Of course, that might have been due to his own poor understanding and not the content of his texts. He had once possessed a hint to the location of the first cave and had managed to miss it.
Not only had he missed it, he had unwittingly provided it to a dangerous traitor, bent on destruction and conquest—the very mistake that had sent Kasim and Nyla fleeing Ardasira, fearful of what questions might be asked. In any other situation, Nyla would have been shouting their involvement in the cave’s discovery from the rooftops, but instead they had spent three years keeping it desperately quiet.
The trip to Ardasira had bound Nyla and me together in ways neither of us desired. I was a constant reminder of her worst disappointments, but at the same time, she couldn’t risk turning me loose. As long as I chose to stay, she didn’t dare throw me to the streets. Instead, she found relief in ill temper. But I had my own reasons for staying—not least of which was the handsome salary she had agreed to pay when she first took me on.
But despite Kasim’s incompetence, it still seemed incredible a gang of thieves had succeeded where he failed.
And yet, I had just seen the ground open in response to a couple of spoken words. How could I not wonder if the missing second treasure cave had been found after all?
More minutes passed. If we’d left immediately, we could have escaped by now. Maybe it was foolish to continue waiting. And yet, so much time had now passed that the thieves must be about to reappear. Surely it was wiser to wait just a little longer.
The grinding sound that split the clearing came without warning this time, hitting my tense nerves hard and setting all three donkeys braying. Thankfully there was no one in the clearing to hear their noise other than the concealed Ali.
I stayed in place, peering through the leaves as the cave mouth once more opened up, revealing the same rough stone tunnel, sloping steeply downward toward unseen underground caverns.
The robber captain reappeared, his mount almost prancing as the mare passed back out into the open air and sunlight. Within moments all the gang were above ground again, a quick head count showing that none had been left within the cave. Many of them looked disgruntled—hardly suggestive of thieves who had just accessed vast and magical riches—and their once bulging saddlebags lay flat against their horses’ sides. If there were riches in that cave, they didn’t appear to be bringing any back out with them.
“Close sesame,” the captain said before barking in a louder voice, “Ride!”
The group kicked their mounts into movement, disappearing far more quickly than they had appeared. By the time the last of them had passed from sight, the cave mouth had closed again, leaving an undisturbed clearing behind.
I remained inside the bush, hardly able to believe they had really left.
CHAPTER3
Aloud thud made me jump. I had barely caught my breath from the shock before a solid four-legged shape knocked me aside, sending me staggering into a sharp collection of branches. The other two donkeys followed close behind their leader, pushing their way out of the bushes.
Grumbling about ingratitude, I extracted myself from the greenery and followed the animals toward their master who was still heaving himself back to his feet. Apparently his descent from the tree had been more fall than climb.
Ali took time to comfort the unsettled donkeys, but his hands shook as he did so, his eyes wide as he stared at me.
“Do you think…Is it possible…” He stopped and drew a deep breath. “Surely it cannot be thatweof all people have stumbled across the cave of legends?”
“If we have,” I said slowly, “then we’re not the only ones to have done so.” I gazed in the direction taken by the thieves.
“Certainly, certainly,” Ali agreed. “But they are gone now.” He hesitated, peering toward where the cave mouth had been. “Unless you think one or more of them remained inside? There was such a number of them that it is possible—”
“No.” I shook my head. “I counted them in and out. Thirty-nine in both directions.”
“Excellent!” Ali gave me a pleased look. “Navid is right. You’re a sharp one, Zaria.”
I brushed aside the compliment. “Can we be sure they won’t return?”
“Surely they will not do so—at least not immediately. Why should they? They seemed most anxious to be away from the capital.”
I nodded slowly. That much was true.
“So you want to look inside?” I asked carefully, unsure why I felt so much dread at the prospect. Normally I would have been eager to explore such an unexpected marvel.
“Of course we must do so!” Ali’s eyes were still on the ground where the cave had been. “Who knows what wealth may lie inside?”
“And what enchantments,” I said. “Don’t forget the stories about the other cave. They say the treasure there was protected by deadly enchantments.”
“Nonsense, nonsense,” Ali said. “Who says so? The market loves to spread sensational gossip. I’m sure those stories have been exaggerated out of all recognition.”
I frowned. “Even Kasim believes it likely, though. And you know he prides himself on his knowledge of ancient texts. He’s always dismissing tales he believes to be mere rumor or story.”
“Far be it from me to criticize my esteemed brother,” Ali said, with the closest I had ever heard to contempt in his tone. “But he can sometimes place too much reliance on his own understanding.”