Alana and Rik both sent jets of fire at the cactus. As soon as they struck, the predatory plant writhed and made a strange hissing sound. The fire didn't destroy it, but it recoiled, then shot away from them at even greater speed.
"And that's why normal people can't cross the desert," Garet said. "I doubt even I could stand against something like that." He chuckled without humor. "And that ain't the worst."
Nadia didn't want to think about worse creatures, but she had to remain alert. As she'd watched that cactus approach, she'd felt helpless. Maybe she could have shot it with an arrow, but would that have worked? Without Rik and Alana, would they be dead?
They walked through the scorching day, orange sand crunching beneath their shoes. Not a single breeze stirred the air, which was good according to Jakob. When a breeze began blowing, it was a sure sign of a building sandstorm, an event more dangerous than any of the desert's creatures.
"What's the most dangerous creature out here?" Nadia asked.
Jakob bit his lower lip. "Probably the sand snake. They're huge."
"Just what I want to see," Rik muttered. "A giant bloody snake."
Markus turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Rik, what's gotten into you? Where's the Rik I've known my whole life? I've never seen you so angry and bitter."
"Sorry," Rik said, "but I like living. I mean, how many times can I come so close to death before I really do end up dead? You and Nadia both have your personal reasons for this quest right now, but I don't."
"I thought you wanted adventure," Markus said.
"I wanted excitement. I didn't want to constantly fear for my life."
Garet laughed. "Rik, that's what adventure is."
"Then maybe I didn't really want it in the first place. Death's a whole lot easier to think about when it's this distant thing you don't think will ever happen. But when you're sitting there on the executioner's block, waiting for the axe to fall, it's different. It's real. It's right there, staring you in the face."
Markus put a hand on Rik's shoulder. "Once we get to Bradenton, you don't have to come with us the rest of the way."
"That's assuming we live until then," Rik said.
"We will," Markus said. "I won't let you die."
Rik shook his head. "You'll stick by me, even when I desert you?"
"Friends stick together," Markus said. "At least as long as they can." There was a note of sadness in his voice, and Nadia understood that feeling all too well. Every day, she expected to see Kara. She prayed that Markus and Rik wouldn't part ways. Neither of them would fare well in the absence of the other.
Jakob stopped abruptly, holding up a hand to halt the others. "I hear something. A giant lizard, I think. Can't be sure."
Nadia couldn't hear anything, but she had to trust Jakob's judgment. She waited in the baking heat, straining her ears. Soon she heard low sounds and felt slight vibrations in the ground. Then the lizard appeared, like a mirage at first in the shimmering air.
"How do we fight that?" she asked, trembling. The lizard had to be at least twenty feet long. It stomped toward them, its tongue scenting the air like a snake's.
Alana raised her staff. "We'll try magic again."
Rik did the same, but his face had become deathly pale. Nadia had the unsettling feeling that the lizard would not give up as easily as the cactus. Its scaly skin looked thicker than any armor. Would their spells bounce right off?
Rik and Alana launched fireballs, which were deflected by the lizard's skin. The creature hissed loudly and raced toward them. Rik and Alana shared an anxious glance.
"What now?" Rik asked.
"Let's try lightning," Alana said.
They sent their next round of spells at the lizard. Again, the skin deflected the spells. The lizard hissed even more loudly, now only about fifty feet away. Nadia's heart pounded as she and Garet both launched arrows. The arrows stuck in the lizard's scaly hide, but it continued toward them.
"Water!" Rik shouted.
"My water spells aren't strong enough," Alana said.
Rik adopted a look of grim determination. "Well, mine are."
He launched a thunderous jet of water at the lizard, blasting it off its feet. When he stopped the spell, the lizard scrambled back to its feet and shambled away from them, probably looking for easier prey.
Nadia put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her unsteady breathing. "And there are worse things than that? It's no wonder people don't try to cross this place."
