With the enemy so close, Enfri needed to be careful. Moving carelessly would alert the assassins to her presence. She didn't know how sharp their hearing might have been, but she wouldn't put it past them to have the ears of foxes.

    Enfri was considering how best to go about withdrawing when she felt as if the entire world tipped on its head.

    The sensation was completely unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It was as if a harp string was in her head, and someone gave it a sharp twang. It sang inside her skull in echoing harmony with a pressure coming from somewhere else.

    Enfri peeked back over the top of the sand dune and looked towards the south. Whatever the sensation was, it came from that direction. She could still feel it, a distant feeling that pulsated against her thoughts.

    She noticed a change in the assassins' camp below. All of them had gone still. Gain and Dashar, their arms bloody to the elbows from butchering the megathon, stood and gazed into the distance. The other four exchanged looks and were frowning.

    "Apotheosis," Josy stated. "A big one."

    "She's a clever young lady," Gain said. "The sky woman misled us. She's been aiming south all this time."

    "You think... that... came from the Aleesh?" Tarlus asked.

    "No, the dragon," Josy said. "What else could have power like that out here?"

    "What are we waiting for?" Maya said. "She's two dozen miles away. If we ride hard, we can get close before the apotheosis fades."

    "Is no one worried what they're doing?" Tarlus demanded. "That was some top-tier spellcasting!"

    "Whatever it was," Gain said, "the dragon must have used up most of its ether doing it. This is our chance to finish this. We can get there by sunrise, but we have to leave now."

    The assassins began hastily getting their provisions together. Gain wrapped what meat they'd harvested from the megathon in wax paper and stuffed it into a sack. The rest of the animal would apparently be left for scavengers to pick off of. Dashar saddled horses. Josy used magic to put out the brazier, then strapped it to the Gaulatian's pack saddle. Tarlus rolled up the canvas.

    Enfri's mouth hung open with astonishment. That echo came from Deebee? She must have just broken the memory ward. This was perfect. The assassins were scurrying to chase off in the wrong direction after the apotheosis.

    The plan worked!

    Jin put a hand on Maya's shoulder to stop her from mounting her horse. "Wait," she said. "Maya, give me your map. Uncle, please come look."

    "You think of something, Jin?" Gain asked as he came to her side.

    Jin knelt in the sand. She unrolled the map Maya handed her and weighted the corners with stones. She pointed at the map as she spoke.

    "We're here, west by northwest of Sandharbor. It's the route we anticipated the sky woman as taking."

    "And you were mistaken," Maya said. She stabbed her finger onto the map at another point. "The apotheosis is coming from near here."

    "Yes, but where would she going?" Jin asked.

    "Altier Nashal," Gain suggested. "The desert's southern boundary is close to the peninsula. Plenty of Altieri ports there. She could board a ship to almost anywhere on the Continent."

    Maya frowned. "All those ports are under our control. Seems a risky plan for a fugitive."

    "She's been living in Althandor this long," Gain said. "She might not be frightened by Althandi banners over a city."

    "Irrelevant," Jin said. "Look. If the apotheosis is here, she would have taken this route." Jin traced her finger over the map. "See the problem?"

    "Educate me, girl," Gain said.

    "Scale lions," Maya explained in her sister's place. They thought along the same lines despite their differences. "That part of the desert is where we ran into that pride four years ago."

    Gain rubbed at his side. "Winds take me. With a dragon, she might have made it through."

    Jin rolled up the map. "Perhaps. One thing is certain. The dragon is to the south. There may have been a danger, scale lions or scorch kraken, that the creature was forced to use magic against. Even so, I would think a dragon would try to avoid drawing attention like this. It must know we'd be aware of such a spell."

    Maya narrowed her eyes at Jin. "A decoy. You're not convinced that the Aleesh is with it."

    Jin nodded. "North, as we've thought from the beginning."

No! Enfri wanted to scream. Jin saw through it. How could she be right every time? Nothing Enfri and Deebee could do did anything to stop her. Enfri wished to bury her head in the sand and pray to the winds for something to go right for once.

    Gain scratched at the stubble on his chin. "I'm not as sure, girl. If they're bonded, it would take something serious to separate an Aleesh from her dragon."

    Maya raised an eyebrow at Gain and smirked. The older assassin caught the look and grunted.

    "Fine," he said. "The six of us on her trail might be serious enough. Winds and storms, but this blustering girl is a crafty one." Gain turned to face Jin. "Your father gave you the contract, Jin. I'll follow your lead."

