Akhyeshah was nowhere in sight.
Jonah cupped his hands around his mouth. “Ayesh . . . Akhash . . . oh, why can’t I remember that name?”
He huffed and lurched over the edge, half sliding, half falling down the slope until he crashed onto the floor of the fissure. His ankles wailed at the sudden stop, and he grimaced at a sharp catch that stabbed his lower back. He bent over and fought to catch his breath.
“More to go.”
He snapped his eyes up to see Akhyeshah’s head loom over the top of the far slope. Jonah squinted at him. “How did you—”
“Keep moving.” The head disappeared.
Jonah limped across the ravine floor and began the arduous climb up the rock-strewn grade. When he gained the top, as he’d suspected, Akhyeshah was nowhere to be seen. The first of the toothy ridges rose only thirty paces ahead. He assumed that’s where his guide had gone, so he trudged to the nearest cleft in the ridge and slipped through.
The valley between the first ridge and the next was flat and smooth, its surface blanketed with fine sand. He glanced to the left and spotted deep prints in the soft earth. Only Akhyeshah could have left the tracks, so Jonah followed them along the ridgeline.
After another twenty paces, he rounded a boulder and nearly tripped over Akhyeshah’s legs. The giant had settled against the back of a rock outcropping and nestled between two boulders that framed a shallow niche in the low ridge.
Jonah stumbled to a halt. “Will you please explain what we’re doing? Why are we stopping so soon, and what’s the big hurry?”
Akhyeshah looked up at Jonah. “There is room here. Lie down.”
Jonah stared at him. Then he surveyed the narrow space between Akhyeshah’s bulk and the boulder. He looked back at the Assyrian and raised an eyebrow. “That’s all right. I can find my own—”
“You will want to lie down.” Akhyeshah squinted at him against the glare of the sky.
“Why would—”
A low rumble shook the earth beneath his feet and cut Jonah’s words short. He slogged through the deep sand to a small cleft that slit the ridge a few paces away and peered through it.
A massive wall of sand rushed across the desert toward him. Earth and sky disappeared behind the monstrous brown cloud that obliterated everything in its path. It seemed to grow taller and darker with each moment. He stood mesmerized, until he realized the sand had just swallowed the road they had walked only moments ago.
Jonah scurried back to Akhyeshah’s niche. His chest heaved. “What, in the name of—”
“You will want to lie down.” Akhyeshah nodded to the space beside him, his voice barely audible above the roar of the sandstorm.
Jonah dove into the narrow gap beside the Assyrian. Akhyeshah shifted onto his stomach and covered his head with his robe. Jonah followed his cue.
When the leading edge of the storm hit the rocky abutment, Jonah thought the world had come to an end. Daylight disappeared and the ground shuddered under the onslaught. Sand, dust, and debris filled the air. The wind screamed over and through the rocks with such force it threatened to rip the cloak off his back. He stuffed his collar against his mouth and nose to filter air and clamped his eyes shut.
For what seemed an eternity, the maelstrom battered the earth around him. Rocks loosened above his head cascaded down and caromed off his huddled form. A heavy blanket of sand accumulated on his back and legs, and pinned him to the ground. Breathable air disappeared, and the relentless pressure of debris on his back squeezed his lungs.
Akhyeshah’s voice came strangely clear through the chaos. “Tadmor is near. Over the next rise.”
Jonah tried to reply but choked on the grit that invaded his throat. He buried his head into his cloak, shuddered, and blacked out.
Something tapped Jonah’s forehead and jarred him awake. His right eyelid flickered open to see a pebble roll to a rest beside his nose. He clamped the eyelid
Jonah cupped his hands around his mouth. “Ayesh . . . Akhash . . . oh, why can’t I remember that name?”
He huffed and lurched over the edge, half sliding, half falling down the slope until he crashed onto the floor of the fissure. His ankles wailed at the sudden stop, and he grimaced at a sharp catch that stabbed his lower back. He bent over and fought to catch his breath.
“More to go.”
He snapped his eyes up to see Akhyeshah’s head loom over the top of the far slope. Jonah squinted at him. “How did you—”
“Keep moving.” The head disappeared.
Jonah limped across the ravine floor and began the arduous climb up the rock-strewn grade. When he gained the top, as he’d suspected, Akhyeshah was nowhere to be seen. The first of the toothy ridges rose only thirty paces ahead. He assumed that’s where his guide had gone, so he trudged to the nearest cleft in the ridge and slipped through.
The valley between the first ridge and the next was flat and smooth, its surface blanketed with fine sand. He glanced to the left and spotted deep prints in the soft earth. Only Akhyeshah could have left the tracks, so Jonah followed them along the ridgeline.
After another twenty paces, he rounded a boulder and nearly tripped over Akhyeshah’s legs. The giant had settled against the back of a rock outcropping and nestled between two boulders that framed a shallow niche in the low ridge.
Jonah stumbled to a halt. “Will you please explain what we’re doing? Why are we stopping so soon, and what’s the big hurry?”
Akhyeshah looked up at Jonah. “There is room here. Lie down.”
Jonah stared at him. Then he surveyed the narrow space between Akhyeshah’s bulk and the boulder. He looked back at the Assyrian and raised an eyebrow. “That’s all right. I can find my own—”
“You will want to lie down.” Akhyeshah squinted at him against the glare of the sky.
“Why would—”
A low rumble shook the earth beneath his feet and cut Jonah’s words short. He slogged through the deep sand to a small cleft that slit the ridge a few paces away and peered through it.
A massive wall of sand rushed across the desert toward him. Earth and sky disappeared behind the monstrous brown cloud that obliterated everything in its path. It seemed to grow taller and darker with each moment. He stood mesmerized, until he realized the sand had just swallowed the road they had walked only moments ago.
Jonah scurried back to Akhyeshah’s niche. His chest heaved. “What, in the name of—”
“You will want to lie down.” Akhyeshah nodded to the space beside him, his voice barely audible above the roar of the sandstorm.
Jonah dove into the narrow gap beside the Assyrian. Akhyeshah shifted onto his stomach and covered his head with his robe. Jonah followed his cue.
When the leading edge of the storm hit the rocky abutment, Jonah thought the world had come to an end. Daylight disappeared and the ground shuddered under the onslaught. Sand, dust, and debris filled the air. The wind screamed over and through the rocks with such force it threatened to rip the cloak off his back. He stuffed his collar against his mouth and nose to filter air and clamped his eyes shut.
For what seemed an eternity, the maelstrom battered the earth around him. Rocks loosened above his head cascaded down and caromed off his huddled form. A heavy blanket of sand accumulated on his back and legs, and pinned him to the ground. Breathable air disappeared, and the relentless pressure of debris on his back squeezed his lungs.
Akhyeshah’s voice came strangely clear through the chaos. “Tadmor is near. Over the next rise.”
Jonah tried to reply but choked on the grit that invaded his throat. He buried his head into his cloak, shuddered, and blacked out.
Something tapped Jonah’s forehead and jarred him awake. His right eyelid flickered open to see a pebble roll to a rest beside his nose. He clamped the eyelid
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