by E. J. Krause
"Of course the map," Lee said, digging it out of his pocket. "That's using the old noodle, Alexandria. I didn't even think about it since the path was so straightforward."
He flipped it open, and a sphere of golden light flowed out of the device. As soon as it did, a gateway grew into the wall, as wide as the path, and at least twenty feet high. Though this new passageway was big compared to them, it seemed tiny when viewed as part of the huge wall system.
"Might be a good idea to keep that thing handy," Cassie said.
"Indeed," Lee answered.
There wasn't much to the map itself. Inside the golden sphere of light, it showed the S-shaped path cutting through the middle of the dark forest and ending at this wall. According to the map, that was all this realm consisted of. Ben had the feeling that if they either had the map out the whole time, or if they hadn't fallen victim to the traps off the path, this would have been a short walk. Nothing they could do about it now, though, except pass through the gate.
Chapter 18
The contrast between the two sides of the wall couldn't have been greater. They left the dark forest, which had been cold and damp, and crossed into a vast desert, which threatened to suck all the moisture out of him as soon as they entered. Ben turned back to the wall and found it gone, like the time he and Andi had stepped out of the labyrinth protecting the Demon of Dream's statue and found it had vanished. Instead of the skyscraper-tall wall, a never-ending expanse of desert stood in its place.
"It reminds me of Tatooine, when 3PO and R2 crash landed," Andi said.
Ben kissed her cheek. "Things like that are why I love you so much."
Andi giggled, while Lee groaned and rolled his eyes, and Cassie chuckled and muttered what sounded like, "Geek love," under her breath. They took stock of their situation. Lee, Ben noticed, seemed a bit more on edge than this place warranted at the moment.
"It's okay, Lee," Cassie said, rubbing his back. "That's not going to happen."
"What's not going to happen?" Andi asked.
"Of course it will," Lee said to Cassie, ignoring Andi. "That's what this place is. Our nightmares come to life."
"So whose nightmare was the dark forest?" Ben asked. When no one answered, he said, "It seemed more like a test than a bad dream."
"I can't find the answer to that," Lee said. "And I'm guessing neither can Alexandria, unless her encyclopedic brain, like your power, is supercharged."
Andi's face went blank for a few seconds, and then she shook her head. "No, nothing more on this place than generic answers. So why is this bad? You know, other than it being hot, dry, and gritty?"
Lee and Cassie looked at each other, not talking since there were no headaches, but communicating in a way only the binding of a dragon and guard allowed. After a few seconds, Lee sighed and nodded. Cassie turned back towards them.
"It happened well before you were born, Andi. We were caravanning through a desert much like this when a sandstorm rose up so fast we had no time to find shelter. We hunkered down with our group, but somehow your father became separated and couldn't find his way back. We could sense each other, of course, but the pelting sand disoriented him and all of us so much that ten feet might as well have been a hundred miles."
"I knew where I needed to go, but I couldn't force my legs to obey. Though we were in company of those that knew nothing of dragons, I would have transformed had I thought it could have helped. My scales would have shielded against the relentless pounding of sand, but I feared it ultimately would have ripped me apart in my larger form."
"So how did you make it?" Ben asked, while Andi opened her mouth but closed it just as quick. She blushed and snickered, causing them all to look at her.
"Sorry, but when Ben asked that, I almost blurted out, 'Did you make it?'"
"You've been hanging out with Melissa way too much," Ben said. Cassie almost doubled over in laughter with that, while Lee, despite his grim mood, managed a smile.
Once they regained their composure, Lee answered. "I fell to my knees and did my best to shield myself from the intense sand blast. I was sure I was done for, which devastated me all the more because it meant the end of my Cassandra. Miraculously, the storm dissipated almost as soon as it arose, and I found Cassie and the caravan digging out not ten feet away."
"He doesn't wake me up with nightmares often, but when he does, it's invariably that one."
"Which is exactly why we need to be prepared for a sudden sandstorm," Lee said. "When it hits, clutch hands and don't panic."
