Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Maram lifted her hands into the air and lifted her voice to a booming shriek. "Oh great Eanif, take this unbeliever's magic and renew the health of our island!"

My heart pounded in my chest as I rushed forward. I pushed and shoved my way through the crowd with Qita serpenting through their legs beside me. We reached the front and one of the guards grabbed my arm and yanked me back. I thrashed in his hold, but he was far too strong. "Ben!"

The dark tendrils rose from the stone and wrapped around his wrists and bent legs.

Ben stared ahead and gritted his teeth. His whole body began to shake and the two guards scuttled back as the horrible dark glow emanated off his body. He shut his eyes and hunched over as the light pulsed around him, alternating between weakening and strengthening.

Maram glared down at him. "You will not fight against me! Give yourself to Eanif!"

A bone-chilling wind whipped about them and kicked up the sands. The king was forced to retreat and the crowd did likewise, pushing me back away from Ben.

Ben's back heaved up and down as he dueled with Maram's magic. The earth began to tremble as some of the darkness from Ben was pulled from his body and into the Stone beneath him.

"Yes! Yes!" Maram shouted as she cackled. "Yes, Great Eanif! Rise again!"

Ben whipped his body back and gave a great cry. The tendrils around him exploded into millions of little bits of sparkling crystals. Maram shrieked and stumbled back where her attendant caught her. A huge crack appeared in the Kneeling stone and stretched from one corner to the opposite. The dark light vanished, but the swirling storm didn't.

That grew in intensity as the onlookers stared in horror at the broken rock and fainted priestess. I broke through the frightened guards and ran over to the Kneeling Stone. I dropped to my knees on Ben's side and grasped his shoulders. He was now hunched over and his labored breathing sounded harsh to my ears.

"Ben?" I whispered as I gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Ben, are you alright?" Ben managed a meager smile, but he weakly shook his head.

The earth shook harder and the great shadows of the Thaqiba trembled. I whipped my head up in time to watch the disintegration of the top and work its way down. Huge loads of sand dropped to the desert floor in a great crash like thunder. Both of the towering columns of sand began to sway and globs shot out in every direction. People screamed and scattered to the far corners of the desert. Even Maram was hurried away by her handlers and the king's bodyguards escorted him back toward the city.

The captives were abandoned by their handlers, but Faris and Qisa rushed forward and untied their ropes. The people sprinted away into the desert, though Salah's family only went a short distance before they stopped to watch the chaos out of reach of the flying sands.

I covered Ben as one of the globs flew at us, striking me in the shoulder. It was like being hit with a heavy rock and I couldn't help but cry out.

That stirred Ben from his weariness. He gritted his teeth and his wings sprouted from his back. The leather appendages protected us from the sand that rained down on us. He climbed to his feet and helped me up.

A loud breaking noise caught our attention and we looked to the Thaqiba. A huge crack had appeared in the earth beneath the weakening sandstorms. The crumbling remains of the Thaqiba teetered toward us. Ben swept me into his arms and flew sideways out of the way of the crashing columns, but he didn't have the strength for a proper landing. We crashed into the sand some twenty yards

The sand slammed into the earth, shattering the remains of the Stone and shaking the ground with such force that everyone in the area fell. Qasi ran off in all directions and upset their sleds, shattering them in their attempt to escape the chaos.

Their collapse widened the crack and a full crater appeared. Sand and wagon ruins were swallowed up while at the same time, a hideous chill rose from the hole. My mouth fell open as I watched shadows rise out of the gap like the tendrils of the Kneeling Stone. They arched high into the air before crashing down onto the sands in front of the hole. The darkness formed itself into a shadow outline that resembled a giant snake with the upper body of a human with a snake head.

My blood ran cold as a pair of merciless red eyes opened. Those terrible orbs scoured the area and fell on Ben and me. My heart nearly stood still as a long black tongue slithered out and ran across its lips.

