“What is it, Doctor?” he cried over the noise of the wind. We stood up and turned to look in the direction Dr. Hassan was staring. In the distance the stars disappeared one by one as something dark and sinister began to fill the horizon.
Amon gripped my arm tightly as the cushions whipped up and flew across the rooftop, a few of them fluttering over the railing and tumbling away far below.
“Amon?” I called out, worried.
“It’s a sandstorm!” Dr. Hassan shouted. “We must get inside immediately!”
I turned to follow him, but Amon stood rigidly in place. “This is no sandstorm. The Dark One has found us.”
Sharp bits of sand stung my skin as the storm grew closer.
“Go inside with Dr. Hassan!” Amon shouted. “I will attempt to draw the storm.”
I shook my head vehemently. “It’s too dangerous!”
“I will return for you. You will be safe here, Lily!”
Amon’s eyes burned brightly. Pressing his hands together, he thrust out his arms, a burst of light emanating from his frame. The great golden falcon materialized where Amon had just been standing, and he lowered his head toward me. As he soared into the sky, I tried to see which direction he went, but the bird was soon swallowed by the dark swirling sand.
Despite Amon’s warning, I stayed outside watching for him, hoping he would return quickly, or that, at the very least, our bond would assure me of his safety. But in a matter of moments, the entire house was swallowed in darkness, the sand even more brutal as it whipped across my skin. I shielded my eyes and had just decided to give up, since seeing even a few inches in front of me was no longer possible, when something clamped down on my arm.
I cried out in pain and glanced down. Tremendous force was crushing my forearm, bruising the muscles, grinding against my bone, ripping into me, but nothing was there. Suddenly, the pressure lifted and a crescent-shaped puncture appeared on both sides of my left arm. It looked as if a large creature had sunk its teeth into me.
Tears filled my eyes as blood welled in the wound and began running down my arm in little rivulets. The blood branched down to my elbow, dripping from there onto the roof. I stood still, shocked, my arm throbbing, when the invisible creature bit me again, this time on my leg.
The soft pants I’d dressed in ripped at the knee, flapping in the wind as jagged claw marks and scratches appeared on my calf. Dr. Hassan grabbed me as I staggered, and pulled me into the house. I sank into a chair as he doused all the lights, running from door to door and window to window, locking them and drawing the curtains, as if doing so would keep the storm, and whatever was attacking me, at bay.
He returned with ointment and several kitchen towels. Kneeling beside me, he dabbed at my wounds. Whatever elixir he used stung, and I clenched my teeth. “What was that? Did you see what bit me?” I asked.
“It is an omen,” Dr. Hassan whispered gravely. “A very bad sign.”
“An omen? An omen of what?”
“The Dark One rising.”
“The bad guy? Seth?”
“No. If the god of chaos had risen, then the world would already be beneath his boot heel. This is merely a sign of his coming.”
Sucking in a breath, I wrapped a clean towel carefully around my wounded arm. “This doesn’t feel like ‘merely.’?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
I gasped as claws scrabbled and several large objects thumped heavily on the rooftop deck. Monstrous hissing and the sound of something trying to break down the door provoked me to peek through the curtains. Though I could hear the hefty creatures prowling on the deck, I could see nothing. Dr. Hassan’s hands shook as he retrieved a first-aid kit and asked me to sit again.
“Does this kind of thing happen every time Amon rises?”
“No. This rising is…unique, in more ways than one.”
A deck chair hit the door with a resounding boom and I cried out, but Dr. Hassan remained rooted in place.
“What if whatever it is gets in?” I demanded. “Aren’t you frightened?”