“It’s his army. This is why they called him the Stone King.” Diala sounds so sad. I grip her hand but can’t take my eyes off the statues. The carving is detailed and surprisingly life-like. A creepy alien version of the First Emperor of China’s Terracotta Warriors.
“Do all kings have magic?” I murmur.
“Some more than others. It depends on the land.” Dusty creases appear on her forehead. “The Stone King spent every day of his long life building this army and increasing his magic.”
And keeping this Omega captive. I squeeze her hand. “How are we going to get out?”
Something sparkles in the corner of Diala’s eye. A tear tracks down her dusty face, leaving a pink trail. “We cannot. Soon, the warriors will march, and kill anything that moves. This is the end.”
Fuck that.“I’m not dying here.”
Diala slants her head down. “You sound like my mate.”
The light fades as we huddle together on the hill. What can we do? Sneak back up to the castle? Find a way around it? Sprout wings and fly?
I’m about to share my best idea, which is to crawl slowly back the way we came and regroup on higher ground, when Diala grips my arm.
There’s movement in the far off hills. The blast of a horn.
The statues nearest to us remain still. The squadron closest to the hills raise their stone feet and march forward as one, each multiplied step sounding like rocks tumbling in a dryer.
A massive snake slithers over the hill. Its coils gleam pinkish between the gray rocks. Its body is coated with that whitish, waxy substance, but that’s flaking off, revealing whole patches of shining crimson scales.
“Slythin,” I mutter. This just keeps getting worse. “Okay, if that thing gets any closer, we run back to the castle and find a place to hide.” Not the best idea, but it’s all I’ve got.
“What about the stone soldiers?”
“Maybe they’ll be distracted by the snake.” Come on, I need some good luck now.
“Very well,” Diala says. “If we die, we die together.”
“That’s the spirit,” I whisper back. “Your positive attitude is inspiring me.”
Her mouth pinches like she's trying to remember how to smile. At least there's some life left in this queen.
The snake ripples over the desert. From our vantage point, it looks like a twisting red ribbon, a banner undulating in the wind. It’s almost reached the first regiment, which is marching toward it under a cloud of dust.
“Okay,” I mouth, but Diala’s staring at the snake.
“Who is that?” she mouths back.
I shade my eyes, not that it helps in such hazy light. The snake’s scales are fully red now. The white film has completely rubbed off. There’s a dark shape clinging to its neck, just below the snake’s wedge head.
“Someone’s riding on it.” Crap, another soldier type?
“Look.” Diala points. Another snake has slithered over the hill. It’s bright orange, like a shimmery traffic cone. Huge but not as big as the first red one, the orange snake coasts forward on a tide of what looks like… green moss? A bright grass-colored tide moves ahead of it, rolling down the dusty rocks. Like someone’s unrolled AstroTurf over the hills. It’s advancing all at once.
“What the…” I forget to whisper. Fortunately, a crack like thunder drowns out my voice.
The crimson snake has reached the first regiment of stone soldiers. The figure on its back raises a black shape and a blast of two notes rings over the desert. Goosebumps rise on my arms.
The snake shimmies over the sand, right up to the stone statues… and it doesn’t stop. With a thunk like crashing cars, it smashes its huge coils into the first line of warriors.
Diala and I both choke back gasps.
The snake bowls over another row of the regiment. Stone limbs go flying with resounding clunks.The snake writhes and smashes its way through the formation. Soldiers fall, knocking each other down with a sound like flint striking flint.
The orange snake has reached the foot of the hills. It slithers faster and follows the red leader, bowling over the remaining statues left standing.
