Clash of the Titans

The terrifying hairless wolf broke the surface of the sand right in front of the Emperor's horse. It was even larger than the mole which Devrim and Alaron had faced outside Oblivion and had far sharper teeth.

Waves of sand rippled off of its body, disrupting the world around it. Devrim's stallion was barely able to avoid being washed away in its flow. 

Devrim reluctantly released his wife's legs to rest on the saddle as he took hold of the reins. Aurora cried out and reflexively gripped her husband. They clung to one another desperately.

A massive paw came crashing toward them, missing the Emperor and Empress by a hair's breadth. If not for the shifting sand pushing them aside, the couple and their horse would have been crushed.

The wolf roared, making Devrim want it to cover his ears from the intensity of the sound. The grey-eyed man tried to back his horse away only for a second paw to block his retreat.

The Emperor was suddenly hemmed in between the two powerful legs and the creature's pink, fleshy body. Without the sun to burn the exposed skin, the wolves felt no need to hide in the shadows.

It began to scrape the sand and everything in between its paws towards its head. The pair of royals was caught up in the flow. 

The creature opened its mouth to snap up the human morsels. Its maw held sharp teeth which could cleave a man into and he would never know what happened.

But before the teeth could dig into Devrim, a fiery dart streaked through the air. 

"Take that, you bully!" Brinn was already letting another blazing arrow fly. 

The first shaft lodged in the creature's tongue, temporarily distracting the wolf from its prey. It snapped its mouth shut quickly to douse the flame then blew smoke out of its wet nose.

The break was not long enough for Devrim to get completely clear, but he was able to back out from between the two front legs of the gigantic beast. 

More fiery arrows soared to lay down cover for the defenseless man to flee.

Devirm's horse was becoming more and more unsettled. Its ears swiveled behind them as if bothered by more than the wolf about to gobble it alive.

Overhead, Reyan appeared with a sword. He stabbed the wolf in the center of its wet nose, trying to buy the Emperor time. 

"Get out of here. It's coming!" The fairy screamed. 

"It's already here!" Devrim countered, somewhat frustrated by the fairy's condescending tone.

"Not the wolves. IT!!" Reyan pointed between jabs at the wolf. 

Although he was desperately trying to keep both himself and Aurora alive, Devrim couldn't help but steal a glance over his shoulder. He could barely hear a low hissing sound in the distance. 

Beyond the mayhem of the battles between the wolves and humans, a distinct black void was growing where a myriad of stars should have been. 

What could be devouring the stars in such a manner?

Devrim didn't have time to guess as he made another break for freedom.

Like his previous attempts, the wolf cut him off before he could fully escape the monster's grasp. This time it was close enough that some of the wolf's blood dripped onto the horse's mane from one of the wounds created by the onslaught of Brinn's arrows.

The warm liquid was the final straw in the stallion's fight to remain calm. It reared back determined to be rid of the riders and the situation.

Devrim felt Aurora slipping from his arms. 'I'm not letting go!' 

Releasing the reins, he took hold of the Empress in both arms and tightened his knees into the stallion's sides. 

If he was going to fall, Devrim would do everything possible to keep Aurora from

becoming more injured. The hissing sounds intensified, becoming loud enough that it shook the ground. 

The sand shifted, pushing the stallion back onto all four hooves. 

The Emperor barely kept his seat even as the horse lurched to one side. The world was suddenly topsy-turvey. Wolves' limbs seemed to fly in every direction.

"Watch out!" Brinn's voice was frantic.

The wolf, growing tired and irritated at the chase, stopped aiming and began scrapping ferociously along the sand to drag down anything in its path. 

But before the wolf could catch Devrim's horse in its grasp, the hissing reached an unbearable level.

"It's here!" Devrim was only vaguely aware of Reyan's scream.

Punctuated by two golden shining eyes, the large black mass crashed into the largest sandwolf. The two behemoths entangled as the Serpent of the Deep slammed into the hairless dog. 

Great green scales shimmered in the moonlight, giving what initially looked like pure darkness an iridescent sheen. How could something so large be slithering across the desert? Devrim did not have time to find out. 

The bodies of the monsters collided before he could have any thought at all. 

The ensuing crash sent a tidal wave of sand washing over Devrim and the others. The horse was pushed out from under Devrim as they were forcibly washed away by the golden grains. The Emperor needed the stallion, but he needed Aurora more. 

'I'm not letting go!' he repeated. 

Pulling her head to his chest, he blocked as much of the sand from her face as he could. The wave subsided, but the Emperor could still feel the tremors through the ground as the two giants fought their perilous duel. 

Digging himself and Aurora out of the shallow covering, Devrim picked up his wife and searched for the horse. 

"Here!" Brinn, on horseback, was leading an empty mount by its reins. 

She dismounted and tried to take Aurora from his grasp. The man was so disoriented that he fought against her. 

"I won't let her go!" 

Brinn slapped him lightly. "Wake up, Lover Boy. It's me. Get on the horse." 

The Emperor realized his folly and reluctantly released the woman in his arms. He coughed wildly as he threw himself into the saddle. The sand grated in his throat, drying it out. 

Was this even his horse? He thought so but wasn't sure. 

Aurora was restless in Brinn's arms. It seemed she was at least mildly aware of her surroundings. "Hurry!" she croaked. 

Exlan came from somewhere and helped Aurora back into her husband's arms. Then both he and Brinn jumped on the back of the other horse and all four dashed like mad away from the battle. 

As they left behind the monstrous clash, the two horses were joined by many more riders. Although Devrim couldn't see their faces, it looked like many of his group had survived the battle. He didn't dare hope that they all had. 

Looking over his shoulder, the Emperor hoped he would not see the other wolves hunting them down. To his relief, they had turned to attacking the serpent who had taken down their pack leader. 

Although the colossus was dead, the other wild dogs were not about to let their enemy easily feast on their kin's corpse. They attacked the slithering serpent, scratching and clawing wildly at its scales.

The ensuing frenzy gave the humans a chance to escape as long as they did not get crushed by the bodies of the mighty creatures. 

The flood of people and horses was like a stream being poured out by a water skin. They drew together and coalesced into one driving force away from the titanic brawl. 

As they drew away from the madness, Devrim voiced his concern to Brinn. "What was that thing?" 

"A creature of the deep!" The elf answered. 

"A what?" Exlan, who was riding on the back of her horse after losing his own, asked in confusion. 

"There are things in the earth that should never surface. That was one of them." Brinn answered. 

Reyan fluttered overhead. "Don't slow down. That thing followed us all the way from the canyon! If those wolves don't finish it off, you can be sure we will be next."

Suddenly it all made sense. Both Reyan and Alvar had spoken of something in the chasm. Now he knew their unspeakable fear. 

That thing had come close to getting Aurora in the deep. The Emperor couldn't let that happen again.

Devrim clung desperately to the woman in his arms. He let the horse continue its gallop along the sparkling sand. Like all the horses, the stallion was eager to leave behind the sandwolves and serpent. 

They rode on like this for quite some time. The horses did not slacken their pace nor did their riders make them. The sound of howls and hissing faded into the night but was never fully forgotten. 

Eventually, a light formed on the horizon and grew. It was not the sun. The sun did not rise from the south. It was also not nearly time for sunrise, at least by Devrim's calculation. 

The Emperor was so exhausted that it took him far too long to realize what he was seeing. But when he did, his heart leaped inside his chest. 

It was the grand city of Secluse. They had made it!