(eng) Linsey Hall - Dragon's Gift, Valkyre 03 by Pursuit of Magic

Author:Pursuit of Magic [Magic, Pursuit of]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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.

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