“No,” she said, sadly. “I truly wish I did. I remember fading, as if falling asleep. Then waking up in your arms. I knew you had found a way to save me.”
This brought a smile to Gewey’s lips. Aaliyah jumped to her feet, listening intensely. Immediately, Gewey heard it, too. The sound of footfalls barely audible in the sand, even to Gewey's heightened senses, were just about to crest a nearby dune.
“An elf,” Aaliyah whispered.
“Better than the Soufis,” said Gewey, relieved.
Then, at the top of the dune, Weila appeared.
“Perhaps not,” said Aaliyah.
As Weila descended the dune, Gewey could see the intensity in her expression.
“Where is my son?” she asked, before she was even half way down.
Gewey opened his mouth to speak, but Aaliyah cut him off.
“He fell in the Black Oasis,” she said lowering her head.
Weila's hand slid to the knife on her belt, and hovered just above it. “He was not to enter that evil place. You swore an oath!”
Aaliyah told her about the wolves, and his reason for going.
Weila spun around, clenching her fists. “Did he die well?”
“He died bravely, expelling the evil from the Black Oasis,” said Aaliyah, in a reverent tone. “Because of his courage, your people need not fear entering that place ever again. It is there his spirit rests, kept safe by the life force that dwells within.”
“And how do you know this?” she asked, her voice wavering. “Did you see it?”
Aaliyah told her of their battle with the Vrykol, and what their spirit had told them. “He is safe. This I swear.”
“You swear nothing,” she spat angrily. “You swore to protect my son, and yet his body is rotting in the jungle of the Black Oasis. Keep your oaths to yourself.”
“It's not her fault,” said Gewey. “It's mine. I was unable to protect him. I tried, but I couldn't reach him in time.”
She sneered at Gewey. “Arrogant human. What could you have done? A weak member of a weak race who…” her words trailed off. She closed her tear-filled eyes. “I am sorry. I should not have said that. I did not mean it.”
“No need to apologize,” said Gewey. “I understand your pain. I have lost those close to me as well.”
“Unless you have lost a child, you cannot understand.” Her tears fell onto the sand. “I do not know how to bear such pain.” She rocked back and forth and wept.
“You could journey to the Black Oasis,” said Aaliyah softly, once Weila’s sobs lessened. “You can see for yourself where his spirit resides. Now that the evil is gone, it is safe.”
Weila wiped her eyes. “I may, in time. But for now, I must ignore my pain and do what I came here to do. You are to accompany me to see the Amal Molidova. She has sent me to retrieve you.”
“I am sorry,” said Aaliyah. “But we are in need of haste. Our people await us.”
“You will not leave the desert unless she allows it,” said Weila, coldly. “Your presence is not an option. The Soufis are gathering in vast numbers, and she will see what role you have played in this.”
“We have nothing to do with it,” Gewey protested.
“Perhaps,” said Weila. “That will be for Lyrial to decide. Do not try to run. You will be cut down before you reach the shore.” She motioned for them to follow. “And don't think your powers will save you. I know what you did to the Soufis, Aaliyah. Their burned corpses are a testament to what you are capable of.”
Gewey started to correct her, but a stern glance from Aaliyah silenced him.
“We will comply,” said Aaliyah. “How far must we travel?”
“It is an eight-day journey,” Weila replied. “But we will get there much faster.”
“How,” asked Gewey. The idea of more than two weeks’ delay did not sit well.
“You shall see.” Weila headed west. Gewey and Aaliyah looked at each other then followed.
The heat of the day was nearly unbearable. Aaliyah thought it best not to use the power of the flow to cool the air. Weila was in pain at the loss of Pali, and she didn't want to make matters worse by offending her beliefs.
By midday, they had nearly exhausted their water. Weila had not even opened her flask and her pace had steadily increased. A few hours later, they saw a small rock formation at the base of a large dune. As they neared they could make out an opening, just big enough for a single person to pass through.
“We are here,” said Weila. Just inside the opening was a steep staircase leading into the dark depth of the earth. “Mind your feet. The stairs are treacherous.”
Gewey had to duck to enter the opening and his feet hung over each step. In seconds, the light from the entrance was gone and they were surrounded by pitch blackness. The air was stale and dusty, and the corridor was barely wide enough for Gewey to squeeze through. The descended for several hundred yards before the stair finally ended and flatten into a narrow hallway. The hall twisted and turned for nearly a half-mile, until Gewey could see a soft light ahead. As they approached, he realized the light emanated from the walls of a rough, rounded, natural enclosure, twenty feet high and twenty feet in diameter. At either end a tunnel disappeared into the distance. Thousands of tiny bulbs of blue crystals were embedded into the rock, each giving off a faint light, illuminating the cavern. The floor was smooth and polished, clearly made so by the hands of skilled craftsmen, with the exception a rough stripe of gritty sand that spanned the cavern and led to the entrance of each tunnel. The closer Gewey looked the more the sand appeared to move and ripple.
“That is how we will travel,” said Weila. She walked to the far right end of the cavern, where a line of round curved disks, four-feet in diameter, were leaned against the wall. She grabbed three and gave one to Gewey and Aaliyah.
“I don't understand,” said Gewey.
Weila reached in her belt, pulled out a copper and tossed it on top of the rough spot on the floor. At once it came to life, flowing like a swift river, into the tunnel. “This is the Blood of the Desert. We will ride it to the Waters of Shajir.”
Gewey and Aaliyah stared in wonder as the sand settled. Gewey bent down to touch it, but Weila quickly snatched him back.
“Do not touch it,” she warned, sternly. “It will pull you in and drag you down into the depth of the earth.” She placed her disk on the floor just beside the sand. “This is a slithas. We will ride atop them.” She motioned for them to place theirs beside hers.
Gewey closed his eyes. He could feel the flow raging all around him. He was tempted to let it in, but resisted. “This place…did your people build it?”
“No. It was here when we arrived,” Weila replied. She took several leather strips from her belt and lashed the slithas together through tiny holes along the outer edge. There are many scattered throughout the desert, though only a few are safe to use.”
“And the ones that aren't?” asked Gewey.
Weila pushed the slithas into the Blood of the Desert. Again it came to life. “They lead to a great vortex in the center of the desert. If you go there, you will not return.” She put one foot atop the lead slithas. “Now be ready.”
Gewey took the center and Aaliyah the rear. Weila nodded sharply and they all jumped aboard. They barely had time to sit, when the sands grabbed the slithas, and flung them forward. The staff and bow strapped to Gewey's pack jammed into his kidney, sending a shockwave of pain through his body.
In seconds, they were through the tunnel and the glow of the crystals vanished, replaced by utter darkness. After Gewey's eyes adjusted, he turned to Aaliyah. She was sitting, legs crossed and eyes closed.
“Have you ever heard of a place like this?” he asked.
“No.” She folded her arms and sighed. “But it is truly wonderful. I can feel the power of the earth here like in no other place I have ever been in my life. Even the jungles of my home seem dead and dreary by comparison.”