by Linsey Hall
“It’s always summer in the gauntlet.” Bree laid her foot on the gas, speeding toward the golden, rolling sand dunes.
I called upon my magic, conjuring a long blade. But if there were going to be snakes… I conjured a shield as well, handing it to Ares. Then I conjured another.
As soon as the buggy passed over onto the sand, it slowed slightly, the tires plowing over the golden stuff.
Suddenly, the heat was intense, a pounding fire that beat down upon my head. Sweat rolled down my face. I’d been in deserts before, even magically enchanted ones, but this was incredible.
Rain began to fall from the sky, sizzling when it hit the hood of the buggy. A drop hit me, burning like fire. I yelped.
Acid rain. Made of actual acid.
Ana knelt on the platform, raising her hands to the sky. Her magic swelled, bringing with it the scent of rain, and it shined from her hands, forming a barrier over us like a dome. The magic was gray and opaque, some kind of surreal mist that blocked the sun and acid rain.
I had no idea what her gift was, but it was working. The heat lowered to a bearable level. But Ana looked like she was about to collapse, the effort making sweat pour down her face and her muscles tremble—as if she were Atlas, holding up the world.
“Ana’s got the heat under control,” Bree yelled. “But it’s all you now! Goggles on!”
A moment later, sand whirled up to form a tornado around us. It pinged against my goggles, blurring my vision even more. But through the whirlwind, I caught sight of a slender green whip of a thing.
Snake!
It darted toward me, fangs white enough to shine. I thrust my shield up, swinging out with my sword. The blade sliced through the neck of the beast. The head dropped to the ground.
From the back platform, Ares took out one of his own. Ahead, Ana kept the blazing sun off us. The wide back seat made a pretty good platform for fighting sand snakes, which popped up every few meters, striking for the vehicle. Some collided with the spikes, shriveling and dying within moments. But those with better aim, I took care of.
One struck straight for Bree, fast as lighting. I lunged for it, slicing it through the body as her hand whipped out and grabbed it around the neck, squeezing it tight. She kept her other hand on the wheel.
I laughed, amazed at her shear badassery. She was only a teenager.
She chucked the snake to the dirt and put her hand back on the wheel, driving us over the sand dunes like a pro while her partner held the weight of the sun on her shoulders.
Finally, after we’d slain countless snakes and Ana looked like she was about to pass out, we exited the sand dunes. The sandstorm died and the valley opened up in front of us. Ana dropped her shield and the sunlight returned, the heat dissipating and the horrible acid rain disappearing. Immediately, Ana collapsed into the front seat, panting.
“Not bad!” Bree shouted.
I stood on the seat, surveying the terrain that we’d driven into. The mountains still loomed on either side and the desert stretched out in front of us. Scrub brush grew low on the grounding patches, eking out a living in this tough terrain.
“You guys been doing this long?” I shouted.
“Three years.” Ana dug some water out of the footwell of the buggy and tossed us bottles. “It suits our magic, which can be a little out of control sometimes.”
“Doesn’t matter in the valley,” Bree said.
She had a point. Cass had once had a lot of trouble controlling her magic. This would have been a good place for her. Out here, there was nothing but sand and monsters to witness your wildness.
Bree stopped the buggy and jumped out, a steel tank of compressed air under her arm. She refilled the tires, then climbed back in and cranked on the engine. It roared to life and we zoomed off.
Wind whipped my hair as we drove through the valley, having a brief reprieve from the challenges. We passed a ghost town in the distance. The sight of the empty ramshackle buildings sent a shiver down my spine. What had happened to those people?
Bree slowed the buggy and called out, “Almost there!”
Eventually, she pulled to a stop beside a large crater. It at least half a mile across, with sides that sloped down to a flat bottom hundreds of feet below. Though it appeared empty, dark magic welled up from the bowl, making me shiver.
“This is where we leave you,” Ana said. “Good luck.”
“Any tips?” I asked.
She grinned. “Don’t die.”
“And Hider’s Haven is a bit farther along,” Bree said. “Won’t be easy to get to, especially if you don’t have an invitation.”
Shoot, we definitely didn’t have one of those. Not that we could worry about it now. I climbed down out of the buggy, followed by Ares. The girls looked down at us from their seats.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said. “You sure you’ll make it back across okay?”
They grinned. Bree said, “We’ve got some aces up our sleeves. We’ll be fine.”
“Really?”
“The desert takes a rest at dusk,” Ana said. “Only quiet time of the day. It’s why we schedule our journeys like this. Gives us a chance to get back safely. You were just lucky you showed up when you did or we’d have had to wait till tomorrow to cross.”
“Be sure to get across the crater before dark, though,” Bree said.
The sun was hovering just over the horizon, shedding an orange glow over the desert. It was gorgeous, but in a threatening way, because it didn’t give us long.
“Can’t we go around?” I asked.
“No can do.” Ana shook her head. “Gotta earn your way into Hider’s Haven, and crossing the crater is part of that. If you cheat, the next phase of the journey won’t be revealed to you.”
Damn. Sometimes magic was a pain in the butt.
“And I suggest camping out overnight once you reach the other side,” Bree said. “Just take a snooze and wait for daylight.”
