Bridging the Ancient ✓

Chapter 32

I take a long swig from the half-empty flask. The cold water slides down my dry throat and cools in my chest before finding its way to my stomach. I stare down at that open lid, begging for more, but Renit takes it from my hand before I can manage another drink.

"We're almost out of water," he grunts before taking a small sip of his own. To prove I'm done and can't have any more, he screws on the cap and places the flask in one of the saddle bags. I try to avoid pouting.

"If we're to find more water, we can't be here for long," I growl.

Renit frowns, unsettled, but he doesn't seem to care. The Blood Desert spreads out before us, one of the deadliest and most forgotten spaces in this kingdom. A brisk wind stirs up the red sand as bright as the sun and as matching to the color of blood as one might get. Our horses tuck their heads low to avoid the elements and I find myself doing the same.

I have to force myself not to lick my lips, otherwise I'll find sand waiting for me and with so much dust in my throat, I can't waste any other inconvenience.

Renit squints into the distance. The sand has coated his hair, leaving the near-black strands in a disarray of red clumps. His skin is the same, from what he hasn't rubbed off with his fingers. He reaches down, shaking the sand from his shirt and sends a cloud of it into the air. Before it can reach me, the particles are caught in the wind and sent north.

"Ashtomb is long behind us," I sigh. I grab onto the saddle and hoist myself back up. We only stopped to stretch our legs for a few moments. I've never wanted to walk more in my life. "It's likely we won't see another witch for days."

Renit mounts and shakes more sand from his hair. This time, the cloud hits me and I wipe it away with my sleeve, finding more sand left behind. "Robbers do find their way around the dunes. From what I remember, there's a small market located somewhere. They sell illegal goods to the kingdom. The rare medicine, gold and silver, goods sworn to belong to the king. Things that if you're caught with—you'll be killed."

The desert crunches underneath the hooves of the horses. Although there isn't much of a trail, much of the land is wind-blown, there's enough for a solid foundation to walk on. Whoever was out here last is about a day out, heading this way or the other. I don't know. But I don't want to find myself face to face with one of these robbers.

A few of them found their way to Arego from time to time. They figured the village would be a perfect hideout with guards on their tails and my father always shooed them away—promising death if they remained. Many were more than robbers, not only did they steal but they were highly trained to fight and kill those that got in their way.

Often times, the robbers were dead before they stepped foot outside of Arego. Not because my father wanted to kill them but because when they charged at his loyal subjects with a knife angled in their grip, he had no choice. No one spoke of the robbers after that.

"So what you're saying is that we shouldn't...find the market?" I ask, cringing against the hot wind. I've never felt so suffocated in my life, even after having fire shoved down my throat.

Renit pulls a cloth over the bottom half of his face. "If we do, it's not smart to approach. We go around, never through. But the tomb is around here somewhere, we should be coming up on it soon."

"Do you have any idea what it looks like?"

"If there's anything left of it, it's likely sand-blown. Look for tips of stone or pieces of a structure that might have been damaged by robbers. That might mean—"

"There!" I shout, pointing along the trail. Renit frowns, disappointed that I found something first, again.

Over one of the dunes, along that trail, a tip of stone sticks from the sand. Wind blows over the top, not a dune at all, and my stomach leaps into my throat. I kick the flank of my horse, ignoring Renit's warning to be careful, and trudge through the sand towards it.