Zann gulped. Wyssa didn't have a plan to find Morb!
It was a strange thought. Wyssa usually knew everything.
Perda looked stunned for a second too.
Then she cleared her throat.
"I've read every word of Zann's parents' books," she told Wyssa.
"In the one about the Far Frontier, they talked about how hard it was to walk on the shifting sand."
"Yes, and what's your point?" Wyssa sounded irritated.
"We can't zap while we're here. The magic is too unpredictable."
"Nax and Asta befriended some of the nomads who live here."
Perda waved a hand at the desert surrounding them.
"The nomads taught them to summon something called a hoof beast."
"A hoof beast?" Gliss echoed. "What's that?"
"It's a native desert animal," Darb said. "I've read about them."
Perda nodded. "The nomads taught Zann's parents to control them using just a little bit of magic.
That way they could ride them instead of fighting the sand."
"Of course." Wyssa cleared her throat.
"I was just going to suggest summoning a few of those beasts."
Zann traded a look with his friends.
Had Wyssa really planned to suggest that?
He decided it didn't matter.
Wyssa was already pulling some dried leaves and twigs out of her pockets.
Whether it was her idea or not, she seemed to know how to summon the beasts.
"Hold out your hands," Wyssa ordered the kids.
"Create friction while I sprinkle this on you. But be careful."
Zann and his friends did as she said.
Soon magic energy was sparking around them.
Wyssa muttered under her breath and closed her eyes, waving her hands to direct the energy.
"Whoa." Perda blinked as a tiny spark exploded in front of her eyes. "This is crazy."
Gliss nodded. "It reminds me of the unstable energy near the Cave of the Unknown."
Zann glanced at Wyssa, but she was ignoring them as she continued to murmur and wave her hands.
"Maybe there's a powerful source of magic near here too," he said to his friends.
Gliss gasped. "Like the Source?"
Zann nodded. "What if that's why Morb came here? Maybe he's trying to find it."
"And control it," Perda added grimly.
"And I thought it was scary when it was only Laddno who wanted to find the Source!"
"The Source might not even exist," Gliss said.
Before Zann could respond, he heard thundering hooves in the distance.
Half a dozen strange creatures appeared on the horizon.
They stopped some distance away and peered at the humans with large, dark eyes.
"Are those hoof beasts?" Gliss whispered.
Darb nodded. "They look just like the pictures in the book I read."
Perda took a step forward, shading her eyes for a better look.
"They look sort of like desert donkeys, but bigger," she said.
"Prettier too," Gliss put in. "Look at their long manes and tails!"
Zann had to agree. The beasts had multicolored hair in shades of gold, brown, and yellow.
"Their hair helps them blend into the desert," Darb said.
"And those wide hooves help them get traction in the shifting sand."
Wyssa frowned. "Why aren't they coming closer?" she muttered.
"I know I did the right spell."
"Maybe Darb could try to tame them," Zann suggested.
"He's great with animals."
Darb didn't respond for a second.
He was still watching the hoof beasts carefully.
"They look nervous," he said. "Actually they look scared."
"Of us?" Perda wondered. "Why?"
Before anyone could respond, one of the hoof beasts let out a sharp whistle.
The entire herd wheeled around and galloped off across the sand.
"Stop!" Wyssa cried.
She flung magic energy after the animals. "Get back here!"
But the beasts were already gone.
"I wonder what scared them," Gliss said.
"Maybe they . . . ," Zann stopped as the sand rumbled beneath his feet.
"What was that?"
Perda took a step back. "The ground is moving!"
Zann glanced around.
The sand was shifting everywhere he looked.
A few dozen strides ahead, a sinkhole appeared to be forming.
Suddenly sand shot upward as an enormous, lumpy head burst out of the ground!
It looked almost like a dragon—but much bigger.
Its snake-like neck was the same color as the sand, and its mouth held two rows of jagged teeth.
"Oh, no!" Perda gasped. "It's a sand beast!"
"What's a sand beast?" Gliss cried.
"I'll tell you later." Perda spun around.
"We have to get out of here!"
She took off as fast as she could in the shifting sand.
Zann raced after her and almost crashed into her when she skidded to a stop.
The sand beast's forked tail had just emerged from the sand ahead of them!
They spun around.
But several legs with claws were popping into view all around them.
"How many arms and legs does this thing have?" Gliss cried.
"Enough," Darb said grimly. "We're surrounded!"
The beast's giant head dived at Zann, and he ducked.
Saliva sizzled as it hit the hot sand.
"Gliss, look out!" Darb yelled.
Zann spun around and saw one of the creature's claws moving toward Gliss.
He snapped his fingers and sent a bolt of energy toward it.
But instead of zipping toward the clawed arm, Zann's magic energy burst into a fireball!
That distracted the sand beast just long enough for Gliss to dart away from its claws.
Darb grabbed her and pulled her closer to the others.
The group huddled together as the beast's multiple limbs all moved toward them.
"We have to get out of here!" Zann cried. "Join hands!"
"Don't try to zap!" Wyssa shouted. "Your magic will—"
Zann didn't wait for her to finish.
As soon as he and his friends were touching, he screamed, "Zap!"