Thomas Reid - The Gossamer Plain

Vhok saw a trio of efreet dematerialize, turning to puffs of ghostly vapor. The gaseous creatures ascended, heading toward the balcony where Zasian pulled on the rope.

Vhok redoubled his efforts.

The priest cried out, struck by a pair of molten beams. Vhok felt a second one strike him, too, and the searing pain was almost too much. He felt himself growing faint, and he had to fight to maintain his grip on the rope.

"Don't slow down!" Zasian shouted. "When you get here, just drop! No levitation! Otherwise, they'll pick us out of the sky!"

Vhok raised his eyebrows at the priest's suggestion, but he didn't stop pulling. Zasian swung one leg over the top of the railing as the cambion drew near. A scorching blast nicked the priest, and another hit the rope, severing it.

Vhok was still a good two paces from Zasian. They both gauged the distance and mutely agreed that it was enough. Simultaneously, they jumped toward each other. Vhok released his magic as he and the priest crashed together. They wrapped their arms around each other as they fell once more.

The efreet's magical rays continued to arc through the sky, but the blasts missed the rapidly descending duo. Vhok fought the urge to slow them down. He knew that the speed of their fall made it difficult for the palace guards to aim, but it went against every fiber of his being to willingly plummet to the flagstones of the courtyard.

The drop seemed to last forever, yet the ground rushed up at them at a terrifying rate. Just when Vhok didn't think he could hold off any longer, Zasian yelled.

"Now!" the priest barked. "Slow us down!"

Vhok willed the magic to take hold, but their momentum and the extra weight strained him to his limits. The cambion felt as if he were being crushed from below, but he managed to arrest most of their downward motion.

They hit the courtyard hard enough to send them sprawling.

Vhok felt the breath driven from his lungs, and he lay for a moment, struggling to regain it. White light marred his vision, and his left shoulder ached where he had landed on it. He would have stayed there longer, but the heat of a fiery ray hit the stones near his cheek, and he jumped up to look for cover.

The expansive courtyard lay well below the rest of the palace grounds. It was more of a natural rock garden than a courtyard, a veritable jungle of stone outcroppings, spindly trees, and tall grasses. The walls surrounding the garden rose thirty feet or more and curved inward near the top; climbing them was near impossible. Vhok was relieved to see that there was no evidence of the endless jets of fire and acrid, stinging smoke so prevalent elsewhere on the plane.

"Come on!" Zasian called. "This way!"

Vhok spotted the priest just ahead of him, charging toward an undercut beneath a large boulder. The efreet still fired their magical rays, and the cambion needed no encouragement to follow the human.

Vhok ducked into a shallow hiding place and crumpled down beside Zasian. Both of them gasped, in pain and out of breath.

"We can't tarry," the priest said, ducking his head out for a quick glimpse. "They're already coming over the wall."

"No time to see if she made it?" Vhok asked. "How can we pass through the portal unless we know?"

Zasian give the half-fiend a hard stare. "What other choice do we have?" he asked. "All we've fought for-all we've struggled against-has been to put us in this position. Do you fear to take the final step now?"

Vhok sucked in air. "No," he said after only a moment's hesitation. "She'll be there."

Zasian nodded. "Then let's go. It rests at the far end of this enclosure. If we can reach it, they won't follow." The priest risked another quick glance, ducked back in when a singeing blast smacked against the rock near his head, then said, "Now!"

Together, Vhok and his companion rushed from their shelter. The shouts of pursuing efreet followed them, but they did not slow down. Racing from cover to cover, the pair charged through the undergrowth, using the environment to shield them from their pursuers. Vhok felt the hot burning of a ray strike his back, and he nearly lost his footing as the searing pain overwhelmed him, but he managed to stay upright.

The shouts of the chase never wavered.

All at once, as the two of them raced around a jagged spire of rock, Zasian slowed. Vhok nearly collided with the priest, but he veered to one side just in time. The cambion stared where his companion did. At first, he couldn't see what Zasian had spotted, but then it became clear to him, and he gasped.

A gargantuan serpentine body lay unmoving, coiled around a great chunk of basalt as big as a house that thrust up from the floor of the courtyard only a few paces away. The creature's scales glimmered purple-blue in the orange light of the sky. Vhok could see no sign of a head. He assumed it would lie on the far side of the basalt.

A ray of scorching energy whizzed over Vhok's shoulder. The beam struck the massive flank of the resting serpent squarely. With a shudder, the beast began to uncoil. Its head rose into view, towering over the cambion and the priest.

The snake peered down at the two intruders in its lair. It hissed and opened its mouth, lunging forward to strike.

Vhok swallowed his terror and held still. For the second time, he fought against his instincts. One part of his mind tried to make his body run, but he held his ground. Indeed, he took a step closer to the massive snake, more into the open.

Beside the cambion, Zasian seemed rooted to the spot. The priest muttered something under his breath, and Vhok saw that he held his pendant firmly in one hand.

The snake's head descended toward them, mouth gaping. The maw was large enough to engulf both humanoids.

"Get ready!" Zasian shouted. Vhok had no idea what the priest meant, but the great mouth closed the distance between them before he could ask. "Now!" Zasian screamed. "Jump into it!"

Refusing to dwell on the idiocy of leaping into a giant snake's mouth, Vhok vaulted forward. Together, the duo landed on the lower jaw, just clearing the fangs. The snake clamped its mouth down, engulfing the pair in darkness. Vhok felt tissue and muscle enclose him, smelled the stench of the creature's flesh and venom surrounding him.

The cambion wanted to scream. The sensation of being trapped overwhelmed, terrified him. He flailed about, suddenly desperate to get out. He felt his arm strike Zasian, sensed the priest squirming just ahead of him. Saliva drenched the half-fiend. The snake's insides pushed against him, sliding him along. He was being swallowed whole.

Oh, by the fell fiends, he thought, frantic to be free again, what have I done? Nothing is worth this!

Vhok kept his eyes and mouth shut as he slid along. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe. The sting of acids irritated his exposed skin. The constant pressure of muscle squeezed him, crushed him. He could only wiggle, and just barely.

Please, Aliisza. Be there. Hurry.

Vhok could feel himself swaying, and he wondered if the snake was moving.

Something hard struck him in the head. Zasian's boot, he realized. The priest was trying to kick.

My blade, Vhok thought, past the point of panic. Got to reach Burnblood! Cut my way free!

But of course, his arms were immobile, pinned against his body.

He was going to die, digested within the snake.

Aliisza quaked in the water, watching the storm dragon hover over her. She hadn't expected him to speak to her. That wasn't part of the plan. Zasian had never mentioned it.

She wondered what to do next. She wanted to flee.

Instinct overcame rational thought and she turned and began swimming away. She paddled furiously with Kael's strong muscles, pulling for all she was worth toward the shore. It was so tantalizingly close, and yet so far away.