I saw Shazad lying there, breathing hard, Rahim lifting her up even as Ahmed did the same for me. But she never looked away, her eyes locked on me, blinking blearily in the light.
‘All right,’ she conceded, ‘you’re real.’
I started to laugh. But instead I burst into tears. And I was embracing her and we were both talking at once. Spilling out weeks of words we’d been saving for each other.
I was so close to getting them to freedom. There were only two things standing between us and escape now: Ashra’s Wall and, according to Ahmed and the others, the soldiers on the other side.
Shazad filled me in as she led the way out of the tunnels.
‘There’s a small army camp just beyond Ashra’s Wall,’ she told me as we worked our way over unsteady ground. ‘That’s where they control the Abdals from and keep an eye on things.’ She was walking slowly, breathing hard, like she was already tired from the short walk. ‘We’re supposed to clear the debris of rocks that comes from hacking our way into a mountain, and empty them at the border of Ashra’s Wall where the soldiers can keep track of us. They’ll be suspicious that no one has come out in a while.’
‘I reckon they’ll be more than suspicious when everyone appears unchained,’ I said, casting around for Delila. She was walking with Ahmed and Rahim, both of them keeping a close eye on her. ‘Can Delila cover our escape?’
‘I don’t know.’ Shazad was nothing if not honest. She pulled herself up the slight incline, hanging on to the wall. ‘Everyone is a little worse for wear.’ She glanced over her shoulder. Zaahir was trailing far behind everyone else. ‘Your … new friend. He can help us, can’t he?’
He could, if he was so inclined. But getting Zaahir to cooperate was easier said than done, no matter what he’d promised. I slowed my pace, letting the rest of the prisoners draw ahead of me, until I’d fallen into step with Zaahir.
‘There are soldiers waiting on the other side of that wall. When we get through, I need …’ I stopped myself, choosing my words more carefully. ‘I want you to get us past them.’
Zaahir was watching me with those uncanny, inhuman eyes as I spoke. ‘I believe we had a deal, daughter of Bahadur: your people freed from Eremot for my freedom from you. Once all of them are through Ashra’s Wall, our deal is done.’
‘I’m planning on keeping my side of the bargain. But our deal isn’t done until they’re safe.’ I could see a light up ahead. Daylight. We must be almost out of the mountains. Or maybe it was just the light of Ashra’s Wall. But either way, we were close. ‘We’re not done yet.’
‘Ah,’ Zaahir said, cocking his head in that curious way, looking at me. ‘I see. And even after you are past those soldiers, we will not be done yet, will we?’ I didn’t say anything. He wasn’t wrong. After these soldiers on the mountain, there would be other fights to win. Other chances to lose everyone we had just saved. Fighting with a Djinni on our side … I wasn’t sure I could pass that chance up. ‘You want more.’ Zaahir nodded knowingly. ‘I believe you call that greed, don’t you? It’s the downfall of many, from what I hear. We never wanted anything before your kind came to this world, you know. We just had. But you take and you still want. You want your prince to take the throne, don’t you?’ I did. And I had made him swear that he would do what I wanted. And I wanted his help in this. I needed Ahmed to sit on that throne. I had given up too much for us to lose. We all had.
‘There is still a great battle ahead of you, isn’t there?’ Zaahir said. ‘One stray bullet, one blow, and your prince could be gone. And all this could be for nothing. Every single death. For nothing.’ Everything he was saying was everything I was afraid of. His words made me feel suddenly frantic. That we might have fought this hard but still lose Ahmed. That the whole of this rebellion rested on one very mortal man. ‘You want to save him. That is why you want to keep me imprisoned,’ Zaahir said. ‘Well, I can give you what you want.’
Zaahir pulled a knife from the sleeve of his shirt, making me draw back quickly. But he didn’t make a move to kill me. Instead he turned the knife over, extending the hilt to me. ‘Take it,’ he instructed.
‘I already have a knife,’ I said carefully. We were getting closer to the light, headed for the soldiers waiting on the other side. I needed to play out this game with Zaahir before we reached them, even though I didn’t understand it yet.
‘Ah, but this is a knife that can save your prince’s life.’ Suddenly the air itself seemed to close around my hand, leading my fingers to the hilt. ‘Use this knife to take the life of another prince, and I promise you that your prince will live through the battle to take the throne.’
I would have dropped the knife instantly, except the air was still tightly wrapped around my hand, forcing it to clutch the blade. ‘A prince’s life for a prince’s life.’ Zaahir didn’t laugh, but I could tell he was mocking me. A prince’s life. He meant Rahim’s or Jin’s life. They were the only other princes here. ‘Or –’ the air finally stopped gripping my fingers – ‘you can cast the knife down. And maybe he will live, or maybe he won’t. It will be in the hands of fate,’ Zaahir said simply. ‘But I have never known fate to be all that kind, have you?’ I hadn’t, but I didn’t reply. Shazad lying there, breathing hard, Rahim lifting her up even as Ahmed did the same for me. But she never looked away, her eyes locked on me, blinking blearily in the light.
