“Well it’s your fault she’s gone. You’re the one that messed with the fates. Another reason we shouldn’t be looking at the daggers,” Augury grumbled.
“Everyone please stop arguing,” Denton said anxiously.
I ignored him and continued with my outburst. “I was trying to help! One mistake does not justify ignoring the power of the daggers.”
“Breghton,” Denton said, his voice slightly shaky.
I turned to look at him, but the argument abruptly stopped. Everyone turned their attention to the ground as it began convulsing underneath our feet.
I put my hands out to my sides, trying to steady myself until the tremor passed. The noise of the ground rumbling was quickly drowned out by a deep growl. I glanced at Mikado. He was turning in circles, looking just as terrified as the rest of us.
“Run!” Achates yelled as he sprinted past me. I had never seen him move so fast before. I didn’t hesitate to follow him.
The ground felt hot on the bottom of my feet, even though I was wearing boots. It seemed that heat was radiating out through the sand. No matter how fast we ran, the ground still shook.
A loud crunching noise vibrated through my hair as a large, clear rod burst from the ground and jutted into the air. Garret was far out in front of me. He was running so fast he had no time to dodge it. I saw the pointy tip of the rod impale him right through the stomach as it erupted out from the sands below. His screams echoed around me.
Garret’s body rose up into the air as the pole continued to thrust out of the ground. The pole rose higher and higher with his body dangling from it. The rod had to be at least ten times taller than me. Eventually the screams stopped and his body hung there. As I ran past the rod, I saw it shimmer in the sun. I looked up and saw blood dripping down. The human had gotten what he deserved, but now I would never know what he had accused Harish of lying about.
“Garret!” I heard Harish yell.
I turned and saw that he had stopped at the bottom of the strange crystal column. He touched the shimmering surface and began to scream. When he removed his hands I could see that his palms were bright red.
I tried to run faster. Another rod shot out of the ground a few feet to my left. A heard a loud clunk and turned just in time to see Denton run face first into it. My feet slid in the sand as I came to an abrupt stop. I ran back to where Denton lay. He was unconscious. The ground was shaking even more violently now.
“Denton, wake up!” I screamed. There was a red spot on his forehead where his skin had touched the pole. How could it be hot? It looked just like ice. “Denton!” I yelled and slapped him hard across the face.
Chinook swooped down and lifted Denton in her talons, swiftly flying back into the sky with him. I heard another loud crunch and rolled out of the way, just in time, as another rod shot from the ground. A loud roar made my hair stand on end. The ground convulsed and then collapsed in front of me. The sand began to drift into a large crevice that was forming next to one of the crystal structures. The roaring grew louder. I tried to run, but the rapidly cascading sand pulled me back toward the hole. I was sinking.
“Help!” I called.
I saw Augury, Achates, and Vellswar all still running farther away from me. I reached the side of the crevice and grabbed onto it as my legs dangled into the abyss. Sand fell into my face. I was holding onto some kind of rock and it was getting slippery under my sweaty hands. Another roar echoed around me, which caused the rock to shake even more. My hands slipped and I beg
an to fall into the hole. Hundreds of the crystal rock structures appeared around me. They were tangled up together and almost glowing under the ground. They seemed to be all around me as I plummeted down the deep pit.
I slammed onto a patch of sand that was surprisingly soft. As soon as I landed on the strange ground, it tilted and began rising up out of the ditch. Sand slid off the ground and I was sliding with it. There were strange grooves and bumps and I dug my fingers into one of the ruts. When most of the sand had shifted off the ground, I saw a row of large spikes, half the size of me, in the middle of the rising surface. The whole structure seemed to rumble as I heard another, even louder, growl. I looked up and saw a large, sand-colored, clawed foot reach out of the hole. The claws were as big as my legs. Another foot followed. The claws stabbed into the sandy ground above and hoisted their large body right out of the crevice. It was the most horrifying creature I had ever seen. And I was on his back.
I held on to the spikes as I rose out of the ground with the beast. We were up so high that it seemed like I was as tall as three brutarians. I could see Garret’s dead corpse on the crystal pillar below me. I looked down at the monster that I was sitting on. He shook violently and the rest of the sand fell off his back, revealing sand colored scales. Spikes rose from his neck, all the way down to the tip of his tail. At the bottom of his tail, spikes exploded at all angles in a very deadly looking spiked ball.
The monster roared and folds of skin flapped from the sides of his cheeks, doubling the size of his head. Two horns jutted out of his head right above his eyes. I looked over and saw Augury, Achates, and Vellswar standing strong, all armed. Augury had a knife in each hand and Achates had a sword that was slightly curved at the top. Vellswar also had a sword, but the blade was jagged on one side. It looked like it could rip the scales right off of the beast, but I doubted any of them had fought a monster like this before.
They charged forward with their weapons held high. The monster’s body twisted and turned, making it look even more menacing. I wanted to reach for my own sword, but I was afraid I would fall if I moved my hand away from the spikes. Vellswar took the first swing. He went straight for the beast's face. I saw a white spike fly into the sky and realized Vellswar must have sawed off one of the beast's fangs.
Smoke curled from the monster's mouth. He looked into the sky and stood up onto his two hind legs. I clung to his spikes. Fire escaped from the beast's throat. The flames spread into the skies, catching the feathers of Chinook above. It looked like Denton was still unconscious. I used the pause in the beast’s movement to grab for my sword with one hand while still holding onto a spike with the other. I unsheathed my sword as the beast landed back onto all fours, causing his whole body to rumble. The sword slipped from my hand and landed blade first into the sands below. I cursed under my breath.
The beast turned, swinging his tail. The spiked ball at the end of his tail slammed straight into Vellswar’s chest. Vellswar's body flew into the air. He landed motionless in a heap on the ground. The beast roared again and the flaps of skin spread from his cheeks. Augury threw a knife at the monster's face. I grabbed hold as the monster reared again. He shook his head and the knife flung out of his scales. I saw Augury throw her second knife straight at the beast’s chest. The monster shuddered and the second dagger flew out of his skin. He didn’t seem to falter for a second.
“Go for the dragon’s tail!” Augury called to Achates.
“It’s not a dragon, it doesn’t have wings!” Achates yelled as he ran toward the monster’s tail. He took a swing, but the beast lifted his back paw and shoved it into Achates' body. I heard a crunching noise as Achates flew through the air. He landed on his back, his body limp.
“Achates!” Augury wailed.
She slid under the beast's belly and came out on the other side. She grabbed the sword that I had dropped and took a swing at the monster. The beast again dodged the blow by lifting up his foot. This time when his foot descended, he swiped his claws out towards her. She rolled out of the way. I heard her scream, but I could no longer see her. I hoped she had avoided the monster’s claws.
The beast's back pulsated beneath me as he continued to roar. I grabbed tightly onto the spike in front of me. He twisted and roared in anger. Maybe he actually had been wounded. The beast screamed and I knew he was in pain. I thought he was dying, but then his back began to grow underneath of me. My hands slipped from the spikes. I shot into the air as wings suddenly sprouted out of the beast's back. They spread out, spanning out to the sides. Somehow there were huge scaly wings where a second ago there had only been a flat back. The beast roared and took off into the sky. I hurtled out of the air and slammed into Vellswar.
He groaned. “I’m glad I broke your fall. Now get off of me, boy.”