Chapter 3: Emergency Entry and Shelter
“Lilith, quit spacing out—get in the city!”
Panic hit first, like ice on feathers. The Little White Dragon froze at the sight of a giant of dust standing before the walls, then jerked awake at Nidhogg’s shout. She snapped her wings and dove toward the underbelly of the Eternal City, Bosaklie, like a gull dropping toward dark water.
The sand came faster than fear could catch up. It surged ahead like a vanguard, a yellow tide breaking free from the giant’s body to announce its master’s arrival.
“It was clear over the Red Cliffs, and now it’s all sand the moment we take off,” the Little White Dragon grumbled, wind hissing in her teeth. Grit was already kissing her cheek. Disgust flared, bright and quick. She folded her shame of being smudged into motion and copied a raptor’s stoop, arrowing for the lower half of Bosaklie.
“Passage… passage… where’s the passage?” Urgency prickled like needles. Lilith combed the city’s underside with her keen gaze, hunting for a tunnel wide enough to swallow two flyers. Pipes bristled like reeds in a marsh, venting white steam in steady breath. They were narrow as straws—no dragon, not even a small one, would wriggle through there.
“Nidhogg, do you see anywhere we can fly in?” Helplessness flashed; then she reached for her teammate. The Black Dragon heard and banked, her voice steady as a drumbeat. “Not yet. But Bosaklie’s seen us. They’ll give a sign.”
“Got it.” Hope sparked, and Lilith dove back into the search. As if on cue, the city’s lower plates parted to reveal a mouth just wide enough for five to pass shoulder to shoulder. An imp poked her head out, voice sharp as a bell in the storm.
“Over here! Move it! Bosaklie’s about to lock the whole city down!”
“On it!” Lilith shouted back, throat raw with the wind. She didn’t wait to hear if the imp heard. She snapped her wings tight; heavy pinions wrapped her small body until she was a white arrow. She rode the whoosh of the gale and drove headlong into the Eternal City’s open maw.
Nidhogg followed close, a half-dragon riding the slipstream Lilith had cut, her wings beating to chase the White Dragon into Bosaklie.
The imp checked left and right, eyes flicking like lanterns. Seeing no one else incoming, she yanked the lever at her side. Two heavy iron plates slammed together with a boom. The last open passage of Bosaklie shut like a lid.
“Up, up!” The Little White Dragon had barely shot through and face-planted. Dazed fog rang in her head like a bell. Before she could shake it off, the anxious imp hauled her by the arm with surprising strength.
“Wait, I’ve got her.” Nidhogg stepped in, scooping Lilith up. She slung the small dragon over her shoulder and matched the imp’s urgent pace.
“You two picked a great time to show up,” the imp rattled, legs flashing like needles. “You hit the gate right when the worst dust storm of the year rolls in. Congrats—you just earned a three-day lockdown the moment you entered.” She led them past the huge yellow gateframe they’d used, through a stretch of dim, tar-dark corridor, to a narrow, single-door hatch laced with dust. She stopped. Fingers danced over a few buttons, then she threw another lever.
The door swung open. Behind the brass-colored iron was a cramped room washed in a faint amber glow. A single candle burned, its flame small as a firefly, throwing soft light like warm breath against the walls.
“It’s rough, but you don’t have time to transfer elsewhere. Shelter with me first.” The imp dragged out two stools and set one for Lilith, one for Nidhogg. Once they sat, she produced two copper cups and poured each of them water that glinted like pale tea.
“Yeah, a humble welcome.” She poured one for herself too. Embarrassment flickered over her face; she raised the cup with a sheepish grin. Lilith read the feeling, clinked her cup lightly, then sipped. Warmth slid down like a small lantern lit in her chest.
“So—what’s with that ‘biggest dust storm of the year’?” Nidhogg didn’t touch her tea. Curiosity edged her tone like a blade. “Maybe introductions first. I’m Nidhogg. This is Lilith. Just two travelers. We passed a friend’s hometown, so we stopped to look.”
“I’m Sera, just a gatekeeper in the Eternal City. Don’t fuss about me.” The imp gave a quick salute. “We move a lot inside the Demon Realm, so Bosaklie keeps a team who study weather the slow, clumsy way. They can pin the time and strength of dust storms, more or less. This one’s the worst this year. And it’s mixed with Dust of Death, so aside from the cleanup crews, everyone’s ordered to hole up and wait it out.”
“You got here too late. You’ll have to squeeze into this little room with me.” Sera shrugged, helpless as a leaf against wind.
“Are dust storms that dangerous? Three days stuck indoors?” The Little White Dragon drained her cup, eyes bright with curiosity.
“Well, I’ve got a scope hooked to the outside. Want a look?” Sera reached into a drawer and fished out a small monocular. She snapped it onto a blue pipe that jutted from the wall. “Just sight along here, and you can see—”
The words cut off. The floor shivered, a clear, heavy quiver like a drum hit from below.
“Down! Cover your head! Best lie flat! Bite your tongue!” Sera understood at once. She clamped her hands over her head and ducked under the table. Lilith didn’t know why yet, but fear lit her spine. She hugged her head with both hands and curled in.
A muffled thump followed, like a giant fist on a door. The whole room kicked upward. Something massive slammed down. The Eternal City groaned and sank a little deeper into the yellow sea.
“Uwah—what was that?” The Little White Dragon rubbed the lump forming on her head. She crawled to the scope, stubborn as a cat, and pressed her eye to it.
The dust giant had reached the city’s side. One fist rested on a street like a boulder on a bridge. That must’ve been the hit that rattled everything. It raised its other hand high. Under Lilith’s shocked stare, the fist fell, a hammer out of the sky.
“Take cover—one more coming!” she yelped, heart in her throat. She hugged her head and dove headfirst into the nearest bed.