    Jin closed her eyes and took a long breath. "We can't be sure what's a ruse and what's not. The dragon is south, and we'd be fools not to follow. Uncle, take Josy and Tarlus after the dragon. Be wary of it doubling back. I'll continue as before with Dashar and Maya. We'll each take a packhorse and keep in contact through oneiromancy."

    Gain rubbed his chin in a considering posture. "Not always a good idea to split up. I don't want to tell my brother that his daughters got lost in the desert and ran short of oren."

    Jin took the reins of her horse from Dashar and mounted. "Don't worry, Uncle. I know where she's going."

    "Be careful that you don't become overconfident, Jin," Gain cautioned. "That's been our failing from the start of this contract."

    "I understand."

    Gain put his hand on Jin's reins. "You realize what a dragon bond would mean. If that's the case..."

    "It must be. We've known since Uncle Vintus slew the spearman."

    "You know what you'll have to do, Jin. Confirm the bond, then get what we need out of her by any means necessary."

    Jin tapped her heels against her horse's flank. Her voice became hard. "I'll learn what I can."

    It didn't take much longer. Gain led his group south, the hooves of their horses leaving a cloud of dust in their wake. Jin, Maya, and Dashar rode at an easier pace towards the north while the Gaulatian plodded along behind them.

    Enfri was alone. The only sign that the assassins had ever made camp here was the half-butchered megathon.

    She felt numb. Numb and doomed. Jin was riding for the Espallan holdfasts. She knew where Enfri intended to go.

Jin doesn't know everything, Enfri thought. She clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked.

    The assassins didn't know about the wellspring at the spire. Jin had no reason to look for Enfri there. Once she and Deebee were reunited, they could find the best way through Jin's net. They might even choose to simply wait the assassins out. The assassins couldn't comb the desert forever. Sooner or later, they'd run out of this oren. Jin would have no choice but to leave the desert empty-handed.

    Enfri smirked at the thought. She hoped Jin would be labeled a failure for this.

That might be petty, she admitted, but the woman's trying to kill me. I think I'm entitled to a little pettiness.

    After she was certain she'd given Jin and the others enough time to be well on their way, Enfri slid down the sand dune to the remnants of the assassins' camp. She crept over to the megathon carcass and hurriedly ripped a few strips of meat from its bones.

    Enfri pursed her lips as she stared at the bloody strips in her hand. She never thought of herself as squeamish, but this was taking things a long step further than she'd ever gone before.

    Her stomach's growling settled the matter. She pushed a strip of meat into her mouth and tried not to gag. The raw meat was tough, and she needed to grip it in her fist as she tore chunks of it off with her teeth. It was the flavor that nearly destroyed her. It was disgusting, like chewing on dish rags covered in duck fat, but she managed to swallow and keep it down. The gamey aftertaste would likely haunt her for days.

    She needed to force herself, but she managed to eat a few more chunks of meat. Once she was done, she scrubbed her hands and face with sand. The smell of blood would bring scavengers before long, maybe even scale lions. Enfri wanted to make sure that none of that scent followed her.

    Ruhali was a half-turn to her right, so she must have been facing northwest. She couldn't make out the spire on the horizon, but she was certain the landmark was somewhere ahead. Jin was traveling in a more northerly direction, so there was little chance of stumbling on her again.

    Enfri started out at a jog. She breathed in a rhythm, inhale for four steps and exhale four steps. Though she felt her stomach churn at what she'd just put it through, it was easier going when she wasn't hungry. Enfri just hoped she wouldn't get sick from it.

Winds, if I get the droops from this...

    She took a quick drink from her water skin to wash the taste from her mouth and resolved not to think about it.

    The next several hours passed in a cycle. She'd jog for a time before slowing to a walk, then she'd jog again. When she thought her legs couldn't take any more, she'd sit on the sand for a few minutes until she caught her breath, then start over again. When the dryness in her throat became unbearable, she'd take a small sip of water. She held each drink in her mouth to savor the moisture before swallowing.

    Her first water skin was almost empty. She needed to be frugal with what she had left. Deebee said the spire was two or three days away, and Enfri didn't want to be half-dead from dehydration by the time she reached the wellspring.

    The desert night didn't feel as cold as it had before. Perhaps it was the running that kept her from freezing. She'd occasionally rub her arms for warmth, but it didn't feel much worse than a brisk autumn morning.

    Throughout the night, she was aware of the pressure of Deebee's apotheosis ringing in her head. It had diminished since it first happened. It lessened gradually the more time passed. Soon, it would fade entirely.