“Yeah.” Ana grimaced. “Don’t want to meet the creatures that go bump in the night here.”
“Thanks,” I said.
They waved goodbye, then peeled away, tires kicking up dust. I hoped they made it back safe.
I turned, surveying the terrain. The crater was deep—at least four hundred feet down—but the sides were sloped enough that we wouldn’t have to rappel. To my left, there was a sign with a picture of a falling man and the words Don’t Fall In.
Ha.
I looked at Ares. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
“I guess the plan is simple. Fight whatever comes at us.”
He grinned. “Works for me.”
Man, this was so different than working at my shop. There, I was in control. The unexpected happened—but it was always the same variety of unexpected. Demons breaking in, thieves trying to get away with our hard work. I knew how to take care of that.
But this… this was all different kinds of unexpected. And that’s where the trouble was.
I saluted Ares and stepped off the ledge, skidding along the slope down into the crater. The gravel was loose under foot, and a breeze blew my hair back as I slid down. I felt a huge grin stretch across my face. I was sliding into danger, but this part was fun.
Ares and I reached the bottom at the same time. It was darker in the pit, shadows cast by the setting sun.
“Warmer here,” Ares said.
“Yeah. Feels like the crater trapped the heat.” The other side was probably about half a mile away. A shame we couldn’t transport across. Even if it wasn’t impossible, it violated the earn your way in rule. That meant crossing the crater.
I bent down and picked up a rock, then hurled it into the middle of the crater. It landed about fifty meters away. Not the worst throw. Thankfully, it didn’t sink into the ground. “No quicksand there. You try.”
Ares picked up a rock and hurled it. His bounced to the ground about a hundred meters in the distance. He picked up another and threw it farther. It, too, bounced.
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“Good enough for me.” I stretched, meeting his gaze. “Ready to run?”
“Let’s do it.”
“Go faster than me if you need to. I can take care of myself.”
“Sure.”
“Ha. Liar.” It was in his eyes. He wouldn’t leave me.
“Don’t worry about it.” He took off, sprinting ahead of me.
I followed, close at his heels. As expected, he didn’t race ahead of me.
At first, it was fine. The heat sent sweat rolling down my spine and my breath came hard as I sprinted. We made it halfway across before the air turned cold, an icy chill that smelled of snow and felt like a dark winter night. A bit like Ares’s magical signature, but not.
It was more than normal cold, and fear shivered over me, raising the hair on my arms.
Ahead of us, the air shimmered, coalescing into the forms of men and women. They glowed a transparent blue.
Oh, hell. “Phantoms.”
Chapter Nine
Most were dressed in old-timey wear, like the hapless souls who’d crossed this desert in carriages in the nineteenth century, looking for a better life. They hadn’t found it. They’d died here.
“They’ll go for your worst memories or fears.” I panted. “Try to close off your mind.”
Easier said than done. There was no fighting Phantoms with blade or bow. Only Del could do that, because she was half Phantom. I was about to press my fingertips to my comms charms and call her when the Phantoms surged forward.
They were fast. And hungry.
Within a second, they were nearly upon us, their soulless eyes devouring us. I felt the cold tendrils of their magic inside my mind, reaching for my darkest memories and dredging fear to the surface.
Too late to call Del.
I sprinted forward, trying to avoid them. We just had to get past them before their influence drove us to our knees with misery and pain.
But that was the hard part. Their dark magic seeped inside my mind, tendrils of dark mist that pulled at memories of my time in the Monster’s dungeon. Of being all alone in the dark and the cold. Once again, I was fourteen, huddled against the wall of my cell.
Then an image of my deirfiúr, killed by Drakon. Their bodies, lifeless in the dirt.
A sob burst from my chest, but I pushed myself faster, running past Phantoms who tore at my mind with their magic. They reached for us, flowing toward us as we passed their haunting grounds. I dodged around them.
A glance at Ares showed his face twisted with pain. What was he reliving?
There were more Phantoms ahead, and we were only a quarter of the way through the crater. My muscles weakened as I ran, as if the strain on my mind were too much for my body.
“Failure,” one of the Phantoms hissed.
“Unworthy,” hissed another.
They’d found other fears to go for. I could feel their glee at my pain, a dark magic that pulsed on the air.
I sprinted harder, but somehow only managed to run slower. They were too strong, too fierce. And we were only halfway across.
We wouldn’t make it.
“Go!” I cried to Ares. He was fast enough.
But he stuck by my side, actually veering closer. Like he was considering picking me up or something. But that wouldn’t work. He’d still be too slow.
We wouldn’t make it across. He wouldn’t make it across. Images of him being devoured by the Phantoms’ dark magic streaked through my mind. I couldn’t bear it.
I stumbled, going to my knees. He dragged me up, though he didn’t look much stronger than I was. The strain was too much. The misery overwhelming.
Desperate, I called upon my new destroyer magic. I’d never successfully thrown it before, and it wouldn’t work against Phantoms, but I had to try. There was nothing left to do but try. I gathered it inside myself, then hurled it outward at the Phantom who reached for me.
A blast of gray smoke collided with him and he stumbled back. Victory and hope lightened my heart, lending strength to my muscles.
