There was an intense loneliness about the desert that was welcoming to her. It meant no one was around to disrupt her thoughts, her focussed anger.Sometimes she pointed out scrub plants to the others. Occasionally she pointed to things that disappeared, which were never really near anyway. The horses were tired and the group was almost out of provisions. Two days ago Jella had pointed out the Lo Gurate hills in the distance, which looked like low, blue rippled clouds.They sat on horseback, wrapped in cloaks to stop the penetrating heat, were staring at a boat that was in the sand. Jella could guess how large it was because, as they approached it, it increased in size almost at the same rate as the hills in the background, which were some hours away. The group dismounted, stood by the horses.‘What is it, that thing?’ Lula asked.‘The Aarc,’ Jella said. ‘It’s where the Qe Falta live.’‘Ghouls,’ Menz said. His face darkened.‘They live there?’ Lula asked. ‘How do you know all this?’‘The library had its benefits.
