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He was up in an instant.  What?
She dragged him out as he pulled up his hood. The camp was already being struck. The tent came down
as he exited.  I asked to buy blood, she whispered.  They had already given.
He put on his blue spectacles, squinting painfully. Camels dragged to their feet by the drivers protested
with honking cries. Packs were settled, tents folded.  They have not the courage to attack, he observed.
A line of men stopped uncertainly at the edge of the village.  But it is time to go.
They headed east, under the looming Atlas el Kebir. The air was warmer now. The caravan members
shed their cloaks and traded boots for sandals. The caravan began to move at night again. Ian and Beth
took their lunars for position in the stark desert sky. The days stretched on. Haasi Zegdou, Zagamira,
they went from water hole to water hole. They came to Haasi Fokra more than two weeks after they had
left Zagora.
As they approached the shallow pool among the date palms all Beth s doubts assailed her. She had been
so busy worrying about Ian she had not had time to doubt her ability to help him if they actually found
Kivala. Who knew if she would be able to translate the texts that told how to open the door into the
temple? She dreaded thinking she might fail him in the thing that mattered most to him. And to the world.
The attack of the vampire in Casablanca shook her. From the blood that covered Ian she knew what he
must have had to do to it. No, to him. If Ian was human, so were the others. The poor village that had
been victimized by Asharti s army what better evidence of what a world ruled by Asharti might be like?
Ian depended upon her&
He stood looking at the pool in which he had washed before being brought to Asharti. Behind him the
caravan unpacked and prepared to rest. Dawn was not far away now. Beth was directing the pitching of
tents. He could hear her talking with the camel master and the guide. But those things were of now, and
he was back there, then. Over there was where Asharti s litter had been placed. She was so anxious to
proceed she had not even let them pitch her tent. Just there, Fedeyah had handed him the oil he rubbed
on his body. He could practically smell the myrrh of the oil and the cinnamon scent of Fedeyah that
matched her scent.
He looked up and saw Fedeyah crossing to him. It seemed so natural.
 So, English, you have returned. The spectrally thin face was flat and blank, framed by the hood of his
burnoose.
 Yes, he said to the man who had given him, nightly, to the woman that man had loved for what, a
thousand years? The man had also saved his life but, in doing so, condemned him.
 This is perhaps a long way to reach Tripoli. You were to meet her in Tripoli, yes?
There were several possibilities here, none of them good. Fedeyah was old and powerful. More powerful
than a secondhand drop of blood from Asharti after she had drunk from the Old One? He would not like
to find out. Then, too, though this man was part of his nightmare, he was also the only one who had
treated Ian as a human being. Did that not count for something? Alive, Fedeyah would go to Asharti. If
he was dead, she might come looking for him. But only if Fedeyah had told her where he was going. 
You know I am not going to Tripoli. Not yet.
Fedeyah nodded.  I guessed as much. When we heard of the death in Casablanca, the tales in Zagora
& 
 She knows?
 She knows all. Fedeyah s voice was sad.  Including that I will not kill you now.
 Why did you leave me the water sack of your blood?
 Only Allah knows that. I do not. I have paid. I will pay again after this day.
 How can she make you pay? You are vampire, Fedeyah.
 But she is stronger. She can hold me with her will. I have a body that heals wounds. That does not mean
I do not feel pain. It only means that each day I am fresh for punishment.
The horror implied by Fedeyah s flat voice made Ian want to shudder.  You could leave.
Fedeyah shrugged.  Once, perhaps. Only then I did not. Now, there is no fighting back, no leaving. He
paused.  She comes back to Kivala regularly, you know. She brings the Old One slaves and drinks of
him. She will come back again and again until she is as powerful as the Old One himself. Then Allah help
us all.
They thought about that.  Where is she now?
Fedeyah went flat-eyed.  Wherever she wishes to be.
Ian would not get him to betray her.  If you will not kill me, why are you here?
 Perhaps to see the fruits of my labor. Perhaps to see you once before you die.
Ian studied the Arab. He shook his head slowly.  You come to see if I am strong enough to be the one to
set you free.
Fedeyah said nothing.
 Ah, Fedeyah& We are none of us free of her. Perhaps we never will be.
 She can be killed. Do you know that?
 Yes. Beatrix Lisse told me. But don t think Asharti s death would set you free. Ian watched the Arab s
brown
eyes widen slightly.  Only you can do that. He clapped the Arab on the shoulder once and turned
toward the camp. Let the man kill him now, if he would.
But nothing happened.
Beth waved at him.  Ian, come inside. It s almost dawn! she called.
Ian walked deliberately across the sands, past the nestled camels and the drivers settling in to sleep
against their sides. At the entrance to the tent he turned.
Fedeyah was gone.
 Who was the Arab man? Was he out here all alone? Beth asked, lighting a lamp inside the tent.  You
must ask him to join us, if only for protection.
 There is only one from whom he needs protection.
Beth froze and stared at him.  Asharti?
 He has loved her for six hundred years, though he is a eunuch.
 How dreadful, she murmured.  Does he know what she is?
 Yes. But that does not free him. Ian took a breath.  She knows I am here.
Beth s green-gold eyes were big. She turned and tossed some pillows on the thick sleeping pads set on
the sand with a carpet between them.  Then you will need your rest, she said matter-of-factly.  Do you
think she can intercept us before we reach Kivala?
 It depends on whether Fedeyah tells her immediately and where she is now.
 Is he a& ?
Ian nodded.  He was kind to me sometimes, in small ways. And he left his own blood to give me
immunity to the parasite. He saved my life. I suppose I should not love him for that.
 I thought you had gotten over thinking about suicide. She put her hands on her hips and cocked her
head at him.
 Perhaps this whole expedition is suicide. He grinned, though the expression was lopsided.  So I guess I
win either way.
Beth s eyes flashed. She stalked over to him.  This is not a suicide mission, Ian Rufford! If we die, we
die seeking a new life, not giving in to some death wish. Her anger startled him.
 I stand corrected, he said raising his brows. He reached out a hand.  We seek new life. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]