‘All right,’ she conceded, ‘you’re real.’
I started to laugh. But instead I burst into tears. And I was embracing her and we were both talking at once. Spilling out weeks of words we’d been saving for each other.
I was so close to getting them to freedom. There were only two things standing between us and escape now: Ashra’s Wall and, according to Ahmed and the others, the soldiers on the other side.
Shazad filled me in as she led the way out of the tunnels.
‘There’s a small army camp just beyond Ashra’s Wall,’ she told me as we worked our way over unsteady ground. ‘That’s where they control the Abdals from and keep an eye on things.’ She was walking slowly, breathing hard, like she was already tired from the short walk. ‘We’re supposed to clear the debris of rocks that comes from hacking our way into a mountain, and empty them at the border of Ashra’s Wall where the soldiers can keep track of us. They’ll be suspicious that no one has come out in a while.’
‘I reckon they’ll be more than suspicious when everyone appears unchained,’ I said, casting around for Delila. She was walking with Ahmed and Rahim, both of them keeping a close eye on her. ‘Can Delila cover our escape?’
‘I don’t know.’ Shazad was nothing if not honest. She pulled herself up the slight incline, hanging on to the wall. ‘Everyone is a little worse for wear.’ She glanced over her shoulder. Zaahir was trailing far behind everyone else. ‘Your … new friend. He can help us, can’t he?’
He could, if he was so inclined. But getting Zaahir to cooperate was easier said than done, no matter what he’d promised. I slowed my pace, letting the rest of the prisoners draw ahead of me, until I’d fallen into step with Zaahir.
‘There are soldiers waiting on the other side of that wall. When we get through, I need …’ I stopped myself, choosing my words more carefully. ‘I want you to get us past them.’
Zaahir was watching me with those uncanny, inhuman eyes as I spoke. ‘I believe we had a deal, daughter of Bahadur: your people freed from Eremot for my freedom from you. Once all of them are through Ashra’s Wall, our deal is done.’
‘I’m planning on keeping my side of the bargain. But our deal isn’t done until they’re safe.’ I could see a light up ahead. Daylight. We must be almost out of the mountains. Or maybe it was just the light of Ashra’s Wall. But either way, we were close. ‘We’re not done yet.’
‘Ah,’ Zaahir said, cocking his head in that curious way, looking at me. ‘I see. And even after you are past those soldiers, we will not be done yet, will we?’ I didn’t say anything. He wasn’t wrong. After these soldiers on the mountain, there would be other fights to win. Other chances to lose everyone we had just saved. Fighting with a Djinni on our side … I wasn’t sure I could pass that chance up. ‘You want more.’ Zaahir nodded knowingly. ‘I believe you call that greed, don’t you? It’s the downfall of many, from what I hear. We never wanted anything before your kind came to this world, you know. We just had. But you take and you still want. You want your prince to take the throne, don’t you?’ I did. And I had made him swear that he would do what I wanted. And I wanted his help in this. I needed Ahmed to sit on that throne. I had given up too much for us to lose. We all had.
‘There is still a great battle ahead of you, isn’t there?’ Zaahir said. ‘One stray bullet, one blow, and your prince could be gone. And all this could be for nothing. Every single death. For nothing.’ Everything he was saying was everything I was afraid of. His words made me feel suddenly frantic. That we might have fought this hard but still lose Ahmed. That the whole of this rebellion rested on one very mortal man. ‘You want to save him. That is why you want to keep me imprisoned,’ Zaahir said. ‘Well, I can give you what you want.’
Zaahir pulled a knife from the sleeve of his shirt, making me draw back quickly. But he didn’t make a move to kill me. Instead he turned the knife over, extending the hilt to me. ‘Take it,’ he instructed.
‘I already have a knife,’ I said carefully. We were getting closer to the light, headed for the soldiers waiting on the other side. I needed to play out this game with Zaahir before we reached them, even though I didn’t understand it yet.
‘Ah, but this is a knife that can save your prince’s life.’ Suddenly the air itself seemed to close around my hand, leading my fingers to the hilt. ‘Use this knife to take the life of another prince, and I promise you that your prince will live through the battle to take the throne.’
I would have dropped the knife instantly, except the air was still tightly wrapped around my hand, forcing it to clutch the blade. ‘A prince’s life for a prince’s life.’ Zaahir didn’t laugh, but I could tell he was mocking me. A prince’s life. He meant Rahim’s or Jin’s life. They were the only other princes here. ‘Or –’ the air finally stopped gripping my fingers – ‘you can cast the knife down. And maybe he will live, or maybe he won’t. It will be in the hands of fate,’ Zaahir said simply. ‘But I have never known fate to be all that kind, have you?’ I hadn’t, but I didn’t reply.