Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

There was a weariness to Sharif's movements as he climbed to his feet, and I joined them. Our host led us into the hall and to the center portion of the house which turned out to be a small entrance hall. A wide set of stairs on the side closest to us led upstairs. I paused at the foot and noticed a pedestal situated in the center rear of the hall. A cat sat upon a cushion atop the pedestal. It was a beautiful silver-white short-haired feline with bright golden eyes. Its tail twitched slightly as it fixed those eyes on me.

"Millie," Ben called from halfway up the stairs.

I cast one last look of curiosity at the feline before I hurried after them. The upper floor was filled with bedrooms and we were led into one of the rooms closest to the top of the stairs. The door was slightly ajar before we entered, and I glimpsed Fadila seated in a chair beside a small bed.

We slipped inside and she rose to greet us. I now saw that a young girl of eight lay under the sheets. Her face was paler than the white silk blankets that covered her, in stark contrast to her dark hair. The girl's eyes, however, were the same brilliant blue as those of her father.

"How are you feeling today, Bahja?" Sharif wondered as he strolled over to his daughter's bed with a smile that hid his worry, though the expression didn't extend to his eyes.

Lila smiled up at her father as he took one of her pale hands in his grasp. "I am quite well, Papa, and much better with visitors."

"One you may remember from his visit three years ago," Sharif told her as he stepped to one side and gestured to Ben and me. "This is your cousin Ben, and this is his fiancée, Millie." I had to suppress a snort at the introduction.

"It is a great pleasure to meet you," Lila greeted us.

Ben and I stepped over to the bedside, and he took up her hand from her father and pressed a light kiss to the back. "The pleasure is all ours, Miss Lila."

Lila giggled, but the joyous sound was interrupted by a terrible coughing fit. Her parents tensed and Fadila took a step forward, but Lila shook her head. "I. . .I'm quite alright, Mama. It was only a little cough."

"Perhaps the excitement is too much for you," Sharif insisted.

"Then allow me to speak with you two a moment in the hall," Ben offered as he used a hand to gesture to the corridor. "I'd like to talk about something, and Millie can visit with her."

"I'd like that," I chimed in as I took a seat in the chair.

The parents looked doubtful, but Ben's confident air convinced them to follow him out of the room. I turned my full attention to the young girl who studied me with interest.

"You have a strange hairstyle," she commented as she examined the mop on my head. "I have never seen anything like it, even in the bazaar."

I grinned. "Well, let's just say I come from a very faraway place, but I do envy your hair. It's beautiful."

She lay her head down and smiled up at her bangs. "Mama brushes it many times a day. It always makes me feel better."

"Could I brush it?" I offered as I noticed the said brush on the nightstand.

"I'd like that."

Lila turned her face away so I had the full run of her long hair. The silken threads were as smooth as the silk upon which they lay, and I couldn't help but run it through both the brush and my fingers.

"I envy your hair," I mused as I brushed out the few tangles that lay among the strands. "Mine won't do this wave like yours does."

"I would much rather be in your position and have your hair," she returned.

I lifted an eyebrow. "My position?"

Lila nodded. "Oh yes. Papa has told me my cousin has traveled much and had many adventures." She sighed and her shoulders sagged. "I would like to have an adventure."

"Maybe when you're better we'll take you on one," I promised.

Lila shifted and turned her head around to stare with wonder at me. "Are. . .might I ask if you are a doctor?"

I shook my head. "No, just a, um, friend. But why do you ask?"

The young girl cocked her head to one side and furrowed her brow. "I'm not sure, but I. . .I think I feel better."

I thought of the most careful answer I could come up with. "I'm sure it's just the brush doing the job, but I do hope you feel better soon."

"But I-"

"Don't use too much of your strength, Bahja," her mother scolded her as she swept into the room. She grasped the edges of the blanket and pulled it up to her daughter's pale chin. "The doctor said you must remain in bed for the time being."

