Alice- vs Abhuman

I did just that. Easier than a pea slipping from a pod, the blade I’d hidden up my sleeve slid down into my right hand. Then I attacked, jumping up really high towards the ugly stinky creature.

I’m old but I can still jump at least half my own height. As well as being good at spitting, I was once the best jumper in Pendle. Ain’t one to brag, am I? But it was true.

I jumped high and brought the blade of my dagger down fast and hard.

I chopped off the abhuman’s left ear.

Didn’t like that, did it? Before its ear plopped down onto the grass it was on me, seizing me by the left shoulder. That was another mistake it made. Never grip the left shoulder of a witch! Her body reacts violently. It took me a long time to get that into Tom’s head. Eventually he learned and is a lot wiser now.

My left shoulder shot about half of my remaining magic straight into the body of the beast. I hoped that would be enough to finish it.

But I was wrong.

I don’t like to dwell on what happened next. But it wasn’t good. I’d little left to defend myself with and it picked me up by my left leg and swung me hard against a tree. That should have smashed my skull and spread my brains all over the trunk. But I’d just enough magic left to cushion the worst of the blow and struggle to my feet.

Then the abhuman hit me hard with the back of its big left hand. It was a terrible thump that sent me spinning to my knees. I could taste blood in my mouth and this time I couldn’t get up. The creature was moving towards me, holding out both taloned hands to seize my body.

I caught a whiff of its thoughts, the stink of what it intended.

It was going to tear me limb from limb.

The Last Spook Chapter 3