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Cassie Black [The Wild Gene C Wild Ones (epub)
Cate Noble [Black Ops 03] Deadly Games (v5.0) (epub)
Caroline Clough [Red Fever 02 Black Tide (retail) (epub)
Benjamin Black [Quirke Book Elegy for April (epub)
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[heft] Perry Rhodan 2404 Versteck am Black Hole
Benjamin Black [Quirke Book The Silver Swan (epub)
C I Black [Medusa Files Case Heart of Stone (epub)
Carroll, Lee Black Swan Silberner Fluch
Chad Kultgen Men, Women

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.Revulsion, no doubt, she reasoned harshly as she turned a corner and stole along the length of a columned open-air arcade.It had to be a bone-deep disgust that assailed her when she thought on him, for to feel anything more than that for any of the hated Franks--the barbarian race she had been raised to despise--would be the worst sort of shame.Indeed, she would rather die first.Her thoughts occupied around that morbid prospect, Zahirah hastened toward the end of the colonnade.She did not see the dim flicker of candlelight coming from one of the palace bedchambers until she was nearly upon it.Someone was yet awake.Jolted by her near misstep, Zahirah froze.She had to pass that room to get to the garden.From within the chamber came the soft scrape of a chair on tile, followed by the muffled thud of booted feet pacing slowly, the space between footfalls belying the great height and solidity of the apartment's occupant.Zahirah crept toward the partially open door without breathing, her back pressed to the wall as she stretched her neck to peer inside.She did not have to see the dark-haired crusader to know it was him.Sebastian, his friend had called him.Every fiber of her being tensed with awareness, a keen and inexplicable recognition that was confirmed when she spied the massive span of his shoulders, his tunic-clad back turned blessedly toward the door.He appeared to be in thoughtful reflection, his elbow and forearm braced against the wall, his dark head bent down to study a document he held in his right hand.At the desk where he had been sitting was a pot of ink and a half-written letter, evidence that the rough soldier was also a man of some learning.The notion surprised her, for she had believed the Franks to be a simple-minded lot, crude barbarians bred for war, and as base in morals and thinking as the lowliest beasts in the field.Was that not what her father, Rashid al-Din Sinan, had always proclaimed? Was that not what she had been taught from the time she first could speak--a lesson too often learned at the punishing end of a olive switch?Zahirah shut out the pit of black memories before they could take root.Her lessons were many years behind her; she need not dwell on them.She had to trust her teaching now, trust her training.She fixed her focus solely on the obstacle that stood between herself and freedom, watching as the Englishman drew breath and released it, waiting for the opportune moment to dash by unnoticed.Perhaps he sensed her steady regard behind him, for he raised his head suddenly and turned to look over his shoulder.Zahirah did not hesitate for even so much as a heartbeat.Before he had the chance to see her there, she slipped past the slim opening of the door in one smooth motion, then fled noiselessly down the remaining space of hallway to the arched entrance of the gardens.Once outside, she headed directly for the southern wall where a briar of roses grew, the heavy blood-red blooms peaking their highest at this point over the top of the tall perimeter enclosure.Zahirah hastened to the appointed spot and dropped to her knees in the soft grass.“Halim,” she whispered, “are you there?”Only silence greeted her from the other side of the wall.She waited for a moment, praying for reply, then blew out a shaky sigh.Had he already come and gone? she wondered desperately.Her mind racing, she crouched down and reached into the thick rosebush near its root, negotiating the thorns as best she could without sacrificing speed.Her fingers scrabbled for purchase, her veil snagging in the branches the deeper she reached.At last, she found what she sought: at the base of the wall was a loosened stone, chipped free of its mortar not a week before.Easily accessible from the outside, the small portal lay well hidden from within by the tangle of the briar.Using both hands to pry the stone out, Zahirah clutched at the ancient brick and wiggled it out of the wall.A rush of cool night air whisked in through the gap, followed by Halim's rasping whisper.“You are late.”“A few moments,” she admitted.“Not all were abed.I had to be careful.”Halim grunted on the other side of the wall.“Jafar is dead, you know.I saw the Frankish pig slay him like a dog in the middle of the souk.”“I know,” Zahirah whispered, hearing an uncustomary note of pain in Halim's voice.He and Jafar were brothers--two of Sinan's best, most proven agents, though on occasion she had bested the both of them in practice at Masyaf.That she was chosen for this mission over either of them had not endeared her to any of the all-male brotherhood of the fida'i, but no one would dare question Sinan's whims.Still, she could sense the scorn in Halim's silence, and she knew that what she was about to tell him now would give him great satisfaction.“Halim, there has been a complication in my plan.The English king is delayed; he will not be returning to Ascalon on the morrow as I had expected, but may be gone another fortnight at least.I think it may be wise to abort this mission--”“Abort?” Halim bit off a sharp oath.“A true fida'i would consider no such thing.”Zahirah chose to ignore the muttered barb.“I need to get out of here at once, Halim.The captain has already voiced his suspicions that the chase through the souk may have been some sort of trap.It won't be long before he starts to wonder how I might fit into the puzzle [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]