Chapter 37
The magic stifles and stomps with invisible footsteps, crushing my lungs. When it releases me, I land hard on a wooden surface, my ankles shooting pain as I stumble. Unable to right myself, I tip over, falling into a shocking splurge of mud.
I gasp just before my head is sucked down in the muck.
Mud is everywhere, thick and cloying. It dumps into my ears. Clogs my nostrils. Plugs itself in my mouth with a gloppy sludge that tastes of rotten eggs.
I desperately kick, but unlike water, the mud weighs me down, making it hard to move. It reminds me of the same feeling I had in my nightmare, and I jolt with panic. It’s the only reason I’m able to shove myself up enough for my head to break the surface.
Relief blasts through me as I cough, expelling the gunk in my throat before I draw in a lungful of air. I can’t see, not with the goop covering my eyes, so I reach up and dig some off my face, enough to squint past it.
There’s a footway above me with vines stretching over the wood, which is where I first landed before tumbling off. I try to grab for it, but I can’t reach, so I slowly paddle forward. Once I get to the edge of the mud pool, I haul myself up and collapse on top of the dirt, spitting and hacking.
I manage to stand, and when I look around, my stomach drops. I’m not in the forest by the bay. Not even close. I obviously went through the wrong spot on the leyline.
Turning, I scan an endless vista, seeing countless bubbling mud pools like the one I just fell into. They blister along the surface of the sandy desert, and I gag at the smell as I take a step forward—on bare feet.
Great. I’ve lost my shoes somewhere in the sludge. My veillet too, leaving my hair a clotted mess. I’m covered head to toe in scum, weighed down and drenched.
The wooden footpath for the leyline is narrow and without railings, so no wonder I tipped off. It’s also the same color as the sand around it, the draping green vines the only thing of color.
I do my best to slough off the mud from my face and hair and hands, but it’s viscous and gluey, completely covering me. Here, sunfall has already passed, and night has closed in. I look up at the sky, seeing a halo of stars surrounding the bright moon.
A few frustrated tears track down my filthy face as my wounds throb. I have no idea where I am, and I can’t hop right back through the leyline because by now, the guards will be swarming.
I also can’t stay here.
They’ll be checking the leyline for the spots I might’ve jumped through soon. They probably already have dozens of soldiers crawling over Piper’s castle grounds and splitting up to search—if they’re allowed to do so.
I need to hide and wait them out before I can sneak back.
Turning in a circle, I search the dark expanse of the landscape, past the mud pools, and I spot . . . something in the distance. Maybe it’s a low-lying structure? I point myself in that direction and start walking.
Every step soon becomes grueling.
Soft sand looks nice, but it makes me sink down ankle deep, sometimes even up to my shins. It’s like I’m slogging through a blizzard, and my muddied dress weighs me down, making it even harder to walk.
But something else seems to be weighing me down too.
At first, I try to ignore it, but the farther I go, the more I feel the strain.
Not my movements, not my steps, but something deeper than muscle or bone. Something that’s latched on.
I grit my teeth and keep going, trying to ignore it, but it’s like a rope pulling taut.
Internally, I rage against Piper. Curse the latch that’s now stuck to me like a hinge bolted to my spine.
Sweat and mud scrape down my back, making it sting in earnest. I’m panting by the time I finally reach the darkened shadows I’d spotted, but my hope disintegrates.
There is no building, no burg. It’s just a sloped dune with a cluster of spindly cacti and one lone tree. I collapse against the tree with a wince. The bark is banded, only the very top of it branching out with a sprout of grassy leaves that look like thinning hair.
My muscles are raging, legs angry at being forced to trek through the desert. I’m thirsty too, and my wounds are probably getting infected all over again, but there’s nothing I can do about that.
Despite the night, warmth still clings to the air, so at least I’m not freezing. I bet this place is horrifically hot during sunfall. I definitely can’t stay here exposed to the elements, can’t be trapped out in the heat with no water.
I think my best plan is to stay here away from the mud pools for the night, and try to rest. When the sun appears at dawnlight, I’ll sneak back to the leyline and return to the castle.
Hopefully, the guards will have moved somewhere else by then, at least far enough away so I can find the right pillared pathway and try again.
