The Hour of Dust and Ashes

“They can only move on and in the sand. They’re rather … large. But once we hit the rocks, we should be fine. And if something should happ to me, the ruins lie east; the portal is beneath the altar stone in the temple. Feed it your power. Where you end up is subject to your ability to concentrate on your destination.”

I stored his information, eyeing the rocks about a quarter of a mile away. A quarter of a mile of thinking every step would land me in the mouth of a damn reptile. And what did large mean anyway?

We never made it to the rocks.

One second I was walking on soft sand and the next, the ground was falling out from under me.

I fell with Bryn as the sand was sucked downward. A plume of fine, gritty dust rose up to envelop us. “BRYN!” With her hands bound, she fell face-first and rolled toward the deepening depression in the ground—a deepening depression that revealed the giant sand lizard rising up to greet us.

My heels dug into the sand. “You said it was a lizard!” I yelled.

Rex was sliding on his back down toward the creature. “It is! Just a really big one!”

Big as an elephant with a scaled body as thick as a California redwood, the sand lizard emerged. It resembled a gigantic salamander with a forked tongue that snaked out and tested the air.

Bryn smacked into its belly. Its tail whipped out of the sand and thankfully the ground stopped moving. I rolled down the sides of the depression, using my momentum to pop to my feet and run for her, directly beneath the sand lizard’s gaze. I grabbed her arm as she stumbled to her feet, covered in sand.

“RUN!” I shouted, yanking her.

Running in sand was an exercise in futility. My heart pounded so loud through my ears that it muted the sound that came out of the creature’s mouth—a shrieking hiss that crawled up my spine like lightning with a thousand feet.

The hunt was on.

“Get to the rocks!” Rex’s voice was close. I searched, finding him scrambling up the beast’s tail like some fucked-up version of Legolas, as Brim leapt onto the scaly thigh and clamped down with his massive jaws.

Hank withdrew both of the ceremonial swords he’d taken from the palace and stabbed both blades between the sand lizard’s toes.

It swung around, the tail hitting me and Bryn square in the back, sending us flying. I gulped a mouthful of sand. It flew into my nostrils and eyes. I couldn’t scream her name or see where she ended up.

I landed on my belly with a soft thud.

“Get these bands off me!” Bryn shouted to my right.

I wiped at my eyes, crawling to her. But I couldn’t risk setting her free, even if she could work magic to help us. Solomon had a death wish and I wasn’t about to let my sister going running into the jaws of a sand lizard.

I could hardly see, could barely run in the sand. Couldn’t do much of anything without my weapons. But I did have power. Power inside of me and all around me.

Sandy tears ran down my cheeks as my body tried to shed the hard grains from my eyes. I dove inside of myself, to the very core of my darkest power, to the energy I always tried to ignore and suppress.

Fuck. It hurt. It burned. It took over, swamping me. This power was in its element. Its home. And it was harsher and more vivid than anything I’d experienced so far.

A scream tore from my scratchy throat as it broke free of its chain like a savage dog, bursting through my chest and flying down both arms and into my hands. I cast my scorching hands toward the sounds of the creature.

I fell back onto Bryn. Drained and trembling.

Something landed with an oomph beside us.

“Jesus Christ, Charlie! Try hitting your target next time!” It was Rex.

“I can’t see, you moron!”

“Here.” He grabbed my hand and turned me in the right direction. “You might want to hurry because your partner is about to be lizard snack.”

“I used it all,” I cried, my vision clearing somewhat. “I’m tapped out.”

“No you’re not, Charlie,” Bryn’s voice came from behind me. Her arms came down over my head and shoulders to hug me, her wrists still shackled. “Use me, draw from me and Solomon.” Her voice shook. Her body was trembling all over.

“But …”

“He’s weak, Charlie. After opening the portal and getting me to … kill.” She shook her head and her voice went sharper. “Just do it!”

“Hurry!” Rex yelled, running away from us and toward the battle.

I closed my eyes and gathered again, from my core like I was used to, but also from the energy wrapping around me, linking me to another. I gathered, pulled like a thin, starving creature, sucking it all, taking it all. I had no idea how I was doing it. Instinct? Necessity? Desperation?

Bryn screamed, her shudders filtering into me, and I no longer knew where her screams ended and mine began. When I couldn’t hold any more, my eyes opened, I threw out my palms, and gave it all to the mass in front of me.

A high-pitched screech. Sand falling like rain. Panting.

“You got it!” Rex called.

Bryn and I fell back. I had no idea what got it meant, but as long as the thing was down I didn’t care.

“Where’s Brim? Is he okay?” I shimmied from Bryn’s hold and pushed my palms deep into the sand to rise.

Before Rex could answer, a loud screech filled the air above us. The nithyn. My vision cleared enough for me to see the dark shadows circling above us. My legs wobbled as I stood. I pulled my Nitro-gun as the ground began to rise up beneath me.

Another sand lizard emerged from the ground, lifting me off my feet and onto its back, coming between me and my sister. I lost my balance and rolled off the creature, landing on my side with a jarring thud. I struggled to rise; my only thought was my sister. “BRYN!”

“No, Rex! Get Bryn to the portal!”

He slid to a stop, glanced behind me, and hesitated. “Go east!” he shouted. “Follow the ridge! We’ll aim for the cell block at the station!” Then he turned and ran after Bryn.

A shadow fell. Oh shit. I turned slowly to see the lizard’s large head poised over me.

And then I was tackled by Hank as the creature dove for me. We rolled, his hand grabbed mine, and we were up and running. Away from Bryn, toward another ridge of rocks.

Brim shot past us, running hard. The sand vibrated, and I knew the lizard had gone under again.

A nithyn dove for us. We dropped to our stomachs. It missed, angled its body, and flew back up to circle again. Another was hot on Brim’s heels, flying low to the ground behind him, gaining. I fired my gun as Hank turned and fired into the sky. My shot missed the body but hit the wing. The nithyn screamed, turned, and slammed into the sand. As soon as it did, the others descended upon it, attacking. Christ. They were cannibals. As soon as one of theirs was injured, it was anything goes. From pack to prey in an instant.

We made it to the rocks in a simultaneous leap. My calves and thighs burned. My lungs were on fire. The sand lizard rose up and hissed. We sailed over the smaller rocks, leapt up a bigger one, and then hit unexpected air.

Oh God. My arms pinwheeled. Blackness enveloped us as we fell screaming into a black hole.

Seconds of dark, weightless panic passed.

I slammed into rock. The force caused my legs to buckle. My knee slammed into my face. Every bone hit and bruised and broke on rock as I tumbled. Wave after wave of blinding pain stole my breath. Amid it all, I heard grunts, bone breaking, thuds, and gasps. Brim’s claws scraping … a cry.

My skull cracked on a rock. The force of the blow sent my body swinging around, airborne, and then I hit one last time on my side and slid into a hard barrier in a heap of broken bones.