The heavy bolts unlatched and with a booming thud, Ibi's doors swung inward. Once the doors opened entirely, seven camels—stripped of saddles—ambled out of the opening.

Geryon and Tegen stood on each end of a door, their bodies protected by the doors but heads out and searching for any sign of waiting Koquas. Renuo hadn't heard anything from the desert Rovaneim when Ibi's doors closed and neither had he heard anything from them since. It seemed pretty ridiculous for them to give up on the Sun, Moon, and Elementals and go home since they had nowhere else to go. Not that Renuo was complaining—he appreciated their oversight.

"It's clear," Geryon announced.

Everyone else emerged from behind the doors to look for themselves. The heat of the midday sun burned Renuo's face even though he stood in the shade. The Emeri Desert looked just as they left it three days ago: gently rolling sand dunes, spotless blue sky—the only change being the camels they had set loose moseying further away from them. There wasn't a single piece of evidence that the Koquas had chased them there.

"Where are the burned vehicles?" Renuo asked. The four hovercrafts destroyed by Aeris and Geryon's fire tornado were gone. The bodies of the killed Koquas were also missing. Unease dropped into his stomach at not seeing what he expected.

"Could a sandstorm have gotten them?" Zelenia asked.

Helian shook his head. "It couldn't; we didn't hear one."

"So, something else?" Kalisa guessed.

"That 'something else' worries me," Geryon said. He turned around. "Let us go, quickly."

Everyone had already donned their protective coverings—Geryon only wrapped the red fabric around his head—and had refilled their canteens at breakfast, so they all piled onto the one hovercraft. There wasn't room to freely walk around, but at least they weren't crammed together.

Pica had found some goggles on it this morning as she experimented with the vehicle, so with those on over her cowl, she awoke the craft, pulled down a lever, and drove it out into the Emeri. As soon as they emerged into the sun, she pulled her hand away from the solar panel so it wouldn't be overpowered with the energy of the sun and her own. She beamed with pride as the hovercraft kept running.

"Ready everyone?" she asked. With a few assents to satisfy her, she put the lever into another gear and the hovercraft sped up. Moving it into another gear, it sped up even faster.

Pica stayed at the wheel and Tegen stood beside her to offer directions. Renuo sat on the right to keep a lookout to the east. Aeris was on the west, watching for sand clouds and keeping a hand on her cowl so it wouldn't fly off. Kalisa, Zelenia, and Helian were in the center; Geryon stood near the back so he could keep watch behind them and to their left.

"Now this is what I'm talking about," Helian said as he stretched back, soaking up the sun but also keeping cool by their speed. Zelenia chuckled at him as she shook her head.

From his long days in the sunlight, Renuo also enjoyed the warmth on his skin under the protective covering Uncle Furs had gotten them. The hovercraft's speed made it pleasurable, unlike the slow amble of the camels, making the air smothering. But even as nice as it was now, the ride couldn't compare to the coolness of water with the bright sun heating the top. Catching himself daydreaming of being in the ocean, Renuo shook his head to focus—he had to watch for Koquas. He may be mediocre in a lot of things, but he was determined to do this job right and prove himself as reliable to the others.

After a while, they zipped past where the Koquas had first ambushed them... or at least where Renuo thought it had happened. No evidence was there either: no destroyed hovercrafts; no bodies; no dead camel.

Seeing everything gone, and the sands wiped smooth churned Renuo's stomach again. It made him wonder what exactly came out in the Emeri at nightfall. But Tegen had calculated that with the hovercraft's speed, they would reach Nyan before dusk, so they weren't in danger of discovering what monstrosity lurked beneath the sands. Honestly, Renuo hoped he wouldn't find out—it could stay unknown for all he cared.

Zelenia and Kalisa were talking, Helian looked asleep, Pica grilled Tegen about his knowledge of the world, Geryon was like a statue, and Aeris as silent as usual. He wondered what was up with her. This was the longest he had seen anyone not snap out of mourning and reintegrate into life. But every time he caught a glimpse of her eyes, he didn't see sorrow; her eyes were cloudy with deliberations—she struggled to say something.

If this was about whatever she was hiding, he wished she would just go ahead and confess—get it off her chest and not worry about how they would react; she couldn't control that. Sometimes keeping secrets in were more harmful than letting them out.

***

After traveling for about four hours, they had thirty minutes left before they reached Nyan when the hovercraft vibrated. There was two hours left of sunlight. Even though the rays were weaker and shadows were appearing, it wasn't from lack of energy.

"Uh oh," Pica said.

"What's wrong?" Helian asked.

"It may have overheated—it's been a while since it's been used." Their cooling breeze lessened as the vehicle slowed.

"Nyan's not too far, right? We can walk," Renuo suggested.

"Oh no, we don't have to do that," Pica said as she pulled up the lever and the hovercraft eased down onto the sands. "It'll be an easy fix; give me a few minutes." She dropped down to her knees at the center of the floor, opened a compartment, and began tinkering with wires.

Helian stood up and stretched. "Well, since we've gotta wait a little bit, I'm stretching my legs." He hopped off with a long sigh of relief.

Needing to move too, Renuo followed suit. Kalisa stretched out her legs since she had more room, Aeris remained on the hovercraft, and Geryon and Tegen sat down to rest. Zelenia got up and walked around to watch what Pica was doing.

