CHAPTER 5
INTO THE DESERT
The next morning was bright and for a brief time, blessedly cool. Fearon was taking his time eating a bagel, trying to put his failures with the Fire and Lightning spell out of mind. He scowled at the food. A whole night, and he hadn't gotten it.
Takar hadn't moved from the ship helm the entire time, while Somra had somehow gotten Brendon into a wrestling match. The play fight had managed to lift his spirits some, enough so that when Somra vaulted Brendon over her shoulder, he cracked a smile.
The mage groaned as the weapons specialist threw him down for the fourth time. "Oh yeah, I win!" she crowed, throwing up her arms and dancing around. Fearon laughed aloud. There was nothing like the antics of friends to get a person out of a slump.
"You're going to break him one day, Somra. There's such a thing as a mercy win."
"Thanks," Brendon sarcastically added. "If I could use any spells in here..."
Takar instantly stood straight up and glared over his shoulder. "Hell no. the last thing anyone needs is the Strikeflier getting damaged."
Brendon sighed and sat up. Somra smiled and retreated. The mage's melancholy expression lifted when Scout bounded into his lap and nuzzled him. "Case and point."
"Good."
Fearon stood up and stretched, having finished the bagel. He was pondering challenging Somra himself when a high whine sounded from Lehvahk's direction. The sharpshooter was slumped against the window, staring down at the red sands below.
"When do we get some excitement? We've been flying forever."
Fearon mentally groaned. Lehvahk had been asking this question for the past few minutes. In the hope of keeping a calm exterior, he bit back the groan and instead covered the space of the small bridge to reach Lehvahk's side. "It hasn't been that long. And besides, what would we possibly do down there without an actual target?" He waved a hand at the red sanded desolation out the window.
Fearon had thought he'd proved his point, but Lehvahk's snort showed otherwise. The leader sighed, rooting for another explanation, only to have Takar beat him to it.
"You want fun?" the pilot's face was suddenly shadowed under his hair. "I'm sure the sand beasts will provide much fun for you. As in, a fight for your life, fun." His shoulders heaved in a silent, doubtless sadistic laugh.
The swordsman was halfway between congratulating Takar for a job well done-a rare thing-or retorting against him for terrifying Lehvahk. Glancing down at the sharpshooter, he found that Lehvahk had paused and inched warily away from the window. "Ah.." He said slowly and quietly. "I guess I'll just stay here."
Fearon blinked. The reaction hadn't been that of someone who was highly afraid. Something about Lehvahk had changed. If anything, the side of him that was showing now seemed to be incredibly real.
Since the sniper seemed fine, Fearon let a smirk slip past his calm facade. Behind him Somra laughed freely, ignoring Lehvahk's fierce requests to stop. Brendon was pouring over scrolls that had appeared from seemingly nowhere.
"Well...aren't they just big bugs?" Lehvahk sounded rather tactical now. He had begun fiddling with his rifle, emptied of ammo for precaution.
"Just huge bugs?" Fearon echoed with clear astonishment. He couldn't be serious. The average person knew that wasn't all they were.
But then, Lehvahk hadn't grown up around the stories. Fearon always had an easy time forgetting that. He had been born in Atmos, a place with legends based on different elements.
Rahk quickly began to inform the sharpshooter of where he was wrong, even when Lehvahk began to focus on the rifle's delicate parts.
"Actually, sand beasts are known for being practically undetectable under the sand. They can easily sneak up on anything, and have carapaces that are almost completely impenetrable by anything short of airship artillery. Their tails have twenty kinds of various poisons with different effects, that they can alternate depending on what they need. Is this starting to make sense to you?"
Lehvahk winced. "Uh, yeah. Maybe I should revise my previous statement."
Fearon raised an eyebrow. Lehvahk seemed full of surprises today.
The blaring of an alarm broke everyone out of the state of careless joy. "What the hell?" Somra was quick as usual to spit the curses out. "Who's attacking us?"
Takar banged a fist of the dashboard. Seething, he grasped the controls and wrestled the ship out of the sudden dive it had taken-an abrupt one that threw everyone else about like leaves.
Lehvahk thudded into the thick glass window with a pained grunt. He scrambled at the window as the ship was thrown into a sharp curve of a turn, almost wishing he'd never admitted to being bored. A grating noise and shudder of impact confirmed a rough landing, and resulted in Lehvahk being thrown into the back of the bridge.
He narrowly missed the door and hit the wall instead. The old pirate crest-a memoir to the two century old ship's bloody history before it came into their hands-pinned to the wall above him rattled loudly, and some of the pin up charts fluttered down around the sprawled sharpshooter.