Until he surged forward, stronger than ever. He glowed brighter, his magic battering my mind. Pain surged through my skull, a migraine that would lay me out if I weren’t so driven by adrenaline and fear.
The Phantom had liked the destruction power. Of course he had.
And why was I throwing that at him, anyway? I was Life. It was such a weird power to have.
I shouldn’t be using that. It was counter to my very being.
Instinctually, I called upon the magic at the core of my being. Not a magical gift, like conjuring or destroying, but the power that actually fueled those gifts. The power that lived within my soul. It was raw magical energy, the battery that fueled my magic. I’d never used it this way before—I didn’t know that it was even possible—but fear could make a person try crazy things.
The magic was a golden light inside my chest, fierce and strong. I let it free, calling it up from inside myself until it filled me with warmth and hope. I sprinted through the Phantoms who stood between me and the other side, stumbling only once.
I gathered up the magic like it was spun gold, then threw out my hands and hurled it at the nearest Phantom.
Golden light shot from my palm, colliding with the monster. He shriveled to nothing in an instant, blinking out of existence like he’d never been.
Shock stole my breath—though that could have been all the sprinting—and I tried it again, this time aiming for a group of Phantoms coming for Ares.
The golden light flashed, hurtling from my palm and colliding with the oncoming enemy. They blinked out of existence, the magic too much for them.
We had a chance!
We were still fifty meters away from the other side of the crater. I was beyond exhausted, and there were at least a dozen Phantoms between us and safety.
But I had a weapon.
“On your left!” Ares shouted.
I threw a blast of golden light at the Phantoms. It was smaller this time, but it collided with two of them and obliterated their glowing blue forms. We dodged the next group, my legs straining and my lungs aching. Though they ran to keep up with us, we were just fast enough.
There was one last group between us and the other side. Five Phantoms, all with their arms outstretched and their gazes hungry. There’d be no dodging this many—not when they stood directly in front of us.
I gathered up the last of my magic, every single bit of it, and hurled it at them. Golden light burst from my palms, flashing toward them. It bowled the Phantoms over, destroying them in seconds.
Joy surged in my chest as exhaustion dragged at my legs. But we made it to the edge and began to claw our way upward. My lungs burned and my muscles ached. I scrambled toward the top on hands and knees. Ares wasn’t doing much better, the mental strain of the Phantoms was enough to give even him trouble.
We reached the rim and I scrambled up, flopping onto my back and panting as sweat rolled down my face. It was warmer up here, the unnatural chill of the Phantoms long gone. I rolled over and peered into the crater below.
It was empty, as barren as when we’d first looked into it. Though we’d left some Phantoms behind, they’d disappeared as soon as we had left.
“Well done, Nix.” Ares panted, rising to sit at the edge.
I dragged myself up into a sitting position, scooting toward him. The sun had sunk fully behind the horizon and the dark was creeping in on us.
“What kind of magic was that?” he asked.
“I have no idea.” But I felt empty inside, totally exhausted. “I think it was my core magic. I just threw it out of me. I didn’t even know I could do something like that.”
“You blasted them with life.”
“Maybe?” It sounded crazy, but… “I guess it makes sense. If the plants on Elesius all died to give me their magic, that’s what it would be, right?”
“I think so.” He reached for my hand, squeezing. “You saved us back there. Phantoms… I’ve only ever heard of them. They’
re worse than I ever realized they could be.”
I shuddered at the memory of the horrible fears they’d dredged up, the awful things they’d made me relive. “They’re the worst. Something so terrible that you can’t even fight.”
“But you can fight them.”
“I guess I can. Now.” I smiled. That was a good power to have. Except for the fact that I was tapped out. I could feel the slightest tingle of magic inside me. My power had started to regenerate, a battery recharging, but it’d take more rest.
And now was truly the worst time to have no magic. It was dark, the air was growing colder, and I was thirsty. Soon, I’d be hungry. “I’m pretty tapped out. Won’t be able to conjure water or a tent for a while.”
Ares started to rise. “I’ll go look for water.”
“No.” I reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling him down. “Remember what Bree and Ana said? We need to hang tight when it gets dark. Who knows what’s out there?”
“My vision is good. I’d see them coming.”
“All the same, I don’t think we should separate.” I tugged his arm again, and he sat. “I’ll be able to conjure some simple things soon. Then we’ll camp out till morning.”
He sighed, then sat. “All right.”
He tugged me closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. His warmth flowed into me, seeping into my tired muscles. I sagged against him.
“How’s your hearing?” I asked. “Extra good, right?”
“I’ll be able to hear any approaching threats, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That’s what I’m asking.” I leaned my head against his shoulder, enjoying the closeness. “Though I do trust Bree and Ana. If they said to camp here, it’s safe.”
“Mostly.”
I laughed, but he was right. You never could quite tell what would come at you. And those girls were so brave that their idea of safe could still be pretty dangerous.
The night grew darker as I rested against Ares. Wind whistled and the air grew cooler. Stars came out, glittering high in the sky above. Eventually, I had enough power to conjure us some water and sandwiches, along with a big sleeping bag.
