The hoof beasts carried Zann and his friends away from the rocky gully into more sand dunes.
Then they passed some scrubby trees.
After that they crossed the grassland Darb and Perda had mentioned.
More hoof beasts were grazing there.
"Let's look over there," Perda called, pointing to some hills.
They rode to the hills, which at first were gently rolling and mostly sand.
Then the slopes got steeper and rockier, with a few plants dotted here and there.
Perda peered into a cave.
"How are we supposed to find two people around here?" she said.
"They could be anywhere. Maybe we should try using magic."
"Maybe," Zann said, remembering what had happened with the levitation spell and the airberry juice.
"But we'll have to be careful because—"
A Red Share hit Zann, almost knocking him off his hoof beast.
It was from Gliss. She was terrified!
"Zann!" Darb halted his hoof beast. "Are you okay?"
Zann gulped for breath as the Red Share started to fade.
"I'm fine," he said. "But I'm not sure about Gliss."
He told them about the Share.
"Oh, no!" Perda cried. "We have to find her!"
"Could you tell where it was coming from?" Darb asked.
Zann closed his eyes.
He could still feel Gliss' terror in the back of his mind.
He turned his head, and it faded.
When he turned his head the other way, the Share got a little stronger.
He opened his eyes. "That way, I think," he said, pointing.
"I hope Gliss is all right." Darb sounded worried.
"I wonder if Wyssa is with her," Perda said.
"If not, then maybe that's why she's scared."
Darb nodded. "I'd be scared too, if I were all alone in the Far Frontier."
Zann didn't say anything.
Gliss hadn't just felt scared—she'd felt terrified.
Would she feel that way just from being alone? He wasn't sure.
They emerged from the hills.
Ahead of them the desert stretched into the distance.
Perda shaded her eyes against the blinding sunlight.
"I don't see anything," she said.
She looked anxious. "Or anyone.
Do you really think Gliss could be anywhere out there?"
"Look." Darb pointed. "There are more hills over there."
Zann squinted through the hot, hazy sunlight.
"That's the direction the Share seems to be leading us," he said.
"Come on, let's hurry."
The hoof beasts seemed to sense the kids' urgency.
The animals broke into a faster gait.
Their hooves pounded the sand, kicking up clouds of dust.
Zann held on to his beast's long, silky mane, hoping he wouldn’t bounce off.
"At least Morb can't sneak up on us out here—there’s nowhere for him to hide," Perda joked weakly.
"Why do you think he came here?" Zann glanced around at the sun-bleached sand.
"Could he really be searching for the Source?"
"Maybe." Darb shrugged.
"That sounds like something he'd do."
"Laddno will be mad if someone else finds it first."
Zann tried to laugh at his own remark.
But he was too worried about Gliss to do more than cough.
They were nearing the next set of hills.
The hills were steep and rocky, with spiky plants clinging to them and a few scrawny trees growing sideways out of pockets of soil.
Perda looked up. "I'm not sure these beasts can climb these hills."
"They won't have to climb them." Darb pointed.
"I see a trail that leads up to the top."
Zann followed as Darb and his hoof beast led the way into a narrow opening between two hills.
The shade of the trail felt good after the searing heat of the desert sun.
But Zann felt a little nervous.
It was hard to see more than a few strides ahead.
What if they ran into another sand beast in here?
What if they ran into Morb?
The hoof beasts seemed nervous too.
Zann's beast, looking alert, had its head way up in the air.
Its ears swiveled, and it let out a loud snort.
Perda cried out as her beast suddenly jumped forward with its ears pricked.
"Why are they acting like this?" she exclaimed.
Darb patted his beast.
Then he glanced back at the others.
"Maybe the hoof beasts don't like being in such an enclosed space," he said.
"They're used to being out in the open desert or grasslands.
They're probably worried that—"
He broke off with a strangled cry.
Zann started to call to him.
But before he could, he felt something tighten around his chest.
It was a rope!
"Hey!" Zann shouted.
He tried to shake off the rope, but it was pinning his arms to his sides.
A second later he felt the rope jerk him right off the hoof beast's back.
He slammed into the rocky ground with a grunt.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zann saw that both of his friends were in the same situation.
He squirmed desperately, trying to free himself.
But the rope was too tight—and it was thick and strong.
"Someone lassoed us!" Perda cried.
"Who was it? Hey, show yourselves!"
Several people stepped out of the shadows of the rocky hills.
The people were tall and lean.
Their loose clothes were the same color as the sand.
Wide-brimmed hats hid part of their faces, though Zann was pretty sure those faces were painted with clay or paint.
He'd seen pictures of such tribes in his parents' book.
They were nomads who were able to survive in this rough land.
Zann watched nervously as one of the strangers stepped forward.
"You should not have come here," the man said darkly.
"Your friend has caused us great sorrow, and now you must die."