The Godling Chronicles (Shadow of the Gods, Book #3) (33 page)

“
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.”

“
This is where the power you steal
comes from,” said Weila, with a tinge of disgust. “The desert is
filled with such wonders. If my heart wasn't so heavy, I would tell
you about them.” She covered her face with her hands, and
shuddered. Then she heaved a sigh and wiped her eyes. “I know that
it was not your fault that my son perished, Aaliyah. You made the
only choice you could. If the wolves attacked, then it was due to
dark forces. They are not evil creatures by nature. I would not
have had Pali left alone in the desert.”

“
I thank you for your understanding,”
said Aaliyah. “And I hope you will journey to the Black Oasis. I
believe seeing what has become of it will help heal your
heart.”

“
Perhaps. For now I must mourn.” She
noticed the bow and staff Gewey carried. “Is that what you were
after? You did not have those when we first met.”

“
It was,” Aaliyah affirmed. “The Oasis
guarded these things. It was what drew the evil there. It wished to
possess them.”

“
Is that why the Black Oasis is safe?”
she asked. “Because it no longer has anything to
protect?”

“
Yes,” Aaliyah replied. “At least in
part.”

“
Then Pali died for a worthy cause.”
More tears fell from Weila’s eyes.

“
Your son died fighting at our side,”
said Gewey. “He could have stayed within the temple, but chose to
face the evil that had invaded your land. To me, that alone is
worthy of pride.”

“
You are wise for one so young,” said
Weila. A smile crept upon her lips. “To die fighting alongside
one’s friend is worthy. But to face evil, when it is easier to
hide, is even more so.” She leaned forward and touched Gewey's arm.
“Your words are a comfort, where I thought none could be
found.”

Hours passed as the slithas sped along,
twisting and winding through the bowels of the desert. The disks
appeared to guide themselves, with no actions required from Weila.
Gewey had never spent so much time beneath the surface, and soon
had lost track of time and direction.

As they continued, he noticed the air would
change from time to time. It would grow warm and dry, then later
cool and moist. Gewey tried to imagine what lay above that would
cause this. Occasionally, they would pass through a section of
tunnel with the glowing blue crystals dotting the walls. It was
then he could feel the flow intensify.

“
There is so much I don't know,” he
thought. “So many mysteries.”

As if reading his thoughts, Aaliyah said, “I
could spend a lifetime learning about this place.”

“
You could spend many lifetimes and
never learn all the wonders of the desert,” remarked
Weila.

Finally, Gewey looked ahead and saw the glow
of another cavern approaching, rapidly. Weila crouched on her
slithas, Gewey and Aaliyah did the same.

“
We are traveling faster than you may
realize,” said Weila. “You will have only one chance to get off. If
you miss it, you will end up in the vortex. Just jump when I do and
you will live.”

Gewey was unnerved by the idea of being
swallowed by a vortex of sand, and allowed the flow to enter. The
world slowed and he calmed his heartbeat. When they reached the
cavern Weila jumped. Gewey and Aaliyah followed just in time. Even
with the power of the flow raging through him, he nearly lost his
footing as his boots struck rock.

The passageway out was a gentle, upward
slope, a fact that relieved Gewey. Hours of sitting had caused his
legs to cramp and twinge. But what it lacked in depth, it made up
for in length. He guessed they walk for at least a mile, before
they reached the end. As they emerged Gewey could see the stars of
the night sky, shining in the heavens.

The landscape had changed from endless dunes,
to flat, tightly packed sand, with patches of coarse, brown grass
and thorny bushes scattered about. On the horizon, the silhouette
of jagged mountains blackened the sky. Gewey had seen his father’s
map of the desert when he was a child. He would bring it out when
he told him stories of the fire lizards.

“
We’re on the other end of the desert,”
he gasped. “How...” During their passage, it didn't seem like they
were traveling long enough or fast enough to have gone this
far.

Weila cracked a smile. “I told you. The
desert is full of wonders.”

Weila led them east along a well-trodden
trail. Immediately, they could see a bright blue light, the same
hue as the crystals they had seen in the caverns, cutting away the
darkness, only a few miles away.

“
When we arrive, you must be silent
until I speak with Lyrial,” said Weila. “She will take the death of
Pali no better than I.”

“
Why is that?” asked Gewey.

Her face was hard and dark. “In human terms,
she was his wife.”

A cold chill shot down Gewey's spine. “I
see.”

“
What is she exactly?” asked Aaliyah.
“What authority does she possess?”

“
She is the Amal Molidova,” Weila
replied, reverently. “She is the spiritual leader of my people. In
times when a single voice must guide us, we have chosen for it to
be hers.”

“
And the Sand Masters?” asked Gewey. He
had assumed they were the leaders of the desert elves.

Weila held her head high. “We concern
ourselves with matters of the desert. Our task is the well-being of
our people as they journey through the dunes. Once our folk are
safely home, our responsibility ends. We do not often need a single
voice to guide us. War and turmoil are rare. But things have
changed. The Soufis are forming an army. This has never
happened...until you arrived.”

Gewey could feel Aaliyah's unease. Since he
had returned her spirit to her body, more and more he could feel
what she was feeling. It was almost like the bond he shared with
Kaylia, only more subtle.