Chapter 15: "Knight Fall" - FULL SCALE (Monster Hunter Mitchell, Book 1)
Marcellis tries to end the threat of Papa Naga once and for all...
Campers screamed and scampered while several counselors, brave souls they were, barked commands, ordering the kids to find the nearest shelter and hunker down.
Marcellis carved a path through the shifting, wailing frenzy. Split-second windows presented opportunities to hurl Lucille—planting her blade in the snake’s chest—but the risk of hitting a fleeing child was too great. His attack would have to be up close and personal.
So be it. He closed the distance, but the naga was focused elsewhere…
One of the counselors, a dark-haired teen, nabbed an aimless boy and pointed at Angie on the lodge steps. “Go to Eggs! Get inside! Stay down!” The boy did as told. The counselor raced to a fallen, crying girl and helped her to her feet. He shoved her in the same direction. He never saw the creature slithering up behind him.
Angie did. “Jason! Look out!”
The counselor turned. He got an arm up.
The naga cut him down with a single slash.
“JASON!”
Marcellis froze. Jason. The one Angie had spoken to earlier—the one who’d tried unsuccessfully to cover for her leaving the camp to help find Tyler, Jeremy, and the others.
The naga bared his fangs and loomed over his prey…
The young man, lying on his stomach, raised his head. He reached a bloody, shredded hand toward the lodge—toward Angie.
“C’mon,” she pleaded, mimicking his gesture from the lodge steps forty-five feet away. “Just crawl. You can make it!”
Jason tried, straining, but he just couldn’t. He convulsed; blood erupted from his mouth.
He collapsed to the soil, his final breath escaping.
“Jason, no…” Angie sagged against the railing. Of all people, Dave rushed to collect her.
Marcellis squeezed Lucille, her haft hot enough to fry an egg, yet only half the intensity of the blood scorching his veins. His flesh, however, remained unharmed. It had been years—three, at least—since he’d last witnessed a monster murder a human…
Since he’d last failed so spectacularly. If only they had listened. If only they had abandoned their silly little tradition. If only…
If only he’d acted sooner. “Hey, asshole!”
The naga turned.
Jason didn’t deserve to die. And the fact he left this world a hero would bring little, if any, consolation to his family. The only thing was making sure he hadn’t died in vain. “I’m the one you got an issue with! You looking for the one who fucked up your family?” He held his arms wide. “You already know what it is. Come see me!”
The beast coiled and bristled, the blood-soaked skewers on his right hand catching the light of the fire.
Angie pulled free from Dave. “Marc, be careful!”
“I got this! You guys just make sure the grounds are clear and the kids are inside and safe.” He raised Lucille and adjusted his stance. “Don’t come out until I give the all-clear.”
The counselor nodded, grabbing Dave by the arm and pulling him up the steps and into the lodge. They slammed the doors and engaged the locks, peering through the glass.
Marcellis eyed Papa Naga. No more lives would be lost. No more innocent blood shed…
This would end—now. He slowly circled the beast, prelude to a dance of death. His muscles were loaded springs; Lucille practically buzzed with excitement.
The naga hissed, low and menacing.
A Wild West showdown in the middle of the Missouri Ozarks. Granted, the snake was powerful and hella fast, but if he made the mistake of underestimating his opponent, he’d find out with the quickness Marcellis was no slouch in either department as well.
What little wind there was vacated the premises, not wanting to be a part of the impending fireworks. The air was eerily still; the fire crackled like a million peppermint wrappers in the middle of a sermon. Whispers of copper floated over the grounds as Jason’s draining corpse fed the soil.
A solitary bead of sweat fought its way out of Marcellis’s forehead. He tightened his hold on Lucille, ready to pull the trigger.
The monster glanced at his kill. Then Marcellis. The wheels turned.
This wasn’t good.
The serpent scooped Jason up and flung him in a single, fluid move. Marcellis couldn’t react in time; the body slammed into him—spine snapping—knocking him off his feet.
The bastard lunged.
Marcellis scrambled to his feet and ducked a slash, then blocked a tail whip with his forearm. He tried to come with Lucille; a downward left from the creature forced him to dodge back.
Papa Naga hissed and rose, a tower of flesh, muscle, and scales.
“I don’t care how tall you get,” Marcellis growled. “I’m gonna chop yo’ bitch ass down.”
The monster pounced. Marcellis threw himself into a forward roll past the beast and followed through to his feet.
