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A look of interest flashed across Ben’s eyes. “Then you know where she is?”
The man nodded as he took up a knife and began to slice bits off the meat and onto a plate. “Yep. I make it my business to know where people like her end up.” He held out the plate to us. “Here’s your part.”
Ben accepted the plate and sat back down. Qita leaned forward and sniffed the meat before he wrinkled his whiskers. “Not fit for a cat. . .”
“That’s all you’re getting until we find some more,” I scolded him.
Qita turned his head away and lifted his chin. “Then I’ll wait.”
Ben munched on a small bit while he kept his attention on the older man. “Then do you happen to know where this Dakin is?”
The man grinned as he set out passing out more food to the others around the fire before getting his own meal set. “Of course I do. He’s me.”
I furrowed my brow and gave the man a good look over. “You?”
The stranger drew out a long knife and stuck the point into the hefty bit of meat on his plate. He took a big bite and talked with his mouth full. “Am I not what you were looking for?”
I shrugged. “I-I don’t really know what I was expecting.”
He swallowed his food and chuckled. “But it wasn’t this, was it? A lame old man with a dead eye.”
“You show signs of having experienced life the hard way,” Ben mused.
Dakin eyed him. “Aye, and you’ve got something yerself, don’t ya?” Ben opened his mouth, but our ‘host’ held up his hand. “Don’t go making lies or half-truths, boy. I’ve lived a sight longer than you and have had my fair share of ‘em.”
Ben smiled at him. “So I see. Then I’ll be blunt. We came here to ask you about a curse on the household of Sharif.”
Dakin’s good humor dropped away faster than a boulder over a cliff. He set his plate down and tucked the knife into his coat before he stood. “That’s something best said indoors. Come with me.”
CHAPTERTEN
Ben and I stood,and Qita hopped to the ground as we followed our ‘host’ into the third cave. A set of stone steps carved into the floor led into its subterranean depths. The light from the sun shone only about ten feet downward before the overhang hid the rest. That was where the torch came in which Dakin took up from the wall on our right. He held aloft the flame and revealed a small round hall of sorts where a simple plank bed and table stood. A large wardrobe with two doors stood against the rear wall, and the last bit of furniture was a spice rack that hung over the head of the bed. Our host plopped himself on the bed and set the torch in a holder that hung close by the head.
Dakin gestured to the table with its few chairs. “Have a seat and let’s talk about what you want.”
Ben drew out one of the chairs for me and took a seat in the other. Qita hopped onto the table and the legs gave a little rock underneath his weight. He stiffened and scowled down at the top. “Pathetic furniture.”
I grinned at him. “Or someone needs to lose weight.”
He turned his ire on me and lifted his chin. “I’ll have you know I am as lean as can be.” He plopped his butt down and the table again rattled. “And this table needs a fifth leg.”
“Stop yer yapping and say your piece,” Dakin interrupted us as he leaned back with a groan. “I don’t have all the time in the world like you kids.”
“Since you know of Jania’s location, then you probably know her purpose in being at the house of Sharif,” Ben started.
Dakin nodded. “I do, and it’s a might messy affair. It’s struck the young girl in the house, hasn’t it?”
“Lila, yes. She’s only eight.”
Our host pursed his lips. “Damn. What are the symptoms?”
“Unexplained fatigue and as pale as a ghost,” Ben told him. “No medical doctor has been able to find a cause, but Jania’s magic appears to be stopping her condition from worsening.”
Our host pursed his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. “And nobody else has it?”
“I did notice that her father appeared gaunter himself, and it’s through his line that she would have acquired any magic intuition that would make her more susceptible,” Ben added.
I studied Dakin with a curious look. “Then you weren’t the one to put the curse on her?”