They started walking again, hoping to put as much distance as possible between them and the lizard. Every now and then, Jakob would hold up a hand to halt their progress.
At night, the desert fell silent, and nothing else threatened them. When they resumed traveling the next morning, they felt surprisingly rested. They had ample water thanks to Alana.
Shortly after midday, Jakob stopped them again.
"What is it this time?" Rik asked wearily.
"I hear a lot of scuttling. Giant scorpions, I'd guess."
Garet squinted into the distance. "Which direction?"
Jakob pointed to the northwest. "That way. We can avoid them if we turn to the south here."
No one argued. At one time, Nadia might have been curious to see such creatures, but she'd seen enough now. Like Rik, she had grown weary of adventure. Without her dedication to avenge her mother, she might have turned back by now.
They passed the scorpions, but an uneasy feeling lingered in Nadia's gut, reminding her of the night her mother had died, of the time before the attack on Crayden. She closed her eyes, wondering if a vision would come to her, but nothing did.
The visions never happened on command.
"We need to be careful," she said. "I have a bad feeling."
"What kind of bad feeling?" Markus asked. "What's threatening us?"
"I don't know. Just keep alert, okay?"
Rik rolled his eyes. "I think we're already doing that."
"We don't need that attitude," she said.
Alana stepped between them. "I know this journey is getting the better of us, but we need to relax. Of course, we'll stay alert for danger, but we can't be on edge constantly."
That was easier said than done. The longer they walked, the more Nadia felt that impending sense of danger. Her legs struggled to support her. Her stomach churned more and more fiercely. Her breathing felt tight as panic coursed through her.
The ground rumbled.
"What was that?" Markus asked.
The ground rumbled again, stronger.
Nadia fought against her rising panic. "I think this is what I feared."
"I think it's a sand snake," Jakob said.
The earthquake became stronger and stronger. Ahead, the sand churned as though something were tunneling beneath it. Nadia readied her bow, trying to ignore her quivering legs so she could keep her aim steady.
"I don't mean to be negative," Rik said, "but how the hell do we fight a sand snake?"
Garet turned to him. "Magic, swords, arrows . . . prayer."
Rik groaned. "That's encouraging."
The disturbance to the ground became more pronounced. A giant head emerged from the sand, green and scaly with yellow eyes as large as a person. The head and mouth were so large the snake could swallow them whole with little effort.
"This," Garet said, "is the biggest reason no one crosses the desert."
Seeing her death reflected in the sand snake's eyes, Nadia had to agree.
Chapter 48: Sandstorm
The snake launched itself toward them, and Nadia rolled out of the way as it snapped its jaws nearby, so close she could smell its putrid breath. Heart racing, she shot to her feet and raced away from the snake's mouth. The snake had trouble making sharp movements, so it might struggle to keep track of them.
Nadia stood on one side of the snake, hiding from its view as it tried to turn its massive body toward them and crush them. She looked to Markus and Garet in panic. They were the only two she could see. Everyone else
stood on the snake's other side.
Or they were dead.
No. She couldn't think about that. Fighting to steady her legs, she loosed an arrow at the snake, but the arrow bounced off its tough scales. Markus and Garet tried slashing at it with their swords, but they couldn't create even the smallest of gouges in its skin.
"Dammit!" Garet said. "I don't know how to fight this bloody thing."
Screams came from the other side as the snake turned its enormous head toward them, preparing to swallow them whole. Nadia felt the crushing weight of hopelessness.
The ground continued to tremble with every movement the snake made. To Nadia's surprise, it burrowed back into the ground, but she didn't relax.
As its body disappeared, she turned to see the others. Alana, Jakob, and Rik stood on the other side, looking unsteady but otherwise unharmed. Nadia exhaled with relief, but when would the snake emerge again?
"You think it's gone?" Markus asked breathlessly.
"No," Garet said. "We should get moving."
