by Linsey Hall
I shielded my eyes to check out the three-story buildings surrounding us on all sides. They were nothing like I’d ever seen before. Made of smooth beige adobe, they were all connected as a united fort like apartments. Roofs arched up at the tops, and narrow, open adobe staircases crisscrossed the fronts, going up to each level. Instead of windows, there were huge open doors at each floor, accessed by the narrow stairs.
“This is incredible,” I said.
“It is,” Cade said. “Come on. Let’s see if we can find Doug and Veronica. I wasn’t able to get in touch with them, but hopefully they’re here.”
We followed Cade through the square, dodging the blankets covered with goods.
When we reached one of the buildings, Cade said, “Wait here. I’ll check their apartment.”
“Sure thing.”
He climbed onto the stairs that ran up alongside the front of the building. Could the little adobe stairs support his weight?
They didn’t crack, at least.
He poked his head through a door at the top and called out, then waited a moment. After a while, he turned around and came back down.
“Not home,” he said. “So they’re either out on a job or trying to convince some locals to tell them where the good stuff is.”
“That’s how archaeologists find things? Just asking around?” Ana asked.
Cade nodded. “A lot of the times, aye.”
We followed him down the row of buildings to the other side of the square. He stopped at a narrow staircase that ran all the way up to the third floor. “We’ll try the bar up here. Might get lucky.”
I followed him up the narrow stairs, which were built right into the front of the building. They didn’t pass in front of any apartments, though I was desperate to peek inside and see what they looked like. They sure smelled good, though, with the scent of savory meat and spices spilling from the doors above and below us.
When we entered the dimly lit bar at the top, cool air enveloped me.
“Wow.” I blinked, letting my eyes adjust.
“Aye, the adobe keeps the interiors cool,” Cade said.
I noticed a small bar at the back and tiny round tables throughout the space. A little stage was occupied by a fae playing a stringed instrument I’d never seen before.
“There.” Cade pointed to a table in the back corner.
Two people were sitting at it, talking to an older man with white hair and a black felt cap. The two archaeologists looked to be in their early thirties, and both were dressed like Indiana Jones, wearing khaki and leather.
I grinned, suddenly liking them.
The man was tall and broad shouldered, with sandy hair and kind eyes. The woman was nearly as tall, strikingly beautiful with her wild black hair tied back with a colorful scarf.
“If you could get a table and some drinks,” Cade said, “I’ll get Doug and Veronica.”
I nodded, then followed Ana toward the bar.
From behind the counter, a woman with gorgeous blue hair smiled at us, her fangs glinting in the light. “What can I get you?”
“Something local?” Ana asked. “Non-alcoholic.”
The woman grinned. “Celestia, then. A popular non-alcoholic beer.”
“Sounds good.” Actually, it didn’t. But it also didn’t really matter what we drank.
She was quick with the beers, and fortunately, she took credit cards. It might look like we’d stepped back in time here, but the technology was up to date.
Ana and I carried five beers toward a table against the wall and sat. I sipped mine, and eyed Cade, who was talking to the archaeologists.
A moment later, they left the old man, who was now beaming, and approached.
The woman stopped in front of our table and stuck out her hand. “I’m Veronica. I hear you’re nuts.”
I grinned and shook her hand. “I’ve heard that before. I’m Bree. This is Ana.”
Ana shook.
“Doug.” The man smiled and stuck out his hand. We shook, then everyone sat.
I leaned forward. “So, am I nuts because I want to go to Kart-hadasht or for some other reason?”
“Not sure about any other reasons—maybe you’ve got them—but Kart-hadasht is a bad idea.”
“She means it’s a death wish,” Doug said.
“So you don’t go there?” I asked.
“We’re not idiots. We do flyovers with our drones and create 3D maps,” Doug said. “Data without the death.”
Veronica grinned. “It’s our motto.”
“Not a bad one, honestly,” I said.
