Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The closer we came to the barrier, the more charged the air felt. I rubbed my arms to tamp down the hairs.

"Are you alright?" Ben asked me.

I glanced up at Ben whose expression was tense as he studied me. "Is the air supposed to feel so. . .thick?"

Ben shook his head. "No. Whenever I've approached the barrier, there was always a calling sensation in the air. This feels like trouble."

"You think it's because its energy is disappearing?"

"Undoubtedly. The ‘system,' as it were, may be stretching itself too thin and creating stress, both in itself and in the air."

I wrapped my arms around myself and wrinkled my nose. "The king's ‘voluntary' program must not be working."

"There's only so much magic one can take before risking the life of the magician," Ben mused.

I lifted an eyebrow. "So people with magic literally can't live without it?"

He stared ahead and sighed. "That isn't quite true. Anyone can live without magic, even those born with it, but the extraction process itself is stressful on the body. To seek to extract every single drop of magic would kill a person."

"So have you seen it done?" I wondered.

He shook his head. "No, I've only read about it. From a curiosity standpoint, I'm eager to see the Kneeling Stone, but from a practical and moral standpoint, I would rather neither of us go through the process. Should that come to pass, however, I'll give up as much as the king demands myself."

I narrowed my eyes at him and tapped my fingers against my other arm. "I'm not letting you take the hit for me, not when it's that dangerous in the first place."

"Let's hope that decision never has to be made," he returned as we neared those low hills that surrounded the base of the barrier.

The river came its closest to the road and we became shaded by large trees that resembled oaks, but with huge leaves that had a soft yellow hue. I stretched out my hand to a low-hanging branch and snatched one of them. They were as soft as linen and as light as a feather.

"These are really pretty," I commented as I turned the leaf over to study its veins.

"The locals call these trees the divines," Ben told me as he, too, admired their beautiful coloring. "Legends say that they were a gift from the gods to protect the waters of the Masdar from harm."

I couldn't help but smile as I brushed my hand against the smooth surface of the leaf. "There's a lot of legends around here."

"It's a rather old kingdom," Ben mused as he stared ahead at the road. "Even older than Ortusia, much as I hate to admit. The records that were said to be buried in the old capital were rumored to go back two thousand years to the time of the mythical founding. Kalea's first king was said to have been a snake that was able to speak the human tongue. He ruled for several hundred years before he stepped aside so that his human subjects might learn to stand on their own."

"So what happened to him?" I wondered as we neared the hills. "Did he just retire to some seaside resort?"

Ben shook his head. "Nobody knows, though many legends state that he'll return when the island has need of him."

I folded my arms over my chest and pursed my lips. "We could sure use him right now. . ."

The road narrowed and wound around one of the first hills on the right before it disappeared behind the greenery. The sand that provided our traction also vanished and was replaced by a carpet of grass and flowers.

Ben stopped the wagon near the line where sand met grass and set the reins in his lap as he smiled at me. "This is where we walk."

I lifted an eyebrow before I cast my gaze to the vanished road. "How far?"

"About half a mile," Ben assured me as he hopped down. He turned and held out his hand to me. "But the walk is pleasant."

I accepted his hand and he helped me off the wagon. The qasi gave a strange little bellow as we passed by him, and I gave his nose a pat. "We'll be right back."

How right I was as we found out as we strolled around the bend in the road. The trees forced the road into a wide dirt path that wound its way down to the river's edge as the waters flowed out of a small grotto. Vines and flowers decorated the slopes and grass blanketed the ground.

The way, however, was blocked by three beautiful women. They were attired in filmy dresses that didn't leave much to the imagination. Their long black hair started as buns on the back of their heads before their tresses trailed down their backs to almost brush against the ground behind them. Their skin was slightly tanned, but not garishly so, and they had keen dark eyes.

The tallest of the three stood in the center, and she held her hand out in front of her with the palm facing us. "Halt."

Ben stopped and grasped my wrist to keep me from taking another step. He smiled at the trio. "Good afternoon, ladies. We were curious to know if we might see the ghasl."

The woman shook her head. "We cannot allow that. The king has decreed that no one save himself and us may visit the ghasl."

Ben lifted an eyebrow. "The king's proclamations of late have been numerous."

She bowed her head. "We apologize for the inconvenience, sir, but we cannot go against our king's wishes. Should you choose to remain here any longer, we will be forced to make you leave."

I felt Ben tense beside me, though he kept his smile on his lips. "That won't be necessary, ladies. We'll leave of our own accord."

He turned and led me away from the trio. I glanced over my shoulder for one last glimpse of the women, but they'd already vanished. "They're fast," I commented as we rounded the corner and the grotto was hidden from view.

"Each of them are of the grandest houses on the island and have a great gift of magic," Ben told me as we reached the wagon.

I turned to him and lifted an eyebrow. "So like your cousin's family?"

He draped his arm over the box and nodded. "Yes, but their magic is less detection and more protection. I wouldn't want to be around to see them use their magic, and to be on the receiving end would be rather dangerous."

"Even for the Dragon Thief?" I asked him.

He knitted his brow. "I'd rather not do a headlong assault on anything there. We're one of the few foreigners, and some may deduce my identity if I was to so brazenly show myself."

A deep sigh escaped me and I folded my arms over my chest. "So what now?"

He nodded at the distance where the towering obelisks rose from the sands. "Now we see about this Kneeling Stone. I'm curious to see how it works."

I scowled at him. "Don't go tossing yourself on a rock and having your magic sucked out of you just to satisfy your curiosity."

He flashed me a grin as he offered me a hand up. "And leave my fiancé all alone?"

I rolled my eyes but accepted his help to climb back aboard the wagon. "You know, if you keep that up I'm going to expect to see a ring in the near future."

Ben plopped himself down in the seat beside me and took up the reins. "Perhaps you shall."

My eyes widened. "What do you-"

"Ha!" he shouted as he cracked the reins.

The qasi shot off down the sand and I was flung back so that I was forced to grab a hold of the arm of the box to keep my balance. Ben directed the beast off the road and onto the virgin sand, giving us a straight shot toward the columns.

I righted myself and glared at him. "Don't think trying to toss me off will distract me."

His eyes twinkled as he nodded at the way ahead of us. "I think the view of the Thaqiba will do just that."

I hated when he was right.