Grym Prophet (Song of the Aura, Book Three) by Gregory J. Downs Read Free Book Online

but they didn’t have a Sand Strider with them then, did they?”
     
    “There’s no sand here, Gribly.”
     
    “But I can Stride rock, too, remember?”
     
    “Oh.” It seemed she had forgotten, which annoyed the thief, though he couldn’t think why. They stood together, and he looked high and low for some idea as to how his powers with the earthy elements could help them get down. The sunbeams shining through the heavy clouds winked out, one by one, and in minutes it was almost completely dark.
     
    “I think we should sleep on the problem,” he announced. Elia agreed.
     
    “Just not here, so close to the cliff. Let’s move back… a long way… and see if there’s a more sheltered place to sleep.”
     
    “Sounds good enough. Let’s go.” As he turned, a new thought struck him. “I wonder if Lauro had any trouble finding this place and getting down. We never did find his stolen Wave Chariot on the coast.”
     
    “If he lived to make it this far, I doubt it gave him a problem,” Elia said softly, her musical voice muffled by the oppressive darkness that was descending all around the pair. “He can fly, remember?”
     
    ~
     
    In a sort of natural overhang tucked away at the base of a rocky hill, the two young travelers made their meager camp. After setting out their bedrolls in opposite corners of the hollow, Elia set about preparing some of the rations of dried fish and pilgrim’s bread the Reethe had given them for the journey. Not tasty in the least, but enough to fill them and keep them on their feet, along with some water blessed by Cleric Lithric.
     
    Gribly took a chunk of bread, then lay in his roll munching it. Elia began fiddling with some of the tinder from the tinderbox they had been too cautious to use until now.
     
    “Careful, mmfh, ” he told her through a mouthful of bread, “We don’t wan th to use it all up, (gulp) … in one sitting.”
     
    “I’m trying something,” she whispered without looking at him, entirely concentrated on the pile of wood-shavings. The tone in her voice made Gribly perk up.
     
    “Trying something? You mean striding fire, don’t you?” It was a wonder the matter hadn’t come up sooner, he realized. Elia had mysteriously been able to manipulate fire during their trio’s first encounter with the draik they had called Steamclaw, a monster who had demonstrated the ability of speech, given Gribly vital help in defeating the Sea Demon, and finally disappeared without a trace after the battle.
     
    “Yes,” she kept her eyes on the tinder, closing and opening them time and again without any effect.
     
    “Don’t squeeze those fists too hard,” Gribly cautioned, “Or you’re going to puncture your palms.” It was only half a joke- she really was clenching her hands, and her whole body was tensed with frustration. He sat up, sleep forgotten, and watched her. “Wait, Elia, stop. You won’t be able to do any good that way.”
     
    She did. “Ugh. What do you think’s wrong? It was easy enough before…”
     
    “Well, you had fire to work with already, then. Why don’t we see if you can Stride it when it’s already there?”
     
    “I thought you didn’t want to waste anything?”
     
    The thief just shrugged, crawled out of his bedroll, and struck flint to metal, causing a few sparks to leap into the mess of tinder, igniting a small, steady flame that grew until it had devoured the entire pile. “Now’s the time to try, before it all burns up.”
     
    Elia held her hands close to the flames, as if to warn them. As she closed her eyes and relaxed her facial expression, Gribly could almost feel her reaching out into the void for that place that allowed her to Stride Water… and Fire, too, if the one time had not been a fluke. If she could do this… he shivered, thinking how unheard of it was, not just to Stride Fire, but to have the power over two such opposite elements.
     
    For the first few seconds, nothing happened, and his thoughts