Chapter 20
Ben heard the city before he saw it.
"Isika," he called, his voice sharp, but a crippling sense of doom overwhelmed him, and he couldn't go on. He curled half over on his horse, holding his ribcage. Wave after wave of discordant sound pushed into his thoughts, tapping on his senses, pulling him apart, until he was a horrified, shaking witness, locked inside while he watched himself unravel. This was too big. He couldn't fight the horror he was hearing, the shrieking, grating, terrifying music.
He was only vaguely aware of Isika riding alongside and reaching over to stop his horse. Somehow he slid down onto the sand and collapsed on his side, curling his legs up and hugging them. He tried to block the sounds, but everything went fuzzy at the edges, then black…
When he came ba
