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Ramaal’s eyes burned with fire. He whipped his head around to one of his assistants. “Bring forward the aqasa to me!” The man hurried forward and presented the sand orb to his king.
The king snatched the ball from its box and stood. He strode over to Ben and held aloft the orb. The ball didn’t give any hint of light from within its depths.
Ramaal’s look was one of fury and confusion. “Trickery!” he shouted as he threw the aqara to the ground beside Ben. “No man can have a face such as yours without the use of magic!”
Ben managed a toothy grin. “I guess I’m just lucky.”
Ramaal sneered at him before his eyes whipped up to the soldiers. “Take him to the Thaqiba!”
One of the lead men blinked at him. “What for, Your Highness?”
The king’s face reddened. “So he might rejuvenate the Thaqiba, you fool! Now take him!”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
The soldiers grabbedhold of Ben’s arms and dragged him away down one of the side streets. Qita and I followed behind them at as close a distance as we dared. Fortunately, a few of the crowd also tagged along so we were lost among a few dozen people.
The soldiers rushed Ben through the city along the wide road and to the northern gate. Several dozen wagons were parked outside the archway and people were in the process of haggling over prices with the owners for a front-row seat to the forced magical removal. The soldiers had their own transportation, and I watched with a heavy heart as they dragged Ben into one of the wagons outside the gate and drove into the desert.
A hand clapped on my shoulder, taking my breath away. I spun around to find Faris behind me. His face reflected his concern. “What has happened?”
I glanced past him and at the familiar wagon and qasi. Hope was rekindled within me. “I’ll explain on the way, but you have to take me to the Thaqiba.”
He didn’t ask any more questions but helped me into the wagon. Qita jumped in and sat between us. Faris directed the qasi northward and I could just make out the dark shape of the sled that held Ben as it moved across the desert.
“Tell me what has happened,” Faris requested.
“The soldiers have Ben and they’re going to sacrifice him to the Thaqiba,” I revealed.
He furrowed his brow as he stared ahead. “I see. Then they know he is the Dragon Thief.”
My eyebrows shot up and my mouth fell open. “You know?”
A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “One should not rent their wagon to just anyone, and I have journeyed enough times with Castle to know some of his secrets.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, fortunately, they don’t know he’s Ben. They just know he helped Salah’s family escape the guards who took them from their home.”
“You mean kidnapped them!” Qita interjected as his fur bristled. “And not even a knock! They barged in as if they owned the home and wrenched them from their very beds!”
Faris glanced down at our furry companion. “And who is this in our company?”
“Faris, meet Qita, the family good luck charm,” I introduced them.
Faris bowed his head. “Greetings to you, but I must wonder about the success of your task.”
Qita hunched his back and twitched his whiskers. “How can a good luck charm work amidst so much bad luck?”
Our driver sighed as he stared ahead again. “I must agree with you there, my furry friend. There is much evil afoot. One wonders if the days of the flood are returning to punish us for some sin.”
“I think we’re dealing with more earthly foes,” I assured him as we neared the Thaqiba.
A crowd had already gathered and we weren’t the only sleds to park near the hundreds of people. About fifty soldiers stood to one side of the Kneeling Stone and a dozen people were on their knees in their midst. The captives had their hands bound behind their back and looked fearfully at the Stone. Many wore silken nightclothes and nightcaps. All trembled on the sand. Some of them included young children.
There were three familiar pale faces among them. Salah, Fadila and Lila knelt together, with their young daughter shivering against her mother. The girl looked healthier than when I’d last seen her, but the chill air in this early hour wasn’t helping as she let out a small cough.
Another of the captives was Dakin. His face was bloodied and there were bruises over his arms. One eye was swollen shut, but he still gave his guards a wonderfully nasty glare.
My blood boiled at the sight of the hostages. Qita, too, glared at the soldiers as we both hopped off the wagon. “Does the king know any depths to his desperation?”
