I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies. I don't even own a copy of Prince Caspian with all the pages, for the love of trout.
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The monster's terrible jaws gaped towards her, globs of saliva dripping from its repulsive fangs. Its breath could have melted the gates of Cair Paravel. Lucy stood almost beneath it, so large it was; it made no move towards her, in fact it was entirely motionless except the occasional slight twitch of its three partially severed legs and a small heaving motion that she guessed must be its breathing. Thick blood oozed from its severed leg-tips. It was trying to keep her from getting at Peter, trying to keep her from stealing its prey, for something so large was obviously happy to have found something bigger than the Void monkeys to eat. For his part, Peter only half-slumped against the pit wall, his chest jerking with effort as he tried to breathe properly, his blue eyes wide.
"Hold on!" Edmund yelled, still racing along the side, nearing them now. But at his voice, the spider-like creature's head whirled around and it hissed, spraying Lucy with spittle that burned her skin like hot wax, leaving small, red marks festering on her face and hands. She cried out, but had no time to think before it was lurching towards her. With a shout of defiance, Lucy hurled the rock she held straight into its open mouth, clipping one of its fangs. It didn't even notice.
She ducked as fast as she could; the head of the creature rushed over her and smacked into the pit wall with a squeal of anger. Falling onto her hands and knees, Lucy crawled quickly beneath it, avoiding the flailing legs that skittered as it turned around, but she managed to reach Peter again and pick up her dagger.
"Lucy!" Edmund called again. He was almost directly above her, panting and holding his sword in one hand. He seemed to have lost his shield. The monster was trying to regain its bearings, legs skittering on the increasingly bloody ground, but Lucy didn't give it time. She sheathed her dagger and swiftly knelt to draw Rhindon from Peter's belt.
"Lu," he choked. It was the first thing he'd managed to say. She knew he was telling her not to be daft, to run, probably to leave him, because he was just that…well, Peterly, Lucy couldn't help but think. But she hadn't done it before and she certainly wasn't about to do it now.
Rushing forward, Lucy took a swing at one of the monster's legs, one which had already found a steady footing. She couldn't wield Peter's sword very well, and had to do it with both hands, but it certainly did something; the blade sank about two inches into the monster's hairy flesh and blood spurted forth, coloring the sword-tip and a few flecks landing on Lucy's wrists. She wretched, but quickly pulled the blade out as the wounded leg flailed to the side, half disconnected.
"Careful, now!" Timothy shouted to her.
"Watch out!" Edmund yelled. This, thought Lucy, was rather pointless.
Her heart pounding, Lucy held Rhindon in front of her as steadily as she could. The monster lunged at her again, but this time, she knew if she let it go over her head, it would probably hit Peter. So instead she thrust the sword forward with all her might. There was a rush of rancid, hot air, then suddenly something had ripped down her right arm and there was a warm heat all around it, and something oozing across it, and it was the most disgusting feeling Lucy had ever felt. A sound exploded in her ears, a most awful, blood-curdling shriek of pain that she swore almost burst her head, and when she opened her eyes she realized what had happened.
The monster's jaws had been gaping wide when she'd held out the sword. Its own momentum had carried it forward, and as a result the bottom of its mouth had been pierced to the hilt, one fang scraping deeply down Lucy's arm in the process. Now, she stood with both arms clasped to the hilt of a sword that was buried in the mouth of a monster – a monster that was quite alive and quite furious. She pulled as hard as she could. Rhindon stayed where it was. Suddenly, the monster's jaw jerked up and she was lifted bodily off her feet, and surely her arms would have been crushed between the two sets of fangs had she not thought so incredibly quickly.
Susan would have told her that the logical thing to do was to let go of the sword. But Lucy knew that if she did, not only would they lose Rhindon, but the fang that was still a half-inch deep in her arm would have slid across her right wrist, and she probably would have died from the blood loss within moments. Instead, she quickly scrambled up so that her feet were on its repulsive, rubbery lip, and she used this to brace herself and yank the sword free. The sudden release sent her tumbling backwards, landing in a bloodied, saliva-drenched heap beside her oldest brother, his thoroughly bloody sword still grasped in both her hands.
It charged towards her again, but she heard Edmund let out a cry of "Narnia!" and when she opened her eyes, he was clinging to his sword, which he'd plunged deeply into the monster's back, seemingly having leaped off the edge of the pit. It hissed and shrieked and flailed; he swung helplessly on his sword until he managed to do the same thing Lucy had done and pulled it free. He tumbled down into the pit, but bent his knees on the impact and rolled, minimizing the damage.
The spider-like creature wasn't simply protecting its prey now. It was in danger. Almost half its legs were inoperative, and it seemed unused to balancing on only six; it lurched to each side woozily, its good legs buckling under what seemed to be too much weight.
"Lu!" Edmund called to her; they were separated by the bulk of the creature but they could see each other through its hairy legs. "I think just two more ought to do it! Can you handle it?"
Lucy scrambled onto her knees, her breathing harried; she nodded, though she wasn't sure of her answer, and drew her dagger with her left hand. Her right screamed in pain, blood flowing freely and staining her dress. Her armor only covered her upper arms, as extending it past the elbow would have restricted her movement, and she never wore gauntlets.
"On three!" yelled Edmund, glancing above him. Timothy shrugged helplessly and Edmund gritted his teeth. "One, two…"
But the monster didn't let him finish; it staggered towards him, screaming, sightlessly trying to find him from his voice. He swung his sword as hard as he could, but missed, and his own strength send him stumbling forwards. Lucy rushed to his aid, driving her dagger as deeply into the nearest leg as possible. It did little but distract the monster, which was her aim anyway, and this time, Edmund managed to score a good hit and another leg lifted into the air as blood rained down.
Lucy grasped her dagger tightly. Edmund was in a bad place, trapped between the pit wall and the monster's bulk, and it was nearing him at an alarming rate. But at the last second, something silver zipped through the air and the monster reeled back, a fresh screech ringing out as Lucy caught sight of the hilt of Timothy's sword protruding from the top of its head, just above its mouth. He had thrown it with an amazing amount of strength and impressive accuracy. Edmund took the opportunity to rush forward, aiming for what they guessed would be the last blow needed to fell the monster, but suddenly one of the crippled legs whooshed into his path, tripping him and sending him flying to crash into the opposite pit wall painfully. He slid down, clutching his leg in agony, and Lucy saw that his own sword had been forced through his armor and into his thigh when he'd hit the wall.
The monster turned to her. Lucy drew herself up, true fear finally coursing through her, and she realized that if they died here, there was no one to rule Narnia, no one to bring back Susan, no one to prevent what would inevitably happen to her on her wedding night.
With an angry cry, Lucy flew forward and sliced viciously at a leg with her dagger, but it barely did anything, and suddenly she found herself pinned to the dirt wall with the same leg, the hairs brushing her chin as the creature snarled in triumph and lowered its head towards her. She closed her eyes, her last breath full of rotting breath and the stench of blood…
…and the leg pinning her fell away, the end of it landing in the dirt at her feet. The monster wailed. One remaining leg made an awful crack sound, then another followed, and the last two were ear-splitting as the thing came crashing down, slamming into the ground and shaking the earth all around them. Helpless, it snapped his jaws desperately, its legs twitching towards them, but weakly. Lucy opened her eyes.
Her oldest brother dropped his bloody sword, his hands shaking visibly and his eyes rolling back into his head as he pitched forward into her arms, unconscious.