Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Taq bowed and turned to the nearest guard, who stepped forward and accepted the box. The servant opened the lid and drew out the same strange sand ball he had held on our last encounter with him. He clasped the orb in both hands as he stepped off the platform and over to me.

I watched in a mixture of apprehension and fascination as he held up the ball in one palm before me. Silence fell in the throne room and for a moment there was nothing. Ben opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment the grains of sand softly glowed as they had before. I couldn't tell who was more surprised, Ben or me. The wave of lethargy, however, didn't come.

Taq turned to his king and bowed his head. "She has the gift, Your Highness."

Ramaal nodded at Ben. "And the man?"

Taq stepped in front of Ben and held up the ball. The orb glowed, but there was a strange flickering in its light, almost like a light bulb about to go out. Taq furrowed his brow. "The man has magic, Your Highness, but it is of a strange kind."

The king looked less than pleased as he leaned forward. "Can it not be used?"

Taq stepped backward and studied Ben with his keen eyes. "I believe it can, Your Highness, but the extraction may prove difficult."

Ramaal's tense shoulders settled a little and he fell back against his chair. "If that is all the matter then the priests will merely need a warning."

"I object to this intrusion on our person," Ben spoke up as he took a step toward the throne. A half dozen soldiers leapt forward and two of them barred his way with their spears. Ben didn't move an inch as he cooly met the gaze of our ‘host.' "We are citizens of Validen, and such an intrusion on our person, after having kidnapped us, goes against the treaties between our countries."

Ramaal closed his eyes and shook his head. "In such times treaties will be ignored for the betterment of my kingdom. However, you need not worry about your safety. The extraction process is painless and takes only a moment." His dark eyes settled on the guards and he gave a slight nod.

The soldiers grabbed our arms and dragged us away from the throne. Ben thrashed in their hold as he focused his sights on the king. "You would not dare to touch one of the oldest houses of Validen!"

Ramaal settled back in his seat and scoffed. "Many have tried to proclaim protection of the crown before."

"But I have someone who will vouch for my identity," Ben protested as he dragged his feet. "Prince Salah Sharif will bear witness to my lineage!"

The king's eyebrows shot up and he sat up. "A moment, guards." Our dragging was paused as Ramaal looked Ben over. "Prince Sharif? Do you speak with truth?"

Ben met the king's disbelieving gaze with a steady one of his own. "I swear it. Call either he or his wife, and they'll vouch for me."

The king pursed his lips before he turned his head toward one of the guards. The man nodded and hurried off. I hoped it wasn't to order our execution for sullying someone's good name.

"We will see if your words are true," King Ramaal mused as he returned his attention to us. "Though with such a patron doubt may remain."

Ben frowned. "The house of Sharif has always been an exemplary cadet branch. What has caused that to change?"

The king lifted his chin and frowned down at us. "Time changes everything, but if Prince Sharif knows you then he may tell you of his troubles. You may await his coming in your cells."

The guards yanked us down the throne room and through the doors. Ben had a worried look on his face as we were led back to the dingy dungeon of the King of Kalea. We were pushed into our cells and the doors slammed shut behind us. The soldiers marched away and the keeper of the cell block returned to his seat near the entrance.

I plopped myself down on the hard cot on which I'd awoken and leaned my head back. The sandy wall was hard and cold, but there was comfort in knowing that Ben was just on the other side of them. "I'm guessing it's not the usual custom of the king of Kalea to kidnap his guests and take their magic."

"Quite the contrary," Ben told me, and I detected a faint hint of aggravation in his voice. "King Ramaal's predecessors have always been known for their hospitality to visitors to the island, provided they abide by the local customs."

"Which don't include sucking out someone's magic?"

"This is a new ritual, as far as I'm aware," he mused as I heard him shift atop his own bed. "I hadn't heard there were problems in the kingdom of Kalea, but its naturally insular policies means little information leaves the high sand walls."

"So what was that ‘thack' thing the king mentioned? The thing he needs to sacrifice magic to."

"The Thaqiba are the foundations of the magic barrier," Ben told me.

I stared down at my upturned palms in my hands. "You really think that ball of sand is right? About me having magic without the staff?" There was a long enough pause from my compatriot that I began to worry. "Ben?"

He shifted again. "The aqara have, as far as I'm aware, never failed to find a source of magic."

"So I'm not just getting lucky with using the staff?" I guessed.

"Apparently not."

I turned my head to one side to rest my cheek against the wall. "You're worried about me having magic."

He sighed. "I wish the discovery had happened at a more opportune time. As it stands, we're both trapped here."

I snorted and stared ahead. "We'd both be trapped here, anyway, because I wouldn't have left you." I set my hand on my bare arm. "You know, it feels kind of strange not having that canister on my arm. Like I'm missing one of my arms."

"We'll be hard-pressed to have the king return it to us since his discovery of its magical properties," Ben mused.

I wrinkled my brow. "You don't think he can siphon magic from a piece of wood, do you?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know. I'm not familiar with this siphoning ritual, and would need to see it performed to understand how it works."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Do you think you could understand it even then?"

A low chuckle escaped him. "While I don't know nearly as much as Professor Impara, my mother wasn't remiss in teaching me how to identify the intrinsic workings of magical spells."

"Meaning?"

"I need only watch the spell performed to understand how it works, and perhaps stop it, if that's in my power."

"You mean if you can reach it?"

"In a word, yes, but such details are better left to places that haven't ears."

I glanced in the direction where the cell keeper had gone, and though I couldn't see him I had no doubt his ears were perked up at our conversation. "How much faith do you have that your cousin will come for us?"

"All the faith in the world, though I wonder why the king has such a lowly opinion of him. Though the house of Sharif is a cadet branch, they've always been loyal to the family."

I folded my arms over my chest and closed my eyes. My body was stiff and my mind exhausted by the stress. "This isn't going to be easy to get out of, is it?"

"I fear not."

A snort escaped me. "And here I was hoping for a nice relaxing vacation at the beach. I guess we should've gone to Rookwood."

Ben chuckled. "Perhaps another time, but I'm glad we're here to help my family."

I opened my eyes and shook my head before I forgot he couldn't see me. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Nor was it taken that way," Ben gently replied as I heard him shift atop his bed. "Though I must admit I'm a little out of sorts on this bed, and the pass over with the aqara hasn't helped anything."

I tilted my head to one side. "Did that-" I stopped my question as Ben rapped a knuckle against the wall.

"The ears," he reminded me.

I leaned my head back against the wall and groaned. "I hope your cousin gets here soon."