seller of swords was saying, 'the finest steel in the land . .. You can't get respect in Gomorrah without a quality blade on your hip!'
But Mathayus was already armed to the teeth, and ignored all such come-ons in the main square, where one could buy anything from damask to damsels; he strode single-mindedly toward the citadel that was Memnon's palace. Finally he stood, hands on his hips, looking up at the heavily armed red turbaned guards walking the ramparts, guarding the gates of this imposing structure, half castle, half fortress.
And just as he was studying the lay of the land, a brood of street urchins manifested itself out of nowhere—the youngest ragamuffin might have been six, the oldest no more than ten, a blur of dirty faces and nimble feet, swirling around him, stirring dust.
'Guide, sir?' one said.
'You need a guide, sir,' said another.
'To find your way in Gomorrah, sir,' yet another bleated.
Mathayus knelt and summoned the leader of the smudged-faced flock with a curl of a finger. 'You, lad—are you a smart enough guide to show me a way into the palace?'
Dark eyes glittered in the dirty, dark face. 'A smart guide wouldn't, sir—or
The little gaggle of urchins laughed like magpies, and Mathayus was smiling at them when one alongside him sneaked in and, in a flash of steel, cut the pouch of rubies from the Akkadian's belt!
The culprit sprinted off, and Mathayus raced right after him; but those urchins tagged along, laughing, running, catching up with the boy who'd snagged the pouch and—in a dazzling display of misdirection—began to hand the booty off between themselves, until it was impossible for the Akkadian to tell which boy had wound up with the rubies.
Half guessing, he pursued one of the little brigands, winding through stalls, upending carts and tables of fruit and vegetables, finally catching up with the lad. Taking him by the ankles, Mathayus hauled him in the air and held him upside down—was this how Arpid had started?—and shook the boy; a few coins spilled from the child's pockets, but no pouch.
Frightened, the dangling boy pointed to another, older urchin; this one looked about twelve, and was darting through the stalls with impressive dexterity. The Akkadian dropped his prisoner rudely to the ground, and took off after the older boy ... only to have another of the urchins dash by going in the opposite direction.
The Akkadian, twisted this way and that by the acrobatic street gang, stopped running and leaned against a cart, trying to focus. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted a flicker of movement, and his hand snapped out and caught a boy just darting from behind the stand. Latching onto the gamin's shirt, Mathayus yanked him off the ground and lifted him to his face and looked right into the boy's dark, jumping eyes.
The child smiled, sheepishly, and held out his hand... proferring the precious pouch.
Mathayus took his property back, and put the boy down, the Akkadian's hard gaze instructing him not to run. After Mathayus had again tied the pouch to his belt, he gripped the urchin's jaw in one hand, prying it open, and reached the fingers of his other hand in ... to withdraw a ruby.
The child shrugged and grinned. Couldn't blame a boy for trying, right?
Mathayus grinned back at him and held up the glittering jewel. 'How would you like to keep this one?'
The boy nodded enthusiastically.
Mathayus glanced back tellingly at the looming palace. 'Then I hope you're a better 'guide' than you are a thief....'
Harem Fling
T
he elevated gardens of Memnon's palace were lush and beautiful, dappled golden by the setting sun, which protested its imminent death by sending swordlike shafts of brilliant light bouncing off the marble pathways leading to a
