Sky Dust

Chapter 2

Spencer nearly tripped on the stairs as he went down for dinner. There were six days left, and he had just spent a couple hours researching the Dapheni. The books said nothing about magic, which left him disappointed and exhausted.

He walked to his seat, smiling to greet his parents.

"I've researched some stuff," he said immediately. "Nothing about the devices."

"But damn, they can freaking make you invisible!" His father exclaimed. "There must be someone who knows about them. Such things can come in handy."

"The thing is, if they're real, why don't the Dapheni hand some of these over to us?" His mother asked.

"It's a proven thing that they're real. A Dapheni trader was seen using a path-telling device a couple years ago. He was only trading fish, though. The device itself wasn't being sold. Few people saw it."

"A path-telling device?" Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"It's like a compass, but instead of pointing to the North, it points at the way you should go."

"Cool."

"Indeed."

Spencer hadn't touched the food yet, so he put his fork into the meat, unsure if he wanted to eat or not. He gulped and looked back up at his parents, who didn't seem to be deeply involved in consuming the meal either.

His mother took a sip of wine and put the glass down.

"It's still suspicious that no one has researched it before," she said. "Perhaps it's just a rumor."

"But it was all over the news!"

Spencer finally took a bite and immediately out the food down. He had been right; he wasn't hungry. He would much rather read some other encyclopedia on the Dapheni and anticipate the trip.

His father rose from the table.

"I'm hearing sounds. Wait a second."

Spencer could now distinguish the sound of someone knocking on the door. His father was already opening it, and the rest were looking in his direction.

"It's nobody, but there's a note."

"Which note?" Spencer asked, getting more curious.