The most critical step in all of it was the binding.  After the child had been located, of course.  And Khoury’s protection while it took place.

As if on cue, Khoury spoke from behind the wheel.  “Another thirty minutes.”  In an afterthought, he rolled his wrist to check his watch.  “What about the boy?”

Saad turned.  “What boy?”

“The one taken earlier this evening to the glass.  They’re waiting with him in the shelter.”

“For what?”

“Further instructions.  What do you want them to do with him now that we have her?” he said, nodding back at Eshe.

“Let him go.”

“Into the desert?”

“Who cares?”

***

It was too dark to see either structure until they were almost on top of them, appearing in the moon’s pale glow like two obelisks in the middle of an otherwise featureless landscape, one ancient and made of large blocks of stones while the other, over a hundred meters away, appearing more precise and modern.

It was the second structure that showed signs of activity.  The simple gray structure’s heavy door appeared open, with faint lights moving inside and another SUV parked nearby.

In stark contrast, the stone building in the distance sat dark and idle, abandoned and slightly crooked, with pieces of it gradually crumbling back into the sand and glass beneath it.

Side by side, all four SUVs came to a stop behind the first and were swiftly exited by almost a dozen different men, including Saad, who stumbled at first but caught himself using the vehicle’s open door before reaching in to retrieve his cane.

Badawi and another man appeared and reached for the SUV's back door, pulling out first Mona and then Eshe from their seats and into the barren darkness.

When the women had been escorted away, Saad, through a choking fit while bracing against the door, called Khoury to approach.

“Listen to me,” he breathed hoarsely.  “Carefully.”

Khoury leaned in obediently.

“When this happens, it will happen quickly.”

“I know.”

“No.  No, you don’t.  This time will be different.”

Khoury watched him curiously.

“It will start like the rest.  Triggered, then the energy, building from the edge and slowly moving inward as it always does.  But this time, there will be two in the madhbah—the girl and myself.”

Khoury raised his eyebrows in surprise.  “We’ve only used one child at a time here.”

“I know that,” wheezed Saad.  “I know.  But the madbaha was designed for two.”

“What?”

“Two minds,” the old man said, nodding.  “And two souls.”

Khoury turned and looked out at the dilapidated structure standing alone and silent.  “How do you know this?”

“That is for me to know,” answered Saad.  “But understand this—the time has come to return to our roots, to throw off the bounds of this world that have kept us as mere sheep.”

Khoury tilted his head, glaring at Saad.  “I don’t follow.”