Chapter 11
Forever Branded

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" You have desecrated our Holy Land! For that we require compensation!"
" The girl! Give us the girl!"
" Yes, the girl! Her blood will satisfy the thirst of our god!"

Sakura reared back a little as the snake people hissed and grabbed at her with skinny, scaly arms. Syaoran beat them back with the end of his staff. She in turn reached for a dagger. Pulling her arms to her side instinctually, her fingers groped about in the hem of her pants. Nothing! Drat, after so many days of not training, she'd neglected to keep the dagger available as she'd been taught.

" Don't worry, Sakura. I won't let them take you. They'll just have to find," He rammed a few heads, " A DIFFERENT SACRIFICE, BECAUSE THIS ONE ISN'T LEAVING UNLESS THEY PRY HER FROM MY COLD DEAD FINGERS!"

Sakura shuddered. She couldn't help, but imagine him, dead on the floor, a lake of blood around him, as the snakes dragged her screaming away...

" Syaoran, please, don't say things like that."
" You're right." He muttered," After all, it's against every one of my morals to coerce someone into BELIEVING THEY CAN DO SOMETHING THEY CAN'T! Wouldn't want to have to pop their over-inflated egos now would we?"

Tamaya grinned. She had a sword drawn, and kept glancing back and forth at Sakura, then at the snakes, ever vigilant of the movement of both.

" That would be quite a shame."

Peliopes and Gharen stood watching their display of heroics. Brave as it was, it was foolish to think they could defeat all of the Desert Wanderers.

" Syaoran. Don't do anything foolhardy. It won't do you any good to provoke the Desert Wanderers."
" Is that what they're called? Well, I won't stop them from living by their infamous personage! They can wander hither and thither as they please, as long as its nowhere within 300 lengths from Sakura!"

The Wanderers were growing in number. The entire campsite seemed to be surrounded by writhing hills of bodies.

" Give us the girl, or die by our tongues!"
" Yessss! Give us the girl!!! She will appease our god!"

Syaoran backed in closer, his skin beaded with sweat. The Wanderers slithered in closer, and he clutched the handle of the golden rod. Sakura seemed a bit dazed, but he dare not take his eyes off the Wanderers. Each time he turned his gaze, they'd scoot in closer. This seemed like a hopeless situation.

" Any minute now…"

Syaoran whirled around, eyes narrowed.

" Why are you just standing there?! They want to take Sakura away for sacrifice!"

Suddenly, Syaoran saw Peliopes grin. As her grin faded, the ground beneath them fell away, and as they fell, he heard Peliopes say:

" It's about time. Diggers have no sense of punctuality."

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It's short, but I figure I'd meet the demand first, for I feel if I don't upload another chapter, you'll all stone me. I had a great deal of trouble with this one section, as it had a two-way fork but once I get over this little mountain, the rest of the story should run smoothly.