He ran his fingers through strands of my hair that had blown around my face. I self-consciously tugged on the cowl covering my head, and he moved his hand away.
“Do we have to go to Al-Maar? I know it would take longer if we go around, but I don’t have a good feeling about it. I’m pretty sure they’ll all hate me.”
“Don’t say things like that. You’ve never met my family.”
I sighed. “Yes, you’re right.” But the nervousness settling in my belly didn’t go away. If anything, it got worse.
Raj rested his hand on my shoulder, looking intently into my eyes.
“How are you feeling? Tell me honestly this time.”
I rubbed at the wound needling through my skin. Riding all day had made it hurt more, but I refused to slow us down, so my only option was to push through it.
“I haven’t succumbed to the chills, so I suppose I’m fine.”
“You suppose?”
“Yes. I’m uncomfortable, of course, but that’s to be expected. As soon as we get to Al-Maar, I hope to get some rest, and then I should be healed and ready to ride again.”
“You don’t have to be brave.”
“What else can I be?”
He opened his mouth but didn’t answer immediately. “Good point.”
“I’ve managed to ride all day, haven’t I? What’s an hour more?”
He looked as if he wanted to argue, but only nodded after a moment’s pause, then turned away and walked to his mare.
Tranquility pranced as he mounted. His Arabian looked suited to the desert, and Raj looked regal atop her. Sometimes I forgot how different we were. I was a prisoner bound to spend the rest of my life in a tower. He was a squire trained by the crowned prince.
A few stars appeared as we set off across the desert, the last rays of sunlight draining from the world. A bloated orange moon rose, turning the sand to copper. Heat radiated from the sand, but as the light disappeared, the air cooled, and I stayed huddled under my cloak.
A gentle breeze gusted, carrying clouds that billowed into the sky like a curtain across the stars. The moon rose higher, turning from orange to silver, and I stared in awe at the sky.
Millions of tiny dots glowed, creating a tapestry of twinkling lights, more than I’d ever seen in my life. I could hardly comprehend the enormity of the stars. How could there be so many? The entire universe sprawled before us, and I felt smaller—yet somehow larger—than I’d ever understood. The light from the heavens glowed over the sand, reflecting it so brightly, we didn’t need lanterns.
I’d thought of the desert as a desolate, colorless place until now.
The sound of a piercing howl interrupted my thoughts. I stared across the dunes, thinking it was perhaps the wolf, but he trotted alongside me. The howl had come from straight ahead. We halted our horses.
Another wail echoed, making my skin prickle. I grabbed the knife from my boot. Its warm handle conformed to my palm. Searching the desert, I saw nothing but billowing sand against a backdrop of stars.
Something rose up over us. At first, it appeared to be another cloud of sand, but the air was too still. Fear made my hands grow clammy as the thing gained substance. It stood taller than two men, and it had no shape other than a silhouette of a head and shoulders.
Eyes the color of two simmering coals glowed from the area that should have been its face.
Raj cursed. “A sand demon.”
12
“Spread out!” Raj shouted, Tranquility shrieking as she reared up to face the sand demon. I backed Sable away from the shadowy form. Only its eyes stood out against its black, smoke-like form. How were we supposed to fight such a thing?
The wolf snarled and launched at the creature. Tentacle-like fingers whipped out, slapping the wolf across the chest. A yelp of pain ripped from the wolf’s throat. He landed with a thud on the sand. The demon loomed over the wolf’s body, and before I could think, I jumped from my saddle, ran to the wolf, and dragged him away from the demon.
Raj’s horse raced past me. The glint of Raj’s sword caught the moonlight as he stabbed its tip into the demon’s form. Its inhuman shriek filled the air. Perhaps our blades had more effect on it than I realized.
A mass of tentacles rose up and swiped at Raj’s seated figure, but Raj’s horse moved light on her feet and avoided the ropy appendages. Raj swung his sword, severing several tentacles that landed on the ground with wet thumps. Blood seeped from the snakelike remains.
Blood was a good thing. It meant the creature could be killed.
A tentacle whipped past me. I stabbed it with my knife, opening a wound that leaked bright red. The creature hissed, coming closer. Lashing out, it slapped my chest. I fell, losing my grip on my knife, hitting the ground hard. The wind escaped from my lungs.
Gasping, I rose to my hands and knees, searching for my weapon. From the corner of my eye, I watched Raj charge the monster. He aimed his sword for the head, but a tentacle lashed out, striking his horse.
Tranquility shrieked, showing the whites of her eyes as she toppled over. Raj leaped out of the way, still holding to his sword as a massive storm of tentacles launched toward him. Fear flooded my veins as I watched the tentacles writhe toward Raj. How would he ever stop so many?
A frantic tune played from the darkness, a sound of desperation. The vibrations of the lute strings stirred the air, creating a symphony of sound. The song increased in volume. The tentacles slowed.
Raj took his opportunity and lopped off several tentacles, then more and more, and finally drove his sword into the monster’s head, right between its two glowing eyes.
The creature shrieked, its eyes burning with rage. Its covering of smoke faded away and floated into the sky. A gray
