Nikos was, it seemed, always sending people to Sebastea, but none of them ever arrived. Why?
My quick-kindled excitement died. I had thought myself close to solving the riddle. But the more I probed, the more the mystery deepened, and now I was no nearer a solution than before. I returned to my sleeping place, dispirited and disgusted, to wrestle with thoughts that would not yield.
A pale white dawn found me awake still, unrested and aching in head and heart. Slowly, the camp began to stir; I lay listening to the idle talk of the amir's warriors as they built up the fires once more. Thus, I was already alert when I heard Kazimain approach, her footfall soft in the dust.
"Aidan," she said tentatively. Her voice quivered.
"My love," I replied, rolling over to look at her. She appeared to have slept no better than I; her hair was unbound, and the corners of her eyes were red. "Kazimain?"
"It is Lord Sadiq." Her hand was shaking, so I grasped it; her fingers were cold. "I cannot wake him."
I was beside the amir in an instant. In swift steps I entered the tent, knelt over him and pressed my hand to the side of his neck, much as Farouk had done to me countless times. The amir's skin was warm to the touch, and I could feel the rapid flutter of a strong pulse beneath my fingertips; his breath was quick and shallow. He seemed to sleep, but it was a false repose. There was a faint mist of sweat on his brow.
Touching his shoulder, I jostled him gently, but firmly. "Lord Sadiq," I said, "wake you now." I repeated this three times, but the amir made no sound, neither did he move.
"You see how he is," Kazimain said, peering over my shoulder.
"Where is Faysal?"
"He did not eat anything last night," she replied. "He said he was not hungry…It is not like the amir to sleep so long…"
"Kazimain," I said sharply, drawing her back. "Where is Faysal?"
"Out there-" She gestured vaguely behind her. "I did not-" She looked at me, frightened now. "I woke you instead."
"Wake him now and tell him to bring some water."
She nodded and backed from the tent. Straightening the amir's head, I began to gently remove his turban. So far as I knew, he had not changed it since the incident at the gate. As the long strip of cloth unwound, I held my breath, fearing what I would find.
As the last length came away, I put the cloth aside and examined the amir's head. To my relief there was no injury that I could see; so I began to search, lightly lifting his matted dark hair to see the scalp beneath. By the time Kazimain returned, I had completed my examination, finding nothing unusual.
Kazimain knelt beside me, worried still, but better composed. Faysal appeared a moment later, with a jar of water. He poured from the jar into a small bowl, and brought it to the amir's lips. I placed my hand behind the amir's head and raised it to receive the water. As I lifted, the amir moaned, as if in pain, but he did not wake.
"Wait," I told Faysal. "There is something here." To Kazimain I said, "Let us turn him over."
Half-lifting, half-rolling, we placed the amir on his side, and I quickly found the place my fingers had touched.
The wound was little more than a deep-coloured bruise at the base of his skull. But when I probed with my fingers, rather than solid bone beneath the skin, I felt pulpy flesh. "Here," I said, guiding Kazimain's fingers to the place. "But gently, gently."
The amir moaned again as Kazimain touched the wound; she pulled back her hand as if she had burned her fingers. "The bone is crushed," she gasped, her voice dwindling to a whisper.
"Faysal," I commanded, "ride to Amida. Bring a physician at once."
He stared at me. "I do not think there is a physician in Amida."
"Go, man," I snapped. "Hurry!"
Faysal inclined his head in acknowledgement of the command-a gesture I had seen him make a thousand times, but always to Lord Sadiq, never to anyone else. He left the tent, and Kazimain and I attempted to get the amir to drink some water, but succeeded only in wetting his chin and the side of his face.
"Stay with him," I told Kazimain, "I will fetch Brynach. He is learned in many things; he may know what to do."
Upon emerging from the tent, one of the rafiq met me and announced that Kazimain's escort had arrived and was ready to take her away. I looked to where the warrior pointed and saw six men on horseback. "Tell them they must wait," I said, and hurried on.
Brynach, Dugal, and Ddewi had risen and lit a fire to take the chill from the morning air. Upon hearing of the amir's distress, Brynach nodded and said, "Have no fear for Lord Sadiq. We have among us one who is many-gifted in the healing arts." He put out his hand to Ddewi, who sat with hand extended before the crackling fire, his features placid.
"You cannot mean-" I protested.
Brynach nodded.
"But he is not himself. His mind-he does not even know where he is. Sure, he cannot do anything."
