Page 24 of Married By Wind
The sun let in enough light for me to see a wide-open, circular chamber. I paused halfway down, taking in the shadows hiding what I could not see. More monsters?
I tapped the lamp again. “Vinn, please help me.”
Two red spots of light glowed from a far corner, and a low growl vibrated the air.
I took a step back toward daylight. “Vinn, I set you free,” I whispered, fear making my throat thick.
The growl came again, this time a little louder, and those red eyes moved. Pointed horns appeared in the shadows, and my bravery melted like snow under a scorching sun. I spun around to flee, tripped on the ledge, and fell down, hard. My face scraped against stone, and a sharp pain sliced up my cheek. I cried out, struggling to regain my feet, and realized that I’d dropped the lamp.
But it was too late. Wind whirled around my ankles, and the dirt beneath me shifted. With a groan, I rolled onto my back. When I tried to put weight on my legs a stabbing heat flared from my ankle, forcing a cry from my lips.
A monstrous devil rose in the middle of the chamber, just out of reach of daylight but illuminated enough to display its true form. Horror crept over me.Sand devilwas an apt name, with its red eyes, glinting horns, and shadowy face and body, shifting like the winds.
The ground trembled as it formed a vortex, and clawed fingers reached for me. A sob wailed in my throat, but I was frozen with terror. This was the monster that plagued my people, and it was foolish of me to think a mere slingshot might slow it down.
“Get away from her,” a low voice growled. “Your fight is with me.”
Vinn stepped out from where the lamp had fallen, and he was just as he’d been in the mountain. Wearing only a loose pair of trousers, his hands balled into fists. A flood of awareness filled me, and my fever returned. It was hot. So hot down there. But Vinn was here too; I wasn’t alone. Except, we’d both die, because Vinn had admitted, the sand devil had already bested him.
30
Vinn
Disoriented, I emerged from the lamp to shades of gray. The last thing I recalled was Tallen’s ax slamming down. From the sea of blackness I’d drowned in, I’d concluded I must be back inside the lamp. But for how long, I didn’t know. Time froze there; it could have been minutes, hours, days, or—I banished the next thought quickly—years. A muffled cry met my ears, and I cocked my head back, taking in the rough-cut slabs of stone and stairs, and Ulika, blood dripping from a gash in her cheek, sprawled out on them. Her eyes were wide in horror, only she wasn’t staring at me but beyond.
Rough wind tumbled over my skin, and I turned my attention to what was in the chamber. Soulless crimson eyes bored into mine as the creature of shadow and death whirled itself into a vortex. Somehow I’d been transported to the lair of the sand devil, but I had no time to enact my plan and create a trap for the malevolent spirit. I had to act now, and if by impulse, I pulled my winds to myself, letting them brew and grow in strength. At least I could distract the sand devil while Ulika escaped.
Except, as I gathered my magic, the creature split until it was no longer one but three sand devils, growing in strength as they roared toward me. I had just enough time to toss words over my shoulder. “Ulika, run!”
A gust blew around me, hard, and I lost my footing, but it did not matter. My magic lifted me above the ground and hurled me into the midst of the sand devils. Chaos roared around me, and whiteness invaded my vision. I was weightless, breathless, and slowly my strength ebbed away, as though I was tethered to something that sucked away my energy.
Faint screams came from beyond the storm, and a wave of heat surged around me. The blast hurled me out of the whirlwind and tossed me against the wall. I landed with a jarring thud but quickly got to my feet. The three sand devils came to a standstill, somehow diminished in size. They smoked from the blast, and their skin had turned to white ash, crumbling off their arms and legs as they approached. A flame smoked on the ground, and I turned to see where it had come from.
Ulika stood at the end of the steps, one hand outstretched, and a light glowed on her palm. A light that should not have been possible. I glanced from her back to the sand devils. She had done this, and yet she had no magic. How had fire come from her? I snuck a glance up at the opening to see if perhaps another god had come down to trick us, but from all appearances, we were alone.
Ulika took another step, and her wide-eyed, panicked gaze met mine. With the blood smeared across her face, a surge of protectiveness rose deep inside me. I lunged toward the sand devils, and they growled, torn between racing toward me or Ulika. She sprinted toward the lamp, grimacing as she put weight on one leg. The three sand devils shifted, their ashy skin slowly merging as they turned back into one monster instead of three. Lowering its horns like a bull, it dashed toward Ulika.
She let out a little shriek as she clutched the lamp, and it tore through my heart. I summoned my magic—at least, what was left of it—cursing as weakness filled me. What did the gods expect from me? Without access to my magic, I’d fail to kill the sand devils, Ulika would die, and…I didn’t know what would happen to me. Nor did I particularly care at the moment. I blasted across the small space as Ulika lifted her hands, and suddenly a sucking came, followed by a blinding whiteness. A blow struck my stomach so hard I crumpled to the ground. An intense pain seized my chest like hands were inside me, squeezing my heart, intent on ripping it out.
I cried out, my fist slamming into the ground, and everything stopped. My entire world went silent, like I had been cast back into the lamp, except I still lay on the ground in the chamber. Opening my eyes, I sat up, pressing a hand to my heart to stop the ache there.
My fingers tingled. A stir of magic filled me, then ballooned. I was free. Free from the lamp, with full access to my magic. The curse had been broken, and I was no longer bound to Ulika. A light and fluttery sensation confirmed my winds had returned, with a promise that I could fly away on the evening breeze to wherever my heart desired.
Victory billowed inside, followed by the taste of ash in my mouth. Ulika lay on the ground, and beside her was the lamp, with white smoke drifting out of it. The edges of her dress, besides being torn, were also charred with fire. Smudges covered her palms, and I rushed to her side, refusing to believe she was dead. Her chest rose and fell as I cradled her in my arms. Then she opened her soft brown eyes, a slow smile coming to her lips as her fingertips grazed my cheek. Oh, the feel of her; I wanted to hold her in my arms forever and take her someplace where she’d be safe, happy, far from the whims of the gods.
“Ulika,” I breathed, as if saying her name would tell her everything I felt.
Her smile grew brighter but only for a moment, as her eyes clouded over. Dropping her hand, she turned away from me. “It’s over. We’re free.”
I opened my mouth as her meaning sank in. We were free. From each other. Something had changed her mind while I was inside the lamp, and suddenly it didn’t matter what had happened, nor where the sand devils had disappeared to. I had to make her understand that I still loved her. I wanted a lifetime with her, and only her.
“Ulika, talk to me. What happened while I was in the lamp?”
She pressed her lips together, then squirmed out of my arms. With a heavy sigh, she pointed to the lamp. “The sand devils are in there now. We should destroy it, or bury it.”
I nodded. “I will personally see that no one will ever find it again.”
“Good,” she said, but her voice sounded hollow, not happy. “While we were fighting, fire came out of me, out of my hands. I don’t have magic, shouldn’t have magic. What does it mean? Did the gods give me unnatural strength?”