The naga spun, curling and coiling to square up once more. The space of the clearing and the illumination provided by the campfire afforded Marcellis his best look yet at the monstrosity.
He was bigger and more terrifying than he had originally thought.
The beast shot low, coming in a frenzied zigzag. He uncorked a right.
Marcellis avoided evisceration and swung Lucille—
The naga snared his wrist. He wrenched him off the ground and toward his waiting fangs. Marcellis launched a knee into the snake’s jaw, then pushed off with both feet and swung back, planting the soles of both sneaker’s in the monster’s grill. The beast dropped him, and Lucille lashed out—
Splicing the creature’s torso. The naga shrieked and threw an unfocused right.
Marcellis ducked it, the air whistling from the murderous claws plowing through it. A left followed, then another right, both meeting the same fate. With any luck, Papa Naga would exhaust himself, then he could move in for the easy finish.
The naga paused. He stared at Marcellis. Was he sizing him up, or was he actually taking a moment to catch his breath? Either way, the intelligence he showed was chilling. So often, the creatures Marcellis faced were further down the evolutionary scale when it came to smarts. They reacted on instinct ingrained in their DNA from untold centuries of their species’ existence.
This muthafucka seemed like a tough game of chess. He regressed, easing low and pulling back. It was no retreat. He sprang—
Marcellis dropped to his belly as the naga soared over him. He scampered to his feet and turned as Papa Naga gathered himself, his back to Marcellis as he rose.
An opportunity. The best one yet. Marcellis sprinted toward the beast and leaped, Lucille raised and ready. He brought her blade down—
The naga exploded with a vicious backhand; Marcellis went flying. He crashed and rolled thrice…
Lucille landed a good fifteen feet away.
That…could have gone better. If this had been a movie, and he some kind of mech warrior, this would be the part where an army of red lights flashed and alarms blared after taking a major hit. Sparks would be bursting from panels and raining, primary power cells would be depleted, and the pilot would have to divert energy from the thrusters in order to continue the fight. Marcellis tried to move, but every nerve, it seemed, came together and ratified a bill of protest.
Still, he held the veto.
The world twirled as he struggled to all fours, on the verge of falling back over from disorientation. The discomfort would pass in a few moments, but it wouldn’t be quick enough; the muffled rush of grass heralded the naga’s arrival. But as the creature drew near—raspy hiss swelling—another, weaker sound managed to leak through…
A tiny sob.
Across the grounds, on the far bend of the ad hoc amphitheater—a petite, brown-haired girl with stale blue dinner-plate eyes and a hand over her mouth cowered under the risers.
What the fuck was she doing there? Why wasn’t she with the others? How could the counselors have missed her? Well, that last part was easy. Gathering a bunch of screaming, horror-stricken children into any location was like herding cats. But still, babygirl couldn’t have actually thought she’d be safer where she was than inside, surrounded by her counselors and fellow campers. Marcellis noted the way she held herself, reminiscent of the tornado drills he’d endured as a child in school. Perhaps, gripped with panic, the little one had reverted to something she was trained would protect her.
That duty now fell to him.
Papa Naga lashed his tongue, no doubt sampling the girl’s scent. He turned and locked eyes with Marcellis.
“Don’t you dare.”
The creature’s mouth curled asymmetrically. Was…was the damn thing smirking at him? He moved for the girl.
Marcellis shoved the earth away. He charged the naga—threw out his hand…
Lucille, sizzling atop a patch of blackened grass, shuddered.
Marcellis, his face latticed with veins, unleashed a primal roar.
The axe bolted off the ground, handle first, and sailed across the campsite—
Meeting his outstretched palm as he leaped and swung—ripping the monster from torso to shoulder. The naga screeched and teetered.
Marcellis hit the ground and spun to the girl. “Get out of here! Now! Get to the nearest cabin and—OWWWW!” The world went white as twin daggers sank into his right shoulder, hooks slicing through dense muscle like tissue paper. Pain, like lightning, knifed through him.
Lucille plummeted.
“MARC!”
He turned to the lodge. Angie stood, face frozen in dread like an Expressionist painting. Why was she…? The thought never reached a conclusion. He looked at the source of his misery; the slashed, bleeding naga had sprung up behind him and claimed revenge, burying his fangs into him. The beast was still latched on; venom scorched Marcellis’s system. He fell to his knees…
His vision blurred. Then refocused. Enough to see Angie vanish back inside the lodge with the girl.