“It’s not. And if you don’t want to die, you won’t go to Kart-hadasht.” Veronica’s dark eyes glinted with warning.
“What’s changed?” Cade asked. “Didn’t you used to go into the ruins?”
“Once, yeah,” Veronica said. “But about four years ago, something shifted. The magic got weird. Buildings started to throw giant bricks at us.”
“Throw bricks?”
Doug nodded. “There’s new magic there—violent magic. I don’t know what changed, but it all went south.”
“Say we were willing to risk it,” Cade said. “Would you take us as close as you can?”
“When?” Veronica asked.
“Now.”
“Ha, dream on.” She leaned back in her chair.
Doug just laughed. “Now’s the worst time to go. We can’t transport across the desert because it’s protected by enchantments. And it’s sandstorm season. You’ll drown in the stuff before you make it halfway across.”
If transporting didn’t work, I hoped our portal would. To my knowledge, portals were a totally different type of magic, so hopefully we’d be in the clear.
“But the sandstorms don’t always come, do they?” I asked.
“This time of year, they’re frequent enough that we don’t cross the desert,” Doug said.
“What if I could block the sands?” Ana asked.
“Shield magic?” Veronica said.
Ana nodded.
I couldn’t tell what kind of supernatural Veronica was. Or Doug, for that matter. They kept their signatures on the down-low. I’d have to ask Cade.
“We’ll pay,” I said.
“We’re not interested in money,” Doug said.
Veronica punched him in the shoulder.
Doug sighed. “Fine. We not uninterested. But it’s not what drives us.”
“It does buy equipment, though,” Veronica said. “And nice hotel rooms on vacation.”
Doug smiled. “True.” He tapped his chin. “This will be dangerous, but maybe we can cut a deal.”
“What kind?”
Doug and Veronica leaned toward each other and shared a few whispers. I tried to eavesdrop, but failed.
Doug pulled away. “Five thousand dollars, a transportation stone so that we can leave once we’ve delivered you, since the protection charms don’t prevent people from leaving the city, and when you’re in Kart-hadasht, you take as many photos as you can.”
“And measurements,” Veronica said.
“Isn’t it super dangerous in there?” Ana asked. “Will we have time to take photos?”
“Do your best,” Veronica said. “We’d like detail shots. Things we have a harder time getting with the drones.”
“I can’t guarantee the measurements,” I said. “But we can do the photos.”
Veronica and Doug nodded.
Veronica stood and looked at her watch. “We’d better get a move on. Sun sets late this time of year, but we still want to get across by dark.”
I polished off my beer and stood, joining them.
“Good work,” I said to Cade as we followed them out of the bar. “I like them.”
“Me too.”
Veronica and Doug led us through the market, toward the other end of town. We made a brief stop at their place to pick up some daypacks, then continued on toward a corral containing giant camels on the outskirts of town. The beasts were a very pale pink
color, like flamingos.
“Can you ride a camel?” Doug asked.
“Ummm.” I shook my head.
“Let’s hope you’re a fast learner.” Veronica smiled and pointed to one of the smaller camels who had long, fluttering eyelashes. “You’ll ride Camelia.”
“Camelia the camel?”
“Yep.” Veronica vaulted over the fence.
We followed.
“Why are they pink?” I asked.
“They’re a magical breed.” Doug collected saddles from the small man who appeared to work at the corral, and began to saddle the camels.
I shifted the daypack that Veronica had given me on my back and approached Camelia, who fluttered her lashes at me.
“Hey, pretty girl.”
She honked, the loudest, craziest noise I’d ever heard, and I leapt backward.
“Ooooh, she likes you!” Veronica said.
“Why does she honk?”
“They were magically crossed with geese.” Doug grinned.
“That explains it, because she sounds just like a goose.” I climbed onto Camelia, trying to get a feel for riding a camel. It was weird, but at least I didn’t fall.
Everyone saddled up, and Doug and Veronica moved their mounts toward us.