    For the moment, it was comforting to know where Deebee was, even if she was so far away. She would soon fly for the spire once the apotheosis faded, when no one could sense that she was heading back north. Enfri only hoped that Deebee would be careful about avoiding Gain when she did.

    That Enfri could sense the apotheosis at all wasn't lost on her. She hadn't expected to be able to feel it. Perhaps the bond was enough that it didn't matter she wasn't a true arcanist. Deebee had called it being "attuned to the Ethereum". Sooner rather than later, Enfri would have to find out what this Ethereum was.

    Enfri had a list of questions. She meant to learn all she could about magic and become an arcanist in her own right. Before long, spell casting could be the only way out of a situation, and Deebee wouldn't always be there. Enfri spent most of her run considering what manner of arcanist she'd like to become.

    Sorcerers were disqualified from the start. She wanted nothing to do with magic like the assassins'. Being an alchemist had an appeal; Enfri liked the idea of healing potions. She might have a leg up on becoming a witch since she was apparently fluent in these Aeldenn Tones without even hearing about them before. A scrivener's skill with runes and sigils seemed interesting, and if Enfri became a wizard, Deebee could be her instructor.

    Her foot landed on something hard. Enfri came to a stop. She adjusted her brace as she looked down at the ground to see what she stepped on.

    The sand was thinner here, little more than a dusting over the stony bedrock. When she looked ahead, she saw that the dunes were giving way to squat formations of sandstone. The terrain was about to get rougher, but it would probably be easier to run across stone than sand.

    She drank the last few drops from her first water skin as she tried to make out what lay ahead. The horizon behind her was beginning to glow with the approach of dawn, so she could see a little better than she could by starlight.

    Enfri decided to try getting a better vantage. She climbed to the top of one of the rock formations and squinted as she scanned the landscape ahead. A smile pulled at her lips when she just barely made out the spire on the horizon.

    She had veered a bit south of where she meant to be, but the spire appeared much closer now. Without knowing how tall it was, Enfri had trouble making an accurate guess of how much further there was to go before she reached it.

I've maybe gone... a third of the way, she decided.

    Her spirits fell. A third of the distance, but halfway through her supply of water. She regretted setting out before sundown. If she hadn't attempted traveling in the daytime heat, she might not have needed as much water.

    Enfri decided she should get as far as she could tonight before the sun came out again. She'd travel hard and run for as long as she possibly could. Once she found some shelter from the sun, she could recover her strength until the next nightfall.

    The strange rock formations were behind her and she was back to running in the sand. Enfri preferred running on stone; it required less stamina. She passed dunes that seemed as tall as mountains, others she might have stepped over without breaking stride. Enfri was careful to keep her nose turned in the direction of the spire. Getting lost out here would probably be a fatal misstep.

    Her lungs were burning, and she was gasping for air by the time she reached a second field of the squat sandstone formations. Her back felt like it was made entirely out of aches. If there was one thing to be glad of, it was that her brace wasn't bothering her quite as bad as before.

    The bond healing from the previous evening helped immensely. If Enfri was right, the skin on her back came out of the experience somewhat tougher. She'd never been able to wear her brace this long without it becoming a burden.

    Enfri slowed to a walk as she passed between the mounds of sandstone. These squat piles of rock were curious, and Enfri wondered why they formed like this in the desert.

I'd wager one of these mounds has an overhang, she thought.

    Enfri decided to call it a night. Dawn was still another half-hour away, but she didn't want to chance being caught out in the open. The great villain of a sun would soon be looking for someone to torment.

    Besides, Enfri was exhausted. Her earlier resolve to run as far and long as possible was starting to feel like the foolish boasts of a drunkard at festival.

    Most of the sandstone formations appeared to be little more than nine-foot-tall rocky mounds— little hope of finding shelter among them. Others were crumbling, jagged things that Enfri didn't feel safe getting within thirty paces of. As she walked among them, something nagged at her as if she'd seen something similar before. Enfri couldn't imagine where that might have been. She couldn't recall seeing anything like these elsewhere in the desert.

    In the early light of dawn, the rocks took on an eerie presence. They loomed around her like frozen sentinels, watching her as a guardsman would a stranger in the night.

    The sun was nearly upon her, and she still hadn't found a suitable shelter to rest in for the day. Whenever she found a likely spot, that strange feeling would make her decide that she should keep moving. It was as if she knew the perfect place was somewhere else close by.

