Page 66 of The First Trial
Chapter 26
Juniper
The scent of smoke, faeces, and rotting meat drifted up my nostrils, making me gag. I tried my best to keep from making any noise, but was failing miserably with my laboured breaths bringing more and more of that foul stench into my senses. It didn’t help that the clouds of dust I’d displaced in my haste to hide were also irritating my nose, and I wasn’t going to be able to hold back this sneeze forever.
Why was everything so damn dusty?
Hurry, Ozzie.
I didn’t have much time before I would be forced to fight this thing on my own. I’d tested the waters with my Earth Affinity from behind the safety of the previous boulder I’d been hiding behind, but it merely huffed a fireball and obliterated my vines. I’d tried shaking the earth beneath its four, very large, wickedly sharp claw-tipped feet, but it snapped open a pair of wings and rose into the air, only touching back down once that shaking had stopped.
I was pretty sure it was blind, or at least visually impaired, because it failed to see me when I was out in the open, but it seemed to rely heavily on its sense of smell. Which was unfortunate for me, because there was no way to hide my scent. No mud to smear all over my body, no body of water to wash away my trail. The only thing I could use were the giant piles of dung left by the beast, but even they were out of my reach. If I dared to get closer, it would scent me before I could reach the deposit.
My nose twitched, and I quickly plugged it with my fingers to stop the incoming sneeze. Instead, since I now needed my mouth open to breathe and ended up with a mouthful of the revolting air. I retched. The sound was inevitable.
It heard me.
A deafening roar rumbled the earth, displacing rocks and shooting up even more dust. I coughed and spluttered as I scrambled to find another hiding spot, only just managing to snag a spot safely behind a short rock before the other one was incinerated by the beast’s next stream of fire.
It was so hot I felt my skin burn even from here, blisters forming like a bad sunburn.
But I couldn’t whine about the pain when my life was at stake. If I didn’t find a way out of this soon, I was going to end up a pile of ash, adding to the dust that coated this lifeless valley.
And I just figured out what the dust was.
Fuck.
‘Juniper, you answer me right fucking now!’Oz screamed in my head, and I realised he’d been screaming at me for quite some time.
‘I’m okay. I won’t be for much longer, though. I can’t fight this thing.’
‘We heard the roar. We’re coming, Junie. Just hold on a little bit longer.’
‘Hurry, Ozzie.’
‘I am, I promise.’
Another stream of fire burst through the air, but this time it was aimed at the sky. A warning. Rage. Frustration, perhaps. This thing wanted me dead, and I wasn’t making it easy.
I lay there on my side, my back to the rock, as I waited for help to come, when I heard a quiet hiss. It was low enough to go unheard by the dragon (let’s face it, there was no denying that’s what it was), but close enough to grab my attention. I pried myeyes open, rubbing away the layer of crust that had formed from the dust and ash. They stung, and it took a moment for them to focus, but when they did, I realised I was face-to-face with a certain black snake.
He tilted his head in the direction of the trees, urging me to follow him, but I couldn’t. Any movement we made would be like a flashing neon sign to the dragon, and I couldn’t risk it. Not when he was at risk, too.
A cursory glance at our surroundings revealed no one else. It was just the two of us.
He had risked his life, breaking free from the cover of the trees and the safety of numbers to come to my aid. Why?
A sudden ruckus sounded on the other side of the valley, and I chanced a peek over the top of the rock I was hiding behind to see what was happening. I realised with a jolt that I had somehow been chased to the other side of the valley, because a large group of Witches and Warlocks, Daemons, and Shifters were drawing the attention away from me.
And, of course, Phenex and Oz were front and centre.
My heart skipped a beat or two at the sight of them, but I couldn’t wait around. They were giving me an out, and I’d be stupid and reckless not to take it. The Shifter slithered away, and I followed, letting him lead me to somewhere fractionally safer than where I’d been.
‘Ozzie?’
‘I’m good! Just focus on getting out!’
The portal hummed in the middle of the valley, calling to me,begging to be used. But something about it felt off. Not in a bad way, but like I was staring at a locked door, willing it to open without a key.
