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white stones. They stood
out against the deep red sand, setting Astrid on edge. They crept
closer to the middle of the clearing. Suddenly, Astrid realized why
the white stones had seemed familiar. They were standing on bones,
piles of white gleaming bones.
    Ethen stumbled, choking on his words. “Are
you seeing—”
    “—They’re bones!” Astrid grabbed his wrist,
ready to run, when a soft clacking and hissing froze her in
place.
    Only one monster made sounds like that. She
had heard the warnings of the Great Sage to the young children by
the fire. She thought they were nothing more than stories. After
all, no one had seen a Slasher in years. Yet here was one dangling
above their heads, venom dripping from its pinchers as its hundreds
of legs wiggled in the air.
    Astrid ducked her head as the Slasher lunged
forward, digging her knife into its soft underbelly. Sickly green
spewed from its wound, sizzling in the dust. The Slasher hissed and
reared up to face its prey. It was nearly a head taller than
Astrid.
    Ethen loosed an arrow into the Slasher’s jaw,
turning its pained squeal into a gurgle as its acidic blood fizzed
from its throat. He let fly two more sturdy arrows, sending the
beast toppling over. It rolled into a quivering ball, crooning in
defeat.
    “Let’s go!” Astrid barely spoke before a
choir of hissing and clacking slid in all around them. Slasher’s
crawled from their holes, their legs a flurry of movement as they
rattled their thick black shells.
    “This is suicide!” Ethen notched another
arrow, unsure of which creature to hit first. “You better be
thinking of a way to get us out of this!”
    “Quiet, I’m thinking!” Ethen rolled his eyes
at her response, unleashing arrow after arrow. Most bounced off the
Slasher’s armor without even a nick. A couple arrows hit soft flesh
but not enough to make a difference.
    Astrid stepped back and stumbled on the
writhing wounded Slasher. Suddenly, an idea sprang to mind.
“Ethen!” She wedged her knifes under a large scale and pried it
lose. The pale flesh underneath bulged with puffy black veins. “GET
BACK!”
    Ethen jumped behind her as she raked her
blades across the Slasher’s exposed flesh. The veins burst open,
spraying the approaching Slashers with a frenzy of green acid.
Shrieks ripped through the air as the acid seeped into the cracks
of their armor and devoured the flesh inside.
    Suddenly, a deep rumble shook the
bone-littered ground beneath their feet. A low hiss flooded the air
from behind them. Astrid could see the giant Slasher’s shadow creep
over their heads. She felt her blood run chill through her body.
They had disturbed a Brood Mother.
    Without thinking, she grabbed Ethen by the
arm and threw him out of the Brood Mother’s way. She felt the
pinchers lash around her waist and squeeze. Ribs popped and snapped
as the air was forced from her lungs. The Brood Mother shook her
limp body about and then tossed her aside.
    Ethen ran to her side, his hands quaking as
he dug into his near empty quiver.
    “Run Ethen, run…” her voice wheezed from her
gaping mouth.
    Ethen reached for his last arrow and let it
fly. It skidded off the towering Brood Mother like a fly. He let
out a cry, falling to his knees. More hisses fluttered from all
directions.
    So this is what it’s like to die, thought Astrid as her vision dimmed.
    Before her sight darkened, the hisses
suddenly turned to shrieks. Bright red flames crept up around them.
The warmth brought a smile to her quivering lips.
    Then she saw him.
    His skin burned fiery bronze. A crown of red
and gold feathers flared out from his brow, making him look fierce
as a hawk. The tips of his wings brushed against the flames as he
stretched them wide.
    Astrid could not turn away her eyes. He had
the beauty and danger of a phoenix, however he was something
entirely new. He wore nothing but a pair of tattered britches that
were speckled with burns and haphazard patches. The razor talons on
his feet