Chapter 278

Sand billowed up. The grind of tires over grit sounded like a giant serpent’s scales scraping across rough ground, and the engines rose like music climbing into its climax. The noise from three off-roaders layered together into one urgent, high-strung roar.

For nomads—unless they changed trades halfway through life—vehicles were their constant companions.

A car was to them what a horse had been to old steppe tribes: an irreplaceable partner.