“I don’t see why your big sister doesn’t just come pick us up,” said Aleister to Lhasa.
The little girl lowered her scarf, and without stopping, she said, “I already told you, stupid man, it’s too dangerous. Now keep quiet and stay on the path.”
The gray sand around them swirled and blew with the slightest breeze. It stirred as if it was alive, and in a manner of speaking, it was. Finer than natural sand, it was the end result of out-of-control iterative microbial processes- fractal bits of pico-AI. And though the stretch of desert leading to the river did not look particularly wide, he didn't want any of that sand in his eyes or lungs, so he was thankful for the goggles and the mask that Lhasa had given him.
As he followed her along the ornate path of brass and chrome, Aleister felt an odd sensation come over him. Something has changed, he thought looking around him. What was it? Then it came to him. Silence. He looked back and saw the little dragon-Fogo- had stopped and was gazing fixedly at the sand.
“What’s your familiar up to?”
Lhasa turned and was about to hush him when her eyes widened. She raised her staff, and its runes glowed purple; so did her eyes. For a moment, it seemed like she was looking at something beyond the immediate stimulus on her visual field. She blinked.
“Come stand close to me,” she said.
“What’s wrong?”
“Quickly!”
The kid’s bossy tone was beginning to annoy him, but he quickly shuffled beside her.
She tapped the runes, and a soft blue shield enveloped them like a cocoon.
Fogo was still inspecting the sand when a large red scarab emerged from it. The dragon stepped back a few paces and spread his wings. The giant beetle moved forward but was unwilling to enter the path. It scrambled backwards and seemed to melt into the sand until it was no longer visible.
Aleister let out his breath and was about to say something, when he felt Lhasa's grip on his arm.
The sand around them began to swell and swirl. As the whirling particles hit the shield, they caused an electric discharge on the translucent barrier.
"What do we do?" he said.
“We have to hurry! Don’t stop until you get to the river’s edge. And whatever you do, don’t step on the sand.” she said. Reaching across her belt, she pulled out a silver rod from a leather scabbard. “Push the blue button to fire the shield. The harder you press, the stronger the charge.” She thrust the rod into his hand.
The sand swelled up like a translucent organ about to burst.
“What is that?” he said.
“Run!”
***
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