Page 29 of Heart of the Desert

“When you are the one person in the group not touched by the desert, you learn to compensate.” Aderyn grimaced as she took the now lit torch back, letting Keera light the second one as well.

I took the second torch from Keera, and we began picking our way down the passage. I set my feet down carefully as I led the way. Keera’s scream as she fell through the floor in the tricrith lair near Kelvadan still echoed in my head, and the voices in my head chattered loudly in response to the fear the memory evoked, despite the pain in my leg that would normally keep them at bay.

Keera brought up the rear, saber drawn and checking over her shoulder to protect us from attacks at our back. The passage was narrow enough that my fingers would brush either side if I were to hold out my arms, and I had to duck my head to avoid scraping against the ceiling. After only a minute of slow walking, the sunlight from the hole in the ceiling had faded away into memory. A shiver ran down my spine as cold sweat began to pool at the nape of my neck.

The feeling of earth around me was too reminiscent of being in the stone of the mountain at Kelvadan. Where the room under the palace always left me in horrible silence. Though, now my mind grew louder, as if fighting back against the separation from the desert it expected in such a place. I ground my teeth so hard they ached, hoping Kelvar would not appear, even as the shadows in my peripheral vision shifted and darted unnaturally.

The fingers of my hand not carrying the torch reached toward the still oozing wound in my leg.

Maybe if I pressed on it just once, it would jolt me from the tangled web of my magic.

A hand landed on my shoulder and I whirled around, torch held aloft as if ready to strike. I half expected to see Kelvar, taunting me, but instead, I met Aderyn’s wide eyes.

I furrowed my brow for a moment, while she stared at me meaningfully, until I came back to the current moment enough to hear what she did.

Scratching at the walls.

Something was coming. The scrabbling sound spoke of the many legs of the armored tricriths, carrying the bulk of their three lethal tails. My hand drifted to the saber at my hip, but Keera shook her head behind Aderyn.

Fighting would draw the attention of even more monsters, and who knew how many lived in this massive network of tunnels. We needed to hide.

Aderyn jerked her head toward a passage branching off the larger one we traversed. I had not chosen to turn down it, as it was small enough we would have to crouch. Now, though, it might serve us well.

The scratching around us grew, echoing and spreading disorientingly through the enclosed web of passages. Even as it grew closer, though, I thought it seemed to be coming from in front of us.

With a sharp nod, I stepped aside, gesturing for Aderyn and Keera to climb into the side passage, even as I smothered my torch. I watched them scramble in hurriedly, even as bile rose in my throat at the thought of enclosing myself in an even tighter passage—the exact opposite of the open sky I craved.

From the grimace on Keera’s face and the tremor of distaste that ran down the tether between us, I could tell she felt the same. Still, I clamored in after them as we all pressed ourselves into the shadows of the confined space. We hugged the walls to be as invisible as possible and held our breath as the sound of the approaching tricrith grew near.

Dread made my skin crawl as the beast drew level with us, imagining how easily it could sting us in such tight quarters and hoping it would not turn our way. My eyes adjusted to the near blackness just in time to see the monster scuttle by. As it passed our hiding spot, a shock of revulsion ran through me. Where the tricriths Keera and I had faced before had been glossy and black—as large as several horses put together and covered in a sleek exoskeleton—this one was different.

Less than a third of the size of its brethren, it was milky pale. Almost translucent. It scuttled past us, only for another to follow, and then another. My lungs screamed for breath, but I dared not make a noise and give away our location as nearly a dozen of the horrifying creatures passed.

Finally, the procession stopped, and the scratching of their passage faded away into the distance. I slowly let out the air that was trapped in my lungs, and the air shuddered around me as Keera and Aderyn did the same.

Carefully, I extricated myself from our cramped hiding spot, before reaching out a hand to help the others. Aderyn grasped my wrist and I pulled her from her crouch in the side passage. Silently, she passed me the torches she had taken to relight. Even if we needed more light to navigate in the passages, we were loath to speak and attract the attention of the creatures who had disappeared in the direction we had come from.

The first torch burst into flame in my hand—too enthusiastic, as always—before I turned to reach back and help Keera out of the side passage as well.

A solid object rammed into my abdomen, slamming me backward before I could grasp her hand. I hit the opposite wall with a thud hard enough to drive all my air from my body. I blinked, trying to make sense of the chaos in the darkness.

The lit torch had flown from my hand, landing on the floor and casting the scene before me in distorted shadows. A larger tricrith had snuck up on us, this one’s dark coating allowing it to blend with the near blackness of the passage.

I reached for my saber but was forced to duck to avoid the beast’s tails swiping past me as it tried to turn in the narrow passage. A scream rent the stillness of the passage as one of its massive pincers shot out and grabbed Aderyn around the waist. Her arms were pinned to her sides, making her unable to grab a weapon.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears and the voices in my head screamed at me to do something—anything—before my oldest friend’s life was snuffed out before my eyes.

“Aderyn!” Keera shouted as she tried to crawl out of the side passage but was forced to duck back by the tricrith’s skittering legs.

Its pincers were strong enough to sever Aderyn’s spine with a single decisive snap. Instead, it appeared to toy with her, holding her in the air while she twisted and kicked fruitlessly. It waved its chelicerae as if inspecting her—scenting her.

I used the moment to gather my power, clenching my hands into fists as I grabbed at the fibers of magic all around us. They tangled easily in my fingers—too easily. The desert’s power was tense and brittle—like a plant that had gone too long without water. When I shoved the magic at the tricrith, it snapped.

The creature flew back, slamming against the ceiling and wall harder than I meant it to. But it did not drop Aderyn. Instead, it seemed to decide fighting me wasn’t worth the trouble and struggled to its feet before scurrying down the passage away from me, dragging a shrieking Aderyn in its grip.

Dust started to fall from the ceiling as the earth shuddered around us. My mouth went dry, and cold raced up my spine. The passage was going to cave in.

I reached for Keera, still crouched in the side passage, but she shouted. I felt her plea in my mind as much as I heard it out loud.