They all scanned the horizon, but everything looked calm. Ben couldn't feel even a wisp of a breeze. You needed wind for a sandstorm, right? But then again, this realm didn't have to play by the same rules as home.
Lee pulled out the map and flipped it open. It spilled out around them and showed their route. Though their path was as straight-forward as the dark forest, the golden sphere was much larger this time, supposedly, he guessed, because they had to walk a lot further. They needed to travel over a couple of large sand dunes until they arrived at an oasis. The terrain shouldn't prove to be a problem, as long as they moved quick enough to beat any coming storm. There were a few large outcroppings of rocks along their route, which would make it easier to find their way. Ben looked up and spotted the first one in the nearest dune.
"That way," he said, pointing to the rocks. It was tough to judge distance here, but he guessed it to be about a mile. If the map was to scale, the rocks were equal distance apart from each other. And their goal, the oasis, was the same, so they had roughly a four-mile walk ahead of them.
"I don't suppose either of you can fly," Cassie said. "It would certainly make this easier."
Both Andi and Lee transformed, but like in the dark forest, they didn't get full-dragon.
"Nope," Andi said into his mind. "It's weird. I feel normal, but this is as far as I can go." She changed back into her human shape.
Lee did the same. "I wonder if this is the Nightmare Syndicate's doing, or if it's a product of the realm itself."
"Maybe it's because we're in the nightmare section of the dream world," Andi said. "We'd probably be fine in the normal part."
"I'm more surprised your know-it-all noggins don't have any answers," Cassie said. "We can't be the first group to ever come in here."
"Whatever is blocking the transformation might be blocking that info, too," Ben said. He had no clue if that was right, but it made sense. The nods he got in return proved everyone else felt the same, or at least had no better explanation.
They made it to the first group of rocks with no problems. It was no different than it looked from a distance, a half-dozen stone slabs sticking out of the sand. Three lay on their sides, perfect for sitting on, though Ben guessed the surface would be too hot. The other three stood on their ends, almost twice as high as Ben was tall. They didn't stop to check if there was anything of interest, too intent on getting to their goal before the winds could pop up.
As they got halfway to the next group of rocks, danger prickled on the back of Ben's neck for the first time in this realm. Evil was near, but no sort of attack was imminent. Before he could mention anything, Cassie called out.
"I saw something in the sand over there." She pointed to the left, but nothing moved now.
"Evil's out there," Ben said. "Stay alert, but keep going."
After a few more steps, Ben froze and put his arms out to get everyone else to stop. He felt around with his powers, trying to pinpoint what was going on. It was somewhere under the sand. He twisted his head from left to right and finally got a clear indication.
"There." He pointed to the left, close to where Cassie had seen something, and a huge shark fin, almost as large as a sailboat sail, breeched the surface and sank back below. The sand rippled as if it were open water.
"You don't suppose it's all fin with a tiny body, do you?" Andi asked, a quiver in her voice.
"I wouldn't bet on it," Cassie said. "How are we going to be able to fight something
like that? We won't be able to see it until it's too late."
"If Dad and I could turn into our true form, it'd be easy, but…"
Cassie sighed. "Yeah, but that's not possible."
Lee looked at Ben, his eyes holding a question of what his powers could accomplish. "Benjamin?"
Ben shook his head. Every time he'd dictated a direction for his powers, he had to concentrate for a few seconds to get them to work. "It'll take too long to do anything I want. By the time I have a spell ready, we'll be sand shark lunch."
"But we've seen you do things on the spur of the moment," Lee said.
"Yeah, but that always catches me by surprise, too." He gave a sheepish shrug. He wished, especially in times like this, that he had a firmer grip on his powers. "I'm sure I can do something, but we should have a plan in place, too."
"Fair enough," Lee said. "So does anyone have any ideas?"
"Ben can still sense when any are close," Andi said. "When that happens, we should be ready to strike. Right?"
