make sense. Palimak had somehow discovered Tabusir's presence and yet he hadn't sent anyone after the spy.
Tabusir pondered on this while rowing toward Rhodesa€™ island hideout. The only answer he came up with was that something more important must have distracted Palimak.
The spy cursed himself for running away so quickly. He should have found a hiding place nearby to see what was so important to the young prince. As he thought about this he recalled Safar shouting something to Palimak. But Tabusir had been too busy getting away to hear what was being said.
He stopped paddling. For a long moment he seriously considered turning back. He could easily adopt some other disguise and again attempt to get close to the Timuras. But then he thought of Palimak's magic and decided against this plan. The young prince would be wary now he knew an enemy had come within assassination distance of his father.
Tabusir started paddling again. He wouldn't tell Rhodes about being discovered. There was no sense in spoiling his king's respect for his abilities.
It would be enough to inform Rhodes that Safar was blind. Then hand him the hairs he'd stolen from the stallion's tail.
Tabusir's failure would remain his own little secret. Thinking of it that way made him feel a whole lot better.
But then the good feeling vanished as he once again wondered why the Timuras weren't pursuing him.
He paddled onward, cold fingers of dread running down his spine.
Rushing to answer Safar's call, Palimak pushed through the crowd of beggars to his side. Renor and Sinch accompanied him, shouting for the other Kyranian soldiers to help them untangle the mess.
'Gundara and Gundaree just spotted a spy, father!' Palimak said. 'It's one of the beggars. A man without any legs. Or at least he's pretending he doesn't have any legs. But he's getting away, so we have to act fast if we want to catch him.'
'Forget about the spy, son,' Safar said. Although his voice was calm, Palimak sensed extreme tension.
'We'll worry about him later,' Safar continued. 'There's something much more important happening.'
Palimak frowned. 'What is it, father?' he asked. 'What's wrong?'
But no sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt a heavy, throbbing presence roil the magical atmosphere. All the wild bits of magic suddenly coalesced into a single deadly entity. An entity that was neither animate or inanimate. It just was. A soulless thing that somehow had a purpose.
'Can't you feel it, son?' Safar demanded. 'It's a machine. Just like the one in Caluz!'
Then Palimak remembered that fearful machine from the Hells and said, 'Yes. I can feel it.'
He looked up at Safar, mouth dry. 'What do we do, father?'
And Safar replied, 'There's nothing we can do-except go on!'
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
When the procession topped the rise overlooking the Valley of the Two Kings the intensity of the machine's magic struck Safar with full force. He threw up a hand, as if protecting his face from a blazing sun.
In his nesting place Iraj was shaken to the core by the magical storm and its effects on his host. He said to Safar:
At the same time, Palimak cried out, 'We need a shield, father! But I don't know how to make one.'
Jooli too was suffering from the magical blast. 'Is this a trick, Safar?' she asked. 'Has the queen led us into a trap?'
Meanwhile, Eeda was pushing her mount forward, Coralean at her heels. Her face was twisted in agony from the sorcerous assault.
'Please, Lord Timura,' she begged. 'We must do something. I fear for the life of my unborn child.'
Safar had rarely felt so frustrated. He knew where the machine was. As he turned his blind face from side to side he could easily spot the point of the heaviest magical concentration. But without visual coordinates to support him he was helpless to cast the shielding spells.
'Patience, my friends,' he said as reassuringly as he could. 'I need to think.'
Jooli guessed what was happening. She'd been as shocked as the others when Palimak had informed them of his father's blindness. However, as Palimak had assured everyone, magic rarely required the power of sight. He had said that Safar's wizardly powers were unaffected by his infirmity and they could proceed as planned.
But Jooli's deep studies of magic, plus her instincts, told her this situation presented a unique problem. To build a shield one not only needed to know the location of the danger, but also the location of everyone you wanted to protect. To accomplish this the sorcerer needed eyes.
'Tell us what to do, Safar,' she said. 'We want to help you.'
Palimak and Eeda quickly came to the same conclusion and urged Safar to instruct them. Meanwhile, the machine's assault was slowly draining everyone of their energies.
Safar realized he didn't have much time to act. If only he could see, the danger could be countered within seconds.
Iraj rose up, saying,
Safar hesitated, fearful of allowing Iraj the slightest control over his body.
A bolt of magic struck Eeda and she groaned in terrible pain, gripping her pregnant belly. 'Please, Lord Timura,' she cried. 'Please!'
Safar relented, opening a gateway for Iraj to scramble forward. At the same time Safar's whole body crawled with sensation-like little worms of pulsating energy wriggling a burning path along every vein, every nerve.
And then the whole world became an explosion of colorful light. It was so sudden and painful that he cried out, jamming palms into his outraged eyes. Then the pain passed and he opened his eyes and saw the Valley of the Two Kings for the first time.
At first it was all cool greens and hot oranges, bordered with gray blues and varying shades of purple and pink. Then the image steadied and he saw the golden castle, with its towering keep, sitting in the center of a valley very much like Kyrania.
Except there was more raw orange land than ever existed in the valley of his homeland. It surrounded the castle-earth, hard-packed by hundreds of wagons and feet. Then the green farmland and pines so fragrant he could smell their sharp, fresh scent on the breeze.
And a lake, a lake as glorious as Lake Felakia in far Kyrania. Blue and cool and beckoning. The purples came from the diffused sunlight shining on a bank of coned mountains that fringed the great volcano of Hadin. The lesser purples and pinks radiated from the skies and clouds that framed the whole scene.
Safar tried to focus his eyes on the castle keep, where he knew the magical machine was housed.
Instead, against his will, his head bent back-eyes running up the sides of the volcano, where a small dark puff of smoke burst out to mingle with the white clouds that surrounded it.
Panicked, he tried to force his head back down to view the castle. But to his horror he realized Iraj had taken full control of his body. And his head bent back further to take in the airship circling overhead-pleasant music playing as if nothing had gone wrong.
He tried to open his mouth to shout a warning to Palimak. But Iraj only swallowed, forcing Safar's words back down into his gut.
Iraj, speaking with Safar's voice, said, 'Apparently my problem has passed. I can see again.'
Renewed hope acted as a temporary balm, easing everyone's suffering. Leiria laughed aloud, clutching Safar/Iraj's hand, murmuring, 'I'm so happy, my love.'
But to Safar, a prisoner in his own body, the sensation of her warm, loving touch came from far away.
