Page 16 of Married By Wind
My mind raced. I had to find a way for us to be together, and I didn’t think she’d need much persuasion. I was the one with eternal life, and if I was careful, took her on trips, showed her the world, and ensured we never lingered in one place for too long, we might have a chance. Oh, but if the gods found out, there would be hell to pay. I turned the problem over and over in my mind all night long, without a final solution.
At sunrise, we continued on our journey, swaying on Nika’s back while we traveled further into the desert. Ahead and behind me, everything appeared the same. Day four and we were no closer to finding the sand devils or any clues to where they’d gone.
Ulika was in lighter spirits. She told me stories of her tribe and a temporary peace enveloped us, as the barrier between mortal and immortal vanished. I let myself forget about the complexities of a future and what the gods would say when we completed our quest. All that existed was the here and now, and I would enjoy it for what it was. Except the desert was determined not to let me forget.
Just past midday, an odd winking in the distance caught my attention, but Ulika was the one to draw the camel to a halt. “Look!” She pointed. “See that fissure in the desert? It’s like a line, a zigzag split. Should we follow it?”
I swung down, eyes narrowing at the clear path that cut across the sand. It was just a line, a tiny crack in the ground, but already my mind went back to the hole where the sand devils had sprung out of the desert floor. Squinting at the light, I stared again at the glimmer in the distance. Taking the reins, I led the way, following alongside the path.
Four days and the sand devils hadn’t attacked. I puzzled around it but couldn’t figure out why, unless once a week, they rolled across the desert, seeking tribes to attack. That or they were summoned, pulled by magic. The magic of the lamp.
“There’s something ahead I want to study,” I called over my shoulder. “A winking in the distance.”
“I think I see it too,” came her soft reply.
A few moments later, the light became more than that, a gray shape rising out of the stone. It pulsed with a greenish hue. A rune stone. I’d never seen it during my flights across the desert, and an uncanny sense of premonition came over me. I stilled, while Ulika swung off the camel, and together we stared up at the rock. It was seven feet tall, the rune glowing like a beacon.
“Have you seen anything like it?” Ulika breathed.
“No.”
“It’s magic, isn’t it?”
“I believe so,” I agreed. It rose like a signal, pointing the way. “It’s an omen, a clue. We are going in the right direction.”
20
Ulika
The jade rune pulsed like a heartbeat, keeping rhythm with mine. The longer I looked at it, the more a fevered heat spread through my body. My fingers tingled and even though the air in the desert was dry and still, whispers drifted to my ears.
Go back, daughter of sand. Avoid the curse. Return to your land.
I startled. Those whispers had begun when I’d gone to Fae Mountain. Try as I might, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something deeper and more complex than I understood was happening. Perhaps when I’d found the lamp and captured the god of wind, I’d unearthed something. I pivoted to Vinn, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. “What is this? It feels like a magical warning or barrier. Will you explain?”
He crossed his arms but didn’t meet my eyes. “I know as much as you know, Ulika. I’ve never seen this before.”
A tick of irritation left me due to the sense that even though he wasn’t lying to me, he was hiding something. I frowned. “You’re the god of wind, of this desert. You’re all-seeing, all-knowing.”
“Ulika.”
Taking my wrist, he pulled me closer until I was forced to tilt my head back to get a clear view of his face. We’d been close last night, but with the darkness, I hadn’t seen him clearly. Now the broadness of his shoulders, the warmth of his hand on my back, and the way his eyes softened as he looked down at me sent my pulse throbbing. He was devastatingly handsome, even without his shroud of power. His pointed ears and the perfection of his form were the only indications that he wasn’t mortal. At his touch, my breath came short, my mind spinning back to last night and the way he’d held me, gently, tenderly, as though my comfort was the only thing that mattered. It hurt to look at him because the desire on my face was impossible to hide, and it wasn’t one-sided either.
“The desert is awakening. The gods of Val Ether warned me that it has something to do with the lamp. It is a powerful magic, but it is cursed. The sooner we are free of it, the better.”
“The lamp,” I repeated. His words gave me a reason to pull away from him and catch my breath again. Fumbling at the bundle tied around my waist, I pulled out the lamp. “So this is my fault?”
“Don’t,” he said hoarsely, raising both hands and stepping back. “I have no wish to be trapped in there again.”
I replaced the lamp and tied the bag shut. Just a moment ago, we were close enough to kiss, but now I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and ask the question burning in my mind. “But you’re confirming the lamp is evil and the sand devils came because of it?”
“Other factors are at play, but it is one reason the desert is awakening.”
The lamp was to blame. My limbs trembled as I recalled the first attack and the way my tribe had run screaming to safety while the relentless winds had crushed everything. My actions had accidentally done that. I snatched at Nika’s reins so Vinn wouldn’t see how his words affected me. It was my fault for finding the lamp, being greedy, and wanting something all to myself. Look what it had wrought.
“Don’t blame yourself,” Vinn said, reading my thoughts just as easily as if I’d spoken them aloud. “You couldn’t have known what the lamp was; only a god would have recognized its power.”
“Did you not see?” I begged, tears in my voice as I climbed onto Nika’s back. I wanted someone to blame, to take the guilt off my own shoulders. “You’re the wind, all-seeing, all-knowing. Did you not see me find it? Why didn’t you warn me?”