    Enfri came to a wide open space in the midst of the formations. That nagging feeling returned, stronger than ever before. It felt as if her hair was standing on end. Something about the mounds was familiar, she was certain of it. She just couldn't figure out...

    The dawn arrived, bathing the field of sandstone formations in sunlight. Enfri gasped as the mounds seemed to change before her eyes. Revealed in the light, she realized why it all seemed so familiar.

Winds, it looks like the market square in Sandharbor.

    The sandstone formations were spaced apart at regular intervals, in tidy and orderly lanes. The spaces between them were the right width for wagons. More or less uniform in height, they appeared like the bones of houses and shops built out of stone.

    No, they were the remnants of buildings. Enfri stared agape as she turned about, trying to take it all in at once. These weren't rock formations. They were ruins. She simply hadn't been able to recognize them for what they were in the night. Her eyes had seen what she expected to see, and what was more unexpected than an abandoned village in the middle of the desert?

    The bricks were worn down by years of being scoured by sand and wind. Corners and edges had been rounded off, and the passage of time had caused many to all but collapse on themselves.

Was this an Espallan holdfast? Enfri asked herself. Deebee said that the desert tribes didn't come this far south, but maybe some had. However, if their settlement ended up like this, the stories of curses might have held some truth. A village didn't vanish for no reason.

    This wasn't the only deserted place. Enfri remembered that she had passed another village, completely unaware that she was running through ruins. Two abandoned villages within a few miles of each other.

These buildings more or less lasted this long, so one of them has to be fit for shelter.

    Now that Enfri knew what to look for, she found the remnants of a door frame on the closest structure. The doorway was collapsed, piles of stones clogging the entrance. Fortunately, with a little work, Enfri was able to clear the worst of the debris away. Enough that she was able to squeeze inside.

    Her first concern was the roof. She needed one that would keep the sun out and refrain from falling down on her. Enfri gave the ceiling a once over and decided that it would stay where it belonged so long as she didn't start kicking down walls.

    The floor was coated with a thick layer of sand. Small animals must have lived here at some point, because there was a dusty pile of gnawed rodent bones in a corner. Enfri didn't see anything resembling furniture or the possessions of the original inhabitants. Everything this building once housed had either been carted away by the owner when they left this place, or the years had turned it all to dust.

Just how old is this place? Fifty years? A century?

    Maybe it was whatever caused the people to leave this place that made the Espallans think of this land as cursed. It could have been a natural disaster, or even something as mundane as a sickness or a well running dry. So far into the desert, something like that would have been devastating.

    Early into Sandharbor's golden flu epidemic a few years before, the headman had put serious thought towards asking the healthy to save themselves and leave. Something similar may have happened here, and they hadn't had a sky woman to help them.

    Enfri found herself a stretch of floor. She took off her brace and placed it over a cold, stone hearth. After taking a small sip from her remaining water skin, she lay down on the soft sand.

    As the sun rose higher, the old building remained cool. Whoever once lived here had made their home well. Enfri imagined that the interior temperature would remain comfortable throughout the day. She was fortunate to have found such a place.

Now, if only there could be some water around here.

    She hadn't seen anything that might have served as a well during her brief exploration. How, then, had the inhabitants received their water?

    Enfri was too tired to think about it. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the fading sensation of apotheosis in the distant south.

    It was faint now. Another hour or so and it would be too faint to sense. Once it was gone, Deebee would make haste towards the spire, then begin searching for Enfri.

Be safe, love, Enfri thought. Gain's coming. Be safe.

    Enfri couldn't warn Deebee of what was heading her way; the bond didn't allow for anything resembling communication. Instead, Enfri pushed the last of the strength left to her through the bond. She could do that much for Deebee.

Take it, Enfri prayed as she sent it. Be ready. They're coming for you.

    Weariness fell upon her, sudden and complete.

    Then, like a caress on the cheek, Enfri felt the tiniest touch of something bright return to her. A glow that felt like the moon behind a cloud, or a candle on a dark night. Ether? Enfri wasn't sure, as she wasn't familiar with how ether was supposed to feel, but she couldn't think of what else it could be. Deebee had sent a tiny amount back to Enfri, as an acknowledgement perhaps, or a thank you.

Still alive, it seemed to say. We're both still alive.

    Enfri felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the rising sun. She settled onto the soft ground within the abandoned desert home and let her mind drift away.

I will find you.

    As sleep found her, Enfri wasn't sure whether that last thought came from herself or somewhere else.