Some of the creatures tried to attack; they fell, burnt and lacerated. Others turned to flee; dragons chased them across the desert and burned them down. Corpses of the mummified, reeking
beasts tumbled down to crash against the ruins.

The last walls of Goshar fell; so did the last of the nephilim. Death and scattered stones spread where once a proud city had stood. Issari soared higher, and the dragons of Goshar—now the dragons of Requiem—rose around her. They formed a great pillar in the sky, a typhoon of scales and dragonfire.

With fire, blood, and dust, Requiem rises, Issari thought. With the ruin of cities and nations, our kingdom is forged.

JEID

 
JEID

He stood in the deepest, coldest tunnel in this labyrinth of stone, staring down at the body.

"May your soul rise to the stars," he said, head bowed. "You will forever shine among them."

He lowered the little body—only a boy, not even ten years old—and placed him among the others. Like the other dead, the boy's chest had been cracked open, his innards scooped out and consumed by the creature in the mountain. Jeid's throat felt tight, his eyes close to tears, as he draped the boy's fur cloak over his body. They nestled together here in the darkness—seven dead, seven souls lost to the beast of shadows.

"Grizzly." Dorvin placed a hand on his shoulder. "Grizzly, we can't keep them here forever. It's cold and dark in this tunnel, but the bodies are going to start to stink soon." Dorvin covered his nose. "Stars! I can already smell them. What do we do when they rot?"

Bryn stood further back; the tunnel was so narrow they had to stand in single file. The red-haired woman glared at Dorvin, her eyes flashing. "Show some respect! These are children of Requiem. They—"

"—are going to rot and stink," Dorvin finished. "Like the rest of us, sooner or later. Have you ever seen a rotting body, Bryn? I have. They spread disease. They'll kill us as surely as whatever killed them." The young hunter sighed. "Sphinxes outside. A demon in the walls. Thirst and hunger. Now the threat of disease. All that's left to do is guess what'll kill us first."

Jeid stared down at the bodies. His fists clenched at his sides.

"No. We no longer wait." He spun toward Dorvin and Bryn. His voice shook, the anger replacing his grief. "I hid in a cave once before. With my children and father. For years we hid in the canyon, waiting for our enemies to hunt us. And then we built a kingdom among the trees, and we raised a column of marble blessed by the stars, and we flew freely under the sky. It's time we found our sky again."

Dorvin bared his teeth and pounded his fist into his palm. "Yes! We fly out. We face the sphinxes. We—"