With the ground quaking so violently, they struggled to stay on their feet. Nadia glanced back every few seconds, expecting to see the snake's head, but it remained beneath the sand.
"Maybe it didn't think us large enough prey," Nadia said.
"It's as good a theory as any," Garet said.
Jakob held up a hand. "I hear that scuttling again."
"How can you hear anything over the snake?" Rik asked.
"I don't know."
Nadia looked back. A wave of giant, insect-like creatures came over the crest of a small dune. Giant scorpions, hundreds of them, all racing toward the party and the tunneling snake.
"I don't think we can outrun those either," Garet said.
The snake's head shot out of the ground. It took one of the giant scorpions in its mouth and brought its jaws together with a wet, grinding crunch. The other scorpions, with their sword-like stingers, attacked the snake as it moved to gulp down more of them.
"I think we have our answer," Alana said. "The snake prefers larger fare. Now let's get out of here before we become dessert."
They took off running, ignoring the trembling ground as best they could. Soon they left the monsters far behind, but for how long?
That night, they didn't stop to rest, and they came to the canyon halfway through the night, beneath the bright moon. The canyon had to be at least a mile across and possibly more than that deep.
"And how're we gonna cross this?" Rik asked.
"There's a bridge," Alana said. "It's invisible, but we can find it with our staffs. Since we followed our compasses and stayed on course, we should be close. Rik, you head south along the canyon. I'll head north. One of us should find it soon."
"I certainly hope so," Rik said. "That snake could be somewhere back there."
The rest of the party waited while Rik and Alana scanned the canyon with their staffs. At any moment, Nadia expected to feel the ground tremble, to hear the scuttling of the scorpions. How could they expect to defeat Warrick when he'd created such powerful creatures?
Markus put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay, Nadia? You look like something's bothering you."
"I was just thinking about our chances of defeating Warrick."
"Aren't we all?" Jakob said. "We really don't stand a chance."
"I know what you mean," Nadia said. "Maybe he's just too powerful." She fell to a squat. "Maybe we should give up, settle down somewhere, and go on with our lives."
Markus massaged her shoulder. "No, we have to do this. We can't give up now."
"Your attitude sure has changed," she said.
"It wasn't personal before. Now it is. I have to see Warrick dead."
"Are you sure?" she asked, looking into his blue eyes. "I'm starting to think that maybe we could have a life together, Markus. I don't know how to put this into words, but I think I feel something for you that I've never really felt for anyone else." She took a breath. "I love you, Markus."
Markus grinned. "About time you admitted it."
He took her close with his arms, and she leaned up into the kiss. She didn't care that Garet and Jakob were watching. For too long, she'd fought against her feelings for Markus. There was something about him—a spark of courage and nobility, but also a spark of tenderness and his gentle touch—that attracted her to him.
It wasn't the best kiss, not like her kiss with Ander, but there was passion in it. When they finally broke apart, she smiled up at him.
"Strange place to have your first kiss," Markus said.
"It will certainly be memorable," she said, happier than she'd felt in a long time. Maybe she had to let love into her life. Maybe, with it, she could finally put Crayden behind her.
Not for good, but enough that she'd no longer think about it every day. All the hate she felt toward Warrick, while warranted, couldn't be good for her. She had to balance it out with some love, and Markus was as deserving of love as anyone.
"You two done?" Garet asked.
"Let them have their moment," Jakob said. "I remember my first kiss with my wife. We might be on this crazy quest, but we're still human. We have families and people we care about. We can't allow ourselves to forget that."
"Good point," Garet said. "When you live like I have, you forget those things."
Jakob laughed. "Are you claiming you never have a moment with some woman you meet in a tavern? I mean, isn't that what adventurers are supposed to do?"
"Don't worry. I've had my share of romantic adventures. Nothing lasting, though."
After a long silence, Markus cleared his throat. "We still have to go after Warrick. You know that, right?"
