Chapter 57. From the Bane of Nothingness

KAREN

The Sons of Dragons give us hope because for every one of them slain, more emerge from the sand. I am riding as fast as I can to reach Razal, but Neem soldiers flood my path.

Regardless of the Sons of Dragons, who give us a fair advantage, the Neems are still prevailing. Perhaps because of the Ovie.

“Stay close...” I warn Qin and the young guards riding with me, but my words are still in my mouth when I see an ax spinning in the air and aiming for my head. I bend sharply, merely out of reflex. And when the ax misses my head, my gaze trails its motion because a loud grunt follows. The sight of a teenage warrior swallowed by dust rips my heart open. I moan, turning to the soldier who tossed the ax—a White Neem!

Standing in my path, he looks looking like death personified. His eyes are black as hell. His beards long and bushy. The toss of his second ax sends me tumbling onto the sand, for it lands on my charger.

Dust particles push into my nostrils,