"My Lord!" Maram shouted as she stumbled forward with an ecstatic look on her face. She stopped beside the serpent and bowed her head. "It is a great honor to see you returned to lead us into another golden age!"

The serpent spoke, and his low, hissing voice that made me shudder. "How long have I been imprisoned in that stone?"

"The better part of a thousand years, My Lord."

The serpent curled his lips back in a snarl. "Those old fools. They sought to seal me away forever and have hardly captured me for a moment in my eternal life." He lifted one clawed hand and flexed his four fingers. They were more shadow than physical form. "And yet their effect still lingers on me. I lack my full power."

Maram stepped closer to him. "How might I help you return to your full strength, My Lord?"

The serpent stared down at her for a moment before he lifted his hand. The ‘god' summoned sand into his palm which formed into an aqara. He held the orb out to Maram and the ball glowed.

"You have the gift." He curled his lips into a fanged grin. "You will do."

The sand orb collapsed and dropped to the ground. Eanaf stretched out his empty hand and turned the palm toward Maram's face. A fog of darkness floated out of his palm and wrapped around Maram. Her eager expression vanished as her body began to glow with a light identical to that which had surrounded her victims. She stumbled back but didn't escape the shadows that enveloped her. A soundless scream came out of her open mouth as her skin shriveled and most of her hair fell out.

Maram dropped to the ground a lifeless husk. The shadows sucked back into Eanaf who flexed his hand. The fingers were no longer shadowy.

"Most excellent," he whispered as he raised his arms once more above his head.

Storm clouds blew in from out of nowhere and covered the lightening sky. From far off I heard the distant crashing of waves against the coast as the seas rose up for the will of their master.

"The flood," I whispered as my eyes widened. "You caused it!"

Eanaf dropped his arms, but his summoned storm didn't subside. His eyes burned with fury. "Yes, I caused it. It was retribution against those who sought to overthrow me."

"My God." The sound came from the king who had dared approach the god.

Eanaf turned his attention to the royalty and lifted his chin while a cruel smile played across his lips. "Ah, I see my benefactor has come. I must thank you for your assistance in freeing me. Without your blind fear, you may have noticed that all of the magic from the Thaqiba and the stone were being transferred elsewhere."

Ramaal shook his head. "B-but how! The Thaqiba protected us!"

The god sneered at the spot where the columns had stood. "Indeed, they had, but you allowed this useful tool-" He gestured down to the remains of Maram, "-to convince you that the Thaqiba needed more ‘tending' or it would fail, didn't she? Your fear guided your actions and helped my purpose wonderfully. You never even suspected it was she who had begun the decline of the Thaqiba through her connection as one of the bloodlines of sages."

Ramaal's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "My God. . ."

Eanaf threw back his head and laughed. "How I have so eagerly waited to hear those words again! Speak again to me, for I am returned and I will take my place upon the throne of this island! It will be great again as of old!"

He raised his arms and foggy tendrils shot out. The darkness slithered across the ground and wrapped around the king. They weren't particular, however, and more than just royalty was captured. The stragglers from the crowd and those foolish enough to return out of curiosity were rewarded with their own tendril.

Two of the creatures slithered toward Ben and me. Ben drew me behind him and held up his hand with the palm facing the creatures. The tendrils wrapped around him, but the moment they touched his body their entire length blew up and was dispersed into the air.

Eanaf immediately whipped his head about to face us. He narrowed his red eyes at Ben. "You stink of dragon blood."

Ben breathed hard but managed a grin. "And you stink of the grave. Perhaps you shouldn't have left it."

The god curled his lips back in a snarl as he stretched his arms out on either side of him. He flexed his fingers and the talons lengthened into daggers some six inches long. "I will not suffer another claimant to live."

Eanaf rushed toward us, slithering along the ground with such great speed that Ben had only time to throw himself on top of me. I grabbed him and prepared for the worst as the shadow of the beast loomed over us.

That's when a hulking figure crashed into the imperious god's side.