The Thin Executioner. Даррен Шэн

no time.”

      Jebel stepped back from Bastina and smiled sheepishly at Tel Hesani. The slave looked at Jebel neutrally, awaiting his command. “Well,” Jebel said uncertainly, “I guess we’d better take your family to my father’s house and–”

      “Bas said that she would take us,” Murasa interrupted. “I told her you would be in a hurry to leave. J’An Nasrim will have already told your father of your quest, so there is no need for you to accompany us, unless you wish to discuss it with him before you depart.”

      Jebel would have liked to say goodbye to his father and brothers – he felt lonely now that he realised he would probably never see them again – but questers didn’t usually take a detour to bid their loved ones farewell. Besides, he didn’t think they would approve of his decision and he couldn’t stand the thought of them criticising him.

      “Very well,” Jebel said hollowly. He glanced at Tel Hesani, then Murasa. “Is there anything you want to say to each other?”

      “We said all that needed to be said before we left home,” Tel Hesani replied. He exchanged a look with Murasa, then with his children. They all gazed at him silently, fighting back tears. Tel Hesani gulped, then turned and pointed to a street. “I suggest we go this way, to the docks. From there we can follow the path north to where the early morning traders pitch their stalls.”

      “Yes,” Jebel said. “That was my plan anyway.” He smiled at Bastina. Sniffling, she put her hands together and bowed. He nodded at her roughly, then hurried after Tel Hesani, who was already several strides ahead and moving swiftly.

      SEVEN

      It was a glorious summer’s morning, not a single cloud in the perfect blue sky. A breeze blew in off the as-Sudat, cooling those who laboured nearby.

      Jebel and Tel Hesani had walked all night, arriving at the huge market on the northern outskirts of Wadi a few hours before daybreak. Jebel was fit to drop by the time they stopped, and he dozed until dawn, sitting on a stone bench, head bobbing, watched over by his slave.

      As the sun rose and traders set up their wares, Tel Hesani tapped Jebel’s shoulder. Jebel awoke sluggishly, got up and stretched. His branded arm still felt as if it was on fire, but he clenched his teeth against the pain.

      “What first?” he yawned, staring at the rows of stalls. Lots of traders were laying out their goods on tables, or hanging them from overhead hooks, but others simply placed them on a mat or on the ground.

      “We need to buy a good map,” Tel Hesani said. “Then we can choose our route. It helps to know where you are going before you set out.”

      Jebel was too tired to mark the slave’s sarcasm. “All right,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Do you know where the map-makers are?”

      “I am confident that I can find them, master,” Tel Hesani said drily, then led the boy into the labyrinth of traders, moving quickly and surely. He had never been to this market, but he had visited many like it. A short while later, the pair were studying a map of the Great Kingdoms, seated around a table in an outdoor tavern.

      Tel Hesani spent a while familiarising himself with the names. Um Kheshabah had different names for many of the rivers, mountains and towns of the Eastern Nations.

      “This is the shortest route,” Tel Hesani said, tracing the path with his finger. “North by the banks of the as-Surout to the border between Abu Aineh, Abu Nekhele and Abu Safafaha. Then straight through Abu Safafaha to the eastern entrance of Abu Siq. But it would be madness to risk capture by the Um Safafaha.”

      “I agree,” Jebel grunted. “I’m not going anywhere near those barbarians. They eat their own babies.”

      “An exaggeration,” Tel Hesani said. “But they often sacrifice stray travellers to their gods. It might be wiser to enter Abu Nekhele after Shihat and head for Hassah, then make for the western entrance into the siq.”

      Jebel frowned. “Isn’t it swampland between Shihat and Hassah? I’ve heard of whole camps being drowned in quicksand or eaten by alligators. Wouldn’t it be safer to follow the as-Sudat from here?” Jebel traced the route of the river with a finger. “That would take us through Abu Judayda, then back around east through the less treacherous parts of Abu Nekhele.”

      “There’s more to a path than what you see on a map,” Tel Hesani replied. “What of the Um Nekhele? Your nations are not currently at war, but old hatreds linger, especially in the central areas of the country. And it would take much longer. If we follow the as-Surout, we should reach the western entrance of Abu Siq in two months or thereabouts.”

      “That long?” Jebel exclaimed.

      “We must travel on foot,” Tel Hesani reminded him. “And as you pointed out, it is marshy, treacherous land north-west of the border. It will take at least two months, maybe ten weeks. But if we follow the as-Sudat, it will take four months.”

      “That’s too long,” Jebel said. “I’ve got to be back in Wadi within a year.”

      “Quite,” the slave murmured. “So we go through the swamp?”

      Jebel pulled a face. “Very well.”

      Tel Hesani put his finger back on the map, then moved it slowly north-east from the town of Hassah, to the al-Attieg. The mountains were sometimes referred to as the Great Wall, since legends claimed they were created by the gods in the time before mankind, to separate two violent, warring factions.

      “Ideally we’d sail along the as-Sudat through the al-Attieg gorge,” Tel Hesani said. “But as we are not allowed to use a boat, we’ll have to take the siq.”

      “Do we have to?” Jebel asked. “Couldn’t we climb over the mountains instead?”

      “That would be suicide,” Tel Hesani said.

      “But will the Um Siq let us pass?”

      Tel Hesani shrugged. “They do not take kindly to travellers. But we are on a quest. They might respect that and grant us passage.”

      “If they don’t?” Jebel pressed.

      “We could sail through the gorge,” Tel Hesani suggested.

      “That’s not permitted,” Jebel growled. “You know the terms of the quest.”

      “Yes,” the slave sighed. “But who would see us?”

      “Sabbah Eid,” Jebel said. “If I’ve broken the terms when I petition him, he’ll strike me dead and my spirit will burn for a thousand generations.”

      Tel Hesani glanced up from the map. “Do you really believe that a god lives inside the mountain?”

      Jebel frowned. “It’s not a matter of belief. He does live there.”

      Tel Hesani grunted and returned to the map. “If we make it past Abu Siq, the path’s straightforward. We cut west, then follow the as-Sudat up to where it meets the al-Meata, then track the river back to its source in Tubaygat.”

      “What about the Um Saga?” Jebel said. “Abu Saga’s full of slavers looking for workers to throw down their mines. How can we guarantee safe passage?”

      “We can’t,” Tel Hesani said grimly. “We’ll have to travel by night and hope we don’t fall foul of the slavers.”

      “How long will it take in total?” Jebel asked.

      Tel Hesani scratched his beard. “We can’t factor in all of the obstacles which we’re sure to run into. The weather might work against us — if we get delayed on the way to Abu Siq, it will be winter and the siq might be impassable. And it will definitely be winter or early spring when we hit the al-Meata. Snowstorms or floods could bar our progress…

      “At best, eight months,” he guessed. “More likely ten. If we manage that, we should be able to sail back in time for the mukhayret.