Read Online The Parched Sea by Troy Denning - Free Book Online Page B

the Qahtani were covered by small knolls of sand. The only clue to what lay beneath the drifts were protruding bits of dyed cloth. Mounds of yellow sand buried even the stone-covered graves Ruha and Kadumi had dug for Ajaman and his father’s family.
    “I don’t think Kozah is angry with At’ar,” Ruha said, astounded by how tranquil the oasis looked compared to the gruesome scene she and Kadumi had found yesterday. “I think he is offended by the sight of the massacre:’
    Kadumi’s mouth tightened, and he surveyed the oasis with narrowed eyes. “Then let us hope we can reach your father’s tribe before this caravan of fork-tongued monsters;’ he said. “It would not be good if they made Kozah angry again:,
    The boy glanced at the sky for several moments, then looked back to Ruha and said, “With the dust from yesterday’s storm still hanging in the sky, at least it will be a coal day. VVe’ll trot our mounts. With luck, we won’t lose them:’
    Ruha caught his arm, concerned. Pushing camels hard over long distances dehydrated them, which could be fatal for both animal and rider if they happened to collapse too far from water.
    “Do you think it’s wise to take such a risk?” she asked. “Even with favorable weather and extra mounts, we’re a day and a half behind the caravan. If the drivers know where they’re going and want to get there fast, we can ride all your camels to death only to find more corpses at Rahalat:’
    “The Mtair Dhafir are allies of the Qahtan. It would be dishonorable not to alert them to the danger;” Kadumi said, freeing his arm. “Besides, I thought you’d want to warn your father’s tribe:’
    “I do, but I don’t want to die trying-especially since the strangers could already be there:’.
    “The caravan might have reached Rahalat already;” Kadumi conceded, “but I don’t think so. Whoever they are, they’re not from Anauroch, so I don’t think it’ll be easy for them to find the shunned mountain:’
    “They found El Ma’ra easily enough;” Ruha pointed out. Kadumi scowled. “Is there some reason you don’t want to go to the Mtair Dhafir?”
    Behind her veil, Ruha bit her lip. Her brotherin-law was right, she realized. She was not anxious to return to the Mtair Dhafir because of the reception she would receive. Forcing herself to put aside her anxiety, the widow shook her head. “No, we must warn my father’s tribe. I just don’t want to risk our lives for no reason:’
    “The caravan might be slower than you think;’ he said, “or it might not know about Rahalat. We can’t tell about these things. The only thing we can do is get there as fast as we can:’
    Kadumi turned toward his camels again. This time Ruha followed, feeling a little foolish at being lectured by a thirteen-year-old boy.
    They wasted little time preparing to leave. While Kadumi watered his animals and. filled half-a-dozen waterskins, Ruha packed some food and their belongings into a pair of kuerabiches. After tying the sacks onto a saddle, the pair mounted and, ignoring the bellowed protests of the camels, started westward at a trot.
    The storm had spread a deep layer of shifting sand over the ground, but the unsteady footing did not bother their mounts. With the broad, fleshy pads of their feet, the camels sank less than two inches with each step and barely slowed their pace. Ruha and Kadumi rode all day, changing mounts every hour to avoid exhausting them. Other than these brief pauses, they did not stop. By midday, they had reached the region of the great white dunes, and by dusk Rahalat was poking its gray crown above the horizon.
    They stopped long enough to eat a meal of camel’s milk and sun-dried fruits in weary silence, then continued their bone jarring ride in the dark. They circled a few miles north, just to be sure that they did not overtake either the caravan or the oneeyed stranger. The pair did not stop or allow themselves any rest until the moon’s milky light