THE THIEF OF KALIMAR (Graham Diamond's Arabian Nights Adventures) by Graham Diamond Page B

though, and they had managed to elude all chasing sentries. But now it was day, and there was little refuge they might seek if this fourth attempt for freedom failed.
    Mariana’s eyes scanned the road and the attentive soldiers on either side. She felt uncomfortable in the new clothes Ramagar had stolen for her. Her moccasins, a size too loose and poorly laced, slipped with every step. The tunic blouse with its high gathered neck irritated her throat, and the sleeves, far too long for a girl her height, kept falling below her knuckles, trapping her hands. Her hair was pinned up now, tightly bunched under a white headcloth. With her veil firmly in place, she knew she looked the part her lover had intended her to play: that of an anxious merchant’s wife come to the caravan to find her long-missed husband.
    She strolled among the crowd, here and there pretending to catch sight of some traveler or other she recognized. Then, hiding her distraught eyes, she sluggishly drew away from the caravan and passed back beneath the arched wall into the city.
    Well away, in a side street that led to the central markets, Ramagar stood waiting. The horses were watering in a slime-filled trough, and the thief, dressed in the outrageous brown robes of a Karshi religious fanatic, paced up and down the flagstones with his hood covering his head and shading his face.
    The sight of the girl and her downcast eyes told him the result of her foray.
    “It’s no use,” she said. “Soldiers are everywhere. Az’i! I’ve never seen so many in one place at a single time. They’re sending a whole army to catch you.”
    The thief wiped his brow and cursed the heat of the day. How these damnable fanatics wore their robes even at high noon left him bewildered. Here it was, less than an hour after dawn, and already his body was drenched in sweat. He gazed up at the rising run. Time was running out, he knew. Hour by hour the noose was tightening. He must make his move soon, while he could, while there was still a move to make.
    Mariana watched as he took the horses by the bridles and walked them back to the edge of the street. “What are you going to do?” she asked.
    “They’re expecting us to come riding through the gate like demons from hell,” he replied sullenly. “Charging down the road like crazed, trapped animals. Well, we’re going to fool them.”
    Mariana held her breath. “How?”
    “We’re going to walk. Slowly, leisurely. One at a time. You’ll have no trouble, you’ve already proved as much—”
    Her pulse was throbbing. “And what about you?”
    He smiled thinly. “I’ll be close behind. A Karshi fanatic, on his way to self-flagellation in the desert. They do it all the time, you know. I shouldn’t cause any attention.”
    The dancing girl grasped her hand around his sleeve. “But what if you’re asked to lower your hood? They’ll want to see your face before you pass, Ramagar. They’d be fools not to.”
    “Then,” he drawled, sucking in the hot air through his mouth, “you keep on going. Don’t stop, don’t pause, don’t even turn around.”
    Her eyes met his. “I—I don’t think I can,” she whispered.
    The thief took her hand and smiled; a kind smile behind red and weary eyes. “You have to, Mariana. That’s the way I want it. The way it has to be. Look, you asked me to take you with me, and I agreed. Well, we’ve done our best. But I’ll not allow you to be dragged off to the dungeons with me.”
    “I’ll not leave you,” she said firmly.
    “Yes, you will.” His voice was cold and devoid of emotion. “You’ll do exactly as I tell you or I’ll leave you here right now. I mean it, Mariana. Now will you do as I ask?”
    Mariana nodded her head slowly, knowing that this time there would be no changing his mind.
    He put his hand to the side of her face and gently ran his fingers over her lips. “It’s best this way, girl,” he consoled her. “No matter what happens at least you’ll be