Read Online THE THIEF OF KALIMAR (Graham Diamond's Arabian Nights Adventures) by Graham Diamond - Free Book Online
Authors: Graham Diamond
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your lover has outsmarted himself. And we’re going to catch him one way or another. This time Ramagar is going to pay with his head.”
The panic was rising again, she knew. There was more afoot than she understood. Why indeed were the Inquisitors so intent on finding a mere thief? And what crime might he have committed that required his life in payment? Or could it be that they somehow knew about the scimitar?
Wide-eyed, holding her breath, Mariana said, “What is he accused of? What has he done?”
The captain laughed bitingly. “Murder. He’s killed a noble.”
“But that’s impossible!” she cried. The girl was beside herself, unable to grasp what she had been told. “You’re lying! Ramagar never killed anyone!”
It was a wicked, sly smile that crossed his lips. He knew that after tonight the dancing girl could be his for the taking. To enslave, to throw in the dungeons, or even to disfigure her brooding face so that no man would ever want to watch her dance again.
His tone was cold and impassive. “We have a witness. The noble was murdered for his gold—and the killer was your lover.”
Her head was spinning. “But they say a stranger murdered this noble. A foreigner. You yourself—”
“We were deceived,” countered the captain. “Taken for fools. The beggar we sought does not exist. And the pickpocket who devised this deception will pay as dearly as your lover. We now have positive proof that Ramagar is the one who committed the crime. We have a witness whose word cannot be refuted—even in the Jandari.”
“It’s not true!” Mariana flared. “This witness is a liar and I can prove it! Ramagar was with me yesterday. All day and all night. I’ll swear to it with my last breath.”
He smiled thinly and cruelly, yet also with a tinge of admiration. The loyalty of the girl to her lover was without question and he would wager every copper he owned that rather than see him punished she would admit to the crime herself. But the word of a dancing girl, even if it were true, would carry little weight in the courts of Kalimar. No, the thief of thieves would have to pay, guilty or not. His cunning and wits would avail him no longer.
Mariana burst into tears as the soldier turned to go. “Tell your lover we’ll be back,” he warned. “And we’ll tear apart the Jandari brick by brick if we have to. This time he’ll not get away.”
And then he was gone. Mariana scampered to the door and bolted it, as if in this way she could pretend to herself that the world outside was safely locked out.
But she knew too well it wasn’t. Without a second thought, she scooped up the pillow and slit the new seam. The scimitar glistened in the morning light. She knew she must find Ramagar. Find him quickly and warn him before it was too late. He must escape the city, escape the Jandari and Kalimar completely. It was his only chance.
But where was she to look? There were ten thousand alleys and ten thousand roofs. Shadows to cloak each and every one. In which of a hundred hiding places might he be found? Or was it too late already? Perhaps by now the unsuspecting thief was bound and gagged, lying helpless somewhere in the labyrinth of dungeons within the palace walls.
It was with desperation that she fled her room and hurried into the bright daylight of the street. Giving neither thought nor care to her own safety she raced in the direction of the Demon’s Horn. Only there might someone be able to say where her lover had gone after he left her in the middle of night. Only there might there be someone she could trust.
Oro the hunchback ducked swiftly into the doorway when he saw her leave. His twisted features hidden by his hood, he leaned back and chuckled, rubbing his hands in a slow, deliberate motion.
Ah, yes. Today would be a day never to forget. The Inquisitors would pay him handsomely for his lies. And now, with the thief as good as dead, both the mysterious scimitar and the dancing girl would soon
The panic was rising again, she knew. There was more afoot than she understood. Why indeed were the Inquisitors so intent on finding a mere thief? And what crime might he have committed that required his life in payment? Or could it be that they somehow knew about the scimitar?
Wide-eyed, holding her breath, Mariana said, “What is he accused of? What has he done?”
The captain laughed bitingly. “Murder. He’s killed a noble.”
“But that’s impossible!” she cried. The girl was beside herself, unable to grasp what she had been told. “You’re lying! Ramagar never killed anyone!”
It was a wicked, sly smile that crossed his lips. He knew that after tonight the dancing girl could be his for the taking. To enslave, to throw in the dungeons, or even to disfigure her brooding face so that no man would ever want to watch her dance again.
His tone was cold and impassive. “We have a witness. The noble was murdered for his gold—and the killer was your lover.”
Her head was spinning. “But they say a stranger murdered this noble. A foreigner. You yourself—”
“We were deceived,” countered the captain. “Taken for fools. The beggar we sought does not exist. And the pickpocket who devised this deception will pay as dearly as your lover. We now have positive proof that Ramagar is the one who committed the crime. We have a witness whose word cannot be refuted—even in the Jandari.”
“It’s not true!” Mariana flared. “This witness is a liar and I can prove it! Ramagar was with me yesterday. All day and all night. I’ll swear to it with my last breath.”
He smiled thinly and cruelly, yet also with a tinge of admiration. The loyalty of the girl to her lover was without question and he would wager every copper he owned that rather than see him punished she would admit to the crime herself. But the word of a dancing girl, even if it were true, would carry little weight in the courts of Kalimar. No, the thief of thieves would have to pay, guilty or not. His cunning and wits would avail him no longer.
Mariana burst into tears as the soldier turned to go. “Tell your lover we’ll be back,” he warned. “And we’ll tear apart the Jandari brick by brick if we have to. This time he’ll not get away.”
And then he was gone. Mariana scampered to the door and bolted it, as if in this way she could pretend to herself that the world outside was safely locked out.
But she knew too well it wasn’t. Without a second thought, she scooped up the pillow and slit the new seam. The scimitar glistened in the morning light. She knew she must find Ramagar. Find him quickly and warn him before it was too late. He must escape the city, escape the Jandari and Kalimar completely. It was his only chance.
But where was she to look? There were ten thousand alleys and ten thousand roofs. Shadows to cloak each and every one. In which of a hundred hiding places might he be found? Or was it too late already? Perhaps by now the unsuspecting thief was bound and gagged, lying helpless somewhere in the labyrinth of dungeons within the palace walls.
It was with desperation that she fled her room and hurried into the bright daylight of the street. Giving neither thought nor care to her own safety she raced in the direction of the Demon’s Horn. Only there might someone be able to say where her lover had gone after he left her in the middle of night. Only there might there be someone she could trust.
Oro the hunchback ducked swiftly into the doorway when he saw her leave. His twisted features hidden by his hood, he leaned back and chuckled, rubbing his hands in a slow, deliberate motion.
Ah, yes. Today would be a day never to forget. The Inquisitors would pay him handsomely for his lies. And now, with the thief as good as dead, both the mysterious scimitar and the dancing girl would soon
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