The Water Girl — Deborah Millitello

For years, the tribes of the desert have lived in an uneasy truce. Each tribe dedicated to an elemental spirit, each tribe, and each spirit, nervously eyeing the others. On the surface, all seems to be as usual. But underneath, evil has taken root. In the capital city, whispers abound, whispers of treason and of war. The spirits have foretold it -- a storm is coming that will bathe the deserts in the blood of the innocent. Hamalah, devotee of the water spirit, is caught up in the whirlwind the day she discovers a boy of the fire spirit's tribe injured in the desert. Together, the pair must seek out the evil that would destroy both their peoples. But first, they must find a way to put aside the wounds of the past and heal the deep scars that lie between them. If they can't, then they, and everyone they know, will fall before the oncoming storm.