Lehavhk shook his head groggily. When things stopped spinning, he beheld the sight of his companions sprawled about the room. Scout had looped both forelegs around Brendon, who seemed to have clung for his life onto the built in couch. Now the mage slumped exhaustively into a sitting position.
Fearon and Somra had been thrown back near were Lehvahk was. He snickered as they separated from their embrace. It wasn't by skin tone Lehvahk judged the level of their potential embarrassment-Fearon's blue green scales hid that, and Somra's dark blue ones even more-but rather by their wide eyes. Fearon, especially, had a rare, skittish look in his.
"Uh...sorry for holding onto to you so hard," the leader mumbled, hastily getting up.
"Yeah. Okay," Somra mumbled distractedly.
Lehvahk sniggered, and winked knowingly when Somra glanced his way. The two of them were most definitely in love. He prided himself on knowing these things.
"Gods dammit!"
The volatile curse was compounded by a harsh bang as Takar kicked the dashboard-although in the end not with that much force-and whirled around seething. "We've overheated."
"I thought you said you'd fixed that!" Fearon hissed, glaring at the helmsman.
Takar immediately bridled. "I did, dumbass. The ship detected a sudden spike in heat before the whole thing happened. A unnatural surge."
"Nice excuse. How much brain power did it take to come up with that?" Fearon shot back with a verbal arrow.
Lehvahk winced as the harsh sting. "Well ya know...what's done is done." The shooter made a effort to quell the fires, but withered almost immediately under the twin stares of anger. "I'm sorry!" he yelped, diving behind cover again.
He peeked over and sighed in relief when Fearon's shoulders loosened, showing his efforts hadn't been entirely in vain. Lehvahk fist pumped, while Fearon started to talk again, looking anywhere but Takar.
"Alright. Just check whatever's wrong. The rest of us will go outside, and keep watch for any of the shittish dangers this place is supposed to have."
"Fine," Takar replied curtly.
"Fine."
With that, the respective occupants each went their separate ways. Gulping, Lehvahk inched after Fearon. "Uh, just were are we watching from?"
The swordsman only cast the barest glance back at him. "From the sand, of course."
"Err...wouldn't the, ah, runway be better?"
"Come on, Lehvahk," Somra chortled, throwing a arm over his shoulders. Lehvahk jumped and nearly felt his heart stop. "What's the fun in that?"
"Besides," Rahk added, "The vantage point wouldn't help us spot them. Sand beasts are excellent and staying hidden. That, and they can jump. Really well."
Lehvahk winced for what felt like the third time in the last minute. He was partly afraid his face would get stuck like that.
He could show what he could really do. But he was afraid of it as ever. The reason wasn't one he was eager to disclose-even to people like Fearon, who seemed able to see through anything.
One way or another, the others clearly had a different view of, 'fun,' than he did.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The group of four stood silently on the red sand, with the Strikeflier's shadow casting it's wavy mark over the sediment. Somra shifted her feet, staring at the grains with interest. It was said by the Mere tribe that the sand was the product of the countless victims of the Shifting Sands-and the force that controlled it all. The Hive, ever veiled in obscurity.
King Lief and his companions were the only known ones alive to see what lay at the heart of this place. And even then, it had been a bare glimpse of the home of the desert's rulers. Despite herself, Somra couldn't help but imagine...what would it be like to storm the Hive themselves?
She was shaken out of her thoughts by a sharp hiss. A quiet clink of a sword belt was all it took to know Fearon was battle ready. A glance at Scout confirmed the danger. The visorak's back was arched, the short ridge of hair on his spine standing on end. The spiny crest between his eyes had flared orange. Brendon glanced at him and gripped his staff harder.
Somra peered out at the sand. Varons had some of the best eyes of all humanoids, and she raked the desert with them. A small trail of moving sand caught her eye-barely detectable, but there.
"Sand beast," Fearon growled gutturally. "Get ready to deliver hell."
All cohesive thought was gone when the sand erupted before them in a spectacular upheaval. Somra just managed to avoid a claw, Fearon a tail. Scout danced back and let loose a gout of fire. The superheated flame turned the sand into shards of glass, eliciting a hiss from the creature sheltering in the falling sediment. The glass stung the softer undersides of Somra's arms as she rolled out of the way. A purple flare from Brendon's arcane shield showed that he had managed to avoid getting gutted himself.
Rising, the weaponsmaster got her first good look at a Sand Beast. As eager to fight and courageous as she tended to be, Somra was momentarily daunted-and admittedly, scared. The images of the thing she had seen in Neffar's sand wall had not done the true monster justice.
