Shadow Seer [18+]

~ Twenty Eight ~

Under the shadow of the towering, moonlit mountain, their small camp fought underneath the inky black of the desert night. Sanaa watched as their handful of guards, their eyes beneath their keffiyehs etched with determination, battled the desert warriors who now attacked them.

A million things were happening at once, that Sanaa struggled to grasp what she was seeing but she refused to take her eyes off Amir. He'd left her carriage faster than anything she'd ever seen and was now engaged in combat with a large man, armed to the teeth. As the stars glimmered overhead, the haunting wails of the attacking warriors shattered the tranquillity of the desert, their war cries echoing off the rugged rocks of the mountain.

This makes no sense, Sanaa thought. We're only a small group. Why are they attacking us?

Sanaa's heart raced as she clutched her flimsy nightgown tightly, her fingers trembling with fear. She scanned the chaotic scene before her, trembling with fear as more warriors, shrouded in dark robes, emerged from the shadows of the mountain like spectres of the night. Their weapons glinted ominously in the pale moonlight, and desert scarves masked their faces. The scent of sand, blood and sweat filled the air, but for a moment, Sanaa found herself momentarily relieved. It was nighttime. Amir was stronger at night.

As if her realisation set him off, Sanaa watched the man she loved amid the chaos as he wielded his deathly shadows. His movements were a blur of steel, shadow and sand, locked in a deadly dance with the desert warriors who just kept coming. Despite the odds, his technique and resolve were unwavering, and Amir tore through men with his own blades and those made of shadow. As Rashid, Saleem, Ibrahim, Dev and the other two guards fought the conventional way, Amir lifted desert men into the hair, before ropes of darkness slammed them back into the ground, breaking bones on impact. Paralysed by fear and astonishment, the fighting raged on around her, but Sanaa's heart sank when she lost sight of Amir in the swirling dust and the chaos of clashing blades. Panic set in and she finally acknowledged how much danger she was in should they see her. It was a miracle they had not noticed her before now. As though the thought had conjured the very thing she feared, a scarred faced man appeared in the window and found her inside. Sanaa screamed and punched instinctively through the window, straight into his nose. She scrambled from the window and out of the carriage, barefoot and barely clothed. She'd been so stunned by Amir's departure, so scared of the danger he was in, she hadn't paid attention to what was happening around her. Someone had set the camp to torch and now the side of the carriage was on fire. She saw that Khalar's tent was ablaze and she hoped the vile man was dead. The vicious thought humbled her as she stood surrounded by the night, hollering fighters and the loom of the mountain beside her.

The warrior she had punched suddenly came around and when he caught sight of her, Sanaa froze. His eyes narrowed, and with a sinister grin, he gave chase, his sandalled feet pounding the desert ground toward her. Sanaa took off running. The last time she'd been hesitant to act, she'd lost her family and her freedom. Although her fear intensified, she sprinted across the sandy terrain, her breath coming in quick, shallow gasps. The mountain loomed, its silhouette growing larger with each pounding step, but Sanaa knew that on the other side lay the small wood, where Miri had disappeared earlier to be with Saleem. He would protect them, if she could get to him.

The moon cast eerie shadows as she raced towards the imposing mountain, desperately seeking refuge. Barely reaching the base, Sanaa darted into the sporadic foliage of the now dark wood. It was full of sharp, dry wood, sharp branches jutting out with small thorns that scraped across her arms and face and tore at her nightdress and skin. She ignored it all, desperate to conceal her trembling form as best she could. The sounds of the fighting were now muffled, replaced by the rustling of leaves and the chilling silence of the woods. Sanaa crouched, her heart pounding, praying for Amir and Miri's safety as well as her own.