A Sheik's Spell (6 page)

“Yes, I do. But by what I know of him, it would not do us any good to approach him. He is easy to provoke, no matter what the situation.”

“Let’s end this kind of talk; you are home now after being gone for so long. Let this be a night of happiness and celebration, not of things that I dare say are not nearly as pleasant.”

Na’im nodded his agreement as Sheik Rahman motioned for the acrobatics to begin.

Na’im sat through the first half of the performance, but then begged his father and mother’s forgiveness for want
ing to retire so early. He was sincerely tired from the last few days of travel, but he also wanted some moments alone.

After reaching his tent and settling himself down on his pallet, Na’im reached for the wine that had been left for

him to drink. As he looked down into the copper goblet that held the rich dark liquid, sad dark velvety eyes stared back at him. He downed the blackish brew quickly and rubbed his hands over his eyes, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his mind of Felicia.

After the night Shabazz had appeared in their camp, he knew how much he cared for her. He could not risk taking their relationship any further without knowing more about her. No, she had not worn a wedding ring or a locket showing that she had committed herself to someone else. But it was strange to hear a woman invite a man to make love to her with no strings attached. He’d known plenty of American women who’d say anything to get what they wanted. But what would she have accomplished? She didn’t know he was the son of a sheik. No, it was best that he had said and done what he had.

Lying back with sleep rapidly overtaking him, Na’im’s dreams were filled with many images. He found himself drowning in the River Nile and being saved by a female whose features he could not make out

Then he was back at his father’s feast with Waheedah dancing only a few inches in front of him, her tanned body twisting and churning, becoming darker in color until it was a luscious chocolate. Her head was bent backwards to the ground, her arms outstretched to embrace him. He wrapped his cord-like arms around her bare waist, burying his face in her abdomen, his tongue a fiery thing as it flicked her navel and she cried out her pleasure. Na’im’s head was molded into her belly as she ran her fingers through his thick mane. Suddenly she jerked his head back as she lifted her head upward, no longer Waheedah but Felicia.

Chapter Ten

“Na’im! Na’im! Come quickly! Several women have been taken from the camp, including Fatimah and Waheedah of Khartoum.”

There was rising commotion throughout the camp as Na’im headed for his father’s tent. Before he could reach it, he could see the sheik standing outside surrounded by a crowd of people. Several men were shouting and an elderly woman was crying. Sheik Rahman attempted to quiet them, but to no avail.

“Quiet. Do you not hear my father speaking? I know you are upset, but fighting amongst ourselves will get us nowhere,” Na’im shouted above the crowd.

‘ ‘Well, what are we going to do about this?’ ’
the father of one of the younger girls asked.

Na’im looked questioningly at his father. Sheik Rahman nodded for him to go ahead.

‘ ‘We will form a search party and go after them. I will need at least twelve men. But the rest of you are to remain here, making sure the women are settled back safely in their homes.”

“I want to go, Na’im. Fatimah is my concern.”

“And also mine, Dyas (Eel-e-yas),” Na’im replied as he looked down at the young man who had voiced his intentions toward his cousin a year ago.

The father of one of the missing girls, and several others who had personal concerns about the
women who had been abducted, stepped forward. Soon Na’im had his twelve men.

He entered his father and mother’s tent, surprised to find Yasmin ministering to his father, and he allowing her to do it.

“My father has become very spoiled with the years,” Na’im commented jokingly.

“No, Na’im. Your father is not well. This is another reason why your mother and I wanted you to return to our home. As you could see outside, I no longer carry the force needed to command obedience from our people. I am not saying they do not respect me. But they have known of my recent bouts with sickness and this has filled them with fear.
The fear that they will be left without a leader. Now that you are here, they see youth and strength and their fears will be calmed. You can see, my son, these are not the easiest times.”

‘ ‘I agree, and I will lead the search for our women, but our people will always need your wisdom.”

“My husband has tried to do too much, Na’im. I warned him that he should rest. He says rest is for those who lie in the ground. But now that you are here, we shall see that he does rest. Won’t we?”

Na’im could see the love and concern in his mother’s eyes for his father.

“Of course we will. Starting today.”

Chapter Eleven

Jamillah knocked on the worn, wooden door and opened it slightly as she called out her aunt’s name. Every week it was her duty to bring her aunt fresh bread, and today Felicia accompanied her.

The walk had taken them nearly two hours, but it was pleasant enough with Jamillah to talk to. Though only sixteen, she was very knowledgeable about many things, and the time had passed quickly.

“Aunt Esme (Ez-may),” Jamillah called once more, poking her head inside the small house but still getting no answer.

“She is not here.” Jamillah looked further down the road at the small houses that lined the way. ‘ ‘She can’t be far.”

Felicia had to agree with her. The village was so
small, there were not very many places she could go.

An elderly man emerged from the house next door and began sweeping off the stoop in front of it with a home
made broom. He peered at Felicia and Jamillah.

‘ ‘If you are looking for Esme, she is at the healer’s,” he said, pointing toward a house sitting farther back from the road than the others.

Jamillah and Felicia thanked him as they headed toward the house.

As they stood waiting at the door, Felicia found herself staring at vast amounts of quartz crystals lining the inside ledges of the house’s window sills. Each one seemed to catch the sun’s light, turning them into small rainbows of color. Felicia felt awed by the sight and wondered what manner of
person would surround themselves with such an array of nature’s beauty. She didn’t have to wonder long, for just as she stepped over to one of the windows for a closer look, the door opened and the two young women stepped inside.

