Ford could see the images the boy was creating in the air, but wasn't close enough to hear the story that must be going along with it. The pictures danced, coming alive as Daniel created them, and Ford was so mesmerized that he lost his concentration on masking his presence several times.
Each instance, he noticed Mia's back straighten and her head begin to turn before he realized he needed to renew his efforts.
He was exhausting his magic. Enthralled by the storytelling, he'd come closer, but now he hung back, far enough to hide behind rocks instead of needing to use his power all the time.
The days wore on, and even though he'd taken every bit of food Denholm had stored up by the cave's camp, Ford would run out of supplies. He was eating one meal a day and letting the horse graze as they went.
At the end of the first week of travel, they moved beyond the land of the canyons and into a vast grassland that ran alongside the river.
