Desert Siren

Twenty-Three

The whiteness bore down on the cohort, eventually catching up and then overtaking them. In an instant, the ground underfoot became ice-covered and slick, sending horses and wagons careening. Jayza realized what was happening even if she had no idea what she was dealing with, and she uttered one high, sharp note that caused the horses to slow and stop. Her wagon slid sideways, crashing into the wall of stone before slipping back the other way. Behind her, she could hear thuds and more crashes as the cohort slid and scrambled to regain their footing. Several screams followed, the sounds decreasing in volume, and Jayza's stomach contracted as she realized several men had gone over the edge. Everything had gone white, the horses and wagons covered in ice that quickly grew in thickness. She could barely see in front of her and Tavan had disappeared behind a veil that her eyes couldn't pierce. Scrambling into the back of her wagon, she pushed what she could aside, yanking open the drawers of the chest and tossing whatever she could find towards the front. Shivering violently, she blew on her hands when they stopped cooperating, sticking them under her armpits to loosen them up again. She now regretted packing the mittens away but couldn't take the time to go looking for them. Hastily donning several shirts, she grabbed two rugs and made her way out to the front, carefully dropping onto the ground and feeling her way along one horse until she reached its head. Coming between the pair, she dropped a rug over each, uttering several soft notes in their ears. The horses remained still, heads drooping, and Jayza turned forward, desperately searching for Tavan. When she called out, the words were flung back in her face, and she fought the panic that threatened to overwhelm her. Taking a step forward but maintaining hold of the reins, she uttered two sharp notes, pitched low so they wouldn't travel behind her. Moving back between the horses, she huddled, hiding her head and trying to avoid the stinging ice pellets that needled her face like a thousand tiny darts. When Samson snuffled in front of her, she jumped, having neither heard nor seen him approach.

"Jayza!" Tavan called, shouting over of the howl of the wind. "Thank all the gods you're all right." He slid off his horse, loosely trying Samson's reins to the crossbar between the two draft horses. Moving in front of her, he tried to pull her into his embrace, but she resisted, drawing her cloak tight and staring into his face, panic clearly etched on her own.

""We need to get the horses out of the traces!" she screamed. "And then we need to find shelter!"

"We can't leave the wagons," he yelled back. "The Emperor will have my head."

"The wagons will never make it. They're already stuck fast. And if we don't hurry, the horses won't be able to break free, either!" She came from between the horses, hunching as another blast hit her. Grabbing Tavan's hand, she felt her way back to the wagon, continuing until she reached the end. Climbing inside, she started handing Tavan more rugs, then jumped down and forced her way against the gale to the horses pulling the wagon behind her. The Raptor who had been driving it had retreated inside, not that it did any good as the brand-new coverings were shredding again, and when he saw Tavan, he immediately came forward, screaming something that neither Jayza nor the General heard. Jayza laid the rugs over the draft horses, then pulled Tavan's face close as he grabbed her arm.

"Is there any shelter that you know of nearby?" she screamed in his ear. "We can't stay out in this and if there isn't anything near, we'll have to abandon the wagons and try and find our way to a place we can try and ride this out."

"Caves." Tavan was gesturing ahead, pointing down the roadway that was hidden behind a sheet of solid white. "It's where we were headed." Jayza nodded and pulled Tavan into the wagon, huddling so she could talk to him. The Raptor made a hasty exit out the back but neither Jayza nor Tavan noticed. The wind was shrieking, and the snow hid everything more than a few feet in front of them.