Chapter Six TerraThey stepped off Danior and Akra released him from his padiqua bridle. The great serpent slipped back under the sand. Mai knew one thing was certain as she stared at the hills in the distance: they had done the right thing coming here. Over those hills would be water and food and perhaps even a place to rest for the night. The three walked away quietly as the sun continued to beat down.
Slowly the sand disappeared, replaced by hard land that crunched under their feet. Mai looked back one last time, feeling a strange release from the thoughtbankers’ regions of dry, flat lands and sandy desert.
After two more hours of walking, the children reached the land of hard soil and rugged mountains. They sat perched at the very top of a large hill looking down on the valley below.
