Below me, the sand seemed to give way, and I sank even further. The beast overshot me, sailing above, completely missing me. A ray of sunlight pierced through the trees we’d left behind, hitting the sand and blinding me. I shut my eyes as the sand underneath me trembled and then lurched. I fell to all fours and hit something hard. I screamed and tried to stand again, but then I was sliding again, this time in the opposite direction. I got a hold of something and stopped myself.What the hell?
Sand slipped away in rivulets as whatever I was standing on rose to the surface.
What is this?
The answer my brain provided was shit.You’ve landed on a sandworm from Dune,it informed me.
No, no, no.
But maybe a sandworm would have been better because this creature seemed worse. It had extremities that could snatch me. Case in point, the huge freaking pincers that were rising from the sand to loom high overhead. Worse yet, it seemed I’d landed on its face, and I was holding on to one of its nostrils or something.
With a scream, I let go and pushed back.
Two completely black eyes rose from the hard tan shell. They rested on long stalks that slid out like periscopes out of submarines. Thinking quickly, I sidled next to one of them, hoping to remain unnoticed. Each stalk was about my height, which gave me an approximate indication of the animal’s sheer size. It had to be huge. A crab-like beast the size of a school bus.
A skittering vibration came from the animal, making my teeth rattle. Something wet sounded behind me. I turned slowly to find the other huge eyes staring straight at me. They moved independently.Fuck!My skin crawled, and my stomach tightened into a knot.
A pair of huge pincers came at me from the side. I jumped out of the way just in time. They snapped shut with a loud clunk that made my ears hurt.
I reached for the knife at my back and brandished it around just as the second pair of pincers came at me from the opposite direction. I ducked and rolled over my shoulder, knife still in hand. The crab let out a high-pitched screech that clearly displayed its frustration.
The pincers came at me again. This time, as they snapped open and shut, I barely managed to get out of the way. I grazed the thing with my knife, but it was like trying to wound a wall. Possessed by insanity, I jumped on one of the pincers and wrapped my arms around it.
The creature brandished its limbs about, trying to dislodge me. I thought of letting go. If I did, I would soar through the air and land on the sand. I would be okay, right? Except that wolf thing was still out there and would probably snatch me as a yummy little morsel as soon as I hit the ground.
Witchlights.What had I gotten myself into?
The crab paused its thrashing for a moment. My breaths were loud in my ears. A moment later, the pincer I was attached to started moving slowly toward a barbed slit under the crab’s eyes.
Oh, shit.
The creature was planning to have its first taste of human.
No way.
I jumped off, the knife raised above my head. I stabbed the weapon right in the middle of one beady, black eye and landed on my feet. The creature screamed in agony. I slapped my hands over my ears. The crab thrashed underneath me and, as I staggered sideways, one pincer came toward me so fast I knew I was done for.
I’d given it my best try. I’d fought valiantly, but today was to be the day I said goodbye. I thought of my family: my sisters, my brother, my mother. I would never see them again, and it made my heart hurt more than anything. I wouldn’t see my siblings grow into old age. I would never meet my nieces and nephews, if any came. I would never be Aunt Dani, who healed every scrape, every fever. I had sometimes daydreamed about that, more than I daydreamed about having my own kids.
I thought of little Muriel in her sickbed, and the bright hope in her eyes as I assured her I would find a way to cure her.
Damn you Kalyll Adanorin. Damn you.
The pincer scissored shut.
I closed my eyes.
Something whistled through the air, fast as a rocket. There was a loud crunching sound, followed by a growl, then another high-pitch screech.
My eyes snapped open.
As if I conjured him with my thoughts, the prince stood in front of me in a crouch, his sword embedded in the crab’s pincer as slimy yellow blood streamed down the weapon. Thegooslid over the hilt and reached his hands. He winced as his skin sizzled.
Another growl and the prince pulled his sword free. Moving swiftly, he wrapped a hand around my wrist and dragged me along as the crab buckled and tipped to one side. He pulled me close as we fell flat on the crab’s hard shell and aimed our bodies toward the back of the creature. We slid along its length and landed on the sand.
Before I had time to process anything, the prince wrapped an arm around my waist and hauled me to my feet. We ran up the slippery dunes toward the forest above. He practically carried me up as the crab screeched and thrashed in agony.
A moment later, the prince stabbed his sword into the verdant ground and pulled us up to the top. I fell to my knees and crawled away from him, my chest heaving, my entire body trembling. I sensed as he climbed to his feet and turned around to watch the creature below as it continued to shriek, while all I could do was hold myself to make sure I didn’t fall to pieces.