The room into which they entered was alive with scents, all mingling together in a fashion that assaulted their senses. There were countless shelves lining the walls, most of them possessing rows and rows of canisters and containers. Some seemed to be made from precious metals such as silver and gold.

The perfectly preserved buds of dried flowers lay interspersed between these objects, adding to their wonderment

One comer of the room displayed various stones of all colors and si2cs ranging from a large pale pink rose quartz to a minute, shiny pitch-black obsidian. It was as if Felicia had stepped into a lime and place that captured the essence of nature’s gifts, and the petite elderly woman who wel
comed them inside was the most alluring of them all.

The top of her silver gray head came no higher than Felicia’s shoulder, and she wore her floor-length hair in one silken braid that hung like lightweight hemp down her back. It too was adorned with hair ornaments made from the stones that surrounded her. Her delicate oval face had not been spared the lines of time, but it was her large slate

gray eyes that dominated her facial features. The woman’s small body was covered in a long violet robe made from the lightest of materials, while handmade embroidered shoes graced her tiny feet.

‘ ‘I bid you welcome to the house of Aisha (I-ee-sha).’ ’ Felicia was so taken aback that she stood motionless, unable to speak, as she took in Aisha’s tiny presence. She didn’t know what she’d expected to see when she entered “the healer’s” abode, but it surely wasn’t this angel-like creature that addressed them now.

Jamillah, on the other hand, was locked in a bow pose extending from her waist.

“There now girl, there is no need to act as if you were greeting ‘Ra’ himself,’ ’ Aisha remarked, her voice
sounding like the wind whistling through trees.

Jamillah stood upright Her face was extremely flushed as she looked at Aisha, and then at her aunt who was seated in a padded chair not far away.

“Jamillah, I am glad you have come. Your cousin Akeel (Ah-keel) is here today also, visiting from Va. I told Aisha that I was expecting you. We knew that you would not have a problem finding out where I had gone. Who is this young lady with you?” she nodded in Felicia’s direction.

“This is a guest of our house. Aunt Esme. Her name is Felicia Sanders. She is an American.”

‘ ‘Oh, a foreigner! You certainly could not tell that by her looks or dress! ”

“No, the dress is Mama’s, and I agree with you, she looks very much like one of us.”

Felicia was becoming accustomed to being the center of conversation, but not being able to completely understand what was being said. She waited for Jamillah to explain.

“She is staying with us until the representative at the American Consulate comes back from Cairo. Hopefully, once he returns he will be able to help her.”

“What pains you, my child?” Aisha asked, as she watched Felicia close her eyes and wrinkle her brow.

‘ ‘I had an accident a few days ago; ever since then, from time to time, pains shoot through my head and I have trouble focusing and remembering things. But during the pain I seem to have flashbacks of the very things that I would forget if I could,” Felicia replied, rubbing her hand across her brow. ‘ ‘It only lasts a few seconds, and then it’s gone.”

“Your pain stems from more than a physical injury.” Felicia’s eyes opened wide with surprise from the woman’s unexpected remark.

“It is time for you to confront your own fears,’ ’ she said quietly and crossed the room to Aunt Esme’s side.

“What does she mean by that?’ ’ Felicia asked Jamillah in a hushed tone.

‘ ‘I do not know. But I do know she is a very powerful healer. Her power is known through many towns and oases. It is said she has the gift of resurrecting.”

Suddenly, with a nymph-like hand, Aisha motioned for the young women to be quiet and pointed to some chairs surrounding a table in the center of the room.

Without another word, Aisha stood behind Aunt Esme with her eyes closed. Her hands were spread apart and held no more than six inches above Aunt Esme’s head. She stood there so still, and for just a moment she reminded Felicia of the stone carvings she had seen in A1 Kharijah. Then slowly Aisha’s hands began to descend the sides of Aunt Esme’s head, stopping intermittently as if feeling for something unseen. As she reached her neck and was about

to continue down the sides of her shoulders, she halted abruptly. Felicia noticed a change in the expression on her face, which had been blank up until that moment. Now it appeared as if Aisha was feeling pain or discomfort. Her thin eyebrows came together in a slight frown.

“It is here, Esme, that I feel the imbalance. The energy does not flow here as it should.”

At that time, Aisha placed both of her hands on the base of Esme’s neck at the point where it entered her shoulders. Now it was Aunt Esme who reacted as if she had been hit with a small bolt of lightning, but the expression on her face was not one of pain, but one of relief.

Aisha kept her hands on Aunt Esme’s shoulders for only a short time. She opened her eyes as she removed them and advised Aunt Esme to do the same.

‘ ‘Now I will have you smell of this,” and she turned to remove a container from the shelf behind her.

‘ ‘This holds the essence of a very special plant. It will help you to relax and harmonize the imbalance in your upper body. I will give you a measured amount, but you are not to use it except at bedtime.”

Aunt Esme closed her eyes once more, inhaling the fumes from the container that Aisha held. Felicia observed the entire scene in complete bewilderment. Jamillah too was awed by what she was seeing. The kindly woman bestowed a moderate smile in the young women’s direction.

‘ ‘It is not as magical as you two may think. For many centuries in Egypt, high priests and those with the knowl
edge of healing used this method to bring comfort to the sick. Because I, and those who come to me, are still of the old beliefs, the aromatics are still able to manifest their powers to cure.”

“Now, Esme, you should go rest. Have your niece, Jamillah, take you home and visit with you for a while. This will give me an opportunity to talk with the girl.”

Aunt Esme motioned her agreement and began searching in the folds of her melaya for her coin pouch.

‘ ‘You know I do not want your money, but a portion of the fresh bread Jamillah has brought you would be most welcome.”