A Destiny of Dragons (Tales From Verania #2)(116)

But what stuck out at me the most aside from the sheer horror of it, the size of this thing crawling toward me, were the seashells that looked as if they were embedded into its skin, shells that were green and gold and red and white and jutted out from its face and neck and shoulders.

“Sam!” Gary called.

“Yes, Gary.”

“Now would probably be a good time to run.”

“Thank you, Gary.”

“Also, Sam?”

“Yes, Gary.”

“There’s another one crawling up on the other side.”

“Godsdammit,” I said as we whirled around, because sure enough, another horror was crawling up and out of the sand, moving toward us as if it had all the time in the world. “I am going to have such fucking nightmares after this.”

“Maybe we should—” I heard Kevin start.

“No,” I shouted at them. “You stay back there, you hear me? Don’t. Not until—”

Wizard, the voice sang, from the heart of the ruins or in my mind, I didn’t know. Come to me.

“Fuck,” I said, bending over and clutching my head. I felt Ryan put a hand on my back, anchoring me with his presence. “It’s calling me. We have to—”

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Ruv said, sounding far calmer than he should have been. “I’m going to draw them away. And you’re going to get to the island as quickly as possible. Don’t stop. Don’t look back. The path curves left, then right, then left one more time. Ryan, do you see that large stone? Looks like a tree.”

“Yeah. I see it.”

“That’s where the path ends. Get him there.”

“What are you going to do?” Ryan asked, sounding dubious. “You can’t go out onto the sand. They’ll pull you under.”

I looked up as Ruv said, “Not if they can’t catch me.” There was a glint in his eyes that I didn’t like, but before I could say anything about it, he pulled the wooden contraption off his back and threw it out onto the sand to the right, off the path. It landed but didn’t sink. And as soon as it hit the sand, it popped open, the wooden slats snapping on the metal hinges, until it was a long, thin board, curved up along the edges. A wooden pole shot up in the middle, the cloth tied to either end. The wind blowing over the surface of the sand sea caught the cloth, and it billowed out, like a sail. The board began to slide along the sand.

“Holy shit,” I said. “Are you going to ride that?”

The Wolf of Bari Lavuta winked at me, a cheeky grin on his face. “Told you I knew what I was doing.” And then he took a few steps back, bounced on his heels once, twice. He took four running steps forward and jumped, then landed on top of the board. It caught his weight and sank the slightest amount into the sand before it bounced back up and skittered along the surface. The sail flapped, and the momentum of his jump caused the board to pick up speed, away from us and toward the sand mermaid. Ruv bent his knees and jutted his hips, turning the board to the left.

“That’s not something you see every day,” I said.

“I bet I could do that if I wanted to,” Ryan said, though he too sounded impressed.

“Over here!” Ruv yelled. “Come and get me!”

The sand mermaid let out an unholy roar, something that caused my bones to ache. Its tail snapped back and forth, and for a moment, I thought it was going to reach out and pull him right off the board, but he moved at the last second, directing himself toward the large sand dune that surrounded one side of the valley we were in. It began to chase after him, sand shooting up around it as it dove under the surface.

“Crap,” Ryan said. “Where’d the other one go?”

He was right. It was gone too. The sand rippled, but there was no sight of it.

“It went back under,” Kevin called out. “When the other one did. Maybe you guys should consider moving your asses?”

“Don’t be salty,” Gary said. “But he’s right. Move your fucking asses.”

I took a step toward the island and stumbled as there was another blast of something from the island, my head spinning with so many colors that it felt like I was choking on them. I pitched forward and thought, Oh fuck oh fuckohfuckohfuck, but a strong hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me back right before I fell off the path. Ryan pulled my back to his chest, wrapping an arm around me.

“That was close,” he breathed in my ear. “Don’t suppose you’d consider letting me carry you?”

I turned my head to glare at him. “Are you out of your mind? I’m not some damsel in distress that you need—”

“Right,” he said. “Because right now you’d choose to be difficult. And notice how I am not bringing up the whole damsel thing, even though you technically just swooned right in front of me.”

“That’s such crap, and you know it—”

“Are you guys really doing this right now?” Gary bellowed. “Oh my gods, you idiots, run!”

“Move, Sam!” Tiggy yelled. “Don’t get eaten! I would cry!”

“You heard him,” I said. “I would feel guilty for the rest of my life if I died. We should probably avoid that if possible.”

“Fine,” Ryan said. He let me go but trailed his hand down until he caught mine, holding tight. “I lead. You follow. Got it?”