Twins
Page 2
“Stay there,” Tieran said, hoping his aevian would hurry. “I’ll come over there. You’ve got a better position.”
Tieran looked around, seeing another group of sailfins break away from the main pack and start heading their direction. He took a step forward, and his foot didn’t find any resistance. With a cry, Tieran slipped down into the sands.
Tieran felt panic claw through him as sand filled in over his head, pressing in around him. Light vanished, and he sank deeper and deeper into the sailfin nest. He forced his eyes shut and felt his lungs burn as sand pressed into his mouth and nose, cutting off his air. He let go of his sword and scrabbled for something to slow his descent, but his hands only found the smooth walls that marked a sailfin’s passing through the sand, the energy crackling around them melting the sand into a fine, crystalline glass.
No! Not like this!
He struggled, but his movements only made him sink faster.
No!
His arm hit something solid. No, someone grabbed his arm, and he stopped slipping down into the sands. The pressure on his arm increased, and he felt himself rising again. Patches of white appeared in his vision behind his eyelids, and his lungs burned from lack of air. He felt his arm break the surface, and after a moment, his head popped up through the sand as well. He sucked in air and ended up with a mouthful of sand. He coughed and spluttered but sucked in air like he would never draw another breath.
“Come on, idiot,” Sarial hissed, pulling him the rest of the way out of the nest. “Get up! Move!”
Tieran struggled to his feet, his muscles weak and his mind still half starved for air and slow to process information. He stumbled and would have tripped if Sarial hadn’t been there to hold him up. He blinked a half dozen times, trying to clear the sand out of his eyes. A gust of wind buffeted them, and Sarial tugged at Tieran’s shoulder, steering him to one side. Light glinted off metal as a lance appeared and skewered a sailfin that had burst out of the sand near them, pinning it to the ground.
“Over here, Tieran!” Sarial hissed, tugging him along.
She pulled him over to where—remarkably—his aevian waited, shifting his wings in obvious agitation. She pushed him up onto the aevian’s back and then leapt up after him.
“Let’s go!”
The aevian spread his wings and leapt into the air.
* * *
Khari grabbed them both the moment they landed atop their clan’s warren. It had taken them a lot longer to get back than it had to leave that morning. Tieran’s aevian had to stop several times to rest since it was carrying two instead of just the one.
“What in the seven hells were you thinking?” Khari shouted, rushing up to them.
Tieran winced as he dismounted and fell to the ground. He ached all over and felt as exhausted as he ever had before. Sarial leapt down behind him. How was she still so spry?
“I couldn’t let her die.”
“You could have been killed! You risked us losing you both!”
“But we’re alive, so no harm done,” Tieran said. His voice sounded weary and hollow, even to him. “I know I’m in trouble, OK? Can we just skip the lecture for now? Please? I’d really just like to sit for a moment.”
Khari’s eyes flashed, but she didn’t press him any further. “We’ll discuss your punishment later, Tieran. You’re not seriously injured, are you?”
Tieran shook his head. He was sore and had a couple of small nicks and cuts on his arms and face, but other than that he was fine. He’d heal at least.
“Good.” Khari turned on her heel and strode away. Tieran sighed and sank down onto the ground, his hands shaking. The other warriors strode by and nodded at him. They seemed to have respect and admiration in their eyes as they looked at him. Soon, only Tieran and Sarial remained.
“What were you thinking?” Sarial pressed after a long silence.
Tieran shook his head. “I didn’t think. I just reacted.”
“You’re a fool,” Sarial said, then she bent and hugged him.
If a sailfin had appeared right then and eaten them both, Tieran wouldn’t have been more stunned. In all their sixteen years, he couldn’t remember a time when his sister had hugged him.
“Thank you,” she said and released him, looking embarrassed.
Tieran couldn’t help it. He laughed.
“What are you laughing about? We nearly died today. You know that, right? You nearly got us both killed just to save me.” Sarial snapped, looking confused.
Tieran grinned and shook his head, running a hand through his damp, matted hair.
“Life’s too short not to laugh when there’s time,” he said. “Besides, you’re serious enough for the both of us.”
Sarial glared at him and threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.
“You really are a fool.”
Tieran just laughed.
Kevin L. Nielsen
Kevin L. Nielsen’s journey into writing began in the 6th grade when an oft-frustrated school librarian told him there simply wasn’t enough money in the budget to buy any more books. He’d read them all. She politely suggested he write his own. He owes his publishing debut to the LTUE Symposium, a purple shirt, and a passing editor who didn’t mind some mild sarcasm. Kevin writes epic, young adult, and urban fantasy. His writing group, Team Unleashed, keeps him grounded and away from purple prose about falcons, dragons, and world-building. Kevin currently resides in Utah with his amazing wife and two wonderful children. He’s still writing and continuing a lifelong quest to become a dragon rider.
You can find Kevin at kevinlnielsen.com.