The night engulfed the desert. It chilled the air and filled the sky with millions of flickering stars. She knew Alma and the Great Star watched from above. She stared into the pristine sky, missing home with each passing moment. She missed her books, her soft pillows, the cheerful gardens, and fountains. She even missed Osana, and her wild child way of causing havoc as she studied. Kelani was so consumed with the world above; she didn’t notice the shadow creeping toward her.

  It slipped over the smooth dunes, spilled over the landscape like ink in water. Its approach was silent as the grave. The shadow pooled around her, trapping her on a shallow throne of sand. As the shadow pounced, she heard a scream. An unnatural high-pitched wail, that didn’t belong to a mortal throat. The darkness swallowed her limbs, chaining them with unseen anchors. It numbed her body until it felt like thousands of needles stabbing her all over.

  When she couldn’t handle the pain any longer the ground growled. The dunes cracked open, revealing a fiery molten gash. The world trembled around her before a writhing worm burst through to the surface. It towered over her, before it swept its mucus ridden body over the desert. Its ear-piercing wail knocked the stars from the sky. As it turned its attention to her, she spied the rows of sharp jagged teeth encircling its mouth.

  She awoke with a start. Chilled with damp sweat, and staring at the warm sun breaking over the mountains in the distance. The desert was as it was the night before. Her mortals slept beside her on little rugs. Smoke from the long-gone fire swirled into the air. Everything was quiet. Peaceful. Except the erratic heartbeat thumping in her chest.

  As her mind found reason, she remembered something she read. Something mortals do when they sleep. Dreaming. A concept she didn’t fathom before. Was it possible for her people to dream? Whatever she experienced was something unlike anything before. Why did her mind need to recall such vivid and undesirable images. Whatever it was, she never wanted to experience it again.

  They began their day by packing their camp. Saule was insistent not to leave anything behind. Not even the sticks left over from their fire. Kelani expected a protest from Janus, but he did as he was told. They weren't alone anymore, and like any prey, he was quick to continue to a better defensible position. When they finished, they made their way toward the Passage. Saule consulted the crude map and pointed them northwest. The mood of the group had shifted from lighthearted adventures to cautious in the span of a night.

  She couldn’t shake the feeling of the monstrous worm under her feet. Was it there waiting for any misstep? A mistake that would summon him to the surface and devour them whole? When she surveyed the surface, nothing felt threatening. Between the pleasant breeze and the stunning rock formations, everything felt at ease. After a while they approached a narrow valley, flanked by high cliffs and a plateau on one side. The shadows inched towards them, reminding her of her nightmare. And a cold sweat broke over her body.

  Neither of the mortals spoke. The way their heads swivelled from side to side drew her attention to their surroundings. She noticed they walked in each other’s footprints. They sensed they were being followed. It would be easier if their hunters where Mages. At least then they could pinpoint a direction they were attacking from. But the last group were Innocents and didn’t have an aura to detect. In a way they were blind. And the disadvantage made her mortals tense.

  “How much further Saule?” Janus asked.

  “Through here,” she pointed ahead of them. “Then there’s a cave, we’ll be safe inside.”

  High above them, a piercing screech from a hawk cut the air. Her eyes locked on to the bird who flew with such grace it seemed to be a sign from Ferus herself. The goddess whose dominion included all creatures. But the trill that followed, made her skin crawl. She didn’t know what it meant, but she walked faster. She didn’t have to see it dip behind the cliff to know they weren’t alone. The others sensed it too, without a word they also picked up their pace.

  The world fell silent except for the shuffling of their feet through piles of sand. It slowed them down but not her racing heart. It drummed as the silence followed them. Every second was a minute of exposure. She was waiting for the wave of arrows to puncture Janus. Or a boulder to topple over Saule. She kept glancing backward. Then upward. The realisation that they might be outnumbered made acid creep up into her throat.

  Calm yourself Kelani. The entrance is close and getting closer with each step. Get them inside, then they will be safe.

  The shadow eloped them; the rock wall was high and blocked out most of the sky. The coolness washed over her hot skin and for a moment she let out a breath. The valley was flat and wide enough for a wagon with the occasional pile of sand in the edges. Saule pointed to the exit. A few more meters and they’ll be on the other side. Away from their hunters and closer to their destination.

  It all changed when ropes tumbled from above. They draped the rock like contorting snakes. It wasn’t until the men in beige began to descend that she heard Saule shout:

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  “Run!”

  They take off at full speed as the archers above let their arrows fly. They rain down, missing the climbers and jab the sand at her feet. Kelani was appalled. Their pursuers had the foresight to plan and use the rocks to trap them in. They knew her Mages wouldn’t have enough room to counter or fight.

