Ella's eyes swept back and forth as she scanned the desert. So far, luck, and speed, were with them.
"Keep going!" Jehral called from behind her.
Shani was the next to reach the top. Ella kicked her horse into a gallop, and Afiri leapt over the sand as his pace picked up.
Then the ground opened up in front of her.
Ella suddenly found herself staring into a wide hole in the desert floor, a dozen paces wide, with sand spilling into it on all sides.
Afiri reared as he halted mid-stride, and all Ella could do was hold on and pray Afiri wouldn't fall forward. Ella felt the horse tremble as his front legs slipped.
Ella stared into the hole in horror as the Devil appeared.
The first thing she saw was its head. It came out and up, mouth open and sucking as the sand poured down into its gullet. Row after row of glistening teeth lined the inside of its white lips, each the size of Ella's dagger, jagged and sharp. An eyeless head and two wide nostrils made its gaping jaw the most prominent part of its body.
The creature shot out of the hole, knocking Ella's horse backwards and sending Ella flying through the air to land heavily on the sand.
Ella scrambled to her feet, then dashed over to Afiri, grabbing the dagger from her saddlebags and speaking the words that would activate the protective capabilities of her dress as Afiri attempted to get back up. She turned away from the panicked horse and faced the beast.
As the symbols that covered the silk lit up with blue and purple, the creature reared its body and plunged down at Ella, the putrid stench of its breath buffeting her as the jaws closed over her.
Ella felt the familiar feeling of the knowledge coursing through her; she was an enchantress, and this was the dress she had enchanted with the most powerful lore she knew how to create.
The Devil of Lyra's teeth bit down on a sheath of green armour stronger than steel. Closing her mind to the fear and her eyes to the creature's awful attack, Ella chanted in a sonorous rhythm, her voice neither quavering nor breaking stride.
She activated the lightning.
With a flash brighter than the sun, electric bolts and discharges covered Ella's form. The sandworm made a sound like breaking boulders and the ground trembled as it reared away in pain and its head rose high into the air.
Ella opened her eyes. The sandworm had left her where she stood, and she ran towards Afiri. She tried to catch him, but the terrified horse shied away. Ella shouted to Jehral.
"My horse!" she cried.
Jehral turned his own horse with a tight sweep and galloped towards Afiri.
The giant sandworm seemed to peer sightlessly at Ella. Perhaps it had no eyes, but it could still sense her somehow.
Then Ella heard a great whoosh, and a fireball shot through the air, screaming and roiling as the sphere of flame turned over and over, flying with a well-aimed cast at the creature's head. The fireball hit the sandworm's nostrils, bursting over them in a spray of red energy.
The Devil of Lyra went mad.
It cried out in pain, and the immense head twisted in the air, finally thrusting down into the sand again as the sandworm's body formed a loop, half of its body exiting the ground at one place while the rest entered at another.
Ella turned and saw Shani behind her, still on her rearing, terrified horse; the Petryan's expression was dark as her battle instincts took over. Jehral drew to a halt beside Ella, his own horse foaming at the mouth and the reins of Ella's horse in his hand. Jehral opened his mouth to speak.
"Look out!" Ella screamed. She rushed towards Jehral as the Devil of Lyra's pointed rear came out of the sand. The sandworm's length tapered towards the end, culminating in a long, thin tail. Ella yanked the reins of Jehral's horse, pulling it away with a sharp movement.
The tail whipped out, and if Ella hadn't intervened, would have taken Jehral's head. As it was, the tail whipped across his chest. Blood spurted out into the air, and the desert warrior looked down at the sudden gash.
The sandworm's body was now completely under the sand. The ground rumbled beneath them.
"It's going to come up beneath us!" Ella cried. Shani was white-faced. "We need to get out of here! Here, take these reins!"
Shani grabbed Jehral's reins from Ella and dug in her heels. They were racing away, when Shani realised that Ella's reins were still twisted in Jehral's hands and they were taking Ella's horse with them.
Shani pulled the horses to a stop.
"Keep going!" Ella shouted.
"I won't leave you," Shani called back.
"You have to get Jehral out of here. Don't worry, I'll catch you."
"How will you get away?" Shani cried.
"Don't worry. I'll find you," Ella said. With a grim smile, she spoke a command, and pulled the hood of her dress over her head.