No. Not like this. Marcellis balled his left fist and denied agony its prize. He smashed the top of the naga’s head.
The snake refused to let go.
He walloped the creature again. A third time. A fourth—each blow loosened the grip on his shoulder. A fifth strike finally won him freedom, and the damage was revealed as Marcellis dropped to his hands and knees. If he had to redirect power from another department before, he was now running on fumes. Summoning what was left, he forced himself to a single knee, clasped his hands, and slung them back, catching Papa Naga, himself the worse for wear, with a double axe handle. It was decidedly old-school, straight from countless Saturday afternoons spent watching professional wrestling, but it worked; the naga rocked back, wobbly and dazed.
Marcellis could relate. The Hail Mary had exhausted the last of his adrenaline. Dizziness overtook him; a deathly chill swept across his body. His senses began to fade—hearing, smell… The only thing that remained was faulty vision and the faint tinge of iron on his tongue. His limbs became lead weights; they dragged on him until he had no fight left.
He collapsed.
He tried to move, but it was useless. Paralyzed from the neck down, a result of the neurotoxin eating away at his nervous system, there was nothing he could do. Despite the magick in his blood and the amazing gifts it bestowed upon him, the inevitable was laid bare: his body was shutting down bit by bit. Once the venom hit his heart…
He sighed. At least the dark, starry sky would be a perfect view on the way out. Papa Naga, apparently, had other ideas. He loomed into view, shook his head to clear out the cobwebs. He glared at Marcellis.
An awkward moment passed between them. What was this, some sort of reflection? A twisted show of respect to a toppled foe? Fuck that. “Do whatcha gotta do,” Marcellis rasped, defiant in the literal face of death.
The naga obliged. He bared his fangs, still reddened with the hunter’s blood in the gleam of the unattended campfire. With a sickening snap, he unhinged his jaws and opened wide…
THWIP!—an arrow appeared in his chest.
Angie, at the base of the lodge steps, clutched a compound bow. She drew another arrow from the quiver on her back and lined it up…
It slammed into the serpent’s right shoulder. A third punctured its neck.
Angie readied another shot…
It missed as the naga bolted, vanishing through the trees.
Angie rushed to Marcellis’s side. “Hey! Marc! Are you still with me?” Her eyes moved to his shoulder. She reached for it, but stopped herself.
“The kid…” he said, his voice labored, just clearing a whisper. “Is she…”
“Okay? Yeah…” She swallowed, fighting tears. “She’s okay. They all are.”
“Good.” He met Angie’s gaze.
He was wrong. It wasn’t the sky or Papa Naga’s hideous mug.
Angie’s face was the last thing he saw as cold, unforgiving darkness did the one thing the naga couldn’t…
Swallow him whole.
What are your thoughts on this chapter—or the story as a whole? Leave your comments and feedback below!
FULL SCALE PLAYLIST - CHAPTER 15
I wanted something that was perfect for a showdown, and “Hole Up ‘Til Sunrise” from Sinners is absolutely perfect. Part of an original score that is flawless from top to bottom, it is, without peer, my absolute favorite track, and I couldn’t think of a better song to underscore this scene. I can just see it visually, and that’s the greatest compliment I can give.
K.J.’S KORNER (Notes and Commentary)
Chapter 16 drops April 6, 2026.
I’m very hard on myself (some might say too hard), so believe me when I say this might be the best chapter yet. I had a ton of fun reworking it, but what took it to the next level were the ideas for description that came to me. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I got a good night’s sleep, didn’t dilly-dally after I woke up this morning, and got going early instead of waiting later in the day. I’ve always thought of myself as a night writer, but I have to do this more often. The productivity I had today is what I need to maintain. If I did that, I’d be dangerous.
I’m giving myself a couple weeks for the next chapter because, as it stands, it’s a monster (no pun intended) at over 2,800 words and just might wind up being split into two depending on how things go. I’ve added a scene since the original draft, and I can tell now it could spin off into something expansive enough to warrant its own chapter, but as usual, I won’t know until I work on it. Either way, wish me luck!
THANK YOU FOR READING!
If you enjoy this story, please tell your friends, and feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, and questions below. You’re pretty much my unofficial beta readers as well, so if you spot something that needs fixing, or something just isn’t working for you, let me know. I don’t plan on posting chapters until I’m 100% satisfied with them, but that doesn’t mean I’ll catch everything.
Let’s see how big we can grow this thing. There’s so much more planned for the Darquelight Universe, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
- K.J. Knight
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