5
My instincts told me to flee. I stepped right, but Darda held tight to me. "There is no need to worry, Miriam," she whispered.
I whipped my head to her smiling face. "Are you nuts? That thing's going to kill us!"
Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at me. "Hold against the storm and see."
I stiffened my jaw and the rest of my body as the storm came charging at us. The sands beneath our feet rolled to our right. A soft flapping arose from the ships as the sails bent against the demand of the coming winds. The sails on the rafts of the two contestants were too tight to flap.
Spiros pulled out some handkerchiefs and handed them to us. "Cover your faces against the dust."
I took a handkerchief and noticed the work men drape their own handkerchiefs over their faces. I did the same
