Page 2

Beside us, a pitchfork whizzed through the air, glancing off Drazen’s stubborn head.

Flark! Not the horns.

All infernus were overly proud of their ebony protrusions. Polishing them every night. Flaunting them for the ladies.Gag. Frankly, I didn’t see the appeal.

“Now they’ve done it,” Drazen snarled, looking very much like the crazed devil that his species resembled.

Embers puffed from Drazen’s nostrils, his eyes glowing red with fury. Ever the impulsive one in our trio, he urged his horse faster. Drawing alongside the wide-eyed bula, he held up his blazing hand. Flames flickered from his fingers.

“Drazen, no!” I barked.

Too late.

His heated palm slapped the bula’s hindquarters with a resounding crack, branding the animal’s beefy ass.

The lumbering bula reared up like a mighty stallion. Its massive hooves exploded against the road, and it bolted. At the sudden strain, the harness around its shoulders snapped. Leather straps tangled with the creature’s thick legs, Kronk’s control over the beast nonexistent.

“Drazen, you boar-faced shit monger,” Kronk bellowed, hauling back on the reins with zero success.

I needed to come up with a new plan. Now! “We need to get in front of him,” I yelled at Drazen.

“Can’t. Road’s too narrow.”

“Then throw a fireball into its path.”

“The beast is already spooked. You want to give it a heart attack?”

“If that’s what it takes!”

Before I could bark another order, both animal and cart careened around the next turn in the road. With Kronk clinging to the seat. Too fast! They’d never make it.

The wagon lurched up on its side, balancing on two wheels, tilting toward the fiery pit below. Icy terror flooded my veins. Kronk was fireproof. Not lava proof.

“Kronk,” I screamed, pulse pumping, certain I was about to see my adopted brother plunge to his death.

As the cart tipped, he dove over the opposite side. In a shockingly agile move, he hit the ground and spun, catching the wheel. Muscles strained along his thick forearms, his shoulders expanding with the effort. With his boots sliding against the rock, he heaved, dragging the wagon into the center of the road and setting it upright.

Thank Hathor. Kronk was safe.

With Drazen beside me, I hauled back on my reins, both of us leaping from our horses to check the bed of the cart.

Empty.

No!

I raced to the edge of the trail, peering into the fiery ravine just as a splash rang out. My heart took a similar plunge.

Below, the head of the sarcophagus bobbed in an ocean of molten rock before disappearing beneath its surface with a squelchingburp.

“It’s gone,” I gasped, watching as all three of our deaths flashed in my mind.

“Vex is going to kill us,” Drazen groaned, scraping a hand over his ruddy face.

“Slowly. Painfully.” I could see it now. Our executions would surely be public since Vex loved to have witnesses to his brutality. We’d be used to set an example. I’d watched once while he’d forced one of his captives to eat his own entrails. Bile painted my tongue at the memory.

“Not if the Dark Cultists kill us first,” Kronk stated in a cheerful tone, like this was good news.

“Not helpful,” I snapped at King Oblivious.