Renuo wished Kalisa would've joined him, but it undoubtedly would've been harder for her to walk in the deep sand in heels, unlike him, who was used to sand.

He kicked the sand in frustration. Why did he think someone like her would find him—doubtful and negative—attractive? She didn't look at him like how he saw her. He just had to look and dream from afar.

Hearing someone humming a tune, Renuo looked back, thinking Aeris had decided to sing to pass the time. It wasn't Air but Pica humming as she worked.

Aeris stared at an oblivious Pica from recognition. Renuo couldn't put a finger on the emotions flashing across her eyes before they changed—there wasn't anger, but pain. Swinging her feet off, she got up and walked away.

Pica had to be singing one of Aeris' songs for that kind of reaction. From how it sounded, the song wasn't melancholy, but upbeat. He wondered what had happened for pain to be paired with that song...

A low rumble echoed through the desert. Pica's head popped up as everyone looked around. There was still light in the desert, but the shadows had lengthened.

"What was that?" Renuo asked.

"That wasn't me," Pica said.

The rumble sounded again, this time louder. Geryon stood back up. "Get back on the hovercraft; Pica, hurry."

"Don't have to tell me twice," she said as she shoved all the wires she worked on back into the flap and shut it. She turned for the control panel as the other three in the sands jumped back on board. Another rumble sounded out, shaking the hovercraft.

"It's under us," Aeris stated.

"Pica—" Geryon growled.

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" She had her hand glowing above the solar panel. The vehicle groaned as it woke for a second before falling back asleep. "Come on!" She increased the power of her light in her panic.

The hovercraft snapped awake. Pica threw the lever into a gear and the vehicle shot forward, jerking everyone down as the rumbling evolved into a hair-rising growl and the sands beneath them sifted.

The sands where they just were exploded upward. A huge black mouth with long, sharp teeth closed its jaws around the air before it sank back underneath the sands.

"What was that?" Renuo yelled.

"I don't want to find out," Kalisa said.

"We're not!" Pica yelled as they sped away. The sands before them exploded as another black head emerged, mouth gaping to swallow them.

She screamed as she turned the wheel, banking them hard to the left. They all braced themselves against the floor as the hovercraft whipped to the left. Once they straightened out, Helian's bow twanged: two golden lines streaked toward the closing mouth. One embedded into the mouth before it closed; the other stuck into the thing's head. It shrieked in pain as it slipped back underneath.

Another monster—much smaller in size—shot out of the sands to their right, diving right at them; its mouth opened as it soared closer. Aeris shot up a hand and a gust of wind catapulted it above them. It looked like a small whale but with feet as it flipped head-over-heels until it landed with a thud. It burrowed out of sight.

Pica had them zigzagging to dodge other mouths, looking like pointed rocks rising out of the sands. The smaller ones jumped alongside them like dolphins as others took turns diving at them. The Elementals directed what power they had at them to swat them away: Kalisa used her invisible power to crush a whale in on itself, Tegen could randomly pull rocks in the sands and throw them, and Aeris could control the air to divert a jumping demon. Geryon couldn't use fire without swinging his sword and no water in the desert meant Renuo could do nothing to help. He was useless... again. Helian helped the most with his accuracy.

Until his quiver emptied; the arrow he had notched disappeared—the sun had dropped behind the horizon.

"Pica, your gun!" Helian yelled.

After making sure nothing was in their way, she tossed the gun back to him. Bullets took the place of his arrows in the desert whales. But with it now being night, it was hard to see them in the dark.

"Tegen, grab the wheel!" Pica yelled before she let go of the wheel and raised that hand. Light erupted out of her hand, lighting the entire hovercraft, and surrounding them in a warm glow, like she held the sun in her hand.

The desert whales jumping alongside them shrieked and dove into the sands, not to return. The black mouths even retreated underneath. In no time, the Sun, Moon, and Elementals were no longer threatened.

"Don't drop that hand," Helian ordered.

"Trust me, I won't," Pica said.

Pica stayed lighting the way as Tegen drove them toward Nyan. The soft-glowing lamps outlined the settlement of tents not far ahead of them. Silhouettes of figures stood outside; the large, rounded shape of one calmed Renuo's racing nerves.

Addo walked out to them as they approached. "We thought we heard a commotion out there; I'm glad you made it out."

"Us too," Helian said.

Addo eyed the unnatural light coming from Pica's hand. "I take it you found Ibi, and it fared well?"

"Once we got there, yes," Helian answered.

The Nyanian noticed Pica's reluctance to lower her arm. "Nyan emits enough light to keep the Whilets away."

She dimmed her light. "Good; my arm was getting really tired." With the light gone, she dropped her arm and hung it like it weighed a million tons.

"Let's get you inside so you can rest." After discussing the hovercraft with Pica, Addo directed her to follow one of the men who would lead her to the stables. Everyone clambered down and Light drove the vehicle around a side of the settlement.

Fewer people were present at the tables than the other night, but those that were there had finished eating and were lounging in the cool, desert night. The Sun, Moon, and Elementals joined them and ate as Zelenia and Helian detailed their journey to and from Ibi and the trial. Pica joined them, plopped down, and ate with gusto.

They didn't visit with the Nyanians; as soon as they were done eating, they retired to their beds, too worn out to carry on conversations. Renuo fought against dragging his feet as he walked to the bed he had chosen. He was ready to get out of the desert. Knowing he would see the calming blue of water tomorrow sent him into a restful sleep.