Page 49 of Sinful Curses
Sahira winced as his words echoed throughout the passageways behind them and across the land. When the words finally died away, an ominous hush descended.
“Now what?” Elsa whispered.
“Now we wait until nightfall,” Sahira said. “Until then, we might as well gather firewood.”
“We can load up on rocks and use them to help guide us across the field,” Orin said. “We’ll throw them out to discover where the geysers are.”
“And if we run out?” Zeth asked.
“Then we’ll stop and wait for nightfall.”
“There’s no way we can guarantee that rocks will uncover all the geysers as we go. One or more of us will end up getting cooked.”
Sahira knew that was a chance Orin was willing to take. He was cocky enough to believe it wouldn’t happen to him and would willingly sacrifice some of them to get across.
When he glanced back at her, the set of his jaw changed.
“We can take some rocks, but the amount it would take to get us across would slow us too much,” Zeth continued.
“I hate this,” Orin growled, but as he stepped away from the field, it was clear he wouldn’t push it.
With reluctance, Sahira shed the warmth of her blanket and rose. She didn’t look at the others as she slipped back into the winding crevice that brought them here.
They’d come this far and wouldn’t turn back, but things had gone from pretty terrible to worse.
CHAPTERFORTY-TWO
Sahira didn’t knowhow much time had passed since she last saw Orin and Zeth. She’d returned several times to the edge of the field to deposit her armloads of wood onto the growing pile.
Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to have separated from Orin and Zeth, but she required some time to herself. She’d barely had a minute to herself since starting this journey and wanted to be alone.
Elsa remained there, tending the fire while the brownies huddled around it. “How’s it going?” Elsa asked.
Sahira set down her newest find and stepped closer to the fire. She rubbed her hands together while she warmed them over the flames.
“I found a spot with a bunch of dead trees and branches. If I return to it a couple more times, it should give us enough until nightfall.”
“Okay.”
Elsa placed another stick on the fire. Zeth and Orin had returned since her last time here, as the pile was almost twice the size as the last time she saw it.
“We might have enough once they return with their next find,” Elsa said.
She was probably right, but Sahira wanted more time to herself. Thinking wasn’t the best for her right now as her mind bounced between Orin, the field, and how much she missed her family, but at least she was moving.
If she stayed here, her thoughts would do the same, but she might have to talk to someone too. She wasn’t in the mood for that.
“I’d like to make sure of it,” she said.
“Be careful,” Elsa said, and the brownies all gave her a small wave.
Sahira turned and made her way back onto the path cutting through the mountains. As she walked, she scaled more boulders and took a right onto another, smaller path she hadn’t noticed while they were walking toward the field last night.
She paused for a second and tried to open a portal. She’d attempted it a few times since wandering off alone, but the idea of crossing that field made her keep trying… and failing.
When she once again didn’t succeed, she trudged forward again. Winding in and out of the tiny passage, she made her way to the rocky shelf she’d discovered on her second trip out here.
Several dead trees growing out of the rocks had gotten enough nourishment to make them a few feet tall before dying. They remained standing on the shelf.
