//------------------------------//
// Ch.11 The Desert Part 3 
// Story: The Epic of a Diamond Dog 
// by Ravencrofte 
//------------------------------//

11 part 3

Silence. 

There were no sounds of yelps or barks. There was no “clang” of weapons or the sounds of heavy breathing. Only the pitter-patter of their paws marked their passage.

I glanced behind me and found the Shadow Hounds spread out in a solid mass behind me. Eerie. Black. All set on my death. 

Unfortunately, the army of shadows was slowly gaining. 

I cursed them under my breath and put on an extra boost of speed. 

The shadow of a bird flittered over the ground just off to my left. I tried to look up, but the sun was in my eyes. Somewhere up there Scrap was watching from his mount, commanding his Shadow Hounds like some grand director watching his drama unfold. 

“Are we going to make it?” asked Kitty Hawk, watching the enemy from her perch on my back. I only grinned at her, unable to find the breath to answer. She took my silence as reassurance. Leaving me to out-run the hounds, she focus on our horizon. 

A low hill was before us. Upon cresting it, I almost got lost in the sight before us. It was only a short pause before I plunged down the other side and towards our destination. 

Kitty Hawk let out a low whistle. “The desert,” she said, giving words to my own thoughts.
        
        Indeed it was: a great shimmering sea of sand, stretching from one horizon to the other. Under paw, the rocky ground was quickly replaced by a hot sand. Monstrous rolling waves dominated the landscape. Between two such waves was a narrow path of beaten dirt. Mysteriously, it was free of sand. 

        I kept running.

Glancing behind once more, I found our dogged pursuers spreading out with both ends pulling ahead. I watched, helpless, as the Shadow Hounds continues to gained ground. They ran tirelessly, even as I felt my own starting to slow. Soon, they had us bracketed in a half-moon formation. 

In an instant, I saw their plan. They would complete their encirclement and then swarm us. There would be no escape. 

Ahead was the narrow trail into the desert. On either side were Shadow Hounds. I dug down for my inner strength and set my eyes on our destination. 

The lead Hounds began to close the loop.

The path, that's all there was. I had to do it. I had to get there. There was no other option. It was so close now.

And so were the Shadow Hounds: closing in from either side, rushing to meet me.

“Ember!” cried Kitty Hawk as she too saw our impending doom.

A low growl built up in my gut, then bellowed forth in a roar. I surged ahead. The leading edges dived in. 

Their necks stretched out, mouths open, teeth seeking my flesh. 

They dove for my legs.

I leapt for the gap. 

Beneath me, the Hounds collided in a sickening impact. More Hounds slammed into those as everyone tried to get to their target at once. A great wiggling black mass grew beneath me.

I landed on solid ground with a jarring impact, lost my footing and skidded across the dirt. Something popped in my left front leg. A wave of pain followed, and I ground my teeth against it. 

The black mass of Shadow Hounds squirmed and writhed, none of them able to disentangle themselves from the other. That wouldn’t last for long. It would take Scrap some time to figure it out, but he would have them back on us as soon as possible. 
        
My young charge was still on my back, her legs gripping me like a vice. I looked back and saw her eyes squeezed shut. “You ok?”  I asked between gasps. 

“Yeah,” she answered, not yet daring to open her eyes. 

I crawled back onto my feet. My left shoulder screamed at me as I tried to put weight on my paw. I elected to to run on two legs instead.

“Time to get off,” I said, and helped Kitty Hawk to the ground. 

“You ok, Ember?” she asked, watching me wince every time I moved my shoulder.

“I’ll be fine,” I said with a reassuring smile. Glancing once more at the mass of Shadow Hounds, I continued, “we need to get going. Come on.” Turning away, we followed the beaten trail. It led through the dunes, twisting this way and that. We ran as fast as we could. 

The trail seemed to never end; the sand dunes enclosed around us like a fortress. It was hot, so very hot. The sun shone directly upon us. I used my right paw to wipe the sweat from my brow.