While I catch my breath, the mud dries against my skin and starts to itch. I peel it off in crumbling pieces and look down at the ruined dress. A stab of guilt goes through me for tricking poor Frena.
But another stab sinks into me too. One that stems from the look on Piper’s face when I told him I would never want to get back to him. The way his expression boarded up quicker than the windows in his rooms.
Growing weary in both body and mind, I lie down on the sand. It’s soft enough, but I’m careful to keep my legs tucked away from the cactus. Exhaustion pulls my eyes closed, even though I know I have no real hope of sleep. Not out here, where I’m so exposed. My nerves won’t allow it.
I rest for a while, time oozing, but a noise suddenly echoes across the desert.
Sitting up, I look around, trying to find the source, but it’s impossible to pinpoint it. The sand stretches like a sea, and the sound stretches with it. It’s a chattering noise, somewhere in the distance. Not chattering like teeth, but more guttural. Something just past a purr. Lower, less steady.
My heart beats wildly, but after a few minutes, I force myself to relax again. It’s not coming closer, and I can’t see anything of worry. Slowly, I lie back down and close my eyes.
I have a long night ahead of me.
The noise drawls and drones, soon becoming background chatter that mixes with the desert insects and the softest night breeze. After a while, the chatter even starts to lull me.
That’s my mistake.
By the time I realize the chattering has grown louder, I barely make the connection that, this time, I can also feel it.
My eyes spring open at the vibrations, but it’s too late.
BOOM!
Sand explodes around me, beneath me, and I’m violently heaved up off the ground. Something solid and thick tosses me up like a coin bounced from a palm.
I scream as I careen up through the air, and then I slam back down on . . . fur? I try to hold on to whatever it is, but I’m tossed up again before I can. I look down, using my vantage point.
The beast is massive. Snakelike with a long, winding body, but with fur that perfectly matches the color of the sand. Just before I crash back down on its thick, serpentile body, I realize it has legs. Like the hooked legs of a centipede, except this thing has to be fifty feet long.
An oomph escapes me as I land belly-first on its body again. My stomach heaves with fear when I realize it’s tossing me up closer to its head. I shriek as I try to wrap my hands around its middle, but it’s too wide for me to get a grip, its fur too short for me to grapple.
It curves around to look at me, serpentine oval eyes blinking with double lids. It opens its mouth, and I see a row of blunt, grinding teeth stuffed between a pair of sharp fangs.
I am entirely too close to those fangs.
As it stares at me, frills suddenly lift from where they were flattened behind its head. They fan around its skull, black dots ringed symmetrically on either side like unblinking eyes.
The frills shake, and the chattering sound blares through the air, vibrating its whole body and making me shake with it.
Then it lunges.
I toss myself off with a scream, rolling down its side, landing in a painful heap upon the ground. I shove up, thick sand hindering me as I start to sprint away. My ankles sink into every step, but I run on pure terror.
The chatter sounds right before it lunges again. It’s only because I trip, landing face down, that it misses me. I roll again, fear clawing up my throat as its fang-bared mouth smashes right into the spot I just was.
I get up and run, arms pumping, while the chatter blares. When I feel the air shift with another lunge, I rush around the grouping of cacti. The creature hits them, letting off a horrible roar as it blasts face-first into the sharp spines.
I run for my life.
I’m so terrified I can’t think straight, but I know I can’t dodge this thing for much longer. I need to get back to the mud pool. Right now.
Pivoting, I race down the dune and toward the bubbling pools, with only the light of the moon to see.
I risk a look over my shoulder, my heart stopping when I see the thing arc up into the air, like a sea creature diving into the waves.
It lunges downward, plunging into the sand, and a plume of dirt sprays around it.
Its long body begins weaving toward me, sending sand flying as it swims beneath the surface.
It’s going to get me. It’s going to eat me.
Tears stream down my face as I look forward again, running as fast as I can. I’d rather drown in sludge than get devoured by a monster.
But my luck runs out.
Before I can reach the mud pools, the creature blasts from beneath the sand. Its head smashes into me, knocking me to the ground so hard my vision buckles.
I roll to a stop, staring up at it in horror as its body raises over me, fangs bared, iridescent eyes staring at its next meal while I lie on my back, stunned.
Its head dips, ready to devour. I flinch, squeezing my eyes shut—
And a song suddenly erupts in the air.