The Sound of Winter — Arthur Byron Cover

IN THE WASTELAND

The seasons changed in a matter of minutes ... glistening foliage caressed the senses . . . giant furry worms screeched their horror . . . and, occasionally, a simurgh dug his claws into the shoulder of a human being -- and stayed there until he had drained his victim of life and knowledge.

Here, Michael St. Claire, revolutionary and exile, had come to find his answers. He was afraid -- not so much for himself as for Elizabeth, a deaf-mute child-woman, his sister ...

But as their coach entered the prohibitive plains of the Wasteland, as sudden snow encompassed them, and a giant worm appeared on the horizon, Elizabeth seemed to come alive. Her miraculous transformation had begun ...