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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.”
CHAPTERTWENTY
Ben was burstingwith energy as we exited the ancient storehouses buried far beneath the sands. I could hardly keep up as he hurried down the halls and up the stairs.
“I’m guessing you believe the story from Nahiba’s mother,” I wheezed out as we stepped out into the clear late afternoon air. Nahiba’s qasi glared at us from where he stood a few feet off, having been disturbed in his nap by our moving his bed.
“It’s worth a try,” Ben replied as he turned to me with a twinkle in his eyes. “I must admit I’m looking forward to venturing out at night. It’s been far too long.”
I snorted. “You should have told me you wanted to stretch your wings. I would have understood.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Then you’re not coming with me?”