The creature was instectoid, having landed in a crouch in the aftermath of the dramatic entrance. Sand streamed from the chinks in the beast's spiky black carapace as the material flashed in the harsh sun. The antlike head swiveled to follow Fearon as the swordsman made a move to the left. The sand beast took a step forward on bowed legs and swiped at him with scythelike claws. The pincers came next-Fearon parried both, retreating back toward the ship's engine.
The lightning bolt marks indicating the Zephyr's Speed enhancement flashed on his arms. Fearon jumped, using it to land and balance on the Strikeflier's pontoon. Somra could guess several reasons-anything from a brief break to a vantage point to attack.
She felt it was the latter.
The sand beast seemed to gather itself. It looked upward slowly, a horrible squishing creak coming from the joints. Balefully it raised a spiked tail, wicked stinger gleaming wetly. Tendons tensed to pounce.
Somra finally managed to snap out of her mesmerized stance. Shouting, she activated her Black Dragon enhancement. She charged, aiming the spear right at the chink in the sand beast's side.
The creature was faster than she'd bargained for. It twisted, removing the chink from Somra's range of attack and replacing it with carapace. Vicious pincers made to snap at her.
Somra tensed, aware that it would be hard to avert her charge. When the beast lunged, she dropped one foot from under her and slid between the sand beast's legs. The pincers got sand, and more sprayed as the creature readjusted it's angle.
A vicious shout and a clang, burning with the orange glow of fire, was the next thing to sound. The sand beast jerked left, and with a harsh clattering noise of more annoyance than pain, focused on Fearon. Somra rolled back upright and dove back out into the open, managing to deflect the unguided stinger, burnt of the blow lessened by the strength enhancement. The sound of bullets and boom of a rifle confirmed that Lehvahk had finally begun to make himself useful. The little bastard could've done it sooner, Somra thought scornfully.
Purple chains of magic were next to appear. They locked around the sand beast and began to tighten.
Somra caught a brief glance of the effect as she made to regroup with her companions. The sand beast chattered again. Scout hissed, bounding back and forth like a agitated greyhound before releasing another burst of flame. The sand beast took a step or two back from the onslaught of more bullets.
Judging from the creature's lack of real reactions, Somra thought it safe to say that, annoyingly, what they were doing wasn't hurting it much. How friggin tough could a overgrown bug be?
"This isn't godsdamn working," Fearon snarled darkly. "We need a weak point. Something, anything, to exploit."
The tone bothered Somra, but it always did on some subliminal level. Right now there was the immediate concern. "There are chinks, right?"
"It's doing a fuckin good job of keeping them out of reach," Fearon grumbled.
"Maybe the confuse tactic?"
"Maybe. Ai, Lehvahk!" Fearon yelled.
Lehvahk poked his head over his rifle. "Yeah?"
"Fire at the eyes! Brendon, Scout, we need fire!"
The marksman did as told. The sand beast finally seemed to reel with recognizable pain as the bullets showered it's round multi-faced eyes, much to Somra's sadistic delight. Red rune circle glowed on the forehead. A second later, it blew up in a spectaulcar flare of arcane magic. The sand beast screeched in audible pain, Lehvahk's laugh carrying above it. "Oh yeah. I'm awesome!"
Since when could he do that? Somra shrugged it off. She'd ask later.
The sand beast staggered, and both Fearon and Somra charged at once.
Fearon muttered the words of a enhancement that Somra had only heard a few times. Blue fire shaded his form, making him literally into shadows. He struck so quickly Somra saw nothing but a thin band of blue. Green and black insect blood showered, and the sand beast howled. Twin blasts of flame doused it once Fearon had leaped out of range, one from Brendon's spell and the other from Scout's jaws.
Somra went for her turn. The creature, though, had finally seemed to get wise.
Shit.
The thing batted her with the back of a disoriented claw. Somra only suffered one wound, managing to inflict her own blow with her spear. She landed heavily beside Lehvahk, who jumped with a sharp yelp.
The sand beast's head instantly swung their way. The tail came down, aiming right at Lehvahk. He cursed and leaped, jumping the stinger with a hair's breath of distance to spare. Somra struggled to get past the wild beat of her heart and the pounding in her head.
Fearon appeared seemingly from nowhere, but judging from the angle, Somra thought it likely he had launched himself from the sand beast's back. His hands became dyed with orange and red as he activated a flame enhancement. Blades alight, the swordsman sliced the stinger off.
The sand beast reared back, the tail dripping blood and fluid as it writhed like a snake in pain, sizzling and burning. Fearon landed with a pant in front of his two friends.
