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Some of the old man’s ire withered away as he dropped his hand. “I don’t know. Did you see or hear anything else while you were there? Where were the maidens?”
“We found a way around them, but we overheard them discussing a darkness they’d seen around the pools,” Ben told him.
A faint chill ran through me at the mention of those waters. Qita twitched his whiskers before he dove back under the covers to cuddle against me. My sudden shaking didn’t go unnoticed by Ben who looked down at me with pursed lips.
I snorted. “I know that look, Count Castle. I’m not going to die on you, and I’ll have you know I’m feeling better already thanks to you guys.”
“I’ll have the chill off you in no time,” Dakin assured both of us as he moved over to the fire and stirred the pot. “But rest is what you’re going to need, so take it while you’re waiting for the soup to cook.”
“But what’s wrong with me?” I questioned him as I looked between the worried faces of my host and Ben. “Why did touching that water do that to me? Why didn’t I feel this bad when I was pulled into the river?”
Dakin paused in his stirring and lifted an eyebrow. “What’s this about the river?”
Ben let out a deep sigh. “A creature of mud and water dragged Millie into the river near the ghasl. I’ve never heard nor seen of such a creature. My first thought fell on the legends from the catastrophe a thousand years ago.”
Dakin cast a curious look in my direction. “You might just have something there, but we should consult with our walking history book with hair.”
Qasi squirmed across my gut and poked his head out of the covers again, this time in front of my face. His ears were drawn back and his tail whipped against me. “Are you referring to me, sir?”
“You know someone else as old as the crap stuck to the sewer walls of this old city?” Dakin retorted.
Qasi twitched his whiskers. “What a horrible comparison, but as for your question, I cannot recall hearing anything about a mud monster. However, my family and I were trying our best to survive the waves and could not be bothered to deal with rumors of such creatures.”
Dakin scowled at him. “So you’re useless.”
The cat lifted his chin and nearly knocked the back of his head against my chin. “Then you will not need to bother me further. Good night.” He ducked back under the covers, but I felt his tail whip against my stomach.
At that moment Sarie fluttered into the cave. He passed a piece of paper to Ben who read the contents. A dark cloud settled on his brow. “It appears someone is watching the house.”
“What?!” Qita snapped as his head reemerged from the sheets. “Who?”
“Soldiers of the king,” Ben told him as he tucked the paper into his pocket. “It appears our adventure at the ghasl may have around the suspicion of the authorities. It would be best if we kept away from them for the time being.”
More troubleI thought to myself. I sighed and a heavy weariness fell over me. My eyelids grew heavy and I nuzzled my cheek against the pillow under my head.
Ben moved a chair over to my bedside and took a seat. With him over me, I slipped into a peaceful sleep.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
I stirredsome time later and found myself still lying in Dakin’s bed. A thick layer of blankets still covered me, but my lithe hot water bottle had left my side. I tried to sit up, but my taxed muscles gave such a complaint that I dropped back down. “Owie. . .”
“You won’t be hopping out of bed any time soon,” a voice spoke up.
I turned my head in the direction of the entrance and found Dakin still seated at his indoor campfire. He clasped a pipe in one hand as he stared into the flames. The curtain behind him was still shrouded in darkness, telling me that it was still night.
My heart gave a leap as I realized someone more than Qita was missing. “Where’s Ben?”
“Gone off to finish some business. Said he’d be back in a few minutes,” Dakin assured me.
I dropped my head back onto the pillow and sighed. “Thank goodness. . .”
Dakin blew on his pipe as he looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. “How’s the rest of you feeling?”
I flexed my fingers and toes and winced. “Like I was tied to two qasi and stretched.”
He stared back at the fire and nodded. “That can happen. You hungry?”
I cocked my head to one side as I studied him. “What exactlydidhappen?”
