Red blood filled the bubbling waters between Tess and the monster's sliced-off neck. Her clouded underwater view got cut off when the monster sprang back to the surface due to buoyancy.
Her head popped above the surface and cold streams rushed off her body. In a low crouch, she gasped the foul air and blinked her heavy lashes. Her spiked boots were good friction against the monster's chitin exterior even as water flowed off it. She straightened her knees and with her one arm held the dripping sword tip downward. But she didn't get to lodge her full blade deep inside the monster's back.
The strong jolts that came shook every nerve in her body. Her boot spikes slipped out of their dents in the monster's chitin exterior, and she began to lose her balance. She cursed her missing arm again when her view of the swamp began to tilt to one side along with all her weight. The creature was turning with her on top of it.
