Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

CHAOS MAGE Chapter 26: Chaos and Celestial

A wave of sand shot up from the sandsea beneath. Seiren dived and rolled, jarring her shoulder. The sand whipped the exterior of the rig, tearing away the peeling rust. The man yelled, stumbling back. Madeleine's hand shot out and grabbed Seiren's wrist before yanking her to her feet. The sandsea rippled and a copper-coloured tail broke the surface and lashed, sending another wave towards them. Madeleine clapped her hands together and threw out a fist. A gust of wind tore past them and buffeted the stream of sand. Out of the corner of her eye, Seiren caught sight of another being awakening beneath the sand.

"Run!" she whispered. Madeleine didn't need to be told twice. She stumbled, catching her toe on the floor, and raced ahead blindly. The compass had long disappeared into the sandsea along with their other belongings. The sun cast shadows from above. The man dashed in their direction, his face pale with terror. Huge creatures swam beneath. One tore through the surface, arcing over the metal sky bridge. Shiny coppery skin stretched over its skeleton, its eyes sunken and half-rotten. Spiny teeth protruded from its mouth, criss-crossing in a terrible scissor bite. A long tail lashed the bridge, denting the metal surface with a rattle that shook from rig to rig.

Another one broke the surface and leapt at them. Madeleine screamed, clapping her hands together and throwing out a handful of fire. The flames licked the surface of the creature with no effect. Its mouth spread open, ready to devour.

Time slowed. Seiren sucked in a breath, her mouth dry, her skin tingling all over. Fear. This was fear. The future spun away from her. Madeleine's scream died in the roar in Seiren's ears. She turned to gaze into the endless abyss deep within the animal's throat. Her hands warmed. A surge of energy shot from her core, ricocheting in her body before finding an outlet in her palms. Glittering white light swirled in the cup of her hands and she reached back and threw it straight at the creature.

The ball shrank as it shot out, disappearing down the creature's throat.

The explosion sent a shudder throughout all the nearby rigs. Shreds of flesh and blood showered Madeleine and Seiren, spattering onto the wall of the rig behind them. They scrambled to their feet and scampered onwards, gasping. The remaining creatures came with increasing fervour, showering them with sand every time they broke the sand surface and leapt at then. A fatigue headache pulsed at the back of Seiren's mind. Her feet flew over the corrugated metal, skidding over the loose sand. Wind whistled in her ears and shadows flying overhead reminded her with every step how close she was to becoming sandsea fish dinner. Her flash magic blasted attack after attack, but even with the help of Madeleine's burst magic, there were only so many creatures they could kill. Sweat drenched and exhaustion crippled her.

The ground gave way. With a yell, Seiren landed on her front. The ground lurched, turning on its axis. Broken bits of the balcony rained into the sandsea. Panicked fingers found the rails running beside the balcony as Seiren slid backwards on her belly. Her fingers hooked around the rails and she yanked herself up, her muscles screaming in pain. At the front, Madeleine spun around and hollered her name. Seiren tugged herself up, rung by rung, towards Madeleine's outreached hand.

"Come on. You're almost there!" Madeleine shouted over the rustling beneath Seiren. Seiren squinted at her sister, at the encouragement on her face now her veil had fluttered away, at the plaits that had become loose from their escape. Seiren caught sight of movement just behind Madeleine.

"Watch out!" she yelled. Madeleine rolled away without a second glance. A dull thud followed by the screech of metal reached Seiren's ears. The hiss of fire and wind burst magic filled the air. Seiren focused on pulling herself up and not looking down her dangling feet, beneath which the ravenous sandsea creatures awaited their meal. Her palms were sweaty and slid over the peeling, rusty rails. Her muscles cried and burned with every contraction, but she forced them on.