"I know," she said, "but that doesn't mean we can't make room for love. These might be the last few weeks we have together. Let's make the most of them."
"Rik's returning," Jakob said. "I can hear him."
About a minute later, Rik came into view. "I found it. Let's tell Alana."
"I'll do it," Garet said, and took off to the north.
Putting his staff down, Rik frowned at Nadia and Markus. "What's going on with you two? You have a strange look in your eyes."
"They kissed," Jakob said.
Rik grinned for the first time in a while. "It's about time. You've been looking at each other longingly this whole journey. It's kind of annoying, to tell you the truth."
Nadia and Markus laughed, then shared another kiss.
Rik gave them a half-serious glare. "You don't have to do it in front of me."
"Okay," Markus said, "we'll try to keep the kissing to a minimum, just for you."
"Nah, don't worry about it. Do whatever you want. I'm happy for you."
They waited a few minutes for Garet to return with Alana, then walked to the south with Rik leading the way. Soon they stopped, and Rik and Alana held their staffs above the canyon, where there appeared to be nothing.
A yellow bridge flared to life, translucent and insubstantial.
"Don't worry," Rik said. "I already tested it out."
"So how are we going to do this?" Nadia asked. "How will you keep the bridge there?"
"It's there whether you can see it or not," Rik said. "The staffs just help." He took his staff away and stepped onto nothing. "See? Perfectly stable."
"We do need the staffs, though," Alana said. "The bridge isn't straight."
Nadia looked into the distance, where the bridge took a number of sharp and crazy turns.
"No point in waiting," Garet said, stepping onto the bridge first. The rest of the party followed. The bridge was maybe six feet wide, with no railings and a dizzying drop to the rocks far below.
"You really shouldn't look down," Markus said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Can you actually resist the temptation?"
"No, but it was worth saying."
Nadia forced a laugh and continued walking, following the twists and turns of the yellow bridge. They crossed slowly and carefully for maybe half an hour. Ahead of them, Rik looked deathl
y pale.
"Rik, you okay?" Markus asked.
"You know I don't like heights."
"Don't worry," Markus said. "We're almost halfway there."
Rik groaned. "Oh great, another half hour of torture!"
Nadia wanted to go faster, but Rik could only go so far before he had to stop and close his eyes. She'd never had a special fear of heights, but she could understand how he must feel. Her legs wobbled, and waves of dizziness washed over her. The bottom of the canyon seemed to swirl beneath her, making her sick to her stomach.
When at last they reached the other side, Rik fell to his knees and kissed the sand. "Thank God! I'm never crossing that bridge again."
Alana reached the other side last, and as soon as she moved the tip of her staff, the bridge disappeared. The entire party walked for a few minutes, leaving the canyon behind before they settled down for the night.
When they started traveling the next morning, a light breeze blew.
"Do you feel that?" Nadia asked.
"Not good," Jakob said. "We can expect a sandstorm soon."
All day, they walked with their eyes to the sky, and the sandstorm came upon them early that afternoon. At first, the winds didn't blow all that fiercely, and the sand wasn't too thick, but with time, they could barely make any progress. They used cloths to cover their mouths and noses as they walked hunched against the wind, their eyes closed.
No one spoke as they huddled close together so they wouldn't lose each other.
Nadia couldn't tell how much time was passing, only that each moment was torture. The wind roared. Sand blasted like thousands of needles against her skin. Even through the cloth over her mouth, she coughed and gagged, feeling like she was drowning in a sea of sand.
Soon they could no longer make any progress. They all collapsed, the wind whipping the sand against them. Nadia ducked low, praying for relief.
There was none. The wind blew harder. The sand grew thicker. A deafening roar filled the air, almost as loud as a tornado right over them. At times, Nadia feared the wind would rip her from the ground. She continued coughing, feeling weaker with every passing moment. Once again, she was struck by Warrick's power.
Could they really stand against him? Could they even survive the next five minutes?
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 41