Free Dreamer by Ann Mayburn

transformed from a festive market into a
ghost town of broken stalls and scattered merchandise. Shouldering her
backpack, she crept into her neighbor’s stall and hid behind a stack of rugs.
One thing her nightmares had taught her was to hide and survey the situation
before stepping out into the open where the bad things could see you. And right
now, the world resembled her nightmares more than reality.
    In the distance, shouts and screams combined with a
high-pitched whistle that set her teeth on edge.
    Pounding feet surged past her as a group of guards ran
toward the front entrance. Dressed in battle gear, their curved swords gleamed
in the sunlight as they raced past. No one spared her a glance and she tried to
gather her courage to move from the behind the rugs.
    War cries split the air, and a wave of the stench washed
over her. Darting her head up from behind the stacks, she bit on her uninjured
hand to keep from screaming. Her mind tried to make sense of what she was
seeing, but nothing quite fit. It looked like a greenish elephant with a thick,
scaly hide, but instead of a trunk, it had a long and barbed tentacle that
lashed at the group of guards that had just run past her.
    One guard's body was stuck on the barbed end of the
tentacle, and he screamed as he tried to pry himself off.
    Shan stumbled out from her hiding place and fell to her
knees in the middle of the deserted aisle as she tripped over the edge of a
rolled-up carpet. The demon snapped its tentacle like a whip, and the body of
the man sailed through the air and landed out of sight with a sickening thud.
The other guards managed to wound it, striking with their swords against its
belly that bled black. Kicking out, the creature caught a woman in the side
with its rear foot and flung her into a stand of scarves and bells right in
front of Shan. She was close enough to see the terror and despair in the
woman's soft brown eyes as their gazes met.
    Trumpeting into the air, the demon started to move forward
toward Shan and the female guard.
    The sight of the beast laboring toward her should have
petrified her, but after a lifetime of nightmares, her mind switched over to
survival mode. The woman who was thrown into the scarves tried to pull herself
in front of Shan. The white of broken bone shone through the leg of her pants,
but she continued to struggle to put herself between the monster and Shan.
    With only two guards left standing, the creature ignored
them and turned toward the wounded woman. Not thinking, Shan ran to her and
hooked her hands beneath the woman's armpits, choking back on a scream as her
injured hand throbbed. Desperation filled Shan as she glanced up, trying to
find the closest temple. Adrenaline and power surged through her, giving her
the strength to drag the woman in a desperate scrabble.
    The creature screamed in outrage and kicked another one of
the men away. The sound of his head hitting stone with a ripe splat made bile
rise in Shan's throat. She didn't have to look to know that he was dead.
    “Run,” the woman choked out, trying to push Shan away.
    “No.” Shan hunched over, pulling the woman along. A few
steps farther and they would be in sight of the stairs. She didn't want to yell
for help and attract the demon’s attention any more than she already had.
    The woman groaned as she used her good leg to try and help
Shan drag her. Glancing up, Shan watched in horror as the creature faced off
with the final guard. He flung his sword to the ground and began a chant that
rolled through her bones like thunder. Shan froze, magic moving through the air
in a burning rush, the feeling of electricity stinging over her skin like a
thousand biting ants.
    “Hurry!” the woman screamed. “David's going to sacrifice
himself.”
    “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” Shan said in a high and thin
voice. Her back screamed in protest as they turned the corner. Her last sight
of the man brought out her breath in a rush. His dark brown hair blew