  Between escaping and the attack, they didn’t have the ability to summon anything useful. Despite that, Saule tried to muster a shield. It flickered to life spreading over her and reaching Janus but then faded. No matter what she did, she couldn't keep the magic consistent; leaving them vulnerable.

  The Innocents barely survived last time. They knew they wouldn't survive a fair fight. So, they trapped them in the narrow valley like rats on a sinking ship. It left a sour taste in her mouth. It caused her magic to flutter in her chest. She listened, allowing it to flow over her limbs. She made the swooshing motion with her hand, summoning a lightweight translucent pane over her. The arrows zoomed by, almost hitting Janus’s shoulder. She extended it further overhead until it covered them.

  The arrows smacked into the glass, flinging in different directions and landing in the sand. They ran faster. She pushed her body until her lungs hurt and her muscles ached. Above her the men slid down their ropes.

  Their feet landed on the shield with a gut-wrenching fatality. Their surprise at the solid landing vanished from their face as quickly as it appeared. They had a task and carried it out with unabated conviction. Each drew their curved blades from the sheath at their hips. One by one they slammed it against her shield. Their leader foretold the encounter. Their paths had crossed. What began above the desert high on the plateau, continued in the valley. Where the walls were to become their grave markers.

  Their blades reverberated off the shield. It echoed, bouncing from wall to wall and rang in her ears. But ahead was a light. The end. More importantly open space. There her Mages could defend themselves. She only had to hold out for a bit longer.

  The sight of the exit spurred Saule forward. They summoned the last of their strength to race faster. The weight of their attackers pressed down on her. Her muscles weren’t as defined as Osana’s and there was a level of physicality with her magic. Against the protesting in her biceps, she pushed against the shield. It wobbled, sending some men toppling against the rock. They landed in the sand, and the more determined ones, stood and continued the chase in their rear.

  The valley got smaller, a few inches at a time, until it forced the men above to jump off. She squeezed against the jagged rock. Fighting the pain as her body contorted to fit through the narrow gap. A scream from her throat carried her through the last push. Then the sun washed over her like Papa’s saving grace.

  Her limbs ached and she collapsed into the sand. She glanced back, but the adult men couldn’t fit through the narrow slit. Praise Zander, she whispered before turning her gaze to the bright cloudless sky. Freedom.

  “We can’t stop here.” Saule stood hunched over trying to catch her breath. She pointed ahead, drawing her attention to the cave on the other side of a jagged fissure.

  Sometime in the desert’s history must have been an earthquake that split the land. A crude bridge crudely carved from ancient stone crossed the expanse. She didn’t trust the bridge, there was no railings or rope. Any misstep and they’ll fall to their deaths. But Saule continued, pointing to the cave opening within their reach.

  “A little bit further.”

  “There’s got to be another way.” Janus argued.

  The trill of a hawk ended any discussion. She saw the color from Janus’s face wash away as he eyed the top of the cliff. Their worse fear cascaded over the walls. Ropes followed by an army of men repelling toward them. The hawk screeched over Saule’s shout. Their only hope is the bridge. She swallowed, barely holding herself together as her mortal reached the bridge.

  The first wave of them landed on the ground. Their battle cry exploded, deep from the belly, and floated over the air. Saule took the first tentative step over the old stone. By the grace of Papa, the bridge held. Saule sighed, straightened her shoulders, and continued forward. Kelani reached Janus, who hadn’t begun to cross.

  “You go next Kelani; I have a plan.” He flashed her a smile while he stepped to the side.

  “That sounds ominous...” But he ushered her unto the bridge despite her protest. Saule was a couple of feet a head of her, but she moved like a fawn on new legs. “Keep your eyes on the other side Saule. One step at a time, you can do it.”

  Their attackers were closing the gap. To her horror Janus hadn’t joined them.

  “Keep going!” He shouted.

  “What did he say?” Saule shouted to her.

  “We need to hurry!”

  Saule paused at the halfway point. Her body trembled as she clutched her staff to her chest. Her eyes focused on the bottomless pit that awaited them. Then the bridge shook. Instinctively she reached for Saule, wrapping her arms around her to keep her from falling. Behind them the enemy made a line and began to cross one at a time.

  Her eyes met Janus, who ran over the bridge toward them. Between the yelling, the hawk shrieking, and Saule’s praying, she couldn’t understand what he was shouting. She studied his lips. There, the words formed and revealed their fate.

  “I’m destroying the bridge!”

  In that moment time slowed to a crawl. His movements happened in between heart beats. He raised his staff over his head. The gem pulsed to life. And in three beats, the gem slammed against the stone, in the same second as the third stranger began to cross. Saule’s scream invaded her ear like a drum. There wasn’t a flash. Only the magic rippling under her feet. The crack of rock. Then everything fell apart.