We kept trudging along the city that seemed so close still seemed to be the same distance away. The heat had faded to a dull burn by late afternoon, but the sky still bled with the strange light of the twin suns. The air felt restless, carrying a low hum that set my teeth on edge.
We were cresting a ridge of sand when I saw them, five figures atop beasts that looked like a camel and a horse had offspring. They paused in the shallow shade of a jagged rock outcrop.
Bandits.
I knew the look immediately. The torn scarves wrapped around their faces, the mismatched armour pieced together from scavenged plates, the weapons held loosely but never without intent.
I slowed, putting myself slightly ahead of the twins.
"Stay close," I murmured.
My hand found the hilt of my miniature sword, the braided grip warm from the sun.
The group shifted as we approached. Their leader, a broad man with a leather vest studded with bone chips, stepped forward. His eyes, the only part of his face not covered, were sharp, assessing me the way a butcher might study a cut of meat.
"You're far from safe ground," he said, his voice low and gravelly.
I didn't reply. Not yet. Words had a way of locking you into a fight you didn't need and I really didn't want a fight right now.
The twins stayed behind me, silent but trembling. My chest pulsed faintly with energy, an involuntary readiness building in my core.
The man tilted his head, scanning me from my boots to the top of my covered head. His men shifted, fingers brushing sword hilts, but they didn't advance. The silence was thick, the kind that could split into violence in an instant.
Then, to my surprise, he settled back into his saddle.
"I don't care where you're headed," he said, voice carrying just enough weight to make it clear this wasn't kindness. "But the sands ahead aren't just dry and empty anymore. Things are moving under them. Big things. And the City of Bones… It's not just the dead you'll have to worry about."
One of his men muttered something too low for me to pick up, and the leader shot him a glance before continuing.
"If you see the ground shiver, don't stop walking. Don't look down. And for your sake… don't scream."
With that, he turned, guiding his group to the side as they headed in the direction we were coming from. I watched until they became smaller, less threatening.
I let out a slow breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. That was a close one. There must have been a reason that the leader decided to let us off but whatever the reason I was grateful.
Abu looked at me wide-eyed and a bit hopeful. "Are we… are we going that way anyway?"
"Yes," I said, tightening my grip on my sword. "But now we walk faster."
The wind carried away his warning, but the unease it planted in me was a seed that was already starting to grow with rampant disregard for my feelings in the matter.