Black Pyramid at setting sun

  Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.

  Reeves dropped his spear, grabbed Araynia, hauled her bodily to the door of the wagon and threw her inside. “HEAL HIM!” he screamed.

  Araynia pushed herself to her knees, gritting her teeth. She was getting tired of being thrown around. “I need my pendant!” she shouted back.

  There was some more yelling outside, then the Angel Commander reappeared at the doorway, tossing the blue gemstone inside. His gaze went to the back of the wagon, then to her, and she noted the fear crawling underneath his anger.

  Then he was gone.

  Picking up her pendant, she moved to the Angel Legionnaire who was resting with his good side against a pile of silks at the rear of the wagon. His armour and upper clothing had been removed, leaving his torso bare apart from the bandages binding his left wing to his shoulder. He looked as though he had just awoken.

  Araynia approached him nervously. It was hot and stuffy inside the wagon, though two barred windows let in a little air and long, orange claws of light.

  “Something is… happening, outside,” the Angel said groggily.

  Araynia nodded, her own heart racing. She had no idea what that black pyramid object was, but the fact that it had panicked Reeves terrified her. “I must heal you,” she told him, “quickly. If… if that is alright,” she added shyly.

  The Angel looked at her with wonder in his brown eyes, and nodded.

  Araynia began to remove his bandages, as quickly and gently as she could. “My name is Lady Araynia,” she told him as she worked.

  “Lieutenant Tan… Daran,” he replied. “T… Tander.”

  “You saved my life,” she said. “Thank you.”

  He winced. "You are... welcome,” he muttered, then paused. “Who was… trying to kill you?”

  She swallowed. “Bladeshifters. They know that I am a…” she hesitated. “That I am… a sorcerer.”

  Tander was silent for a moment. “And your friend?”

  “Sergeant Flint, of the Freeroamers. He is well.”

  He shook his head. “I have never seen anything so… remarkable.”

  Blushing, Araynia placed the pendant carefully against his wound, holding his broken wing steady with her other hand.

  Ben climbed into the wagon, hurriedly making his way over to them. “How long’s this going to take?” he asked anxiously. “That Black Pyramid thing is coming in fast…”

  “Not long,” Araynia replied. “It—”

  Tander attempted to sit up, becoming agitated, and cringed in pain. “A Black Pyramid?!” he gasped. “Oh gods!! Li… LI! Where is she?!”

  “Please!” Araynia tried to hold the Angel. “Keep still!”

  “Li’s fine!” Ben assured him. “She’s with the Dragon.”

  But the Angel remained distressed, his breathing rapid. “No… no, you don’t understand! We… cannot stay here! The Black Pyramid… felled Caer Sync!”

  Araynia exchanged a look with Ben, the blood draining from both of their faces.

  Letting out a curse, Ben left Araynia and Tander and scrambled from the wagon, leaping down into sand tinged burnt orange in the final rays of light. Glancing to the west, he saw that the Pyramid was much closer, an ominous shadow advancing rapidly upon them. He took off running, straight between Reeves and Nix engaged in a heated argument, sprinting towards the Dragon.

  Reeves’ anguished cry was so surprisingly full of emotion that it brought Ben to a halt.

  “I WILL NOT LEAVE HIM BEHIND!!”

  He looked back to see the white-winged Angel stalk over to the side of the wagon and lean against it, putting his face in his hand.

  Damn, Ben thought, stunned. He does actually care about someone other than himself…

  But he had more important things to worry about than the Sky Legion…

  He raced back to Li, Flint and the White Dragon.

  The Dragon was awake now, struggling to push herself to her feet. Her wings lifted away, leaving Flint lying exposed on the sand. Li knelt beside him, swamped by his hat and clutching the crossbow to her chest, staring up wide-eyed at the approaching Black Pyramid. As soon as Ben arrived, she jumped to her feet.

  “Is Tander okay?”

  Ben leaned on his knees, panting. “Yeah, I think so.” I hope Araynia can heal him in time, he thought worriedly, but did not say so to Li. He looked up at the Dragon. “But we’ve got… a bigger problem…”

  The Dragon whined, a mournful sound like a dying flute. She stumbled, attempting to drag herself through the sand. Her infected back leg did not appear to be functional at all.

