After our quick andpointless detour, our trek through the desert is smooth. We come across a few poisonous snakes, but Brielle singes them while at full stride. Although, she does slow her pace as we go on. I swear she’d usually be willing to go much faster.
Not for the first time, I wonder where her loyalties really lie. I wish I had the chance to ask her what she saw in that orb. I’m not even convinced it showed the truth. And what if she saw something entirely false that turned her against me?
I can’t shake the pit in my stomach that tells me something is wrong.
We come to a set of sand dunes, and my thighs burn as we march up the steep slope. At the top we look out at the sea of red sand before us.
“I need some water,” Brielle tells me. So we take the moment to rehydrate before beginning our journey anew.
“I can see it.” Rook points out to a flash of red, just on the horizon.
“The Ruby Well,” Brielle whispers. “I never thought I’d see it”
“You’ve heard of it?”
She nods. “It’s legend. It’s said to give those who drink from it one desire. Not always the one you ask for, but something in your heart that you secretly want.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Oh, it is. The stories surrounding the well are... tragic at best. But still, it’s something only a select few have seen with their own eyes.”
I swallow. Some of the desires in my heart are dark and terrible. I’m not sure I want that well to choose what to give me. I’d rather take none of them.
Brielle shoves her water canister back into her bag and is the first to take off, charging down the steep slope. Rook smirks at me, a challenge, before he and I both race after her.
Brielle seems to have gained a new vigor, and I happily follow suit, glad to be able to pick up our pace. I’m surprised there has been no outright brawls yet with murder entirely allowable in this trial. Other than Brielle following a ghost of Caelynn, there’s been nothing.
As we approach the Ruby Well, its red light glowing in the distance, my unease grows to an extreme. A cold sweat drips down my back, hair on my arms standing.
What in the world are my instincts trying to tell me?
Dammit, what am I supposed to do? Accuse Rook and Brielle of conspiring against me? Stop them and demand answers? I don’t know. Because I don’t even know what the unease is about.
I slow down, and for a moment, Rook and Brielle continue on as if they don’t even notice I’ve fallen behind.
“What are you doing?” Brielle hollers, annoyance lacing her tone.
I look around. Deep in the distance to the west is a set of brown mountains covered partly by white fluffy clouds. To the east is wide open desert, flat for as far as the eye can see. For the several miles around us in every direction is flat desert. There are a few dunes, wind-swept sand piles that shift and swirl but not enough to conceal any enemies.
But then again one of my enemies has earth powers. Can she move sand at will?
The wind can move sand. Drake can control the wind...
“Something doesn’t feel right.” I slow to a walk, and Brielle rolls her eyes dramatically.
“You’ve been huffing and puffing about my slow pace all day, and now that we’re here, you’re stopping?”
“Where are the others?” I ask suddenly. Nearly all of them ran ahead. The only champion behind us is the dwarf. Have they really all completed their tasks and moved on so far they’re entirely out of sight? Were we really that slow?
“You’re being paranoid,” Rook says, putting his hands on his hips, but he sends a glance at Brielle that shakes me to my core. My blood runs cold, suddenly certain of my suspicions.
“Come on,” Brielle says. “Let’s get this done with so we can get to the mountains before dark.”
“Mountains?” I ask her. No one has said anything about heading to the mountains.
Her eyes flare for a moment. More evidence of her deceit. She’s been getting information from someone else. Was it her pixie spy? If so why didn’t she tell me?
“It’ll be safer to sleep there while we wait for the next task.” A good cover, but I know a liar when I see one. She shifts nervously.