Lila's face fell as she looked up at her mother with pleading eyes. "But I feel better, Mama. I really do."

A tired smile slipped onto Fadila's lips and she stroked her daughter's bangs. "That is good to hear, but you must remain in bed for just a while longer."

"How much longer?"

A heavy sigh escaped the sorrowful mother. "I do not know, Bahja, but you must be patient. For me."

Lila nodded and settled beneath the covers. "I will try, Mama." She rolled her eyes over to me and offered me a bright smile. "You will come back, won't you?"

I grinned and nodded. "Of course. Ben was just going to take me out on the town for a while, and we'll be back before you know it."

I gave the seat up to Lila's mother and joined the men at the door. Sharif had only a sad look on his face as he studied his daughter. He spoke in a low voice so she couldn't overhear him. "She was such a sprightly child, and now she needs assistance in getting dressed."

Ben set a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "We'll do everything we can to find out what's wrong, and we'll start with speaking with the dhaka."

Sharif cast one more sorrowful look at his daughter before he turned to us. "Follow me."

He led us out of the room and to the stairs that led up to the third floor. The top level of the house had a disused smell in the air and a thin layer of dust covered much of the floor except where a trail of dragging feet led to one of the doors near the stairs. Sharif stopped at the entrance and lifted his hand to rap his knuckles on the wood.

"Don't just stand there all day," an old voice croaked from the other side, and the door unlatched itself to swing open a few inches. "Come in! Come in!"

Sharif took a deep breath and stepped inside with Ben and me at his heels. The room was small and dark, and the musty smell in the hall was amplified tenfold. I jerked to one side as my face brushed against a cobweb. Ben grasped my arms and his steady hands soothed some of my frayed nerves.

The only source of light was a flickering candle on a small round table placed in the center of the room. The light from the hall allowed me to see that all the windows were covered by thick blankets and black shapes crowded against the walls. That ray of hope, however, was extinguished when the door slammed shut behind us.

A shadowy figure stooped over the small candle flame, and a pair of wizened old hands hovered over the frail light. The candle allowed me to see the vague shape of a hood and cloak that covered the hunched figure.

A small cackle escaped the cloaked woman. "The little light is afraid of these old gnarled hands."

"That is enough, Jania," Sharif scolded the figure as he strode up to the table. "I do not pay you to frighten my guests."

The gnarled fingers curled into the palm and the woman named Jania shrank away. "Such harsh words, prince, to one who helps you so much."

Ben walked up to the table and sat on a chair I hadn't noticed before that stood opposite the woman. "How do you help him, old mother?"

The head turned slightly so she faced him. "I keep the curse at bay. Without my help his little flower would wither and die."

"And yet you don't know what the curse is or who's causing it?" Ben countered.

The long, skeletal fingers twitched. "That is not my specialty, boy . I can only stop what was intended. I cannot discover who is the source of the trouble."

Ben draped his arms over the top of the table and leaned in toward her. "As one who has lived a long time, and no doubt much of it among the dhaka, surely you have your suspicions as to the source. My cousin's foe, after all, is no doubt not a dhaka themselves and had to hire someone as he did you."

Jania studied him for a long, quiet moment before a low chuckle came from her. "You are very astute for one so young."

Ben grinned. "I'd like to think I have an old soul, but you haven't answered my question."

Jania shifted and stretched her gnarled hands over the weak flame. The glow grew brighter the more she brushed her hands over the flickering light. "You may find it worth your time to visit the Huthala. There you will find a man named Dakin."

"The Huthala is a large place, old mother," Ben scolded her with a light smile. "Perhaps you might give us more information than that."

Jania balled one hand into a fist. "That is all I will give you. Now leave me." She used her other hand to extinguish the candle and her form disappeared. The door behind us creaked open, but only enough to let a splinter of light appear in the otherwise dark room.

Ben stood and bowed his head to the impenetrable darkness that lay on the other side of the table. "Thank you for your help."

There was no reply from the shadows, and I was only too glad to leave the room with the others.