Desert Snow... Pt 5

All four stared into the burning eyes of Sharu. She began to move her hand across the sand. The sand responded to her like a Cobra responds to the music of a flute. The sand wrapped through the air and began to take form. As the shape of a sword became visible, Marcus stepped forward.
"It was Marlene. Marlene cried out because the baby kicked her. It was a terrible pain and she could not help but..."
The sword flew through the air and found it's mark. Marcus' words were cut off instantly. He grabbed the handle, total shock in his eyes. The impact from the sword tossed him backwards into the very sand dune that had moments before been a Phoenix. Bernie screamed out as she fell down beside his lifeless body. She cupped his face in her hands. Slowly she turned to look up at Sharu.
"You cruel cold creature. This man never did anything wrong to anyone in his life. He was the gentlest soul and knew only goodness. He would have let you live if we had found a way to kill you. You might as well kill me too. He was all I had in this vile world."
"He was a poor liar and served no purpose at all." Sharu lifted her hand again.
"No!!!!!!!" It was Marlene that spoke out. "No more killing. I screamed because this baby is growing inside of me at an abnormal rate. It is causing my whole body to cramp and send pain all through me. He was telling you the truth and you killed him for it. Why do you have to be so cruel!? You have all the power you will ever need to make the world do what ever it is you command. You don't have to kill innocent people to prove yourself."
The heat and glow faded from Sharu. She looked down at Marcus' body and then too Bernie. "We will be finished here soon. When we go, perhaps I will restore his life to him. Until then, you will all remain here."
As SHaru spoke, Dan began to think hard. He concentrated on ways to kill Sharu. He pressed into the deepest part of his mind and thought exactly how he would kill her, if only he was given the chance. He stared directly at Sharu as he thought. She was still talking to them. "And I will give you all your freedom, but the baby will be staying with us."
"Not my baby! You are crazy if you think I am giving up this baby just because you say so!"
"Then, dear Marlene, you will give her up when you die."
She was gone in an instant. Bernie lay beside Marcus. She began to cry. Marlene knelt beside her and hugged her. "We will find a way out of here, Bernie. And somehow, I don't know how, but we will get Marcus back."
Dan's voice broke the moment like a mirror shattering. "Ladies, I have discovered something. I want to test my theory a few more times before we act on it."
"Did I miss something Dan?"
"I noticed that Sharu had to ask us what was happening here, Marlene. She could not tell simply by reading our thoughts."
"Does it Matter, Dan!? Marcus is still dead!"
"And he would have been just as dead if she could have read his thoughts. He was in fact Lieing, Bernie."
Bernie stood up suddenly. She stood directly in front of Dan, her tears streaming down her face. "He was lieing to try and save us, Dan! Did you forget that!!?"
Dan spoke softly. "No, Bernie, I did not forget. I know the sacrifice he gave for us. But we still have to find a way out of here. I shot the most aggressive thoughts at Sharu while she was talking. I knew it was risky but staying here is No more risky. Please hear Mme out."
"We are listening, Dan"
"Thank you Bernie. She didn't know what had happened and I believe it is because of the baby. I think it is running Offense for us."
"What are you talking about, Dan!?!?"
"I believe there is a whole lot of smarts in that baby you are carrying. This place must have also increased it's mind as much as it has it's physical growth. It knows how to block our thoughts from Sharu. We can speak freely and discus how we are going tp get out of here. I really do want to test it more before we act on it."
The ladies agreed and the next few weeks were used to determine if Dan's theory was correct. The watched as the dragon took more and more sand and turned it to ice and snow.
"You do realize that we have got to stop that dragon somehow. Taking the sand as it is and moving it somewhere else will throw the entire eco-system out of control and way out of balance."
"You are right, Dan. We can not allow that to happen. Any thoughts on how we are going to stop all of this?"
"I have to really think on it Marlene."
"Well you don't have 9 months to think, Dan. If I am not mistaken, I think our little bundle is very close to coming out into this world."
"How long, Marlene?"
"Two weeks Dan, at the very most."
"Then I guess we better start thinking. Bernie, you are the bug Guru. Is their any Insect, that if it was as big as that dragon, that it could defeat?"
"Pound for pound, Dan, the only thing I would put against that dragon would be a giant Praying Mantis. But how do you propose to get it close enough to let them fight without Sharu figuring out what is going on?"
"I am working on that Bernie."
"Well work fast because here comes Sharu and she looks very angry!"