Camelia honked her delight and raced forward.
All around, the wounded and dismembered scorpions were climbing to their feet, regenerating. They renewed the chase.
“Can’t we kill them?” I screamed.
“Nope,” Doug yelled. “Just have to hold them off till we reach the Great Drop.”
Great Drop?
The sand beneath Camelia’s feet began to shift. She stumbled, almost going to her knees. I flew forward, barely managing to hold on as she righted herself and kept running.
The sand shifted again, as if it were starting to drop way.
“Voler!” Veronica shouted.
“Voler!” cried Doug.
Ana, Cade, and I mimicked them, shouting loudly without any idea what would happen.
Wings burst from Camelia’s back, unfurling to massive size. They were bright pink and shimmered in the sun.
Holy fates!
She leapt into the air, her wings carrying us high as the sand beneath dropped away.
I crouched low and hung onto her neck, peering over the side as the sand thrashed like waves below us, deep inside a newly formed crevasse across the desert. The scorpions clicked their claws and waved their tails, but we were far out of reach.
I laughed, the sound loud against the silence of the desert.
We were halfway across the deep, thrashing sea of sand when Camelia began to falter. Her breathing was coming hard and her wings were weaker.
She flew lower, unable to keep herself aloft.
I looked around. My friends’ mounts were flagging as well, wings weaker and chests heaving. Crap.
I peered over the edge of Camelia’s neck. We were approaching the firmer sand, but would we make it? If we didn’t, the roiling sand pit below would devour us.
I was about to jump off when she put on a little burst of speed and hurtled toward solid ground. She caught her footing on the edge, barely reaching safety. I collapsed on her back, panting as my friends landed.
“Woo!” Ana cried.
“Who would have expected flying pink camels?” Cade said.
“Not me.” Slowly, I rose.
“Come on,” Doug said. “We need to hurry.”
Camelia picked up the pace, following Veronica and Doug.
In the distance, the blue sky turned orange. I pointed to it and called, “Is that why we’re hurrying?”
“Yeah,” Veronica shouted. “Sandstorm.”
Damn.
“Get close together,” Ana yelled.
“Ensemble!” Doug shouted.
The camels, clearly understanding Doug’s command, hustled toward each other and grouped up.
“Keep up the pace,” Veronica said. “Ana, can you shield us while we’re moving?”
“My specialty,” Ana said.
The sand whistled on the wind, screaming through the air. The first grains stung my cheeks, and I squinted my eyes closed.
Ana threw out her hand, and her magic burst forth, creating a barrier between us and the sand. It stopped stinging my cheeks immediately.
“Ride as fast as you can!” Ana said, gripping her mount’s reins with one hand.
“Plus rapide!” Doug shouted.
We repeated the command, and the camels picked up the pace. Sand battered against Ana’s shield as we raced across the dunes. All around, the air turned tan, then red, then dark. It nearly blocked out the sun.
We ran until I thought my legs would fall off from clinging tightly to Camelia. Camel-riding was hard work.
But Ana was in worse shape, sagging over her camel as she fed her magic to her shield.
Around us, the darkness began to lift.
“Almost there!” Veronica shouted.
The sky turned from black to red to tan to gray, and the sand dissipated almost as quickly as it’d come. Once it was gone, Ana dropped her shield. The camels stopped abruptly, panting.
“Cool power,” Veronica said to Ana.
“Thanks.”
“There’s water in your pack, and beer for the camels,” Doug said.
“Beer?”
“Only thing they’ll drink.”
I shrugged and dug into the pack, pulling out a tall can of beer with a label I couldn’t read. I popped the top. “Do I just pour it in her mouth?”
“Hold it out. She’ll take care of the rest.”
I thrust the can toward the camel’s head, and she turned, nipping it out of my hand with her big teeth. She held it carefully, then tilted her head back and guzzled it down.
“Nice.” I cracked open my water and drained the thing. The water, though warm, tasted like heaven in my parched mouth.
Finished, I grabbed the beer can from Camelia and stashed the empties in the pack. “You know how to party, Camelia.”
She honked delightedly, and I suddenly realized where her wings had come from.
“Are these camels part goose?” I asked.
“Magical hybrids,” Doug said. “With a splash of flamingo, for color.”
Cool.
“We’re nearly there.” Veronica pointed ahead. “Just over the ridge.”
We started up again, going at a slower pace to accommodate the camels. As we neared the ridge, protective magic seared my skin, sparking and biting.
“I’m not going to like what’s on the other side, am I?” I asked.
“Definitely not,” Veronica said.
When we reached the ridge, I caught sight of a shimmering wall made of air. Almost a mirage. Danger rolled out from it. Evil. It was a tangible feeling.
I shuddered. The mirage commanded me to go back. Crossing it would be a terrible idea.
“Strong magic,” Cade muttered.
Veronica and Doug stopped their mounts. “This is where we leave you. Normally, we’d cross over if we were going to do a job, but since we’re not, I have no interest in experiencing my worst nightmares.”
“Is that what it does?” Ana asked.
“Yes. Phantom magic, we think.”
I shuddered. Besides Del, my friend from Magic’s Bend, I’d never met a Phantom I’d want to hang out with. Mostly because they were soulless monsters whose touch made you live out your worst fears. Fortunately, Del was only part Phantom.
“You’ll find cameras in your packs,” Doug said. “Try not to break them. But if you do, at least save the memory card. Take as many pictures as you can.”
“Anything we should be aware of at Kart-hadasht?” Cade asked.
“The ruins are extensive,” Veronica said. “It’s been nearly three thousand years, but things are in relatively good condition. There’s been no human habitation or interference since the city was abandoned at the end of the Phoenician period, but weather has eroded many of the buildings.”
“Those buildings did throw massive stone blocks at us last time we were here, however,” Doug said. “There are probably more threats as well, but we stopped visiting after the change.”
Ana cracked her knuckles. “That’s okay. I like a surprise.”
I grinned at her, glad to be going up against bad guys together again.
“Thank you,” I said. “We appreciate the help.”
“Just be careful,” Veronica said. “It’s rough in there.”
I climbed off of Camelia, who honked at me and trotted toward Doug. Cade and Ana climbed off their camels, who went toward the archaeologists like horses who knew they were heading home.