“All right,” Doug said. “Follow our orders exactly. If I shout in French, repeat what I say. Your camel will know what to do. If I give directions, like ‘riders, go left,’ then do that.”
I gave a thumbs-up.
“Don’t screw this up,” Veronica said. “Your lives depend on it.”
Chapter Nine
The sun beat hard against my face as we followed Doug and Veronica out into the desert. All around, the sand gleamed in waves of gold, and I felt like I was in Aladdin.
“There’s a face wrap in your pack if you want it,” Veronica said.
As I bounced along on Camelia, I rustled around in the bag, managing to pull the cloth free and wrap my face. Ana and Cade did the same. The ride was bouncy and uncomfortable, but it was better than walking. And flying would just exhaust me. Even now, my wings ached, a constant reminder of what I had to accomplish.
Cade was a natural on his camel, and I stole surreptitious glances at him, unable to help myself. After a couple hours, though, the air started to prickle with danger. It made my skin itch, and I turned around, searching the dunes for oncoming threats.
“It’s about to get interesting,” Doug said.
I squinted into the distance, realizing that the sand around us was shifting. I squinted at it. A mirage?
I pointed. “Hey, Veronica, what is that?”
Veronica raised her hand to shield her eyes and stared. “Ah, crap. Everyone, get ready to run.”
At that moment, the sand exploded about one hundred yards away. A massive scorpion burst free, easily the size of a car. It scuttled toward us, pinchers raised high.
“Plus rapide!” Doug shouted. His camel picked up the pace, galloping across the sand.
“Plus rapide!” Veronica shouted. Her mount took off, sand kicking up behind.
All right, then. “Plus rapide!”
Camelia shot forward like a rocket. I clung to her, bouncing like mad, as she hurtled across the sand. Ana and Cade joined me. The scorpion raced for us, unnaturally fast.
It went right for Veronica, who pulled an evasive maneuver that allowed her to dodge the creature by a hair.
Doug turned around in his saddle and threw out a hand, blasting the scorpion with a cold rush of air. The edges of it chilled my skin, but the core of the blast hit the scorpion. The creature froze up, then fell onto its back.
Nice.
We could handle these scorpions.
Then another shot out of the sand. And another. They raced for us, impossibly fast on their many legs.
Yeah, I’d spoken too soon.
One of them headed straight for me. I could fly away, but I couldn’t leave Camelia on her own.
I called my sword from the ether, careful to keep from slicing her, and shouted, “Plus rapide!”
Camelia picked up a little burst of speed, and I pulled the reins slightly left.
She snuffled, clearly annoyed that I thought to command her. As if she needed help running away from a giant scorpion. She was no dummy.
She raced left, hurtling over the sand as the scorpion gained on us.
More had surged out of the earth, charging my companions as we galloped over the dunes. Ana created a shield to deflect attacking scorpions, while Cade drew his bronze shield and hurled it toward the one that raced after him.
My scorpion was so close that I could hear the snap of its claws.
Ah, crap, I hated bugs.
And this was one big bug.
He was nearly on me now, his tail hovering over my head. I leaned backward and sliced with my sword, aiming for the closest claw. My blade hacked through, but the claw was so big that it didn’t make a difference.
The scorpion hissed and waved its tail.
I eyed it as Camelia galloped, raising my sword at the ready. My heart thundered against my ribs.
One shot.
I had one shot.
The tail struck, flying downward.
I sliced my sword, severing the point from the tip. Camelia was just fast enough that she raced away before the blood could spatter me.
But the scorpion didn’t slow down. He hissed and raced faster, his tail regenerating.
“Plus rapide!” I cried.
She was probably already going as fast as she could, but I couldn’t help myself.
We couldn’t outrun them. Should I jump off so that she could run faster? If my sword couldn’t protect her, what good was I?
I tried calling on my sonic boom, but it was gone. Though my other powers were now intact since I had the wings, my sonic boom had disappeared entirely.
“Duck!” Veronica screamed.
