Some houses are not built for protection… but to be the last thing standing when everything else collapses.
At the first thread of morning light,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFE4y9Y2gZ6
before Saba had fully awakened from the nightmares of its night,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEo3LDG2Q0
the stone house atop the mountain began to hear what brought no comfort.
Footsteps.
Not hesitant.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62F6PgoAnS
Not random.
Measured steps,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q5bboJzSA
moving in circles,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqberHVxDsG
drawing closer, then stopping,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXeGIaNYMG
as if counting the breaths of those inside.
Aram sprang from his place,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1gi5T26TZ
his sword already in hand before full awareness caught up with him.
His body moved on a warrior’s instinct,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q93RdF7iY
without question, without hesitation.
Solan stood at the narrow window,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuu2BDZd6NX
his eyes scanning the gray expanse.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEsuuV4VXQ
Siham held the opposite opening,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PQSDWKjbi
steady as a drawn string.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WEanprBI1
And Karem pressed his fingers around the hilt of his dagger,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1kUbuwWA0
as if only the metal restrained him from striking.
Solan whispered, barely audible:
“They’re not passing through…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRH0DsLSNIL
this is an encirclement.”
Through the stone slits,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0Z9c4NT31
they saw shadows moving around the house.
Soldiers.
Humans…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BQM97ocWz
and among them, shapes that did not move like the rest,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9qizgaiu2
their motion heavier,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVgpTwxRbk
their gazes not searching but knowing.
The siege was complete.
The house was not fortified,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWMcxmhzrM
nor prepared for a prolonged fight,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCCxJhEy3w
and all of them knew the brutal truth:
If combat began here,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4qZzM6cKr
it would not end in their favor.
Then
The knock thundered against the door.
Strong.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzreVeDLbV
Direct.
Not a threat,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjOi8zs7CQ
but a declaration.
Aram raised his hand for stillness,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiMNqUuKya
stepped forward with measured pace,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUxvVWhGtJ
his heart bracing for the worst:
An assault.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjty6tGdhRu
A betrayal.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7MW2cl0iV
Or a swift end.
Before his hand reached the wooden bar
A voice came.
A voice he knew.
A voice he had believed lost forever43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6m6I6SAhs6
in the darkness of the chasm.
“Open up, Aram…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lExgsZU2N
before we break the door.”
Time froze for a single heartbeat.
Then the door opened.
And the shock struck.
Tavar.
Standing there in torn clothes,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5QHc1tcjf
his face pale,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0B8P7t9Cmj
but his eyes
Unbroken.
Behind him stood men.
Familiar faces.
The men of the chasm.
And around the house,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuLUPZ06GP
the bodies of soldiers lay scattered.
Silent falls.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGtUMsDsqM
Swift resolutions.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRrWmn2sL3
No screams.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXgLsFNdZa
No spectacle.
Aram did not speak.
He took a single step forward,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB06oI1HDX2
then pulled Tavar into a fierce embrace,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNn7lBbk2YE
as if only the body could believe what the eyes saw.
Tavar said, catching his breath:
“We weren’t going to die there…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUkVqGEzSd
not before we finished.”
They entered.
The door closed.
A heavy moment fell43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYfCjXouqX
a moment filled with things left unsaid.
They sat.
And Tavar spoke.
He told them how Seraph had come to him in the cell,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQWP9p0YUT
how he had believed the meeting to be an announcement of the end,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPoNyk4AbR
then how the jinni revealed himself,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgbdo6SjBc
what he had done,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggk1Q2oAZF
and of the covenant not yet broken.
He spoke of his rescue,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdoDudn7j3
of how he was guided to the chasm,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAzqgwViQf
of a passage visible only to jinn eyes,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDOR2OrPoN
and how the men of the chasm returned to the light43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLaFxHxb9A
one by one,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0Yys6FWGR
while the palace burned in chaos.
He gestured as he said:
“The escape ignited the palace.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGJfyaET3W
Ronen lost control.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0I2UEg2K7p
He unleashed the soldiers,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0WGMGBjAC
spread the search everywhere.”
Then he paused,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WmWCx3ws9
as if the next words weighed too much to carry.
“And he changed the plan.”
Aram lifted his head instantly.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENvgbXUVgk
His eyes narrowed.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6mR0kdUOB
His mind outran the question.
“He won’t wait for the caravan,” Tavar said.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wUAkpH41t
“He’ll execute the king…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOc1XlwwNd4
soon.”
Silence fell.
It was not news to be answered.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnlIPfPnn4
It was a blow to be absorbed first.
After a moment, Aram asked:
“And Seraph?”
Tavar replied:
“He said he’d return with word.”
They did not wait long.
Seraph appeared as shadows do when summoned,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRW89GjOYEK
confirming everything:
The execution was imminent.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrKwKipugw
Before the heir.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3ofT2ERj7
Before the plan could fail.
Here
Minds began to move.
Karem spoke, his eyes alight:
“If I had white salt…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5xstRhG3J
I could make a fire43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5wOHVeqef
that would throw the entire palace into confusion.”
Rayhan added:
“And I43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpqCmQHZdp
with the right sand,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDHYidMptY
I could hide an entire army.”
They looked at their packs.
Nothing sufficient.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMK3tqoCful
No time to experiment.
Tavar said with heavy regret:
“The cavern…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VONv9ga2g
everything we need is there.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuKjwPBly4
But it takes time…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JmAbsVHPO
time we don’t have.”
Seraph inhaled slowly,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8xArSN3GK
then said a single sentence43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxD1Y0fyDby
that shifted everything:
“And if I give you the time?”
All eyes turned to him at once.
“I can carry three…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Ftd2KTt72
to anywhere.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOjdmJFh2L
And return them43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ0OD5V1hn
before anyone notices they were gone.”
Aram understood instantly.
No discussion.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPxV4MQjnS
No vote.
He spoke the names without hesitation:
Karem.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7PIyKTP4t
Tavar.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7uj0UqHGI
Rayhan.
To the cavern.
Then Marana stepped forward,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEVTDZTl4w
her voice steady despite the fear:
“I want my brother with me…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrTQIxLY71
I don’t want him far away if we fall.”
Aram agreed,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2wOg9KA4c
returned the wooden key of the cavern to Tavar,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIVHmxRoQj
offering a brief, aching smile:
“That’s your charge.”
Seraph agreed.
They settled on leaving by night,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VUCyTfLDD
and returning before the next dawn.
Aram remained with the others.
He stood by the window,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA596eEcQgb
gazing at the distant palace,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ugznFoGsO
which from above looked43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3776X8rHwJ
like a beast waiting for its prey.
He said with calm severity:
“We have a mountain…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0SdotYpnV
and we have vision…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCr3V7e432Z
and we will turn this place43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncbUbZvRlY
into our ground.”
And he began to draw the plan.
Assigning roles.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkICtn23E47
Measuring distances.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOwE0h3SLf
Counting breaths.
And in his heart,43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWOeUwT8uO
he knew with certainty:
Tomorrow…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlu5Ovgfts
would not belong43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLiVTlwfSS
to Saba alone.
and then Add to home screen.