“Hey. Lila.”

“Yeah?”

Hugan looked over at the girl next to him. They were both walking, while Ziya rode on the camel with their supplies. She had tried to object in her soft way, but it had only taken Lila’s pointing out that it was the most efficient way to handle the fact that Ziya’s physical attributes were lower than theirs to resolve the issue. Hugan hadn’t stepped into that conversation, but he was glad at how it had turned out.

“Uh…” Honestly, he was just bored. They’d been walking for a good eight hours since midday. Ziya had said they should stay up as late as they could, so that they could get used to sleeping by day and walking at night.

He hadn’t realized just how much, well, waiting went into going on adventures. He’d talked for a while, but while Lila would laugh along with him for a while, eventually they all got worn out. Even him. What he really needed just then, he decided, was to hear a story.

“Tell us about your home.” Hugan thought back to what she’d called it. “The, uh, Temple of the Sands?”

She slowed down for a moment, and Hugan almost thought she’d tripped. Except that, even here outside of the Waste proper, there wasn’t too much to trip on. Just sand.

“What?” She sounded absent-minded, like she hadn’t quite been paying attention. Her eyes stayed ahead, scanning the landscape around them.

“I said, tell us about the Temple. I mean, we’re going there, aren’t we. Why’s there a Temple in the middle of the Waste anyways?”

Those questions hadn’t really occurred to Hugan before--they still didn’t bother him too much. It wasn’t like he’d abandon Lila, so there wasn’t much point in worrying about it.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I...” She trailed off.

Hugan looked turned to look at her again. She had a frown on her face, like she was thinking hard about something. Then her face resolved into calm indifference, like she hadn't just been talking to Hugan at all.

“Where did you grow up?” Ziya cut in from atop the camel, and Lila responded in a casual tone.

“The Temple of the Sands, in the Waste.”

“And what is it like there?”

“It’s pretty nice...”

Again she trailed off, though she’d seemed like she was about to continue. This time, she didn’t even seem to notice that she’d done it. Hugan spoke up, though he wasn’t sure what to say.

“Lila--”

“--where did you learn to fight?” Ziya, uncharacteristically sharp, cut Hugan off. He didn’t object, though. Something odd was happening.

“In the Temple of the Sands.” Confident, normal.

“And how did you learn?”

“I trained.” Still normal.

“Where?”

“The Temple of the Sands.” Her words didn’t even hitch, though she sounded like she was getting annoyed at Ziya’s questioning.

“How?”

“I…”

For a moment, that puzzled expression flitted across her face, then resolved itself into her usual proud confidence.

“What time do you think we should rest?”

Hugan frowned. Why was she talking about that now?

“Lila, we were just talking about the Temple of the Sands.”

“Oh. The sun’s getting a little lower. I say we keep going until two hours after dark. We should look for firewood, too.”

“Lila, what’s wrong?” Hugan cut in, unable to hold back his concern. What was wrong with her? “You keep not answering our questions.”

“About what?”

“The Temple of the Sands.”

At that, she nodded amiably, turning away and continuing to walk. It was almost like a very bad joke. Hugan grabbed her shoulder gently, motioning her to stop. Ziya wrestled awkwardly with the reins of the camel for a moment, and Hugan stopped that as well. She hopped down.

“What?” Lila had a slightly annoyed expression on her face, and she gracefully duck out from under Hugan’s hand.

“Lila, what are some of the most interesting places you’ve been in your life?”

Ziya’s soft voice was conversational, but with an edge to it that even Hugan could pick out. He shot her a puzzled look, but she had her eyes fixed on Lila.

Lila chuckled at the question, though she seemed a bit unsettled by Ziya’s tone. “I haven’t really been to many places, to tell the truth. I suppose Caelos, and the Temple of the Sands, and Faizun. I went by there on the way to the training grounds, and the smell was impressive, let me tell you.” She let out a laugh.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Hugan frowned, feeling something squeeze his chest. Fear. Her laugh was unsetting, not because it sounded forced or pained, but because it didn’t. He’d heard stories of evil mind mages, but their victims were always like prisoners, their minds trapped behind bars. Lila seemed like a part of her had just been… cut away. She couldn’t even tell something was wrong.

Lila appeared to notice that they weren’t laughing, and gave them an uncomfortable look. “What, do you have relatives there or something?”

“No, sorry.” Neither of them laughed. Lila looked mildly offended, but Ziya continued. “What did you like about Caelos, then?”

Still frowning, she answered, “I don’t know, I haven’t been to many cities. It was big.”

Ziya nodded, eyes intent. “And what about the Temple?”

With that annoyed expression on her face, Lila opened her mouth like she was about to speak, then closed it. Her expression softened a little, and then she spoke. “So why are we stopping?

Ziya looked at Hugan then. “Do you know what is wrong with her?”

Hugan began shaking his head, but at Ziya’s words Lila bristled.

“What do you mean what’s wrong with me?”

Huga gave her a hopeful look. Maybe… “You can’t talk about the Temple of the Sands, Lila.”

“Oh.” Just like that, she went back to looking at them expectantly, clearly waiting to see why they had all stopped. This was getting very, very scary.

“Lila, is it okay if Hugan and I talk for a minute in private?”

