Thirty

 

Amani stood on the road outside Maram's gates, wishing he did not have to be here. But he dared not portal into her home without an invitation, especially not when he intended to be even deeper in her debt before the day was out.

A debt he would make that worthless courtesan pay, when he had her in his grasp.

Amani had taken the time to bathe and dress appropriately for visiting a prince, as that's what everyone believed Aladdin to be, and Amani had no intention of changing that. He'd worked too hard to build Aladdin's reputation as a prince to destroy it now.

The guards stopped him at the gate, but politely, as befit someone of his stature. "Your name and your business, master, so that we may announce your arrival to the prince."

"I am the sorcerer, Lord Amani, and I wish to congratulate the prince and his new bride on their nuptials," Amani said smoothly. Now she was married, he could not visit Maram without her husband present. Never mind that she was an ex-courtesan and he'd lived alone with her for weeks without any impropriety...as though he'd do any such thing with Briska's daughter!

One of the guards headed into the house, before returning to escort Amani inside.

Maram rose to welcome him into her sitting room, where he'd spent many pleasant hours conversing with her while they were trapped on the savannah, but Aladdin stood by the wall, looking as awkward as ever in such fine surroundings. A good man and a merchant's son, but no prince. And yet, of all the masters Amani had been forced to serve, Aladdin was the only one he was willing to share a cup of wine with, without poisoning the contents.

Aladdin ducked his head in a brief bow. "It is lovely to see you again so soon, Lord Amani. Forgive me, but I am on my way to see my mother, who I hope to persuade to take up residence here, at Maram's request. I'm sure my wife will entertain you in my absence." He moved to depart.

"You're leaving us alone?" Amani blurted out. Did the boy not know what this would do to his wife's reputation?

"We both know this palace belongs to Maram, and she is well able to entertain any visitor she pleases in her home," Aladdin said with a smile. He rubbed his thumb across a ring on his finger in a gesture that seemed completely unconscious, but Amani knew better, for he recognised the ring. The weak djinn who was bound to it was no match for Amani in most things, but his combination of invisibility and unusual physical strength still made him a formidable protector for Princess Maram. And an unseen chaperone, who would tell Aladdin everything that had passed between them in Aladdin's absence.

Maram sighed. "He has no idea. I've never met a man who cared less for his reputation. Amani, if you'd be kind enough to help him travel to his mother's unseen..."

Amani opened a portal, and gestured for Aladdin to enter. Aladdin departed, and Amani waited for the portal to close completely before he said, "He might be gone, but it was not my intention to keep any part of our discussion a secret from your husband. Perhaps another time..." He gritted his teeth. He didn't want to come back. He needed her help now.

"I keep no secrets from Aladdin, but there are some things I think he does not wish to know," Maram said softly. "Like how to free djinn, for example." She beckoned a servant forward and accepted a cloth-wrapped parcel from the girl. Maram then held it out to Amani. "I had the lamp polished. It's not gold, but...I thought you might like to keep it. And...inside it, you will find something that may help you in your quest. Something...you will need, but that your pride will not allow you to ask for. There are other ways to free djinn, but they require several sorcerers working in cooperation and the results can be unpredictable. This way is better."

Amani swallowed, then held his breath as he unwrapped the lamp and forced himself to lift the lid. The lamp was stuffed with what appeared to be a roll of fine linen, but inside the linen was a glass vial of some dark liquid. He held it up to the light, and his gut clenched as the liquid glowed red.

"I cannot accept this." The words burst from him unbidden. This was royal blood, the same as that which ran in her father's veins and her own. With this, he could curse the Sultan's entire bloodline.

"Then why did you come, if not for more of my blood to free her?" Maram's dark eyes, so much like her mother's, were wide with curiosity.

"I cannot find her," he confessed. "She is a djinn, bound to serve whatever master holds her in thrall, just as I was. And she serves Mistress Kun, who I cannot find, either."

Maram drew in a sharp breath. "Kun? The courtesan? No, she can only cast seduction magic, like me. The occasional small blessing or curse, like she did for Vardan. She couldn't possibly be powerful enough to hide from you. Why, Mother always said you were the most powerful sorcerer in the world!"

Amani grunted. "I am, or I was. But there are some forms of magic I cannot perform, and cloaking, invisibility, is one of them. And she has done something that hides herself and your mother from me. Please...is there anything she said, in passing, perhaps, that might help me locate her, and maybe your mother, too?"

Maram spread her arms wide. "She is a courtesan, the kind who travels for both business and pleasure. She could be anywhere in the world. The last place I saw her was Beacon Isle, before I met my husband. But if you wish to get a message to her...there is a city on a swamp, a republic, like the one in the ancient legends, with a port that is a favourite among crusaders. She keeps a palace on one of the islands in the floating city."

"She's from a floating crusader city?" Even Amani didn't believe it.

Maram smiled faintly. "No, she has a house there, is all. She was born in the Kunlun Mountains, far to the east, where the horse people war with the middle kingdom, and no one truly wins, or so she says. There are magical peach trees in the mountains where she was born, so powerful that one bite of the fruit can grant you immortality, or so it is said. What I do know is that I have known her for most of my life, and she has not aged a day. Perhaps immortality is possible, after all. The floating city...while I have not been there myself, I have heard many crusaders speak of it. It is no myth."

"I have heard she is in the far north, where it snows."

"Perhaps. Who can say? I last saw her at Beacon Isle, in the northern seas. There are tales of places further north where the ground is made of ice, ice that never melts." Maram laid a hand on Amani's wrist. "I do not know where Mistress Kun is, but if I were to go searching for her, I would go first to the floating palace and leave a message, telling her you wish to find her. For me. And you will take the lamp and the vial, because I ask only one thing of you: that you find my mother, free her, and bring her home to me."

"Princess..."

Maram clasped her hands before her. "If the most powerful sorcerer in the world cannot find her, then I fear she is lost forever. Please, Amani. If you love her...if you ever loved her..."

Amani dropped to one knee. "I have never loved any woman as I love Briska, and I will never love another. I will find her, and I shall free her, and I shall bring her here to show her the wonderful woman her daughter has become. This I swear."

"Ah, men and their oaths. Actions speak louder than words, Amani. Go find her!"

He rose, bowed, and left, with the lamp tucked firmly under his arm.