Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

My eyes widened slightly as I realized the two did slightly resemble one another, though Nabiha was much more tanned and weathered than her priestess sister. Nabiha's ancient lineage now explained why the guards at the Kneeling Stone were loath to stop her.

"You take issue with how the king is keeping the Thaqiba alive?" Ben wondered.

Nabiha climbed to her feet and turned to us with a scowl. "I take issue with anyone foolish enough to use magic they do not understand."

"You're referring to the Kneeling Stone?" he guessed.

The mere mention of the stone made her lips curl back in disgust. "Those fools believe they know how to work the thing based on nothing more than a scrap of ancient text. They force the people to sacrifice what little magic they have to feed into heavens knows what."

I lifted an eyebrow. "The magic isn't going into the Thaqiba?"

She wrinkled her nose. "They believe it does, my sister among them, but even if it did it is merely a bandage over a wound. They have found no reason why the magic is draining from my ancestor's sacrifice."

Ben studied her with curiosity. "Then you don't know, either?"

She shook her head. "No, curse it all. I have scoured all the libraries of my ancestors and then some, and still nothing has explained how magic can vanish so rapidly."

"Maybe they're getting to the end of their lives?" I suggested. "I mean, magic can't last forever, right?"

"Nothing does," she agreed as she shuffled over to the store of food and rummaged through a basket. She drew out an apple that was showing signs of wear. "But one might achieve continuance with new magic." She clasped the apple in her hands and a soft white light emanated from her palms. Nabiha opened her hands and revealed the apple rejuvenated as if it had just been plucked from its tree. "That is the role of our family, to care for the Thaqiba for as long as we can manage."

I cocked my head to one side. "But isn't that what they're doing with the Kneeling Stone? Transferring magic?"

She took a bite out of the apple and her spittle flew everywhere as she spoke. "A sacrifice willingly given is one matter. To tear it from those who possess it by some unknown magic is very different, especially through the use of such an unknown object. Maram knows of our family's ability to pass on magic, and now she uses it to rip it from others in service to her mad king and her false god."

I looked between the pair. "So there's a serpent god now?"

"The king who once ruled over the island was said to have been a serpent," Ben reminded me. "Some of the older houses still pray to him."

Nabiha crossed her arms over her chest and her dark look grew darker still. "They worship nothing more than a myth and use him to hide behind their own misdeeds."

"Did you have some motive for bringing us here besides our company?" Ben wondered.

I brushed my hand along the arm of one of the chairs and swept my eyes over the area. "What was this room for, anyway? It looks like some sort of meeting place."

Nabiha nodded. "That is exactly what this once was. A room where the most powerful on the island hid themselves from prying eyes and planned the next year's harvest. Now I desire that we plan how we might convince the king to stop his foolishness."

Ben knitted his eyebrows together. "That's a difficult task you set for us, Miss Hakim-"

"Nabiha," she corrected him. "My ideas have made danger for my family and so I will not so much as use that name so they might not suffer for my plans."

"And how do you plan to convince the king to do anything?" I asked her.

A deep sigh escaped her and her shoulders sagged. "I. . .I must admit I am not sure how we can accomplish such a task. I had hoped the mind of the esteemed Count Castle might know what we could do. You have great influence, do you not?"

Ben nodded. "Yes, but Validen is a sea away from Kalea, and King Ramaal is, as you said, filled with much fear."

Nabiha's face fell before she turned it away from us. "I see. It was wrong of me to place so much responsibility on your shoulders. You are, after all, not from Kalea, and our problems should not be yours to fix."

The room fell into a heavy silence. I, for one, wracked my brain trying to figure out how to help this concerned woman. My attention fell on the men who lay on the cots. "Will they be okay?" I asked her as I nodded at the pair.

Nabiha turned to them and pursed her lips. "They are very weak as all the others were in past thefts, but I fear for the younger man. My sister was never one to tolerate defiance, even from her elders, and she took more from him than usual."

"How did they end up in that wagon with the guards?" I asked her.

Her eyebrows crashed down. "The king is running out of volunteers and he expelled all the foreigners, and so he sends his guards out into the streets with aqasa to test his people. Anyone found to have even the smallest amount of magic who has not presented themselves to the palace is then arrested and brought before Maram to be ‘tried.'"

Ben crossed his arms over his chest and furrowed his brow. "Even that supply won't last long. The general population doesn't have enough magic to trigger the aqasa."

"My sister has crafted new sands which are more sensitive," Nabiha informed him.

I threw up my arms. "Is there anything this king won't do to make his people miserable and afraid?"

A soft groan came from the second man to feel the wrath of Nabiha's sister. He stirred in his cot and his eyes flitted open. They were filled with confusion and fear.

Nabiha scooted up to his side and set a hand on his shoulder as she smiled down at him. "Do not be afraid, young one. You are in my care and will soon be returned to your beloved."

He blinked at her. "Inas? She is here?"

Nabiha shook her head. "No, but she expects you to rest well and do as I say so you will be returned to her as strong as you were before."

The man tried to sit up, but he only made it a few inches before he fell back onto the cot. He shut his eyes and turned his face away. "How will I ever return to my strength when so much has been taken from me?"

Nabiha patted his shoulder. "It will return to you in time, but you must rest, for Inas' sake."

The man pursed his lips but nodded. In a few moments, his chest moved up and down in a regular rhythm. Nabiha stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her as she looked forlornly at the young man. A few whispered words escaped her parted lips. "Evil lives in the halls of the king and the sands. Who will save us from these dark and wicked hands? Wherefore will a hero come? From across the sea and the sun."

"Is that a poem?" I asked our hostess.

Nabiha turned to us and nodded. "An ancient poem passed down by my family. It was said to be spoken by my illustrious ancestor just before he went with his friends to create the Thaqiba."

Ben folded his arms over his chest and cupped his chin in one hand. "I do recall that your line had quite a knack for seeing the future."

She sighed and shook her head. "They were the words of an old fool, if they truly were spoken by my ancestor. Our salvation must come from ourselves."

I cast a curious look at Ben and he noticed my intent staring. "What?"

"You kind of came across the sea," I pointed out.

He grinned. "And the sun? I hardly doubt that describes me very well."

I shrugged. "It could be you."

"As Nabiha said, we should be relying on ourselves to get us out of this mess," Ben insisted as he returned his attention to our hostess. "Whatever help you need, we'll be here for as long as we can avoid the king's ‘judgment.'"

A faint smile graced her weary lips. "That gives me some comfort, count. I only wish I had

"Only if you could get us some of the water from the first ghasl," I chimed in.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Why do you need that?"

"Tijari has demanded that sacrifice in exchange for information regarding the Thaqiba," Ben explained.

Nabiha's eyes widened. "Truly? This does indeed give me hope, but very little. At this moment none save my niece and the others may attend to the ghasl, and my brother's daughter takes her responsibility very seriously."

"So we can't use that connection?" I guessed.

Nabiha concentrated on the ground and furrowed her brow. "I fear not, but I did hear from my mother once about a secret entrance into the ghasl. She was one of the maidens in her youth and would often climb over the stones and wade down the river into the lush trees."

"Where is this secret entrance?" Ben asked her.

Nabiha furrowed her brow. "She mentioned that it was near the dakhma stone, but she didn't venture to explain herself. I do know that she had to wade down the river to find the hidden nook into the rocks that surround the ghasl."

"That's enough for us to start looking when the sun sets," Ben assured her as he grasped her hands and gave her an encouraging smile. "We'll let you know if we find anything."

She nodded. "I will be here should you need me. You may exit back from where you came by pressing on the stone again to open the way."