Page 86 of Tharn's Hunt
Tharn tries to dodge, but he’s not moving right—he hasn’t been moving right all day. The creature misses his body, but three body-lengths behind where its head emerged, its tail suddenly whips up from the sand. The armored tip strikes like a scorpion’s sting, wrapping around Tharn’s thigh with a crack that echoes across the dunes.
I see the moment the barbs sink, just before the creature’s head dives back into the sand, burrowing once more.
"THARN!" My scream tears from my throat as the serpent begins dragging him backward toward the hole it created.
Everything happens too fast. Tharn’s claws rake desperately at the ground, carving deep furrows as the serpent drags him under. His golden body twists and jerks, trying to find purchase, but the merciless sand shifts and crumbles beneath him.
"Tharn!" I scream again, the sound raw in my throat. His gaze snaps up, locking on mine, even as his claws dig into the sand. The serpent is too strong. He’s being pulled deeper, the sand shifting like liquid around him.
To my right, Justine cries out—a sharp, pained sound. It cuts through the chaos like a knife.
I whip my head toward her. She’s stumbling, clutching her leg, blood streaking her hand.
Rok is already moving. He’s there in an instant, his arms sliding under her, lifting her like she weighs nothing.
“No! Forget about me! We have to help Tharn!” Justine shouts, her voice cracking with pain.
Rok’s jaw tightens, and for the first time, I see his glow. It erupts, then falters, flickering unevenly—like a heartbeat gone wrong. It pulses brighter as blood seeps between Justine’s fingers, and something about that glow twists in my gut.
He setsher down behind an outcropping of rock, his movements careful despite the chaos, before spinning and racing back toward Tharn.
I turn back just in time to see Tharn’s arms sink deeper. His shoulders are almost gone.
I’m running. I don’t remember deciding to, but my legs are moving, the world narrowing to the spot where he’s vanishing.
"Jacqui, stop!" Justine’s voice is hoarse behind me. "You can’t! You’ll just get yourself killed!"
I don’t hear her. Not really.
Tharn’s eyes find mine. For a heartbeat, everything slows. There’s something in his gaze I’ve never seen before. Not fear, but regret. Bone-deep, soul-crushing regret.
And then he’s gone.
The sand collapses over him, settling as if he were never there.
"No!"
I’m already on my knees, clawing at the sand. It’s hot and coarse, scraping my palms raw, but I don’t care. A sound rips from my throat. A raw, tearing scream of pure no. I dig faster, the sound continuing, a wordless howl against the silent, indifferent desert.
Rok crashes down beside me, clawing at the sand where Tharn disappeared.
"Jacqui!" Justine’s voice cuts through the haze of my panic. "Stop! Stop, damn it!"
I ignore her. My fingers are bleeding now, the sand swallowing every handful I throw aside, but I don't stop. I can't stop. Tharn is down there, being crushed or suffocated or eaten alive, and it's all my fault. He pushed me out of the way. He saved me. Again.
"Please," I sob as I claw at the unyielding sand. "Please, please, please."
Suddenly, the ground beneath us shudders violently. Rok freezes, his head cocked as if listening. Then he grabs my arm and yanks me backward just as the sand erupts again—not where we were digging, but a few feet away.
Something thrashes beneath the surface, creating ripples in the sand like waves on water. Ifeelits hiss again, buzzing in my ears and rattling deep in my chest. The sand pebbles on thesurface, trembling in response to the soundless pressure. The creature. It’s hurt.
Tharn’s fighting. He's alive.
Rok releases me and dives toward the new disturbance, his powerful arms sinking into the sand up to his shoulders. I scramble after him, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
"Come on, Tharn," I whisper. "Come on."
The sand shifts again, more violently this time.
