Chronicles of Efia: Dawn of the Desert King

Chapter Nineteen

****Lots of new parts in this chapter so I haven't gone back and edited. Just trying to keep the momentum of submitting chapters as my computer continues to crap out on me****

"Rahnka, can you hear me?" Umar yelled over the side of the ship.

Rahnka, still awestruck, stammered. "Y-yes, Papa."

Umar exhaled, hammering his fist twice on the railing at the sound of his daughter's voice. "Are you and Fai-sahl alright?"

Rahnka's long eyelashes fluttered as a smile crept up her face. "Come see for yourself!"

Puzzled, Umar and Shiou looked at each other. Umar took hold of Shiou's hand and transformed them both into sand. The wind swept them off the side of the ship and onto the desert floor, until loose particles gathered to form bodies of solid matter once again. Their mouths quickly fell ajar as they witnessed the magnitude of Fulbright's strength. Umar chuckled in disbelief as he ran his hands through his thick molasses curls.

"The boy did it! He did it!"

Shiou's smile grew upward like ivy reaching for the sun; his eyes disappeared behind his sun stained cheeks. "Very good Oli-ne," he whispered softly.

Umar was practically giddy. "I can't believe he's been holding back this whole time!"

Shiou stroked his chin. "I don't think he knew he was holding back."

"Eh?" Umar studied Shiou's thoughtful gaze. He knew better than to question his wisdom and connection with the Light and ceded his speculation to Shiou's deep understanding. He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted,"Fai-sahl! You can lower the ship now!"

Fulbright did not stir.

Umar grew nervous. "The dock patrol will be here any moment, Shiou. How are we going to explain a ship hovering above the dunes with a busted hull?"

Shiou snapped his fingers. "The boy is in a heavy trance, Umar. We should have the crew take over and lower the ship with sand and wind."

Umar relaxed his face. "Oi! Good thinking, brother!"

Above, Rahnka watched as her father shouted commands and corralled an organized formation of her shipmates. Together they began to shift the dunes below, summoning the sand to encircle the base of the ship. Rahnka turned to Fulbright and cooed.

"Fai-sahl. Fai-sahl. You saved us. You can let go of the burden now."

Still entranced, Fulbright responded to Rahnka's tender request and slowly relaxed his hands along the splintered beams of wood until he was no longer attached to it. His eyes immediately lost their white glow as he crumpled inside of his harness. Rahnka slipped her arms around him once more, feeling the familiarity of her power return to her. The weight of the ship quickly sank down into the harness of restless sand. Visibility had decreased substantially as the amber singed edges of the horizon faded into deep lavender blues of the evening sky. Dunes and crags below were difficult to distinguish from above, but the desert nymphs managed to nestle the ship just outside a cluster of jagged rocks.

With the ship now safe and stable on the ground, Rahnka closed her eyes, focusing on Fulbright's heartbeat and hers, until the two became a harmonious cadence, morphing into one body of shifting particles of sand, and slipping through the leather harnesses that bound them to the ship. When they materialized, Fulbright moaned as his knees buckled from the physical strain on his body. Rahnka struggled to quickly bolster his weight onto her tiny frame, and was relieved to have her father and Shiou reach out to support his arms over their necks like a heavy yoke. Fulbright's head rolled to the side.