Half Magic | Book 2

Nine: A Storm of Sand

My woven mat was laid out on the sand. I was face down on it with a fat bird sitting on one of my calves. I debated on making him get off of me, but I didn't have the energy.

"Here, dinner." Schula sat down next to me with a selection of dried meats and fruits laid out in a shallow dish made from woven palm leaves.

I raised my head enough to take a piece of jerked lamb in my mouth, then laid it back down while Schula giggled at me.

"Is she going to be alright?" Kai asked, not all that concerned.

"Oh, she'll be fine," Schula teased. "She's just out of shape."

"I am not out of shape," I groaned into the mat. Everything hurt. Shula had pushed me hard tonight.

It was our fourth night in the desert and the sun was rising fast. We had fallen into a routine. We woke as the sun was setting. Kai and I put away our light cotton shade that kept us from roasting while we slept. Schula and Nassir pulled out food for everyone from our provisions. Then we walked for half of the night, breaking to rest and eat, then walk the other half. After our night was done, Schula would make me do my stretches and run up and down the sand dunes.

I had become faster over the weeks following my unusual transformation. Releasing the seal on my back had tipped my magic over the edge and allowed me to really grow into my half elven body. Nassir told me what he could about the elves. Apparently they were all quite fast, and had lithe bodies. It should have made me feel a little better that I was always such a scrawny thing, but it didn't.

My belly growled at the meager offering. I had to eat more than just a strip of dried lamb. I sat up, disturbing Puko, and stretched.

"You're getting quite fast, Wren," Nassir said. "You'll be faster than a fae in no time."

"Not faster than Thain," I said.

"No, I suppose not faster than Thain." Nassir chuckled.

"If she isn't a fae, what is she?" Kai asked skeptically, eyeing me.

"Oh, just something of the Wyldes. So, Kai," Schula turned to our guide, firmly shifting the subject from me. "How is our progress? Are we still on track?"

We had decided that as much as we liked Kai, it was too risky to let word of a half elf get around. All of us were better off not talking about it, Kai included.

"Oh we're better than on track. I'm impressed with our progress," Kai admitted, tearing his dried apple into small bits and feeding them to Puko. He had grown fond of the raven after he adjusted to his odd appearance.

"Does that mean we will arrive early?" Nassir asked.

"A group is only as fast as it's slowest member," Kai said. "And for once, that person is me. I can cross about half a week faster than a party I'm guiding, provided we don't run into any trouble. I'd say we'll be there in two weeks. We have a water stop coming up tomorrow."

"Good, we're running very low," Schula said.

"We'll be fine. The oasis is..." Kai stiffened, putting us all on edge. Our heads whipped to where he was staring in the distance behind where I sat.

A wall of brown covered the sky. it ate up everything in its path. I could just hear the roaring wind if I tilted my head, and it was approaching fast.

"What is that?" Nassir asked, his eyebrows snapped together as he tried to sort out the sounds he was hearing.

"Storm," Kai scrambled to his feet. "We have a few minutes, but we need to pack everything and get out the tarps."