Lehvahk took the chance to start being annoying again. "You could have helped save my butt a little."
Somra snickered. Even in the midst of battle she couldn't resist a tease. "Probably cause it wasn't worth the effort."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Takar had finished fixing the cooling unit. He stood up and mopped his brow with the back of his hand, grease decorating his fingers. He froze at the sand beast's harsh squeal from the loss of it's stinger. One look out the engine room window was all he needed to know just what had happened.
And gave yet another reason to wonder about the idiocy of his teammates/friends.
Grumbling about, 'godsdamned imbeciles,' Takar stomped back up to the bridge. He brushed a hand across the controls before settling on the firing trigger for the tiny ship's few but powerful broadside cannons, build into the sides of the hanger and hidden behind slats when not in use. The engines hummed as the ship set distance between it and the ground. Snagging the radio comm with one hand, Takar lazily drawled his warning into the loudspeaker. "Clear out, I'm firing the cannons. Unless you want to be blown to smithereens."
Feeling his point suitably made, Takar pressed the button as the Strikeflier listed to the right.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Fearon grabbed both Somra and Lehvahk by the collar and yanked them back, hastily backpedaling.
It turned out the distance was nearly not enough. The broadside cannons fired, the vast amount of crystal energy and arcane ammunition blasting the ground before them full force. More crystallized sand spun in every direction. The sand beast was sent flying, landing in a sprawled heap yards away.
When it stood again, Fearon cursed and reached for his swords. Then the thing hissed, and slunk away behind a dune.
It didn't appear again. The swordsman relaxed slightly, deciding the beast must have decided to flee for now.
Best to get of the ground then.
Pulling Lehvahk behind him, he and Somra made for the Strikeflier, now land bound once more. The pontoons were still humming, the heat causing additional ripples in the hot air. Climbing up the boarding hatch, Fearon dropped Lehvahk and brought a fist down on the button.
The ramp and the hatch closed. A deep growl and a soft whine sounded as the airship lurched up again.
Fearon left Lehvahk slumped against a wall as he attempted to regain his breath. He cared more right now about confronting their ill-tempered pilot than waiting for him or Somra.
Not much to his surprise, Takar completely ignored him as he entered. The kerion didn't even look up when Fearon purposely hit the side of the metal table with his knuckles to get his attention.
Kerion hearing was excellent-everyone knew that. Fearon's temper stoked when he decided that there was no way Takar could have missed his presence after that.
The bastard was pretending to ignore him.
Damn him.
"Hey. Hey, techno recluse."
Takar slammed an access hatch shut, likely with more force than needed. He stood to full height and glared at Fearon, looking down a little to cover the few inch difference in their heights. "What?"
"That was a big gamble." Fearon could just bite back his accusatory note. A bit must have slipped through, though, if the sudden narrowing of the pilot's eyes was anything to go by. "You could've easily blown us up."
"But here you are, all alive." Takar drawled boredly. The relaxed look was an easy veil for the gleam of anger in his red eyes. He wiped at the dust and grease that had smudged his gold brown fur on his arms and brow. "You moved in time, right?"
"Yeah. But we could have been too slow." Fearon always had trouble keeping a civil conversation with the pilot, and his tact was starting to run out. "You could've accidentally blown us to smithereens." The swordsman bitterly quoted Takar's earlier announcement.
Takar settled for staring him down. Fearon was readying another lane of attack when Somra and Brendon marched in, hauling Lehvahk between them.
"Good gods," the blizzarian muttered. He allowed himself to be draped limply onto the bridge seating. "That thing was sure a bit of Hive nastywork."
"Sand beasts aren't part of the Hive," Brendon automatically corrected his friend, much to nearly everyone's amusement. Takar just huffed and turned away, while everyone else began to chuckle. "They just live out here. The Hive doesn't control them-it just controls the desert's weather, and reaps the remains of the sand beast's victims."
Lehvahk seemed to go even paler. "Uhhh...okay. That's way to much info, really. I could have lived all my life without hearing that."
"Better take it to heart." Brendon's smile was humorless. "We will be headed back down there soon."
The marksman's eyes widened. "Uh, are you sure Takar doesn't need any help.."
A low snarl came from the pilot's direction. "Hell no. you'd just break something."
"I swear I wouldn't!"
"Either way..." Somra sidled up behind Lehvahk and tauntingly poked his shoulder. "You're a lot more useful in battle." She sniggered. "As bait."
"Hey!"
as usual, i would appreciate reviews. the anonymous reviewers as well as those with accounts :D