The Desert Spear

demons, daring them to give chase.
    Their glory was endless. Even the greenlander breathed a word that rang of awe.
    The
alagai
shrieked and charged into the Maze. The Baiters whooped and ran, leading the demons deeper through twists and turns to where their respective tribesmen hid in wait.
    After several minutes, Jardir signaled for the gates to be closed again. The scorpions cleared the way, and the gates closed with a thunderous boom.
    “Fetch the nets,” Jardir told the
nie’Sharum.
“We shall head deeper into the Maze and put the greenlander to his test.”
    But the boy did not move. Jardir glanced at him in irritation and saw open terror on his face. He turned along the boy’s line of sight, and saw many of his warriors standing similarly dumbfounded.
    “What are you…” he began to shout, but then, in the light of the oil fires, he saw an
alagai
bounding over the dunes toward the city.
    But this was no ordinary demon. Even at a distance, Jardir could tell it was enormous. Sand demons were bigger than their flame and wind cousins, not counting wingspan, but even the sand demons were no larger than a man, and they ran on all fours like dogs, standing perhaps three feet at the shoulder.
    The demon that approached stood erect on hind legs jointed with sharp bone, and stood more than twice the height of a tall man. Even its spiked tail seemed longer than a man was tall. Its horns were like spears, its talons like butchering knives, and its black carapace was thick and hard. One of its arms ended at the elbow—a club that could crush a warrior’s skull.
    Jardir had never imagined a demon so big. His men stood frozen—in fear or surprise he could not tell. Only the greenlander seemed unsurprised, staring hard at the giant with undisguised hatred.
    But why? It seemed too great a coincidence that such a creature should arrive on the same night a
chin
appeared on his palace steps, begging to fight. What was his connection to the demon?
    Jardir cursed his inability to speak the greenlander’s barbaric tongue.
    “What are you waiting for?” he roared to the scorpion teams. “
Alagai
are
alagai
! Kill it!”
    His words broke the spell, and the men leapt to obey. The greenlander clenched his fist as they took aim and let fly their stingers, massive spears with heavy heads of iron. They shot high in the sky to arc the missiles down with crushing impact.
    The giant demon was struck full on by almost a dozen stingers, but all splintered against its armor, leaving the creature unfazed. It shrieked its fury and came on again.
    Suddenly the city seemed vulnerable. Jardir had learned warding in Sharik Hora, and knew that each ward only found its full power against a single breed of demon. The wards carved into Krasia’s walls were ancient and had never been breached, but had they ever been tested against one such as this?
    He grabbed the greenlander by the shoulders, turning him about to face him. “What do you know?” he demanded. “What do we face, damn you?!”
    The greenlander nodded, seeming to understand, and looked about. He moved to a rock slinger and touched the stone in the sling. Then he pointed to the demon.
“Alagai,”
he said.
    Jardir nodded, moving to the Mehnding in command of the engine.
    “Can you hit it?” Jardir asked.
    The
dal’Sharum
snorted. “An
alagai
that big? I can take just its other arm, if you wish.”
    Jardir slapped his back. “Take its head, and we’ll tar it as a trophy.”
    “Start boiling the tar,” the warrior said, adjusting the tension and angle of the weapon.
    The greenlander rushed over to Jardir, speaking rapidly in his ugly tongue. He waved his arms, seeming increasingly frantic that he could not make his meaning clear. Again and again he pointed to the sling, shouting what seemed the only Krasian word he knew,
“Alagai!”
    “He brays like a camel,” Hasik said.
    “Be silent,” Jardir snapped. He narrowed his eyes, but then the slinger called, “Ready!”
    “Fire!” Jardir said. The greenlander leapt for the warrior who went to cut the rope, but Hasik grabbed him, hurling him roughly away.
    “I knew we could not trust a
chin,
First Warrior,” he growled. “He protects the demon!”
    Jardir wasn’t so sure, staring hard at the man, who struggled wildly in Hasik’s grip. He pointed again, this time down at the wall, shouting,
“Alagai!”
    Lessons long dismissed as legend returned to Jardir in a rush—tales of the great demons that had assaulted