At Ziya’s words Lila looked between them, and several expressions flitted across her face. Hugan couldn’t catch them all, but she settled on casual.

“Sure.” Her voice had an odd inflection, and she wasn’t looking at either of them. Was this more of whatever magic had been put on her?

Ziya led him a short distance away, walking faster than Hugan would have expected

someone of her build to. He wasn’t complaining, though.

“So, uh, what’s going on here?” Hugan began awkwardly, once they were out of earshot.

“I don’t know. Some sort of spell or enchantment.”

Hugn nodded awkwardly. He’d sort of figured as much. “But, uh, what should we do?”

Ziya looked at him steadily for a second, eyes sharp as always. “Do you know why we are going to this Temple?”

Hugan nodded. “Lila’s family is there, right? I mean, do you think that’s not true?”

Appearing hesitant, she shook her head. “I don’t think so. If that is made up, I think... she should have reacted differently to my questions. My teacher told us a little about helping mind mage victims.”

A thought occurred to Hugan then. “But how does she know where to go anyways?”

“The map she keeps pulling out, I think. And there is another paper she has read a few times before that looked similar, in the training grounds.”

“Oh.” That seemed odd to Hugan--why would she follow the map if she didn’t know where she was going? But then again, this entire situation was strange. “Is there a way we can help her, then?”

Ziya frowned slightly, an extreme expression for her. “I… perhaps. We could find a powerful Cleric of Lumia. They know the Cleansing Light spell. I don’t know if it would work--this is like nothing similar to what my teacher taught me.”

Hugan nodded. It sounded like a good place to start to him. And there was no time to waste. He began walking back to Lila, Ziya falling into step beside him.

“Hey, Lila.” He tried his best to keep his voice casual. “Why don’t we go to a temple of Lumia?”

Lila had been looking cooly at them as they returned, but now she was frowning. “What? There aren’t any of those between here and the Waste. Why?”

“We, uh, want to get you checked out?” Hugan wasn’t really sure how to approach this situation, so maybe honesty would work.

It didn’t.

“For what?” Lila’s voice was becoming dangerous now, her eyes narrowing. “We don’t have time to backtrack. I don’t.”

“You can’t remember the Temple of the Sands and we need to figure out why.” Hugan blurted out hopefully. The words slid off her like she didn’t hear them,and her glare remained fixed on Hugan, gray eyes looking, well, scary.

“Lila, why are we going to the Waste?” Ziya cut in. Thank goodness.

Turning her thunderous expression on the other young woman, Lila said, “I have to tell

my family that monsters from the Waste are suddenly attacking humans and leaving their Dungeons. You two,” she gestured at them dismissively, “don’t have to come with me.”

Huh. So she did remember her reasons, then. They sounded pretty good to Hugan, too.

Ziya replied, voice even softer than usual. Hesitant. “What about Maiz, Lila?”

What? Hugan frowned at Ziya. Why was she bringing him up now? They hadn’t talked about him at all, come to think of it. That was a little odd, wasn’t it?

For some reason, Lila reacted to Ziya’s words like a slap in the face. She drew herself up, then asked in a voice that invited no response, “what?”

“He was not on the roles at the barracks where they took us. He was not with you and Hugan. Are you not worried about him?”

Lila’s fists were clenched. “I--why the hells are you asking me that? Do you really need me to say it?” There were tears in her eyes. Hugan felt like he was missing something.

“We could... be looking for him.” Ziya’s voice was soft, but differently than usual. She sounded uncertain, which was completely understandable to Hugan, but was not how she usually behaved at all.

Lila let out a dismissive puff of breath at Ziya’s words. It sounded somewhere between a scoff and a sob. What the hells?

“Do we really need to do this, Ziya? I thought you understood--” She cut herself off, taking a deep breath. Then she turned, shouldering the little pack she’d gotten as they’d prepared to leave. “I’m going to my family. Stay safe.”

Hugan sighed. Mind magic aside, he didn’t understand why both of them had become so emotional about Maiz. It wasn’t like he’d died or--

Oh.

“Wait!” Hugan yelled. He was the one clenching his fists now. He felt very, very angry all of a sudden.

Lila stopped, turning back to him, and he could see the streaks of tears that had run down her face already.

“If you thought he was… dead, you should have godsdamned said something!” Lila looked as though he had punched her. Ziya was inscrutable, but paler than usual. “He’s fine! You hear me? Hakim just sent him somewhere else. He‘s too smart and too strong to--”

“--Hugan.” Ziya tried to cut him off, but he wasn’t listening. He grabbed the camel’s reins, and pulled it roughly towards where Lila was now standing down the road. He looked hard into her eyes. With the tears in them, they didn’t seem quite as unsettling as usual.

“We’ll go to your family. There isn’t a way in the Abyss we’re leaving you alone.”

“Hugan,” Ziya sounded almost alarmed. And guilty.

“And by the time we get back, Maiz'll be running the godsdamned city.”

He kept walking, and both Ziya and Lila followed him silently. He knew that they were supposed to be convincing Lila to go to a Cleric somehow, but they was no way that was happening. Not if what Ziya had said hadn’t worked. Besides, if the Temple of the Sands was where this spell had been put on her, then maybe they could find the bastard who did it. Hugan could do with a head to bash in just then.