I snorted in amusement. I had always suspected Ali couldn’t be as oblivious to his brother and sister-in-law’s failings as he chose to appear.
His face softened as he examined me. “You may remain out here with the animals, Zaria, if you prefer. I give you full permission to run away at the first sign of any returning thieves.”
“Nonsense!” I said, energized by the suggestion. “I promised Navid I would see you safely home, and I don’t intend to abandon you now.”
“My son has an excellent sense of humor,” Ali said with a broad smile. “But you must not consider yourself bound by it.”
I considered several retorts but abandoned them all.
“If we’re going to do this,” I said instead, “let’s get it over with.”
“Excellent! Excellent!” Ali turned glistening eyes on the rock. “Now what were the words that brigand used?”
“Open sesame,” I replied, a tinge of excitement coloring my tone despite myself.
Immediately the grinding sound returned, and the ground in front of us split. As the dark hole grew larger, I regarded it doubtfully.
“I don’t suppose you have a lantern with you? I know we usually return from these gathering days well before dark, but…”
“As it turns out,” Ali cried triumphantly, “I do have one. Since we got such a late start to the day, I thought it prudent.”
He rummaged around in one of the baskets secured to the senior donkey, pulling out a small lantern with a glad cry. I waited with rising impatience as he lit it. Now that we had decided to explore, I wanted to get moving.
Even with the small circle of light from the lantern, neither of us suggested attempting to coax the poor donkeys into the earth. Instead we took a minute to secure their leads to a nearby branch and plunged into the cave entrance alone.
The ground beneath our feet was uneven and rocky, but I couldn’t keep my attention on it. Instead I kept looking forward, straining to see ahead of us in the poor light. The tunnel couldn’t go on forever. And even if we were wrong about the treasure cave, those thieves had left the contents of their saddlebags somewhere.
We reached a solid wall of stone, explaining why we hadn’t been able to see further down the tunnel. It didn’t end, however, merely turning sharply. Ali reached the bend first, the lantern stretched out before him, but I was close on his heels.
My forward momentum stopped abruptly as I rounded the corner myself, a loud gasp falling from my lips.
Extending before us was an enormous cavern. I had spent the last several minutes imagining bizarre wonders, such as the carved trees and jeweled fruit famously found in the Qalerim cave. There was nothing like that here. Instead, my eyes swept back and forth across an endless expanse of traditional wealth.
Overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the treasure, my mind struggled to take it in. Everywhere I looked, chests sat open, overflowing with gold. Heaped among the coins were other items shaped from gold—jewelry, crowns, goblets, even plates and cutlery. And interspersed with the gold were rolled carpets of the finest weave, bags of jewels, long bolts of luxurious material that showed no sign of age or wear, and even paintings, all displaying the hand of a master.
Ali echoed my gasp. “This is—”
“Way too much,” I said, feeling queasy.
He turned to me with a furrowed brow. “Whatever can you mean, Zaria? This is incredible! There’s enough gold here to turn around the fortunes of our entire kingdom—especially now the foreign lands have been discovered across the Great Desert. You know the sultan wishes to establish trade with them. With this much gold, any merchant could create the most lucrative connections.”
“And yet,” I said, “the only people who know about its existence are thieves—thieves who apparently leave it here, unseen and unspent. Thieves who actually bringmoregold to swell this unimaginable hoard.”
“Some people are never satisfied.” Ali’s attention was back on the shining expanse before us, disappearing off into darkness beyond the reach of the lantern. “Look at my own brother, the worthy Kasim. He started with nothing, as did I, and then had the good fortune to marry a woman who inherited great wealth. And yet has it left either of them satisfied?”
I frowned at him, surprised at his speaking so openly about his brother’s failings for a second time. But his attention was still on the treasure, his mind only half on his words.
After a moment of silence, he seemed to realize what he had said.
“Listen to me, letting my tongue run away with nonsense.” He tore his eyes from the wealth to give me a smile. “You must discard my foolish words, Zaria. I declare I’ve been gold-struck!”
I turned back to regard the immense treasure. It was certainly enough to render anyone devoid of sensible thought.
Yet another reason to be wary of it.
“Do you really see nothing you would like for yourself?” Ali asked, crossing toward the closest chest. “That necklace would look fine around your neck, I am sure.”
“Don’t touch it!” I said sharply as he leaned toward the chest’s contents.