  Warning Li to keep her distance lest the Dragon fall, Ben dropped beside Flint and shook him roughly.

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  “C’mon, damn it!” he yelled. “Wake up!”

  The Freeroamer remained unresponsive.

  In frustration, Ben slapped him hard in the face.

  Nothing.

  Ben slapped him again.

  He was about to go a third time when Flint sat up with a startled jerk. “Wha…? What the hell??”

  Ben was so relieved he almost collapsed, but he couldn’t afford the luxury. “Flint, get up,” he said at once. Grabbing the man’s arm, he tried to haul him to his feet, but the effort was about as successful as trying to uproot a tree.

  “Get up now!” Ben cried. “FLINT, GET UP NOW!”

  Flint got the message, scrambling to his feet. Turning, he caught sight of the Black Pyramid.

  He rubbed at his eyes, as though he were still dreaming. “What the bloody demons is that?!”

  “The thing that brought down Caer Sync!”

  Flint gaped at the boy. Then he looked around frantically. “Where’s me hat?!”

  Li appeared next to him, holding out his hat.

  Flint took it and jammed it on his head, then took his crossbow back from her. “Cheers, Li!

  “Right,” he said determinedly, checking that the bow was still loaded and that everything was in working order. “As soon as somethin’ gets close enough to shoot, I’m shootin’ it in the face…”

  Ben sighed in exasperation. “I don’t think we can shoot that thing, Flint! We have to get Araynia and, and get away from here as fast as possible! Or at least find cover!”

  He looked up in despair at the Dragon, who had sunk back onto the sand, her head drooping.

  “It’s going to kill the Dragon! It’s going to kill the Dragon, or turn her into a wraith, or, or…” Pacing around in circles, running his hands through his hair, he could feel himself panicking, his heartbeat too fast. “W-what are we going to do??”

  “Kid, calm down!” Flint’s hand was suddenly on his shoulder. “There ain’t nothin’ we can do about the Dragon. Where’s the Lady?”

  Ben pointed. “In… in the wagon.”

  “Right.” He took off running in that direction.

  Ben and Li were left in nervous silence.

  “Ben,” Li said suddenly, in a quiet voice. “Where are we going to go when we die?”

  It was such an unexpected question that Ben’s panic fell in a startled heap. He stared at her.

  Darkness was falling rapidly now, and it was not the normal onset of dusk. The Angel girl was a pale figure in the grey gloom, her large, dark eyes unnaturally bright.

  “What? I… I dunno. I don’t think we go anywhere when we die. We just… die.” As soon as he said the words, the beautiful shining memory of Requar appeared in his mind, and the awful, twisted demon-wraiths, and Carmine, and Hawk…

  He took a deep breath. “Look, I dunno, it’s complicated, but I think we should avoid it happening for as long as possible, okay?”

  Li said nothing. She turned and looked up at the Pyramid, which was now looming horrifically close, like a small mountain, shadow leaching out of it like ink, obscuring its form and darkening the sky.

  “Maybe it doesn’t want to kill us?” she murmured. “Maybe it’s a God?”

  Ben frowned at her, disturbed. “Then it’s not any God I want anything to do with!” He glanced up at the Dragon, who had given up struggling to move and sat resigned on the sand. Her huge silver eyes turned to look at him, but the expression within their gleaming depths was unreadable, and streaked with the reflection of the encroaching black horror.

  He swallowed back his sadness, wiping away stray tears. “We have to get away from here,” he told the girl. “We have to make sure that Lady Araynia survives. She’s important.”

  He reached out to take her small hand. “C’mon. Stay with me and we’ll be alright. Okay?”

  Li looked up at him. Finally, she nodded.

  Ben led her after Flint, at a run. After a few yards, she released Ben’s hand and took to the air, flying ahead into the murky twilight.

  They joined the rest of the group, who were gathered around the wagon, just as Tander stepped down from it, dressed once more in his armour and white coat. Turning, he helped Araynia down. Her pendant remained aglow in her hand, providing a cool blue illumination.

  To one side, the green-winged Angel Nix sat in the sand, apparently in a great deal of distress. Helmet and spear discarded, his fingers were clutched into his hair, and he was rocking slightly. “We are all going to die!” he kept repeating in panic. “We are all going to die! We are all… going… to die…!”

