The Hour of Dust and Ashes (24 page)

The road was so soft that fine grains puffed up like smoke as we walked, and the edges were littered with petrified woods and loose rocks.

“We might be able to make it most of the way before the moon sets,” Rex said. “Once it does, this place turns pitch-black, and we’re screwed. And don’t use those lights on your belts. The light draws the predators.”

Great.

The only one who seemed happy to be out here in the wild was Brim. He trotted around us in large serpentine patterns, his nose trailing the ground, investigating, processing the scents, and then coming back in toward us to cross over to the other side. He never disappeared from view.

My feet burned inside of my socks and shoes, and my face felt sticky and grimy. We hiked at a fast clip for at least three miles before I slowed, turning around to check our progress. The mountain that rose up behind us was a jagged behemoth. My jaw dropped. It made the opening of the cavern look like the mouth of a sea bass. Behind the dark, jagged shape were more mountains, an entire range that shot up into the inky sky.

I turned back around and continued on, amazed at what I was seeing—at what I’d seen so far. Bryn muttered something through the gag and jerked her arm. I stopped her and removed the hood and then set to work untying the gag. We were far enough away that her screams wouldn’t be heard. But I shoved the gag into my pocket in case the need arose. She bent over and spit. “God, it’s hot,” she gasped.

“Make any trouble,” I said, “and it’ll be back on.”
She didn’t respond. I couldn’t help but wonder if Solomon was still pulling the strings, but right then I didn’t want confirmation. I was tired, too tired to deal with the emotional onslaught that would come if my sister “appeared.”

The image of my baby sister straddling the Abaddon Father, blood sprayed over her front, and that dagger making its way toward her belly, was enough to make me sob. But, right then, all that mattered was making it across the flats, through the portal, and back home.

Hank trailed behind us, the cloak off and thrown over his shoulder. “I don’t suspect the nobles would think we’d be desperate enough to cross the sand flats.” He glanced over his shoulder to the mountain range. His profile was grim and since we were out of the city he let down
some
of the blocks on his aura. I couldn’t see much, but I could feel the vibe coming off him and it was … distracted.

I frowned at that revelation.

“Well,” I said, “hopefully they think we’re off chasing after Solomon like Carreg told them.” I wanted to say more, but then thought better of it. Asking him now about the sirens in the terminal probably wasn’t the time or the place. But I hadn’t forgotten. It was pretty clear they recognized Hank, and just as clear that he wanted nothing to do with them. I bit the inside of my cheek to temper my curiosity and took Bryn’s arm. “Let’s keep moving.”

A strange rattlesnake sound echoed around us. The
hairs on the back of my neck lifted and made me shudder. I glanced around at the unfamiliar landscape, my other hand going back to rest on the hilt of my Nitrogun. But Rex, I noticed, kept walking and Brim didn’t seem alarmed. My anxiety remained, however, the place too foreign and strange for me to relax.

Eventually the rocky ground, trees, and bushes disappeared, giving way to a vast sea of the finest gray sand, which slowly made its way into my clothes and stuck to my exposed skin. In random patches, large outcroppings of rocks and jagged monoliths jutted up from the sand.

Despite the “moonlight,” there were huge black shadows made by the dunes. Every time we crossed through one, the idea of stepping on something or being ambushed heightened my uneasiness.

After what felt like hours, Rex suddenly stopped. He went very still, face turning from side to side, staring out into the shadowy distance. Even though he was in the body of a human, one very familiar to me, Rex seemed more jinn than ever. The way he carried himself, the confidence, the sense of self … It was all very … strange.

“They’re already following us,” he said, and started walking again.

“Who’s following us?” I struggled through the sand as I tried to catch up. The faster I stepped, the deeper my boots sank.

“We’re being tracked by a pack of nithyn. And probably one or two sand lizards.”

Was it too much to hope that a sand lizard was tiny and harmless? As it was, I was already aware that nithyn were dragon-like creatures that grew to the size of large goats. Moon snakes ate their eggs, but once grown, the nithyn turned the tables and ate snakes, lizards, and—if they were hungry enough—off-worlders too weak to defend themselves … or humans stupid enough to trek through the sand flats at night.

“What the hell is a sand lizard?” Bryn asked in a scratchy voice.

“A chameleon,” said Rex. “Blends into the dunes and rocks to catch its prey. Travels beneath the sand. Its scales are like armor, impervious to nitro, bullets … You have to get in close to kill them, find their soft spots.”

A far-off screech echoed through the air. “Was that a nithyn?” I asked as Rex slid his axe off his back.

“Probably ringing the dinner bell.”

“Brilliant,” Hank muttered.

“See those boulders?” Rex pointed with his weapon to a large outcropping of rocks along the ridge of the sand dunes. “We’ll head for the rocks. Don’t run, though.”

“What about the sand lizards?” Bryn said.

“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 happen 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!”

I ran through the sand toward the sand lizard’s tail. Brim shot from the side and leapt onto its back, a snarling, drooling mass of gray and flashing teeth. Where the hell was Hank? The creature turned after me, clearing my line of sight. Bryn was booking toward the rocks and Rex was running toward the lizard.

“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.

A sob broke past my busted lips.

The only thing that reached me through the haze of excruciating pain was the sound of my gasping breaths, loud and echoing, in the darkness, and Hank’s muttered “Fucking hell” before I sank into oblivion.

* * *

The dripping of water was the first thing my waking mind processed. Slowly my other senses kicked in. The air was cooler and damper here.

My head ached. My torso was on fire from what had to be several broken ribs. The left side of my body had taken the brunt—left arm and leg possibly fractured. Three fingers on my right hand were bent at an odd angle.

Hot tears leaked from my swollen eyes. My exposed skin was raw and scratched, clothing ripped in places. I had no idea how long I’d been out, but I did recognize the healing process had already begun.