The Mayaware's reign must end.
In a world of demonic beings with a hunger for human flesh and thirst for blood, Hesi Renen knows it well. When her siblings are taken to the harvesting farms, she must do everything she can to get them out, even if it...
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Hesi drew the scarf to her nose as she fought her way to the top of the dune. Sandy waves rolled off the horizon, riding with the strong breezes blasting from the east. The deep trenches made by the cart's wheels cowered against the blanket of sand, fighting to flush them out of existence. She stalked forward, keeping the disappearing indents in the sand as far behind in her periphery. Her own tracks faded behind her the minute she made them.
Like their life, nothing was eternal in the ever-shifting desert.
Her muscles throbbed, especially in her legs. Sweat dried into a faint shimmer on her scalp. Her water skin was dry. The last stop was when the Mayaware paused for a drink in a small stream in the heart of the desert. Blisters and scabbing lines marred her arms and neck. She lost count of how many times she stopped herself from picking at them.
The desert bled out from her feet like a rabid beast; the dunes reflected every breath. Patches of dark green dotted the expanse, decorated by splashes of pink, yellow, and orange. Burrowing critters poked their heads from folds of sand, blink at her, and scamper away. If only freedom came as easily to her people.
The days bled together; the sun's eternal motion through the sky and the moon's appearance on a star-speckled sheet of ink meant nothing. Her heart never stopped weighing down on her limbs. The dread coloring her insides never ebbed to a faint flicker of guilt. Demons have her siblings inside a creaky cart departing from Agkhre. She wouldn't allow that.
Her mind twisted around the facts, coming up with a plan. Any plan. She couldn't launch an attack on the cart. She'd be shot dead They would shoot her deadrench the cart's handle free. And she didn't want to put her siblings in more danger if she brought the fighting to them.
She stuck to climbing over bouts of rock rising from the carpet of particles, observing with piercing eyes where the paltry procession came from and where they went. The end of Pai's scarf ticked her shoulders, reminding her of what was at stake should she fail to retrieve her siblings.
Would it be better to join her family in the afterlife if she did?
She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts from her brain. Time. She had time. Pai and Unsu were alive. She'd get them back, even if she scratched for herself a bloody trail. Even if she set on a path of ruin. Of heartache. Of sacrifices needed and met. She was Hesi Renen. There wasn't a thing she wouldn't throw away to fulfill the last promise she gave.
Keep them safe. She had already failed once. She wouldn't fail again.
The cart's tracks faded with the wind. She cursed, clicked her tongue, and quickened her slogs. The sand swirled between her legs; the heat bled past her trousers and hugged her thighs. Her breaths hitched, chest heaving to catch up with the effort the incline demanded from her system. A budding headache settled at the base of her neck, working its way up to the back of her head. What would happen if she keeled over in this hostile place? No one would help her.
