****Last one for now!****

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Jonathan lay down at the top of the distant sand dune, staring down at the two men who were digging at one end of the ruins. He had hoped never to see this particular place again, but it didn't seem quite so threatening at the moment. He had watched Grayson tie Charlotte up, and saw the way she sat, her head drooped downwards with utter despondency. His heart went out to her. It was obvious that some sort of illusion or spell was involved here somewhere, because he had seen Charlotte ride off earlier with his own eyes, and it hadn't been the professor sitting next to her. Which meant, he thought with sudden cheer, that she wasn't guilty of anything she had been accused of.

Determined to remain as silent as possible, he had to bite back a startled squeak when a strong hand grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled him to his feet, and he closed his eyes tightly believing he had been caught by another accomplice he hadn't known about. When nothing happened he pried one eyelid back and breathed out in a relieved whoosh when he saw Rachid staring at him. "Oh thank Goodness, I thought you were with them!" he said, gesturing down the sand to the professor and Aslar. He went pale again when he realised that Aslar was a Med-jai and so was Rachid. "You...er...aren't with them, are you?"

"No, I am not. We saw you follow Aslar away from the camp and followed you. When we realised where you were going, Khalid rode back to inform the others. They are already on their way. Do you know what they want here?"

Jonathan shook his head. "No. All I know is that some sort of magic must have been used somewhere along the line, and poor Charlotte down there is innocent in all of this."

"You have proof of her innocence?" Rachid asked, arching his eyebrows.

"Well, no...just instinct. I know her, she wouldn't do what she's been accused of, but no-one seems willing to listen!"

"Then you have no proof. We all saw her betrayal, it was sufficient," Rachid said, waving his hand dismissively.

"You don't understand..." Jonathan began, but Rachid raised his hand, stopping him.

"Enough, I do not wish to discuss this traitor anymore!"

Jonathan glared at him, but held his tongue, for now. He would get people to see things his way eventually, but he knew there were other more important things to be sorted out right now. "How long will it be until the others join us?" he asked instead, trying not to let his temper get away from him.

"Within the hour they will be with us, Khalid would make sure they were fast. Whatever it is the professor thinks he will find here is obviously important, therefore we cannot let him leave here alive," Rachid said, shrugging.

"And what about Aslar?"

"Aslar should not be helping him, he should not be here at all. His family connections will not save him this time, Ardeth will make sure of that. His life is now forfeit."

Jonathan shook his head and wondered how the Med-jai remained so implacable in their given duties. If it had been him he would have found it difficult sentencing someone to death, especially if he had grown up with them. Of course, Aslar was faintly creepy, so that would make it somewhat easier. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait. We cannot go down there alone," Rachid said and lay down on the sand where Jonathan has previously been, starting to watch what was going on below them.

*****

It was less than an hour before more dark figures lay near the two men as the other Med-jai joined them, and they watched in fascination as Charlotte untied herself and started moving away from the city. Ardeth arrived and glanced briefly at Jonathan before he settled down next to him, his eyes coldly watching the small figure below them.

"Where are Rick and Evy?" Jonathan asked after a while, when it became obvious that Ardeth wasn't going to speak.

"They have been escorted back to the village to collect the children, then they will be returning to England," he said, frowning slightly and then turning to Rachid. "Has there been any clue as to why they are here?"

"No. They have been digging but have not yet found anything. The girl," Rachid answered him, his eyes holding a trace of worry as he spoke about Charlotte, "has not been helping them in any way, and has been restrained for the most part, although it is not clear why."

"Because she has nothing to do with all this," Jonathan said, looking angry.

Ardeth turned steely eyes on the smaller man. "I believe we have already established that she does have something to do with all this. Her own actions at the dig site condemned her."

"We haven't established anything, or proved anything!" Jonathan protested. "Charlotte is totally innocent of all the rubbish you've accused her of, but you won't see that!"

"You're loyalty to your cousin is admirable, Jonathan," Ardeth said, pulling himself into a sitting position. "In this case, however, it may be foolish."

Jonathan leapt to his feet at Ardeth's words. "Foolish? Why? Are you going to condemn me to death, too, just because I don't believe she's guilty?"

"You do not understand...." Ardeth said, rising also and staring down at him.

"No, I don't! Tell me something, Ardeth, if she's so guilty of planning an attack on your village with that Abu person, where is he now? How come you sent them both off to die, and yet now it's the professor down there instead?"

Ardeth frowned briefly, then his face became as implacable as ever. "The professor is as guilty as they are. Abu-Ibrahim's whereabouts will be discovered. This does not change the fact that your cousin betrayed us."

"And it's never occurred to you, even once, that this Abu-Ibrahim might never have been there at all, that maybe some sort of magic has been used?" Jonathan shook his head. "After all the things you've seen out here, that we've both seen, how can you just take things at face value like that?"