Nothing stirred in the landscape. 

I paused for a moment and listened. There was nothing up ahead, but  from behind I detected the faint pitter-patter of paws on dirt. I let out a frustrated groan.
        
“What’s wrong?” asked Kitty Hawk.

        “They’re coming,” I said and drew my sword. “Come, we must move faster.” I pushed her along, one eye watching our back. 

        The noise steadily increased. Glancing back behind us, I saw the lead dog around the bend. “Move, Move!” I shouted. Kitty Hawk was running as fast as her legs could take her. I ran behind her, watching the ever-approaching pack. 
        
        Suddenly, the dunes fell away and open desert lay before us. In all directions lay gently rolling hills of sand. The land was obscured in a shimmering haze, making everything slightly out of focus.

        A look behind sent chills through my body: Shadow Hounds pouring from the dunes in mass.

I snatched Kitty Hawk up in my bad arm, grinding my teeth against the pain. 

They were closing in, the sound of their paws filling my ears. We were almost there, almost free. Just had to get through the desert, then we would be out of Diamond Dog lands. We were so close. I glanced once more behind us…

...and ran smack into a semi-solid block of air. It felt like I was covered in tree sap, every movement sluggish and weighty. The very air pulled at my fur, fighting my passage through. I put one paw in front of the other, then another. As suddenly as it happened, the resistance vanished, and I stumbled out the other side. 

“What was that?” asked Kitty Hawk. 

She tried to wiggle in my grasp, to see behind us. Her movement reignited the pain in my shoulder, and I dropped her. Kitty Hawk looked up at me from her position on the hot sand, and I looked down at her. Together, we turned.

A wall of solid, shimmering air blocked our return. On the other side, only fuzzy shapes shifted about. It made me think of trying to look through a cloudy crystal.

This new discovery also sealed our fate. It had caused us to momentarily forget our peril. Even as we looked on, the Shadow Hounds stepped through. 

I shoved Kitty Hawk unceremoniously behind me. Curing myself, I turned to face each new enemy as they appeared. Soon they were too numerous to count. 

The Shadow Hounds advanced.

As they came closer, a dark cloud grew from each of the Shadow Hounds. With each step the clouds grew larger, but the Hounds seems to become smaller. Their bodies were slowly being distorted, their forms not quite able to hold together. 

The nearest Shadow Hound leapt at me. I raised my sword to strike it down, but before it could reach me, the Hound collapsed into a cloud of ash and was blown away. In quick succession it happened to a second, and then a third. 

In an instant, I realized what was happening: bits of their bodies were tearing themselves loose and forming the clouds. Then in cloud form, the bits of ash would float off into the air, drifting away on a non-existent breeze. In a few moments, they all vanished.

I continued to stare for several seconds, unable to believe that certain death had been there only moments ago.

        “Are they gone?” asked Kitty Hawk, sharing the same amazement as me. 

        I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know” was my answer.

        A loud hissing noise came from overhead. We both looked up. High above, Scrap passed through the barrier, still riding on the back of his condor. Just like the Shadows Hounds, it began to disintegrate as well. 

Scrap shouted in triumph when he spotted us. Those shouts soon turned to fear. He turned his mount towards the ground, but it was too late. His mount turned into ash, leaving Scrap to a free-fall the rest of the way. 

The dog plummeted just out of sight.

        For the first time since seeing Scrap, I let my myself relax. My shoulders dropped. The sword felt heavy in my hand. Each joint reminded me of how I had abused it through our ordeal. The left still throbbed, but it would hopefully heal in a day or two. The heat, although oppressive and causing my fur to be soaked in sweat, was helping with the pain.

           “It’s finally done.” I sighed. Sheathing my sword, I sat down. 

        Kitty Hawk snuggled up against my side. “Ember, whatever that was, I'm thankful.”

        “Me too.”

        There was a long pause before Kitty Hawk spoke up again. “Thank you for keeping me safe,” she added.

        She yelped in surprise as I snatched her up into a tight embrace. 