"I'll be ready to slice and dice," Cassie said.
Ben nodded and watched the fin gradually grow closer. It wasn't circling them like he figured a regular shark would, but instead ran, or swam, rather, in a shallow zig-zag pattern.
"It's bleeding off evil, so I'll be able to tell when it's coming up to attack. We should hold back and jump out of the way the first time to see what it does."
"Right," Lee said. "We'll judge after that how best to kill it."
"Them," Andi said, pointing out past the first shark to at least a half-dozen other fins. It was hard to tell how many as they kept submerging. Maybe it was a few that moved quick enough to look like more, or maybe it was a much bigger number. He tried to reach out with his powers to see if he could figure it out, but had no luck.
"I say we keep moving," Cassie said. "If we can get to that second outcrop of rocks, we'll be in a much better position to fight them. Andi, Lee, you should both be as much dragon as you can."
"Right," Lee said.
"Good plan, Mom." Less than a second later, the two dragons shifted to their half-dragon forms.
Andi sighed into his mind. "This form has its place, but this isn't it. I guess I should be glad this realm let us have this much."
"Yeah, you could have been stuck fighting these things with nothing but your sharp wit."
"At least mine's sharper than yours," she retorted. He laughed at both her words and the smile in her voice.
"Glad you two are having fun," Cassie said. "The sharks are getting closer."
As she said it, danger prickled hard on Ben's neck, and he knew the attack had started.
"Scatter," he yelled, and as they did, a gigantic shark leaped out of the sand right where they'd been. As he tumbled back, Ben tried to study what it was doing to better know how to fight, but the thing's appearance grabbed his attention.
Its skin, like its fin, was a golden brown to best blend into the sand. Overall, it looked like a shark from the oceans back home, but on a humungous scale, three or more times bigger than Shark Week said Great Whites grew. That made perfect sense, since this realm spawned from their collective nightmares, even if the main setting came directly from Lee. At least that was his take on how it all worked.
Once the monster disappeared under the sand and they got to their feet, Ben yelled, "Run!" Everyone obeyed immediately.
They headed for the next group of rocks, still a ways in the distance. The sand didn't give great traction, meaning they didn't move much faster than their walk, but it felt better, more productive, especially since Ben could sense another impending attack.
He yelled, "Scatter!" again, and this time as he leapt out of the way, he watched a bit more carefully. This shark wasn't as big as the first, but still huge. It exploded out of the sand, its jagged teeth leading the way. Once its mouth passed them, it was vulnerable. Since it blasted all the way out, they'd have plenty of body to aim for. It twisted at the apex of its jump, and came down with its teeth again leading the charge. But, like on the way up, they'd have plenty to hit as it disappeared below the sand.
"You saw it, too," Andi said, and he nodded.
"We'll have to be quick and careful, but at least it's something."
The four trotted off again. Cassie spoke up before the next shark attack.
"Lee says Ben and I should strike with our blades on the way up, and he and Andi can rip into those wounds on the way down. We'll have to hit fast, but once we get the timing down, it should work well." She paused and looked out to the numerous fins raising and descending in the sand. "It looks like we'll get plenty of practice."
"Here's our first chance," Ben said. "Move!"
This time, instead of jumping out of the way, they each took a few steps and prepared to strike. Once the shark launched itself out of the sand, Ben and Cassie sliced long gashes into its side. It didn't make any noise, but he could feel some of its life force drain. He and Cassie backed away, careful to be out of the way of the monster's descending jaws. Andi and Lee took their place, tearing open the wounds that much wider.
As it splashed down out of sight, Ben sensed the other sharks close in on it and rip it to shreds. That would buy them some time.
"Go, go, go," he yelled. "Their bloodlust took over, and they'll ignore us for a few minutes."
By the time the sharks finished off their injured fellow, they'd made it almost to the middle rock outcropping. Another of the monsters came at them with similar results. This time when the other sand sharks had finished off their injured member, Ben, Andi, and her parents stood on the supposed safety of the rocks.
