Gallel's Heir

Prologue: Sandstorm

The sun hung low over the eastern sky, its autumn heat already parching throats. Orange dunes stretched around, interspersed with rocky terrain where the wind had blown the sand, and Sonia managed a sip of water from her flask. The ox's feet spread over the sand where Ben's feet slipped and sunk, even with his sand shoes. Her cheeks were swollen, her eyes dark and wide. Tygle, the ox, plodded patiently on as his caravan companions outpaced them.

Sonia gripped the ox's hair as her body spasmed, and she only just remained in the saddle.

"I can tell how far apart they are by how often you kick me." Ben's shaking hands belied his light tone. "No really. I'm afraid you'll fall off the ox every time you convulse."

Sonia closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She said, "They're only going to get worse. We've got to find something. A place to stop."

Dark clouds gathered on the eastern horizon as the sun rose. The air heated.

"I can't believe they just left us behind," said Ben.

"Captain Bel is too practical to sacrifice any guards." She grimaced. "And everyone else, well, I thought they were our friends."

Ben shrugged and the ox plodded on. "Travel companions I guess are not really friends. They're probably as terrified as we are to be out here alone, with that storm coming. It's funny, though. If they took a care to realize who lives in your belly right now, they would fall down and worship your very toenails."

Sonia's lips twitched through stiff cheeks. "I appreciate my privacy. Do you think there will be any more travelers on this stretch?"

"We're on a major merchant track. There's a town coming up," Ben said, glancing to the thickening clouds. "Helton, I think. I heard one of the guards say the caravan would reach it this evening. "

"At our pace, we'll reach it sometime tomorrow afternoon," said Sonia. "We need something now."

The wind brushed sand into their faces, and an intensity hung in the air, like a thunderstorm. Ben's face cooled. "Merciful Taleni, let us not walk into a sandstorm."

Tygle's eyes darted and he hoofed the rocks of the path as though he wanted to run. Ben's strong fingers and gentle words kept him in line. Sonia panted. Ben caught her arms as Tygle bolted. He slid her to the ground.

The sky blazed orange and pink. Green-swirled black grew in the sky. Grunting, Sonia leaned against Ben's chest.

"They're coming quick," he said.

"My water is breaking. We've got to stop."

"Tygle's gone. I think we have stopped."

Sonia crumpled into a clump of weeds, stones, and sand that turned to mud. "Where did he go?"

"Not sure. But he took our supplies."

"So I am in active labor and we've got nothing in a sandstorm." He nodded. Panic edged her voice. "Why did our friends leave us?" The rising wind swallowed her scream. "I need to push," she said when speech returned. "Merciful Taleni, why have our son born here, like this? Why abandon us, when so many women die when they birth alone?"

The ground shook, the rumble filling Ben's chest and gut with vibration. Another contraction. Wind pushed at them with tiny knives in every direction.

"My aunt was a midwife and a water mage," he said, though he doubted she could hear. "Wish I'd gotten some training." Hands shaking, he sat at her side with her head in his lap. His sand cloak lay under and around her, leaving him exposed to Nature's violence.