        “You’re welcome,” I whispered into her ear.

        A most unwelcome thought slipped into my mind. I tried to ignore it, but it persisted: what if Scrap survived? The Mystics could have given him some magic to survive great falls. Maybe something to stave off death altogether? 

        I growled out loud. Setting Kitty Hawk down, I stood up again and drew my sword. One last task to do.

            “What's wrong?” asked Kitty Hawk. 

        “I’m going to make sure it’s done. Wait here.” And with that, I set off towards where I’d last seen that damn dog.

        The sun, though drifting off to the west, was still bearing down with its full fury. I wiped the sweat from my brow. Hot sand engulfed my paws with each step, making each step sluggish and unpleasant. Examining one, I found small blisters beginning to form. Kitty Hawk and I would soon be burnt to a crisp if we didn't leave this land. The original plan was to skirt the desert, not wade through its depths. 

        I crested the low hill. From its peak, I commanded a grand view of the open valley. It was uniform, barren sand until the next low hill. The only exception was a large black bubble with a dog on top. Said bubble was slowly disintegrating, leaving its host very much alive and unharmed. With an irritated bark, I marched towards my target. 

        Scrap spotted me and quickly scrambled to his feet. He frantically glanced around but found us utterly alone. The dog still had his armor and sword. Either way, this would be over quickly. 

Whatever courage or fear the dog had kept him from running. As I approached, he began to get frantic. He looked everywhere, digging in the sand. I was almost on top of him when he finally found it; he yanked the jug out of the sand. He turned to face me, grinning once more. 

I growled. “It's over: your hounds are gone, your bird is gone. You have no more corpses. Fight me and die like a warrior.” 

“You don’t need a dead body for this stuff to work,” said Scrap and turned the jug on himself. 

        He poured the liquid onto his arm, and it was consumed in black fire. From it grew a monstrous black arm, several times the size of its owner's body. Even as Scrap brought his new appendage overhead, ready to squash me like a fly, it was already beginning to disintegrate. 

“Looks like Mystic magic doesn't work here,” I said coolly. 

Scrap growled. He brought his fist down upon me. I rolled to the left. The magic arm hit the sand and exploded into ash. 

I grinned at him. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

Scrap cursed me, then incessantly screamed, “Die! Die already!” He applied more liquid to his arm. 

Another magic arm grew. This time, he swiped at me. I ducked and cut it with my sword as it passed overhead. Part of the arm came off. Scrap brought the remaining magical limb back around for another try, but the magic was already gone. He upturned the jug once more, and found it empty. 

I advanced.

Scrap stumbled backwards and onto his butt. He drew his sword, the whole weapon trembling as his arms shook. Glaring down at the wretch, I shouted, “Stand up! Fight me!” Scrap was frantically working his jaw, but no words were coming out. 

With a heavy blow, I sent his sword spinning off into the sand.

That seemed to snap him out of it, because he suddenly found his voice. “What makes you do it?” he asked. “What makes you keep going? Why do you persist? Why will you just not die?”
“Because,” I said, baring my teeth, “I made a promise to a pony. I will see her safely home. I will overcome any obstacle before me, and I will destroy anyone who threatens her!” Gripping my sword in both paws, I brought it down in a vicious two-handed swing. Scrap collapsed into the sand, head and body falling in opposite directions. 

I stood there for some time afterwards, just watching. The body turned gray. Blood soaked the sand before drying in place. 

“Ember?”

With a jolt and a jump I spun around, finding Kitty Hawk. She looked up at me with the most kind, caring eyes. I took a deep breath and sheathed my sword. 

“Is it over now?” she asked.

I nodded. On a second thought, I opened my arms. “Come here,” I said and scooped her up with my good arm. Together, we went back the way we had come. 

The wall of shimmering air was gone. So were the dunes. Now only desert stretched as far as the eye could see. A look behind us revealed that even our most recent tracks had vanished. 

“What do we do?” asked Kitty Hawk.

“The only thing we can do: try and find our way out.”