Ardeth shifted uncomfortably under Jonathan's scrutiny, then his eyes darkened and he glared. "I have had the pleasure of calling you my friend, Jonathan, and I would not like to lose it. But whether you like it or not, your cousin is guilty. And she has escaped her due punishment for her actions," he said, looking down at the sands below them again, watching her stumble along.

"God, you make me sick!" Jonathan spat, showing more anger and backbone than he had ever displayed as he stood up to the Med-jai chieftain. "You can't even bear to say her name anymore can you? You just want her to be dead and out of the way! Well, don't worry Ardeth, she knows nothing about the desert, so if you just let her continue on her way, she'll die soon enough. But remember one thing, I do know about the desert," he said, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes, "and I will not let her die!"

"If you attempt to save her, you will be stopped!" Ardeth snapped, surprised and angered by Jonathan's attitude.

"And you think I'm stupid enough to just go on down there and save her while you're all watching me? No, no, old chap," he said, smiling with a touch of smugness, "I'll wait until you're engaged in battle, then I'll do it. And you won't stop me."

"You think not?"

"I know not. I never took you for being brainless, Ardeth, but I'm starting to revise my opinion," Jonathan said, his lips curling with distaste.

"Enough!" Ardeth snarled as Jonathan continued to disrespect him in front of his men.

"Yes, quite enough," the thinner man agreed, and with one last glare he turned his back and walked away, moving to the ridge where he could watch Charlotte's progress below him. He didn't care how much trouble he brought down on his own head, he would do whatever he could to help Charlotte, because right now he was all she had.

******

Charlotte stumbled over the sand, her progress slow as she felt various aches and pains, plus lack of water. Grayson certainly hadn't been the model of a gentleman, but then, he wasn't even remotely normal, she reminded herself. Shrugging off the weakness she felt, she continued painstakingly slowly on her way, glancing over her shoulder from time to time. She couldn't see Grayson or Aslar and she breathed a silent sigh of relief, realising if she couldn't see them then the reverse was also true. She took a sharp breath when a wave of dizziness swept over her, culminating in a rush of nausea. Perhaps the lack of water and food? she thought, trying to breathe deeply until the awful feeling passed, because she certainly couldn't move while she felt like that. After a minute she felt a little steadier and straightened up again, glancing once more behind her before she started on her way.

The desert stretched out endlessly from where she was and she wondered where on earth she was going to go, where she could possibly hide. Apart from the cliffs and the high ridge above them, there was nothing. Her only hope of even a touch of shelter would be to find some sort of cave, but she couldn't make out any dark openings. Maybe she would be able to see some when she got nearer, she thought with a faint spark of hope.

She managed to take a few more steps before nausea clogged her throat again and she collapsed down onto her knees, a small noise of distress leaving her dry lips as a fierce pain shot through her head. Her hands went up to clasp her skull, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as the pain intensified. She couldn't even begin to think of what might be wrong with her, the pain was too great and another soft sound made itself heard.

"Tsk, tsk," Grayson said as he walked up behind her silently, the noises she had made having alerted him to her flight. "I just knew you'd try something like this, that's why I made sure you couldn't leave." He reached down and pulled her to her feet, nodding with a faintly evil smile as her eyes cleared and the pain eased abruptly, leaving her feeling weaker than ever. "Did that hurt, my dear?"

Charlotte frowned. "Wha...what happened?"

"A small binding spell, nothing to worry about. But you mustn't try and wander too far from me, or this will happen again." He took her arm and dragged her effortlessly back over to the pillar she had previously been tied to. "I don't think I really need to tie you up again do I? Didn't you wonder why I didn't do a proper job of it before? It's because I knew I didn't have to. You'll stay put this time, I'm sure," he murmured, stroking her hair and then laughing as she flinched away from him. Without another word he turned and walked away, leaving her alone with her misery.

Tears burst from her eyes and ran down her pale face and she raised her eyes to the sky as if to ask for divine intervention, wondering what she had ever done that was bad enough to deserve this fate. As she did so, she caught sight of the dark figures on the ridge above them, and she froze. The Med-jai were watching them, that meant Ardeth was up there too, and she knew that come nightfall, they would come down and kill them all. That thought made her go strangely numb and she lowered her head, wishing with all her heart that things could have been different. But there was nothing she could do to change future events, she knew that without even thinking about it. They wouldn't listen to her, no matter what she had to say, and she vaguely wondered whether they would shoot her or take her head off as they had one of the English men who had earlier abducted her. Either way, the outcome was the same, and she slid down the pillar to rest on the sand, her tears drying up as quickly as they had come. Her despair and heartache went too deep for tears this time.

*****Okie dokie, that's all for now folks! I will try my level best to continue as soon as possible, but I'm not going to force it. Patience!!! LOL*****