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Ben smiled at our friend. “Our apologies, but we find ourselves lacking in a safe bed.”
Dakin gave a heavy sigh and pursed his lips. “Fine.” He stood and strode over to the wardrobe. He opened one of the doors wide enough so he could lean in. Our host drew out an armful of blankets which he tossed to Ben. He shut the door and returned to his bed. “The bed’s mine, but there’s plenty of floor for you.”
Ben had a bemused look on his face as he turned to me. “Which part of the floor do you want?”
I nodded at the wardrobe. “I call dibs on the part farthest from the drafty door.”
Ben made to drop the blankets, but Dakin interrupted him. “What happened with that water you fetched from the ghasl?”
Ben sighed. “That proved to be useless, but the water you gave us proved to be rather more useful. How did you come to have a clean supply from the ghasl?”
Dakin shook his head. “It’s nothing that fancy. Just some stuff I picked up and put in my own personal stock. Speaking of that.” He took the flask from his hip and held it out to me. “That family of his should have a taste of it. It’s stronger than the spice and should heal them up even better.”
I accepted the flask but lifted an eyebrow. “If that stuff’s better then why didn’t you give that to us at the beginning?”
“You don’t give a weak patient strong medicine,” he told me. “Doing that might be too much of a shock to their body. That’s why you start out slow.”
“Will this help us find the culprit?” Ben asked him.
Dakin folded his arms over his broad chest and furrowed his brow. “Now that I don’t know. If the magician is powerful enough then they might not show any effects from these counter prescriptions, but if they’re using their magic on something else then the strain might get them to show their weakness.”
“So what are we even looking for?” I wondered.
He shrugged. “There’s a lot of things to look for. Sweating skin. Shortness of breath.”
I snorted. “That sounds like me after a hard run.”
“There’ll be other signs, too,” Dakin added as he gave me a sharp look. “A funny look in their eyes, like the color is shifting about, and they’ll give off a strange light every now and again as their magic is sapped from them to keep the curse up.”
I tried to reply but was interrupted by a yawn. Ben smiled at me and held up the linen in his arms. “I think it’s time to use these.”
Ben dropped the blankets onto the floor and it was as if it was a signal. Something shot under the curtain and landed on top of the pile of blankets. I nearly had a heart attack before I recognized the hairy figure of Qita. Even then, my heart still pounded at the sight of the cat.
His soft, well-kept fur stuck out at all angles and a few patches were missing on his back. He had all his claws splayed out and his eyes were as large as saucers. His stomach moved up and down with such rapidity that I worried he was going to explode.
Dakin slapped his knee before he stood. “This isn’t a hotel!”
Qita whipped his head between Ben and me. “They’ve taken them!”
Ben’s eyebrows crashed down. “Who’s taken who?”
“The soldiers from the palace have taken my family!” Qita snapped as he hopped around to face us with his back still arched. “They have orders from the king to round up everyone with magic and take them to the Thaqiba!”
My heart skipped a beat as I grasped my balled hands against my chest. “My God. They’re going to steal their powers.”
Ben stiffened his jaw. “When were they taken?”
“Just now. I ran all the way here-”
“This way!”
The shout came from outside. Dakin leapt to his feet and strode to the curtain. He flung it aside and stuck his head out for a moment before he jerked back.
Our host whipped his head around and glared at the feline. “And you’ve brought them with you, you fool!”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
Qita narrowedhis golden eyes at our host. “I had no intention-”
