I had one beat for the ice in her voice to turn to panic, then, she was running.
Jezebel was on her heels, calling for her partner, and the rest of us sped after them, sand kicking up as we hurried through the tunnel.
“Erista, what’s happening?” Jez shouted again.
But Erista didn’t answer—she didn’t have to. Because when we all stumbled to a halt at the mouth of the cave system, we froze. Hands immediately flashed toward weapons.
“What is this?” I asked.
Erista swallowed, voice shaky. “It’s the Rites of Dusk.”
“But…”
The Soulguider nodded. “Something is very wrong.”
Dread chilled my blood. This wasn’t the Rites we’d seen recently. That was frivolity and empowerment. It was warriors beneath the swirling sandstorm, waves of maroon and amethyst bathing their dancing and offerings.
This, though…this was a horror dropped directly upon the market town of Lendelli.
Dark purple sand clouds shredded along the streets a mile away, obscuring the buildings and wrenching up tarps.
Without another thought, we ran. The soft sand slowed our progress, my legs burning much sooner than usual. Lancaster and Mora tore ahead of the rest of us with their fae speed.
“This shouldn’t be happening like this!” Erista called. “The sands don’t fall.”
Neither do constellations, I thought, digging my feet into the earth to speed up.
The screams got louder as we breeched the town limit. Cries from families who had still been out enjoying the last of the evening’s warmth—from children searching for their parents.
“What’s the plan here, Alabath?” Tolek called over the roaring wind. The sand was swirling closer, and I squinted against it.
“Get as many people inside as possible!” I yelled. Only Tol, Jezebel, and Erista were close enough to hear me, the others breaking off into smaller groups and winding through the town.
Heads down, we sprinted around corners and up alleys. Soulguiders ducked beneath stalls, behind crates, anything to get out of the harsh, gravelly winds. They tore at my skin, the force leaving small cuts along my arms, and grains of sand stung my eyes.
“Get inside!” Erista yelled to her people, keeping a hand above her face. “It will stop soon!” And she sounded so confident, but when she met my narrowed gaze, the uncertainty was stark.
We cleared one street and started on the next, holding up woven tarps and scarves to cover the worst of the blasts. Soulguiders carried their young, braced windows with splintering wooden table tops.
Up and down we ran, helping families secure their doors and sealing shutters closed. Ducking through another alley, Tol, Jez, Erista, and I stumbled to a halt.
“Children,” Jez panted. They hunched on the ground, heads tucked to their knees against the powerful gusts. When they lifted their stares at our approach, their eyes were red and glassy.
“They must be from a nearby boarding school,” Erista yelled over the roar of the winds. “It’s before curfew.”
“We need to get them inside,” I said.
A boy who looked about twelve popped to his feet beside me, the wind rifling his long braids. “The doors are all locked!”
By the Angels.
“We’ll get them open!” I called down the alley so all the children could hear. Spinning, I coughed over the sand shoved down my throat, and asked, “Tol?”
He nodded, eyes red and determined, and unsheathed his sword. Wood cracking and splintering pierced the howling wind as Tolek jammed the hilt of his weapon against one of the nearest locks until it broke, and he shoved the door wide.
Jezebel and Erista raced inside to secure the windows on the other side of the empty shop as Tol and I ushered the children in.
The last of the bunch, a small girl about five and who appeared to be her younger brother, were the slowest.
