Then Ella heard a great whoosh, and a fireball shot through the air, screaming and roiling as the sphere of flame turned over and over, flying with a well-aimed cast at the creature's head. The fireball hit the sandworm's nostrils, bursting over them in a spray of red energy.

The Devil of Lyra went mad.

It cried out in pain, and the immense head twisted in the air, finally thrusting down into the sand again as the sandworm's body formed a loop, half of its body exiting the ground at one place while the rest entered at another.

Ella turned and saw Shani behind her, still on her rearing, terrified horse; the Petryan's expression was dark as her battle instincts took over. Jehral drew to a halt beside Ella, his own horse foaming at the mouth and the reins of Ella's horse in his hand. Jehral opened his mouth to speak.

"Look out!" Ella screamed. She rushed towards Jehral as the Devil of Lyra's pointed rear came out of the sand. The sandworm's length tapered towards the end, culminating in a long, thin tail. Ella yanked the reins of Jehral's horse, pulling it away with a sharp movement.

The tail whipped out, and if Ella hadn't intervened, would have taken Jehral's head. As it was, the tail whipped across his chest. Blood spurted out into the air, and the desert warrior looked down at the sudden gash.

The sandworm's body was now completely under the sand. The ground rumbled beneath them.

"It's going to come up beneath us!" Ella cried. Shani was white-faced. "We need to get out of here! Here, take these reins!"

Shani grabbed Jehral's reins from Ella and dug in her heels. They were racing away, when Shani realised that Ella's reins were still twisted in Jehral's hands and they were taking Ella's horse with them.

Shani pulled the horses to a stop.

"Keep going!" Ella shouted.

"I won't leave you," Shani called back.

"You have to get Jehral out of here. Don't worry, I'll catch you."

"How will you get away?" Shani cried.

"Don't worry. I'll find you," Ella said. With a grim smile, she spoke a command, and pulled the hood of her dress over her head.

Ella knew she would be wavering like a mirage as she chanted, activating the shadow effect.

Cloaked by her dress, she looked at the heavy dagger in her hand as Shani rode away with Jehral and Ella's riderless horse. Ella knew the sandworm didn't like heat, and she had seen that the inside of its body was softer than the tough, outer shell of its segmented body.