Chapter 19
Geoffrey stood on the edge of a sandy cliff that overlooked a deep gorge. The wind picked up and whipped sand into his face. He spit it out, but it kept coming, gathering in a gritty film in his mouth. He closed his eyes for a long while, and then opened them again, taking in the endless horizon of dune and sky that circled him in all directions.
As the wind subsided, he saw the dunes below shifting, heard the quiet whisper of sand pouring over itself. He was at least fifty feet above the ground.
He closed his eyes again and sighed.
Would it be a long fall?
What would it feel like when he met the dune?
Would there be rocks underneath?
He hoped so.
He brought himself closer to the ledge and his shoes scraped against the sand.
This sand—he had studied it in books when he
