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But Bemishu cared for his men. He slept in the same barracks as them. He refused to leave them even when offered the luxuries of the capital. So where would he be?

Another soldier rose over the crest of the hill, and Topi and Pito were too close to him, both about to be decapitated by a single strike. I felt the magic of Crane rising up in me, pushing my feet on top of the sand, giving me lift so that each of my strides became like a jump through the air. My feet no longer touched the sand, merely skimmed above the surface of it.

I leapt, swinging my own sword, and Bemishu’s soldier only had a moment of shock, a moment to stare, before I slashed down, slicing across his back, my borrowed sword cutting through his armor as though it were no more than a cloud. I saw a flash of white as my strike exposed his spine. Shaking myself, I looked down at my hands. These were not the skills I had worked so long to attain.

Yes, I was stronger. Yes, I was faster, and being able to walk across the sands without sinking into them was a gift. But I was not myself.

Around me, General Saxu’s soldiers shouted in amazement, their voices rising in pleasure as they were easily able to carve their way through Bemishu’s forces. They were enjoying their augmented abilities.

I had been right. For men who had seen the failure their weakness produced, this would be impossible to give up.

“Come on!” Topi screamed. Her scarf had fallen from her face, and she gestured toward the only one of the airships that wasn’t on fire. We ran toward it, but just when it was within range, there was the sound of cracking wood and screaming metal. It split apart, a sand crawler bursting through its hull.

Pito swerved out of the way, dragging her sister with her. They moved as one, even now, or perhaps especially now. They had learned that the world was designed to hurt them, understood that the only one they could trust was their twin, and they wouldn’t let go of each other.

Two more sand crawlers emerged, and they were nearly the entire length of the ships, which must have been built up around them. The sand crawlers ate up the ground. They were vicious machines. Their wheels were so wide that they spread the weight out and the machines were able to roll over the surface without sinking. They were dark, built from metal and wood, spikes and metal poles protruding from their hulls.

Soldiers were hidden by protective windows, with bars to prevent any arrow or lance from gaining easy access. Bolts of electricity, shockingly white, crackled against the black metal. The electricity danced across the surface of the sand crawler, following the direction of one of the metal poles, building in the tip of it. I could see exactly where the bolt was going to go. It was going to hit a group of goblins.

Then the metal pole swung toward us, and I heard the whine of electricity.

Diving forward, I tackled Topi and Pito, rolling us down a sand dune. Sand kicked up behind us, flying into the air, getting in my eyes and mouth. The electricity hit where we had been, the thump of it vibrating my bones. The sand blackened after the strike, reflecting the sunlight. The bolt of electricity had turned it to dark glass.

Topi yanked me and Pito up, dragging us toward the sand crawlers, running back and forth to elude further strikes.

“That’s where he’ll be!” Topi yelled.

Pito pulled back, shaking her head and pointing to one of the downed ships. “There!”

They were going to begin arguing, and we didn’t have time, not if they intended to get Bemishu before the goblins did. Zoigei raised a sword, shouting at his men, and they responded with a roar. He led them straight toward the sand crawlers.

Bemishu and his men were used to fighting the other goblins of the desert. They fought ones who were smaller, not backed by the animalia. They fought goblins who relied on their elephants and numbers.

Bemishu would not be satisfied staying behind in one of the ships, where he was safer. He would want to be in a sand crawler, killing the goblins he had spent his entire life hating.

“Let’s go,” I said, and we sprinted for the sand crawler at the rear.

There was magic I could use, I knew. I could feel Ox inside me, ready to plow directly into one of the sand crawlers, send it flying. Crane wanted to launch herself into the air, attack from above like the hunting bird she was. Owl had eight different plans, each one ready in case something went wrong.

But I was myself. Gritting my teeth, I tried sending a lance of ice into the spokes of a wheel. The sand crawler crunched through it easily. We were getting closer, and another bolt of electricity built up, ready to fly at us. At the last second, I jerked to the side, pulling the twins with me.

It flew past my shoulder, too close for comfort. There was no water in the desert, and I was unwilling to sacrifice anything if the sand crawler might tear through vines or branches as easily as it had an icicle.

But there was something else. Anger. The anger that always boiled in my stomach, that only Tallu seemed able to cool.

I let my rage push forward, feeling it burn through my body, setting fire to the sand in front of me. It went white-hot, turning to glass, and then the fire hit the side of the sand crawler. The wheels turned red, the track coming loose as the spokes began to melt.

The sand crawler spun, crashing into the ground, throwing up sand around it. Another pole swung toward us, lethal with electricity, but we had already climbed up the side of the sand crawler, the dark metal hot from the sun and my fire magic. If they hit us, it was just as likely the electricity would go straight into the metal hull of the sand crawler.

I tensed, waiting. Bemishu and his companions would have to come out. Up close, the sand crawler was even bigger than I imagined. I wasn’t sure how many could fit inside, but the vehicles had been designed to move Bemishu’s entire army across the desert.

Another one of the electrified poles moved, but it didn’t release the bolt it held vibrating in its tip. It was a threat. They were trying to force us to move first.

Fine. I wrapped my sleeves around my hands and climbed up higher, trying to see where the door was. This enormous machine had to have an entrance somewhere.

At each of the windows, I could hear men screaming at us, cursing us. They tried to grab at me, but the windows were too narrow for any arrows to get in, and much too narrow for their fingers to get out.

“Here,” Topi said. She had wrapped her headscarf around her hands and climbed halfway down; she pointed to a narrow bit of metal. There was no handle that I could see. If she hadn’t indicated it, I would have assumed it was nothing more than a strangely shaped piece of the hull.