  Flint was crouched beside him, trying futilely to talk sense into him.

  Araynia went over at once, and began speaking to him softly.

  Commander Reeves appeared from the left, carrying a small travelling lantern. “Lieutenant Tander,” he said in an uncharacteristically subdued voice. “Are you well?”

  “Yes Sir,” he replied, flexing his newly-repaired wings.

  Reeves continued to stare at him, his face haunted.

  Tander stepped forward, placing a hand on the Commander’s shoulder. “Reeves,” he said. “I am all right.”

  Reeves inclined his head by way of acknowledgement. “Nix is not,” he said.

  Araynia was trying to convince him to touch the pendant, but he refused. “Stay away from me!” he cried. “Get away!”

  There was a spine-chilling sound from behind them, as the Dragon let out a single, drawn-out, mournful wail.

  Everyone fell silent, including Nix.

  The darkness had become so thick now that neither the Dragon or the Pyramid could be seen. Araynia’s pendant faded and went out, as did Reeves’ lantern.

  They were left engulfed in pitch blackness.

  Nix began to whimper. Ben felt Li’s hand find his and clutch it tightly.

  “Nobody move,” Flint’s voice growled. “Till we know what we’re dealin’ with.”

  “I dare say we won’t know what that is until we are already dead!” Reeves snapped.

  Silence fell – a terrible, deep, horrific hush. Everyone strained their eyes and ears, but there was nothing to be seen or heard. No further sound came from the direction of the Dragon.

  Ben’s muscles were tense with the urgent need to flee, and he could feel Li quivering beside him.

  Reeves is right, Ben thought in horror. There could be wraiths reaching for them at that very moment, and they wouldn’t even know…

  Nix is right, too.

  They were all going to die.

  Waiting for the end, for something to happen, was excruciating.

  Ben found himself thinking inexplicably of the sea, of his sister’s boat the Blueflower, and sun on the waves. It was an odd thing to imagine, in such a moment, but he wanted to die with something good in his eyes…

  Beside him, Li tensed, and he heard her whisper: “Look.”

  He couldn’t see where she meant, but he turned his head, heart thundering in trepidation as he searched the blackness.

  There, out in the dark, was a tiny flicker of blue.

  “What is that?” he whispered aloud.

  The others must have heard him, for there were multiple metallic noises as those who had weapons readied them.

  Another long moment passed, as all eyes fixed on the blue thing, which was slowly but steadily approaching.

  When it had come near enough almost to identify what it was, there was a thump as Flint’s crossbow released.

  A bright pattern of blue triangles sprayed across the darkness, accompanied by a small burst of orange flame.

  “Flint, you idiot! Stop shooting at me, or the Watcher will think you’re an enemy!!”

  There was a stunned pause, then Ben gasped, Flint gave an exclamation of surprise, and Reeves burst out in a litany of curses.

  Ben’s breath was caught in his throat. Is it really… could it really be… ?!

  Before the thought even had time to finish, heedless of the darkness, Ben let go of Li and was on his feet and running.

  As he ran, the enveloping shadow lifted, pulling back its grip on the desert, revealing a deep blue sky sparkling with stars above a white plain.

  The Dragon was on her feet – all four of them – flexing her wings and glittering in the moonlight: very much alive.

  The Black Pyramid hovered overhead, dominating the sky to the left, massive and looming and silent.

  And in front of Ben, two familiar figures struggled towards him through the sand.

  Letting out a cry of overwhelming joy, he charged into Mekka so fast that he almost knocked the Angel over. Seconds later, Li came flying into Ferrian, knocking him from Mekka’s supporting grip.

  “Oof, that goes for you two as well,” Mekka said, but his grin was a match for Ben’s.

  That was, until Ben saw that Ferrian was in a bad way. In fact, the sorcerer was barely conscious where he lay on the sand, seemingly unaware of Li’s death grip around his torso.

  “Oh no,” he gasped in dismay. “What happened?”

  Mekka rubbed at his face, looking exhausted. “That…” he sighed, as Araynia and Flint came racing towards them, “is an exceedingly long story…”