Origin of Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Protector #3)(28)

“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.”