Palace of Darkness Read Online Free Page A

look pretty, Mama.”
    Cassia straightened his belt. “And you look like a young prince.”
    Aretas held out a short dagger. “Here, hide this under your robe.”
    Cassia lifted her hands, palms out. “No weapons. You know how I feel.”
    He swore and tossed the weapon on the table. “We will walk together until we reach the edge of the traders’ market.” And then the small pouch he had brought back last night, with more added besides, was in her hands at last. She hid a smile. Today was the day.
    She forced them to walk slowly out of town, to keep the dust down and the yellow silk clean. Aretas grew impatient as Alexander kept darting off to investigate stray goats, wild foxes, shy badgers. Cassia kept him moving, but the boy could not pass an animal without stopping to talk to it. Friends hailed him as they passed, and Cassia smiled to hear other boys call his name. Somehow he had won hearts here in spite of everyone knowing what kind of man his father was.
    “Do we really need Alexander?” Cassia asked Aretas. “I can do this without him. Let him stay with his friends.”
    Aretas stalked on ahead. “The boy makes you respectable.” He left her behind to ponder the deeper truth of his words.
    She slowed even more, knowing she had sufficient time to linger. Aretas had work to do.
    “Come, Alexander.” She held out a hand to the boy and he bounded to her, placing his small hand in hers.
    “Did you see that fox, Mama? It had big eyes.”
    “Perhaps it was a magical fox, eh?” She tugged at his hand.
    Caravan traders arrived in Damascus several times each week from faraway places like Egypt and India, Persia and China. They came with loaded camels, snorting and jingling with treasures, and gathered at the edge of town, where they camped and waited for other traders to arrive and make deals. When they left in a few days, it would be with new purchases. And hopefully, with one small woman and an even smaller boy.
    Ahead, a series of small tents, nothing more than blankets propped on sticks pushed into the dirt, dotted the horizon. These men had been at the edge of Damascus for a few days, but the new caravan approaching in clouds of dust brought new treasures and fresh opportunities. Aretas had timed his arrival perfectly so he could mingle with the resident traders and those arriving, with neither group realizing he did not belong. He had even let his face go unshaven for several days to better fit in with the travelers.
    It was her task to stay close enough to arrive at the right time herself, without being seen too soon.
    She kept her attention trained on Aretas’s tall figure and muscular arms, watching him move through the crowd as though at home. And then he had begun to engage some of them. No business yet. Just conversation. She heard his booming laugh and saw him slap a trader on the back.
    The new caravan, with its red-tasseled camels and loaded packs, blended with the first group, and Cassia lost sight of Aretas.
    “Do you see your father?” she asked Alex. His hand had grown sweaty in hers.
    The boy shielded his eyes with the other hand. “There he is!” He pointed.
    Aretas had pulled away from the crowd a bit and had taken two traders with him.
    It begins.
    Alex wriggled his hand from hers. “You are hurting me, Mama.”
    She clutched him to her side. “I am sorry, shekel.” She tipped his face up to look at her. “Do you remember what you must do?”
    He nodded, his tongue playing with his loose teeth. “Stay quiet. Always quiet.”
    She smiled. “Good boy.”
    She looked back to Aretas. Was it time? Her mouth went dry. She must finish the game he played, then she would be free to move among the traders and complete the true task that drew her today.
    Now.
    “Come, Alex.” She led him forward, forcing a casual smile to her lips. Within a few minutes they had reached the traders. She tried to make it look as though they wandered but kept her steps headed for Aretas. A trickle of sweat ran