Half Magic | Book 2

Ten: Mist in the Desert

"Yeah, that might have been it," Kai said. "Nassir seemed curious, so Schula went with him."

I scrambled to my feet, spinning my head around the oasis and seeing that Puko was fluffed up, a round and terrified raven.

Stupid. It was stupid not to say something to them before now. I knew I was feeling something, but with the nightmares after Icehold and the paranoia from my time trapped in the darkness, I was so sure I was imagining things.

"Kai, something is out there," I said as I ran up the hill and scanned the ground for footprints.

"What is it?" He followed me up the hill and pulled a short spear and a curved piece of wood from beneath his white cloak.

"I don't know," I said. "I've just had this feeling on and off since we were a few hours into the sands, and I feel it again now. Strongly."

"They went that way." Kai pointed and I spotted the two sets of footprints in the sand.

I took off. I've never run so fast in my life. Maybe it was Schula's training, or the fact that I was half elf, or maybe it was just my desperation.

As I ran, I could feel the thickening of the fog around me. Something was wrong, the desert was way too dry for a fog like this to be natural. The air was thick and still murky with settling dust from yesterday's storm. I couldn't see as far ahead as I would like, but I still had footprints to follow and I threw myself into following them.

"Wren!" I heard Kai somewhere behind him, but he was pretty far back and I was losing him fast.

I closed my eyes and flung my magic out wildly, reaching for Schula and Nassir.

But that isn't who I found.

The sensation of music without actually hearing it. Somehow that is what my magic reached out and brushed against. A soft feeling. Something sad but light.

I slowly opened my eyes, and slowed to a walk. Some of the fog... no, mist... parted for me.

Dancing in the sand, with the moon high above and a reddish glow from the settling dust, I saw her.

A beautiful figure in a long silver dress with a life of it's own. She wore no shoes and her black hair was let down, falling to her knees. Her eyes were a solid blue, shining under the stars as the watched me with the hint of a smile.

When she parted her red lips her mouth was full of thin, sharp teeth. My mind was a fog. Those teeth reminded me of something, but I couldn't put my finger on what that might be or why it would even bother me.

"Join me, lost one," her soft voice whispered, reaching out to me. "Dance with me and let your worries fly away."

"Yes," I found myself agreeing. It was a good idea. No, it was a fantastic idea. Of course, I should dance with her.

A smile spread across my lips as I walked even closer to her. My feet were eater to dance. I rushed to untie my boots, slipping them off my feet and tossing them in the sand. I thew my stockings aside and wiggled my toes in the sand with a sigh.

"Dance, lost one." The woman smiled and I was happy to smile back.

"Yes, dance." I began to twirls slowly, dancing in the moon like I would do with Mila on the solstices. I moved so smoothly, my limbs relaxed and limber.

It pleased the woman that I would dance with her. And it pleased me to please her. I was happy to fling my arms out around me as I spun and swayed to a silent feeling of music.

To my delight, I was rewarded with more of the mist swirling away, opening up the desert even more for dancing. I laughed as shadows appeared in the mist, just out of sight.