Page 61 of A Wayward Movement

Silence.

“There.”

Alina pointed with her free hand, and Xavier saw it, too. A flash through the swirling sand, like the afternoon sun glinting on a weapon. That must be his guards. They moved confidently forward, dismayed to reach the place and once again find nothing. A stir of movement in the corner of Xavier’s eye made him turn, but all he could see was sand. In every direction, just innocuous, vegetation-less sand, glowing in the afternoon light.

“I don’t like this,” he said.

“Me neither.” Alina sounded nervous. “I’m so sorry I convinced you to come and investigate. How could we get lost so quickly? I thought we stayed close to the site.”

“I thought the same,” Xavier reassured her, squeezing her hand. “This isn’t your fault. And I’m not sorry I came. Otherwise you’d be lost out here alone. At least now we’re in it together.” He paused, then added, “Us and Zuzu.”

The anzu purred, settling more comfortably into the crook of his arm. Xavier didn’t like the fact that between the bird and Alina’s hand in his, he had no free arm to draw his sword if needed. But there was no way he was letting go of Alina’s hand. He was sure it was the only thing that had kept them from losing each other like they’d lost the guards.

“Do we stay still, or move forward?” Alina asked. Then she gasped. “There! One of your guards, I saw him!” She tugged Xavier forward, and he followed obediently. They ran across the sand, the occasional movement catching his eye as well and giving him hope that they were going the right way. But once again, they found nothing.

“I’m sorry,” Alina said again, her voice wretched. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I was so sure…it was like a compulsion, I had to follow…”

Her words trailed off as they stared at each other, comprehension finding them both at the same time. Xavier let out a groan.

“Alicanto magic,” said Alina, her free hand covering her eyes in a moment of embarrassment. “I’m such a fool. The glints we saw were the lights of their eyes. They lured us one way, and the guards another, probably.”

“I’ll never hear the end of this,” Xavier sighed. “One day in the desert, and I’m already falling prey to alicanto magic. I should have known better, but it’s just so ingrained to think of it as a nighttime peril. I know the workers told us they’ve been coming out during the day, but I didn’t even think of it.”

“Me neither,” said Alina. “But they got us, no question. I don’t really understand it, though. Their wings are supposed to flash silver or gold, depending on what they’ve eaten. How could we miss that in the full sun?”

“Because they’re not eating silver or gold,” Xavier realized grimly. “They’re eating chameleon steel, which doesn’t resemble either. Instead, it has—”

“Camouflaging properties.” It was Alina’s turn to groan. “So their wings can blend with the surroundings now? That will be of great interest to a number of researchers, I imagine.”

“And they can research it to their hearts’ content once we’re no longer lost in the desert with the infernal things,” Xavier said dryly.

“So what do we do?” Alina asked. “If we keep trying to find our way back, we’ll just get more lost, right?”

“I suppose we should stay where we are, and wait to be found,” Xavier said. “Surely we didn’t go too far.”

“There’s no telling,” Alina said uncertainly. “I’ve always been told that alicanto confusion blurs your sense of time along with direction.” She looked around. “The light seems to be fading. Surely it wasn’t close to evening when we left the camp?”

“I still think we should stay where we are,” Xavier said. He flashed her a grin. “Someone will find us. You may not know this, but I’m considered quite important. I imagine a few people will be looking for me.”

She shook her head, but there was a smile on her lips as well. When she started to withdraw her hand, Xavier intertwined their fingers, gripping more tightly.

“Don’t abandon me,” he said plaintively. “If you let go, they’ll lure you away from me, and I’ll be stuck with no one but Zuzu.”

“Once you realize it’s alicanto magic, the spell is broken,” Alina said impatiently. But she stopped trying to pull away. “I don’t think they’ll bother us anymore.”

The words were barely out before something clanged into Xavier’s metal bracer with enough force to knock him sideways into Alina. They both stumbled, only just avoiding falling onto the sand.

“What was that?” Alina demanded.

He had no chance to reply before he was assaulted again, the clash of something against his bracer accompanied by a sharp pain. He looked down to see a hole in the metal, his arm exposed.

“They’re eating your bracer!” Alina gasped.

“Well.” Xavier felt a spurt of ill-timed mirth as he was swooped again. He grinned mischievously at Alina. “This could become awkward.”

“How can you possibly flirt at a moment like this?” Alina cried, as a second camouflaged alicanto performed a nosedive onto Xavier’s shoulder.

“There’s no time at which I can’t flirt,” he shouted back, trying to dodge the birds while still positioning his body between them and Alina. “I’m extremely talented.”