Behind the Lace and the Lies

1 - Among Swirling Sand

I don't exactly know where the plan went wrong. It was an amazing plan, crafted by the best military and political tacticians that the Court of Phanren had to offer. A small team of soldiers and sorcerers, led by Icarus Phanren and the renowned general Andre, was to assassinate Duke Arijhan.

The next thing I knew, our entire team was surrounded by armed soldiers and fire Genasi. Someone had betrayed us. My memory was blurry from there on. Vague flashes of fire and gusts of wind. The clashing of steel. Screams of pain. And desperately fleeing from Jarrca to the outskirts of the city where our horses were. Someone had pulled me onto a horse as my vision had gone dark. I didn't remember much after that.

I coughed weakly, feeling the fine grains rub against the inside of my throat. My entire mouth was filled with sand, I could hear the sound of it grinding against my teeth. My vision hadn't quite returned yet, but my hearing was mostly there. The hoofbeats of the horses pattered softly against the sand – I could imagine the plumes of golden sand slowly drifting down in our wake. The horse I rode on panted unsteadily, exhausted by the sprint away from Jarrca.

Jarrca. Who builds a major city in this forsaken desert? The question answered itself – those desperate for zaffron. And everyone was.

The person sitting into front of me breathed unsteadily, their breath falling in and out of sync with the horse's. Is it Juniper? I felt long strands of rippling hair brushing against my cheeks, the only person with hair like that was Juniper; besides, I could feel her petite frame in front of me, back hunched over the horse's neck. At least Juniper made it out, she's one of the strongest sorcerers on this mission – and the only one who could summon water.

My vision shifted, the blankness covering it morphing from pure darkness to a deep maroon. A small thread of fear laced its way through my body. My breath caught; I could feel the beating of my heart. No. I had been lucky, incredibly lucky. With the amount of magic I used to escape from Jarrca after the assassination mission failed, I knew there would be consequences. When I saw the other plane, the other dimension, overlapping the material plane, it was bad. I normally started in the same place – there would be the open plane of red sand, thick ash falling from the sky, just warm enough for beads of sweat to roll their way down my face.

And the creatures.

If I stayed too long, the creatures would find me. The more magic I used, the more I was in the other plane and the longer I stayed. The more I was in the other plane, the more real the wounds they inflicted were.

My vision flickered again. I could hear the distant screaks of the creatures. Why is it dark, am I underground? It didn't matter, the creatures would dig me out anyway. I groaned, too weak to shift my body. The panic in me grew, spreading, wrapping its way around my neck till my breath wheezed.

The horse nickered, the uneven rhythm of its gallop faltering. Juniper murmured something to it. The marron film covering my vision turned to static at the edges, bits of the real world shining through the holes. The horse slowed, cantering to a stop. I could hear other horses now, and other voices. More than just Juniper and I had made it out then. Someone pulled me off the horse; my legs felt like overcooked noodles. I leaned against the person, still unable to see who they were.

"Is she okay?" someone asked. Carmen maybe? Carmen was Juniper's twin.

Someone closed my eyelids, not changing my sight of the other. "She hasn't gotten worse, and it's been long enough that she should recover soon," Juniper replied. "Just set her down over there." I heard the trickling of water and the distant rustling of palm fronds. We had returned to the oasis.

"Good. Andre says Arijhan's troops aren't far behind. And he thinks they're going to bring more fire Genasi because they know Wren's our only strong wind Genasi," Carmen said.

Their voices faded as they walked away. The screeches grew louder, circling around above me. The ground trembled as they landed. They had found me. Just as magic has taken my strength, may the spirits return me to the dimension I belong. I squirmed on the desert sand. I could feel the warm sun on the real word on my face and the ashy soil of the other in my mouth.

This isn't real.

The static on my vision continued to retreat. I could see the palm trees and blue sky of the material plane. I heard the scratching, the layers of ash that were once my protection quickly vanishing. Bits of ashy light shone through the last bits of soil covering me. A creature's claw pierced the dirt above me and scratched my cheek, sending fiery pain through my face.

This isn't real.

My lungs refused to inhale. Terror raced through my body as I laid immobile on the sand. My mind yelled at me to run, to hide, to fight. The creatures become frenzied, ripping at the dirt and ashes above me.

This isn't real.

A scream lodged itself in my throat, threatening to suffocate me.

A creature's face appeared, scattered among the shards of the other that were quickly fading to reality, its smoldering eyes stared at me from within dark sockets. It lashed at me, barbed edges tearing at my shoulder.

And my sight of the other world vanished.