I did as she commanded, crouching low on Camelia’s back. Veronica hurled a blast of sparkling magic at the monster. As it flew over my head, the sparkles turned to knives.
They sliced through the scorpion, hurling him backward. He tumbled end over end on the sand, the force of the blades driving him away from me.
Camelia honked her delight and raced forward.
All around, the wounded and dismembered scorpions were climbing to their feet, regenerating. They renewed the chase.
“Can’t we kill them?” I screamed.
“Nope,” Doug yelled. “Just have to hold them off till we reach the Great Drop.”
Great Drop?
The sand beneath Camelia’s feet began to shift. She stumbled, almost going to her knees. I flew forward, barely managing to hold on as she righted herself and kept running.
The sand shifted again, as if it were starting to drop way.
“Voler!” Veronica shouted.
“Voler!” cried Doug.
Ana, Cade, and I mimicked them, shouting loudly without any idea what would happen.
Wings burst from Camelia’s back, unfurling to massive size. They were bright pink and shimmered in the sun.
Holy fates!
She leapt into the air, her wings carrying us high as the sand beneath dropped away.
I crouched low and hung onto her neck, peering over the side as the sand thrashed like waves below us, deep inside a newly formed crevasse across the desert. The scorpions clicked their claws and waved their tails, but we were far out of reach.
I laughed, the sound loud against the silence of the desert.
We were halfway across the deep, thrashing sea of sand when Camelia began to falter. Her breathing was coming hard and her wings were weaker.
She flew lower, unable to keep herself aloft.
I looked around. My friends’ mounts were flagging as well, wings weaker and chests heaving. Crap.
I peered over the edge of Camelia’s neck. We were approaching the firmer sand, but would we make it? If we didn’t, the roiling sand pit below would devour us.
&nb
sp; I was about to jump off when she put on a little burst of speed and hurtled toward solid ground. She caught her footing on the edge, barely reaching safety. I collapsed on her back, panting as my friends landed.
“Woo!” Ana cried.
“Who would have expected flying pink camels?” Cade said.
“Not me.” Slowly, I rose.
“Come on,” Doug said. “We need to hurry.”
Camelia picked up the pace, following Veronica and Doug.
In the distance, the blue sky turned orange. I pointed to it and called, “Is that why we’re hurrying?”
“Yeah,” Veronica shouted. “Sandstorm.”
Damn.
“Get close together,” Ana yelled.
“Ensemble!” Doug shouted.
The camels, clearly understanding Doug’s command, hustled toward each other and grouped up.
“Keep up the pace,” Veronica said. “Ana, can you shield us while we’re moving?”
“My specialty,” Ana said.
The sand whistled on the wind, screaming through the air. The first grains stung my cheeks, and I squinted my eyes closed.
Ana threw out her hand, and her magic burst forth, creating a barrier between us and the sand. It stopped stinging my cheeks immediately.
“Ride as fast as you can!” Ana said, gripping her mount’s reins with one hand.
“Plus rapide!” Doug shouted.
We repeated the command, and the camels picked up the pace. Sand battered against Ana’s shield as we raced across the dunes. All around, the air turned tan, then red, then dark. It nearly blocked out the sun.
We ran until I thought my legs would fall off from clinging tightly to Camelia. Camel-riding was hard work.
But Ana was in worse shape, sagging over her camel as she fed her magic to her shield.
Around us, the darkness began to lift.
“Almost there!” Veronica shouted.
The sky turned from black to red to tan to gray, and the sand dissipated almost as quickly as it’d come. Once it was gone, Ana dropped her shield. The camels stopped abruptly, panting.
“Cool power,” Veronica said to Ana.
“Thanks.”
“There’s water in your pack, and beer for the camels,” Doug said.
“Beer?”
“Only thing they’ll drink.”
I shrugged and dug into the pack, pulling out a tall can of beer with a label I couldn’t read. I popped the top. “Do I just pour it in her mouth?”