again while sliding on a patch of ice. The massive golem’s hand crashed down to shatter the ice. But maybe I don’t have to.

  A plan slowly started to fit into place in my mind.

  I holstered my gun and drew my dagger, gripping it tightly. The demoness was still retreating from the golem, her eyes locked on it. A spear of ice zipped from her hand and into the elbow of the golem’s arm. When it shattered, the limb hung from a few pieces of webbing that snapped as it recoiled.

  The spider was losing. It won’t kill the demoness. But I already had a back-up plan. I just need to get to the largest opening the golem created. Once the cocoon starts falling, I’ll be able to jump to the bridge and run to safety. Those two will be too slow and fall with it, hopefully dying. At the least, the demon will be trapped for a very long time.

  I darted toward the golem, not away from it. The spider, sensing the movement, shrieked and pulled harder on its threads, directing the golem’s massive limbs to intercept me. But I was faster. I dodged the swing, then the leg.

  I heard the crack of ice behind me, the demoness’s scream of frustration as she launched another attack. I could feel the cold at my back, the sharp sting of frost biting at my skin. But I didn’t stop.

  I dove beneath the golem’s legs, sliding across the frozen floor. I could hear the spider shrieking in fury as it reached down to grab me. Its foot slipped as it tried to follow my movements. The golem staggered again, its arm and legs flailing wildly, one leg crashing down toward the demoness.

  She reacted just in time, raising a wall of ice to block the blow. But the impact sent cracks splintering through her shield.

  The golem’s legs shifted, and I seized the opportunity. I leaped to my feet and out of the hole. Carefully climbing my way up the outer walls of the cocoon—which was surprisingly easy—I reached the first support tether.

  My dagger cut through it in a few quick cuts. A satisfying snap and the cocoon wobbled.

  I could feel the ground shake beneath me, the vibrations rippling through the web. Does this give you enough information, Orange?

  Indeed. Cut four more tethers all on the same side and it will destabilize the structure. As it does, head towards the tether above the bridge at the front to begin escaping.

  The next tether snapped off just like the first, and the cocoon lurched even more.

  As I made it to the third one ice shot out through the web and into my foot while also destroying the web anchor. The ice instantly formed around my foot, holding me in place. I pulled my leg out, but I couldn’t pull it free. The demoness trapped me. She’s not giving up.

  Ice crawled over my skin and into my wounds. The pain was excruciating. Every breath burned, and I could barely think. I reached down and punched the ice with my dagger’s pommel. My foot came loose as the ice cracked.

  Limping, I made way towards the front. A heavy thud followed the last tether I needed to cut. Everything started swaying. I barely stayed on my feet. Crawling up from the underside of the cocoon was the spider.

  The swinging didn’t bother it as it used all ten legs with hands to effortlessly reach another tether. I dove to catch the tether I needed to use to swing back to the entrance. As my fingers intermingled with the threads of sticky web, I held on with every bit of strength I could muster.

  With a quick pluck, the spider removed a string and separated the tether it grabbed. I didn’t need to use my dagger to cut mine. The sudden plummet snapped the tether at the base, where it connected to the cocoon.

  The cocoon dropped violently into a freefall as the two of us began swinging away from one another. The demon’s still inside. This should kill her.

  But before the cocoon dropped farther, a massive ice pick made of ice reached from below and skewered the spider through the center of its body. Its shrill shriek resounded in the cavern. The demoness hung from the other end of the pick.

  The spider held onto the web, carrying her away from me towards the farthest wall from the entrance. She extended a hand towards the spider. Ice coiled around her wrist, reached out and grabbed the web rope, then melded into the bottom of it. Pulling her arm back, the demoness extracted her icy pick and stabbed the spider again.

  It let out a weaker shriek and hiss. One more last pull and the creature fell into the abyss below. The assassin didn’t bother to watch. Her eyes stayed locked on me. I could only climb up to the ledge and shake my head as I turned away. The entire time, she just hung there.

  It wasn’t enough. As I walked out, I could feel the hate drilling into me from so far away. This isn’t over.

  There would be another time. I had only one last hope. Killa.

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