Sometimes the danger is not in the raised sword, but in the morsel offered with a smile.
In a dense forest of the mountains of Saba,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAw2np8498
where trees interlocked like green walls guarding what must not be discovered,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IX40nkRQO
Aram and his companions sat in a tight circle,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUJU97vbrP
a faint fire between them,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhLlVd13nt
barely visible to anyone who did not know exactly where to look.
The faces were exhausted,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqf81CYHmB
but the eyes… alert.
The place was far from roads,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmJokFRbhL
far from eyes,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPshV6R0I4U
far even from the wind that usually carried secrets.
During the day,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0rocOMJcy
every step had been planned.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCQ3BLglbb
Paths were reviewed.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOlIPD3RE8
Upcoming roles were assigned with the precision of those who knew that a mistake here would not be forgiven.
And at night…34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCc4Y5p6QfA
they slept.
The sleep of warriors who do not surrender,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqv2FVr549m
but sharpen their spirits.
The first night passed quietly.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBg49Pqqyzb
Then the second.
No sign of pursuit,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIfaHAMc5e
no suspicious movement,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFNgvTnxF8
no whisper suggesting they had been discovered.
The food they had brought from the Valley of Fire would last them34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZmjTnPnut
three days,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpXOHESNM7
perhaps four if rationed carefully.
On the morning of the third day,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgJFCnM6ZS
before the sun began climbing the treetops,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteA4WBBssl
something moved at the forest’s edge.
It was not an animal.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraDBAd7g8m
Nor the wind.
Three djinn appeared.
Their clothes were cleaner than they should have been,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfeUNMHm0U
their faces neutral to the point of unease,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxc9PECgAl
and in their hands baskets of food.
One of them spoke in polished calm:
“A gift from the Sage of the Valley of Fire.”
No one moved.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtd4zdJ82a
But… no one objected either.
The baskets were placed in the center.
They all sat.
Hands extended34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgDUJnBB7i
then…
The ring flashed.
Not a blazing light,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPytkxLM4c
but a brief flicker,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LyRCC72Oz
like a warning that did not shout.
Aram lifted his head at once,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6wuBaHEkI
his eyes meeting those of Nehram.
No words were needed.
Nehram spoke in a single, decisive tone:
“Stop.”
Hands froze in midair.
The three djinn faltered.
One of them said cautiously:
“Is there ”
But before he could finish,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6K3UxqAab
one of them lunged backward.
He turned, trying to flee between the trees.
In an instant…34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrtGC7Wh3D
one of the ten elite djinn moved.
His name was Zehyar.
He did not run.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyykrBHOFgu
He did not leap.
He simply extended his shadow.
A shadow that detached from him,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUemuZm3j5i
as if it were another being entirely,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mK5ZWCctK
wrapped around the fleeing djinn,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pSBrCryk5
and became an invisible restraint.
The djinn was dragged back34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fkvO2NE6m
as a thought is pulled from its owner’s mind.
The three now stood…34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoX2nbWyOy0
exposed.
Nehram said coldly, without mercy:
“Eat.”
They hesitated.
Then they understood.
One of them spoke in a broken voice:
“We were… ordered.”
Nehram raised his sword34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx53QkL0rMh
but Aram placed a hand before him.
“Do not kill them.”
Then he added calmly:
“Question them.”
The interrogation began.
Who sent you?34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxn3OrvpLMH
Who knows our location?34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfXvF4OOtw
Who ordered the food poisoned?
But the answer was one:
Silence.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UUuMTIJRa
Stubbornness.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEoKitQE4U
Empty stares.
Then another of the ten stepped forward.
His name was Mirath.
He carried no weapon.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6iDMNjBUBx
He raised no voice.
He placed his hand on the wrist of one of the three djinn.
Suddenly…34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgAt667Jr1
the voice changed.
It was no longer his own34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvKHVa8Y9H
but the voice of the captive djinn himself.
He spoke with his tongue,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4at98I7kK7
his memories,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoKp4ARqE8
his fear.
Thoughts spilled like water.
Images surfaced.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANBnXepbQe
Orders echoed.
They learned the names:
Naher, the massive djinn accompanying Ronen.
A direct command: confirm Aram’s death.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sGw97X9KI
If he was found alive poisoned food.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcRqRI6aI28
Then an urgent report to Saba.
The process was repeated with the other two.
Nothing differed.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZo7Z5PyepK
Nothing failed.
Silence settled.
Then Aram said in a voice deadly calm:
“Now… we plant our deception.”
He intended to send false news.
But Nehram said:
“There is a more precise way.”
He ordered the three djinn sent to the Valley of Fire,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50Bt6qiAiR
bound,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpjR4oAU0K
cut off from any chance of return.
Then he turned to one of his soldiers.
His name was Siyar.
Nehram said:
“You.”
Siyar smiled.
Within moments,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUaqj6BBai
his form changed.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurVL7pLGD1
His features.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3BJ6jewRq
His aura.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnt2BiXmTX
Even his voice.
He became an exact replica34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPN8tRnNNNi
of one of the three djinn.
Mirath stepped forward again,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflNdziLuF7
placed his hand on Siyar,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9j4l5J2Ns
and transferred to him34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMYvsLw04e
everything that had been in the original djinn’s mind:
The route.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1LoKElxFF
The words.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjPUdMgANr
The manner of bowing.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZQrx1oQIj
The tone used when speaking to Ronen.
Aram said to Siyar steadily:
“Go to Saba.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQODjHizqnz
Meet Ronen.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pSf1Vt5v5
Tell him the mission was completed.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKbgYVStRa
And that the food… finished the matter.”
Siyar nodded.
Then vanished among the trees.
Aram drew a deep breath.
He turned to Nehram and said:
“Now…34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGkxUHcjER
we are the ones pulling them into the next move.”
And so34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSABrSZX9U6
between a faint fire,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pWiHUWZVE
food that was never eaten,34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKe9rcWomQ
and a deception planted with care34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5ulgQsiUP
the balance34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMD3v9kz4pN
began to tilt once more.
and then Add to home screen.