‘Come on,’ he said, grimacing. ‘We are not dead yet.’ Har’gaan glanced over his shoulder, but his gaze went beyond the other two aspirants and he scowled. ‘We need to move. Now.’

Illion turned.

Fear had spurred Har’gaan’s limbs into a final desperate act of motion.

The aspirants were not the only ones seeking a way around the sea of fire. Three sinuous bodies, low against the sheer rock and climbing swiftly, followed them. The serrwyrms had caught up with their prey.

‘Down!’ Kade’s shout was almost as loud as his twin shotgun blasts as a storm of shrapnel erupted from their mouths. The muzzle flare was brief but sharp, so too the lead serrwyrm’s death scream as it plummeted off the fire canyon’s flank with only half a head.

The big Themian racked another shell into the breech. He was stalking forwards along the causeway, the others flat against it, advancing on the creatures.

‘Fight or die!’ he roared, triggering the cannons again, this time at a second pair who were scaling down the canyon’s summit from above.

Three las-carbines answered as the rest of the aspirants combined their fire to take down a third creature. Throughout the barrage, the serrwyrms slithered and weaved, and the fire canyon continued to break apart.

‘We cannot stay here and fight them all off.’ Illion had adopted a kneeling stance with the end of the carbine’s stock tucked into his armpit, up into the shoulder to better absorb recoil. Every shot was accurate, he had some skill as a marksman, but the serrwyrm’s chitinous armour was thick. Most of his shots were ineffective.

Behind him, Kade grunted.

‘How many left?’ he growled between shotgun blasts.

‘At least three, but there could be more,’ shouted Illion.

Za’tenga slammed home a fresh clip. ‘Last one,’ he said, reading off the dwindling ammo count. ‘Not enough to fend them off. We need a different strategy.’

‘I would suggest running,’ said Illion.

A few short metres separated them from the serr-wyrms now. Only the fact that the canyon was shaking so violently had prevented the creatures from springing at the aspirants, and bearing them down to feast upon.

‘Agreed,’ said Kade.

Before he turned, Illion caught the look in the Themian’s eyes and perceived the cold survival logic there. From this point, whoever was the fastest would live. Stronger, uninjured, more sure-footed than the rest, Kade was in the best position.

But despite the pathfinder’s expectations, the Themian didn’t take the lead. Instead he went to Har’gaan who was barely holding himself upright against the trembling canyon wall.

‘Go!’ Kade barked at the others, ‘I will carry him.’ He heaved Har’gaan up one-handed, keeping his other hand free to fire the shotgun. His aim was wild but the large bursts compensated. ‘Go!’

Illion ran, Za’tenga, who seemed reluctant to leave Har’gaan behind, in front.

‘Don’t look back,’ he shouted ahead, but risked a glance over his own shoulder.