THE SAND STALKER'S DEBT

Elara Thorne

The Silver Weaver didn’t have time to explain her warning. The air around our campfire suddenly turned freezing, despite the desert heat. The horses began to kick at the wooden sides of the wagon, their eyes rolling in terror.

"Kaelen, get the children," I whispered, my hand gripping a heavy iron skillet, the only weapon I had left.

Kaelen didn't need to be told. He was already at the wagon flap, but he stopped mid motion. Out of the darkness beyond the firelight, a pair of eyes opened. Then another. And another. They weren't at eye level; they were high up, nearly ten feet in the air.

It was a creature of myth, a spindly beast made of hardened chitin and desert glass. Its legs were like long, jagged needles, and its body was translucent, shimmering like a mirage. It fed on energy and right now, my children were the brightest lanterns in the wasteland.

The creature let out a sound like two stones grinding together. It used, its long, needle like limb stabbing toward the wagon.

"Back!" Kaelen roared, leaping forward. He used his hunting knife to deflect the strike, the metal sparks flying as it hit the creature’s glass like skin. But Kaelen was human now. He didn't have the shadow-strength to push a beast that size.

The Stalker swiped at him, throwing Kaelen across the sand.

"Kaelen!" I screamed. I threw the skillet with all my might, hitting the creature’s midsection. It barely noticed. It turned its triangular head toward the wagon, its mandibles clicking in anticipation.

Inside, the children were awake. I could hear Mina whimpering, and then a strange, humming sound.

"Leave my Papa alone!"

Cian scrambled out of the wagon. He looked tiny against the towering glass beast. His face was pale, but his eyes... they weren't brown anymore. They were glowing with fierce, molten gold.

"Cian, get back inside!" I yelled, reaching for him.

But the Sand Stalker was faster. It hissed and reared back, its front limbs poised to impale the boy.

Cian didn't run. He didn't even flinch. He thrust his small hands forward, his fingers spreading wide.

"I said... GO AWAY!"

The air didn't just ripple; it exploded. A wave of golden force blasted outward from Cian’s chest. It wasn't the cold, calculated magic of the Shop. It was raw, hot, and felt like a summer sun.

The sand beneath the creature’s feet turned to liquid glass instantly. The blast hit the Stalker full chest, shattering its translucent armor into a thousand shimmering shards. The beast was thrown backward fifty feet, tumbling over the dunes until it disappeared into the dark.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Cian stood there, his hands still shaking, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The golden glow in his eyes slowly faded, leaving him looking exhausted and small again. He wobbled for a second before his knees gave out.

I caught him before he hit the sand. "I've got you, I've got you."

Kaelen limped over, clutching his side, his face full of awe and a deep, gnawing fear. He looked at the circle of melted glass where the creature had stood.

"He didn't just push it," Kaelen whispered. "He broke it."

The Silver Weaver stepped into the light of the dying fire. She looked at Cian with a mixture of respect and grim concern. She reached out and touched the boy’s forehead, her golden eyes flashing.

"That wasn't a 'leak,'" she said softly. "That was a floodgate opening. If we don't get him to the Temple of the Weaver soon, the next time he gets angry, he won't just break the monster. He'll break the horizon."

Mina crawled out of the wagon, clutching her stuffed wolf. She looked at the melted sand, then at her brother.

"Cian made a pretty window," she said, her voice small. Then she looked at the Silver Weaver. "Can I do that too? My tummy feels hot like a stove."

The Weaver turned to me, her expression hardening. "We leave now. The Sand Stalker wasn't hunting alone. It was a scout. And whoever sent it now knows exactly where the golden blood is hiding."

In the distance, across the dunes, a dozen more pairs of eyes opened in the dark.