Like a hurricane or tornado, the wind lashed at them, nearly causing them to lose their balance. Small chunks of hail pelted down at them.
Ignoring the pain, the three of them ran faster from the storm. Only a hundred feet left. They would make it.
Tyson tripped and tumbled over onto the ground. Katie saw why. Snakes slithered all over the ground, blindly it seemed, as they had no apparent sense of direction. Koran made it past the pool of snakes and was at the gate.
Katie helped Tyson to his feet. A snake bit him in the ankle. Tyson let out a hiss of pain and another snake bit him. Tyson fell to his knees.
The dark clouds rushed at them and the wind got stronger. Katie’s hair flew back wildly, so fierce that she thought it might rip out. The gale burned her face and she could barely see.
Koran came back, lifted Tyson over his shoulder and grabbed Katie’s arm. He got them back to the gate. He kicked it down and the three of them toppled through it.
The storm had reached the gate. It was clear that everything in its path had been destroyed. Violently the winds whipped around with chunks of debris flying through it, but nothing crossed the gate, not even the wind.
Koran laid Tyson on his back. He put his hands around Tyson’s ankle where he had been bitten. The two marks were purple and black. A small black-figure moved into the bites so quickly Katie couldn’t make out what it was.
The bite marks almost glowed a black color and Tyson’s leg jerked. Koran kept at it for another minute before stopping.
Tyson, who had been holding his breath in pain, fell unconscious. Katie was confused with no idea what had happened. She didn’t have time to ask. They saw a figure of a man approach them.
The man was old. He had a long silver beard and gray hair that fell back passed his shoulders. He was walking with an uneven wooden staff.
The morning sunlight made its way onto the ground, and the sky quickly faded into a light pink.
19
The City of Oasi
The man watched them intently for a moment. After realizing that Tyson was sprawled on the ground, he turned his head back and called out for help. The old man came closer so he could see better what was happening.
“Did you pass through the city?” the old man asked. Mechanically, Katie looked back. There was no more city, no gate and otherwise no sign that a storm or anything else had existed moments ago. All she saw was the Fountain of Chance just a few feet away, dry as ever. It was as if it hadn’t been filled in hundreds of years.
“Yes,” Koran answered, breathing heavily and looking back, almost not believing that the city had vanished completely.
Four people arrived, carrying a wooden stretcher. Tyson was lifted onto its brown cloth and carried away.
“Don’t worry,” the elderly man said to Katie, who noticed her look of concern as Tyson vanished out of sight. “He’s being taken to our highly trusted and experienced medics within the castle. Your friend will be well in a short time.”
Katie stared at him but nodded. She swallowed her unease before speaking. “Who are you?”
The man smiled pleasantly and closed his eyes briefly, though, with his age, it seemed like a while had passed. “My name is Onix of the Council of Oasi,” he answered. “While I have many duties, my most important one is ensuring that no one has stolen the jewel from Galbatrar.” He pointed behind Katie. “That city you came out of holds the key to a weapon. Our ancestors died protecting it.”
“We don’t have the jewel,” Koran butted in. “We weren’t looking for it. But someone already took it.” He sounded almost rude; anxious, at the very least.
Onix stared at him. “I deduced as much. The city appeared some weeks ago, but no one came through it. The city will only appear if someone is making it out. But no one came through the gate.”
Katie and Koran didn’t know what to say.
“Please,” said Onix. “Let me take you to our city. Oasi isn’t far from here, and there you will find rest and nourishment.”
Katie was suspicious of the timing Onix had, almost as if he had been waiting for them. But she didn’t have time to wait. She had to get Tyson.
Katie and Koran followed Onix down a wide dirt path. Trees and brush lined the edges along with the forest of trees beyond. Patches of grass sprouted along the ground. Katie could hear a river, but it wasn’t until they rounded a curve in the path that she saw anything.
A large river flowed through the trees, at least seventy feet wide, and ended in a large basin before continuing as a flowing body of water. On the other side of the basin was the largest city Katie had seen since she arrived in Narque. The houses and buildings were made of a white stone that contained minerals that sparkled in the sunlight. At the far end of the city stood a large mountain that went as far as she could see. Built into the mountain was a wide building with columns supporting its entrance, larger than what Katie knew to be the White House.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Onix commented when he looked back and saw the stunned looks on Koran’s and Katie’s faces.
Overwhelmed with the sheer beauty of the city, Koran and Katie managed only in making small sounds similar to grunts.
“Well, hop on then,” Onix said, his voice sounding younger than it had been.
A large raft appeared. It looked made of pinewood, sanded and waxed to shine. Another old man was on the raft, though he appeared to be at least twenty years
