"The Sand God isn't doing this," Stinson said. "It's only a storm."
She covered his lips with her fingers. "Don't say that. He may hear you and be more angry."
"But it is, don't you see? You give him powers he does not possess."
Sybtl shook her head and stroked his face with her long, slim fingers. "Poor little God-with-fingers-on-his-feet," she said. "You do not understand. The Sand God is terrible, even when he plays. See the lightning? It is blue. The lightning of a storm that comes by itself is not blue. He is running around the world on feet like the rockets of space ships, and when he strikes the clouds, blue fire shoots away."
The clouds continued to build on one another. Soon the blue flashes of lightning extended across the sky from horizon to horizon. The earth trembled. Sybtl moved closer, trembling also.
"He never did this before," she said. "He never made the earth shake before."
Great boulders crashed down the canyon walls and dropped into the creek. They dared not move from the cave, although death seemed certain if they stayed.
"I'll leave for a moment," he said. "I'll be back soon."
"You're leaving?" There was panic in her voice.