"We can keep going until they're all dead," Cassie said. "I hope they don't get smart enough to attack in groups."
Ben shook his head. "We'll never get them all. A bunch more joined the party once they realized there was free food, even if it is cannibalism."
"Plus we need a better plan than simply hoping they won't adapt their attack strategy," Lee said. He and Andi had shifted back to their human forms once they reached the rocks.
"What about your powers, Ben?" Andi asked. "It looks like we have a few minutes to breathe. Can you share my energy and banish the monsters?"
"Worth a shot." Nothing in the back of his mind had suggested this, but maybe he could force something out. He'd never really tried creating a powerful, evil-banishing spell without being prompted. He put his hands on Andi's shoulders and concentrated, trying to find the strings of reality that would take care of all the sharks.
Before he could truly begin, Cassie shouted, "Watch out!"
His eyes shot opened as Andi twisted, grabbed him, and dove out of the way. A huge bird, easily half the size of a dragon, swooped down with sharp talons outstretched. It missed Ben by inches and soared back up to circle them from above with a couple of its flock.
The giant birds' feathers were fluffy, molted, he guessed it would be called, and they had featherless pink heads. Both their talons and their beaks looked sharp and strong enough to puncture metal. He supposed that would be tested with his shield.
"They look like vultures," Andi said into his mind, as she was back in her half-dragon form, "but move like hawks. So watch out."
"And don't forget about the sharks."
"How could I?"
Another of the monstrous birds dove at them at supersonic speed. Lee lashed out with his teeth, and though he took a big bite out of it, it returned the favor with a long gash down his neck. The bird, though injured, managed to flap up to its partners.
Cassie winced at Lee's injury, but it didn't last long. Though she would have healed him in time, the wound wouldn't have closed up nearly as quick if Ben wasn't there. She gave him a smile and a wink, while Lee bobbed his dragon head in an appreciative nod.
"I wonder how your powers know to do that," Andi said as there was a brief respite between attacks.
"What do you mean?"
"You patched up my dad almost as quick as you would have me, but if that vulture-haw
k thing had landed next to us, it wouldn't have received any of your healing mojo."
"It's an evil demon bird, so I guess my powers know the difference."
"I wonder if we were forced to fight a dragon and guard if your powers would heal them. That didn't come up when we took out the assassins."
"I don't know. Maybe I control it on a subconscious level."
"Could be," Andi said, and though she wanted to pursue the topic further, another vulture-hawk dove down towards them.
Cassie reached out and picked up one of the small rocks scattered around on the bigger stones. She charged it for a second and then threw it at the descending bird. The projectile exploded, knocking the bird off target and sending it bleeding into the sand. Before it could right itself and take off, one of the sharks broke out from under the surface, gripped the bird in its teeth, and dragged it under.
"Lee has a plan," Cassie said. "We stay in a tight group and run as fast as we can towards that last group of rocks. Ben, you tell us when to dodge a shark attack, and we'll all worry about the birds. At least we can see them. And don't forget your shield."
"Do you think they can penetrate it?" he asked her.
"Maybe a normal shield, but not that one. Now get ready; we're out of here on three." She looked at each of them, nodded, and said, "One, two, three."
The four burst off the rocks. Ben kept his mind focused on his powers so he'd know when an attack from above or below would happen. He also thought about Cassie's remark about how his shield wouldn't be compromised. It and his sword had been his for well over a year now, and though he knew they were stronger than regular metal, he didn't know why. He'd never asked Cassie about them. Not long after they'd been bound proper, Andi had confided in him that she hadn't asked many questions about the social lives of dragons, or about her parents' past, which was why most everything that had happened had been as much a surprise to her as it was to him. Though this was on a much lesser scale, he'd done the same with his sword and shield. They had to have a grand story behind them, but he'd never bothered to find out what it was. As soon as they were finished rescuing the Demon of Dreams, he'd have to rectify that.