Chapter Thirty-Two
The Desert Wasteland was like it sounded, except it had clearly been modeled after Egypt. Large pyramids rose from the sands, but they looked off, more sinister than the real pyramids. Most people didn’t know the Egyptian pyramids were full of paranormal power, that the magnetism around them was because of the magic still clinging to the old stone. Not even the sands of the desert could wipe the magic away, so it wasn’t surprising that the council had chosen to model them. The twisted feel of them, however, was new. Looking at them rising high in the sands made Cricket’s head hurt, as if she’d focused too long on a mirage.
“Half a mile behind the wolves,” Radley said, his eyes on the tablet before flicking up to the road. He studied it for a moment before pointing out in front of them where a small cloud of dust. “There they are.”
Cricket pushed the Ferrari on the sand-covered road. The grains blew across the track, leaving tiny piles of sand that would make it dangerous if she hit them despite their tires. Just as they came up on the tail end of the wolf team in their Plymouth Duster, traps began springing up around them.
“Trap on the right,” Radley said, his eyes on the tablet.
Just as Cricket went left, a wall slammed out of the ground, blocking off part of the track. They rounded it in time to see another wall throwing the wolves off track, their car swerving around it.
One of the wolves popped out of the window of their car and braced herself on the window seal. She held a bullhorn in her hand before lifting it up to her lips. She used her claws to dig into the roof of the car, anchoring herself down as the other female flew wildly around the walls springing from the ground.
“Radley Whiteclaw,” she shouted into the bullhorn, her voice thick with aggression, and the alpha beside Cricket stiffened in response.
Cricket glanced at Radley nervously. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but she knew the wolf team had been paid off to take out Radley before she’d ever been announced. They’d seen the exchange themselves. So why was the team wasting time talking to them unless it was some sort of hopeful distraction.
“You’re a traitor to your own kind,” the female announced, her face twisted with dark humor. “A blight of shame on the werewolf race.”
Radley’s face grew stony.
Cricket swerved around another wall that hadn’t popped up for the wolves. Apparently, the triggers were completely random and most of them weren’t marked on the map. Despite Radley obviously upset at the words the wolves threw at them, he was still checking the map for any markers. Only the first one had been marked. None others.
The wolf hanging out of the window tucked the bullhorn under her arm before throwing something at them. Cricket made it out quickly enough to dodge it to the right. She assumed it was a grenade. Instead, when it hit the sand, it imploded inward, creating a sinkhole in the middle of the desert.
“What the fates was that?” Cricket gasped, her eyes looking in the mirror to catch the funnel of sand being sucked down into the ground.
“No idea,” Radley grunted. “But we need to pass them.”
Cricket nodded that she understood and pushed forward, avoiding the walls when they popped up. The wolves were just barely ahead of them, but all Cricket needed was one little mess up while they continued to throw the sinkhole things at them. The wolf either didn’t have very good aim or Cricket was that good at avoiding them. She was willing to bet on the first option.
Her opportunity came when a wall shot up in the middle of the road and the wolves swerved left toward another wall that was lifting, forcing them to swerve out wide, putting them further off track. It was all Cricket needed to swerve right and stay on course, passing the wolf team and putting them in second place.
“Traitor! Coward! You’re no wolf!” the female shouted into the bullhorn again from behind them. “How dare you sell out the wolves for the fae!”
Radley didn’t respond to anything they said. He didn’t even look at Cricket. Instead, he focused on the tablet. “We need to lose them. If they stay on us, we won’t be able to catch up to the crows and win.”
As if he’d summoned it, sparks glittered in the air above their middle console for a moment before a large glowing arrow appeared. It swirled in a circle for a moment before stopping and pointing toward a pyramid off the road.
Cricket stared at it for a few seconds before looking where it pointed. “It’s telling us to go off course.”
“The High Wizard,” Radley breathed. “This is his favor.”
“So follow it?”
“I say yes,” the wolf nodded. “I don’t think it wise to ignore his advice.”
“But we don’t have sand tires,” Cricket grunted. On cue the arrow turned and pointed at a button on the dash. She furrowed her brows and pushed it. Immediately, tracks shot out of the car and wrapped around each individual tire, making it feel more like a tank. The car was lifted higher in the air, so they had more ground clearance on the dunes. The arrow returned to pointing toward the pyramid. “Okay. Apparently, we do.”
She jerked the wheel and drove the Ferrari off track, following the direction of the arrow. Rather than following the street, the wolves went off course with them, their car struggling slightly with the sand, but their car was higher off the ground anyways and they threw snow spikes on it, giving it just enough traction to keep up.