there is a lake… and a village beside the lake. I learned of it from shepherds. She is there.'
He drank again, swallowing hard, and then laid his head on his arm and closed his eyes.
'Where is the lake?' Cait asked.
When he did not reply, she put her lips close to his ear. 'Please, Abu, tell me. Where is the lake? I must know if I am to find Thea.'
His eyelids fluttered open. His dark eyes were no longer as bright as they had been only a moment before. 'The lake…'
'Yes, Abu, where? Where is it?'
'There…' he said, his voice a breathless whisper. 'The mount of gold…'
'The Mount of Gold? Abu, I do not understand. Tell me, what is the Mount of Gold? Where is it?'
His mouth opened and a small gurgling sound came from his throat as he tried to make the words. 'There…' he gasped at last, staring straight out across the crooked valley. Cait saw the tawny glint of reflected light in his eyes and followed his gaze to a snow-topped peak rising in the near distance; bathed in the light of the westering sun, it glowed with a rich golden hue.
'Is that the mountain?' asked Cait. 'Abu, is that the one you mean?'
She turned and saw that although the reflection of the mountain still filled his eyes with light, sight was already fading. 'Oh, Abu,' she said, her voice cracking. She bent her head and placed her hand on his cheek, her tears falling on to his still face. 'Go with God, my friend,' she whispered, then gathered him in her arms and held him as deep silence descended over them.
Halhuli found her that way-crouched beside the trail, shivering with cold, still holding the young man's corpse. 'Lady Ketmia,' he said, hastening to her side. 'May I assist?'
Without waiting for an answer, he lifted the young man from Cait's grasp and lowered him gently to the ground. He removed the cloak from Abu's body and put it over Cait's shoulders, then, taking hold of the arrow below the head, gave a solid tug and pulled it through the wound. He laid the arrow on the ground, and set about straightening Abu's limbs, placing the knees and feet together and folding the hands over his chest. He closed the young man's eyes and mouth, and as he worked, Cait became aware that he was praying over the body-his low, murmuring chant had not ceased since he began tending Abu's ragged corpse.
Next, he poured some water from the waterskin and washed the young man's hands, feet, and face. He then washed his own hands, dried them, and kneeling beside the body raised his hands and face to heaven and intoned a prayer in Arabic. When he finished, he bowed and touched his forehead to the ground.
'Thank you, Halhuli,' said Cait.
'He will commence his journey with an easier spirit now,' replied the prince's overseer.
At that moment a raw, wordless cry sounded across the valley; it was followed by the savage rattle and clash of weapons. Cait and Halhuli rose and stood gazing toward the gap in the broken slab as the sounds of battle waxed and waned, much as the sound of sea waves tumbling rocks on a pebbled shore.
And then the clamour stopped. Cait held her breath.
She balled the fabric of her cloak in her fists and watched the gap for warriors to appear. 'Lord save us,' she prayed through clenched teeth.
An instant later, Prince Hasan rode through the cleft. He paused at the ford, and was soon joined by Dag and Svein; Rodrigo was next, carrying Paulo with him across the back of his horse, followed by Yngvar and, lastly, Rognvald.
They rode to the foot of the ridge trail where Cait and Halhuli waited. The knights, breathing hard from the exertion of their brief but fearsome toil, wiped sweat from their faces, and extolled one another's skill and bravery.
'The dogs have abandoned the chase,' Rognvald informed her. 'Paulo and Hasan have been wounded. We must get them back to camp at once.'
'My injury is not so bad,' Hasan said, shaking his head. 'But we must not linger here lest Ali Waqqar dares to tempt fate again.'
Rognvald signalled the knights to ride on. As they clattered past, Cait reached out and put her hand to his knee. 'What about Abu?' she asked.
Rognvald heard the sorrow in her voice, looked past her and saw the body of the young man lying still on the ground, the fatal arrow beside him. He rubbed a hand over his face and shook his head. 'Did he say anything before he died?'
'He told me Alethea escaped,' Cait replied.
'That is something, at least.'
'And I think I know where she may be found.' She quickly explained what Abu had told her, then looked back over her shoulder at his body. 'I do not want him left here.'
'Nor do I.' Rognvald dismounted, crossed quickly to the corpse, lifted it in his strong arms and carried it back to his mount. Cait held the horse while Rognvald secured the body, and then they rode silently back to camp.
The sun was dropping below the mountains to the west by the time they reached the top of the ridge; the encircling wall cast the valley into shadow. There were no bandits following them, so they hurried on, making their way along the switchback trail leading down the other side of the ridge. The sun fired the mountain tops, causing the snow-topped peaks to glow like red-hot brands, and Cait watched the colours slowly fade as the short winter day gave way to a misty dusk.
They halted at the edge of the clearing, and Rognvald lifted Abu's body down from the horse and laid it on the ground. He straightened, crossed himself, then turned to find Cait watching him. 'We will bury him soon,' he told her.
'You are wounded,' she said, regarding the ragged rent in his sleeve above the elbow.
He saw her glance and said, 'A small cut. It is nothing.'
She reached out to take his arm for a better look, but he held it away from her grasp. 'A scratch only,' he insisted. 'Leave it be.'
They walked to the camp to find the knights standing around the outstretched body of Paulo while Halhuli examined his wound and the prince's servants scurried for supplies. Cait pushed in beside Svein and watched as Halhuli probed the unconscious Spanish knight's wound, then looked up. 'The cut is deep,' he said, 'but clean. With rest and care, I think he may recover.'
Satisfied, the knights nodded and moved off to other tasks. While Rognvald and Halhuli made Paulo comfortable in one of the tents, Dag, Svein, and Yngvar found a place at the edge of the camp and dug a deep grave. Then, as the first stars began burning in the east, the knights buried the Syrian servant. While Cait and the wounded Hasan stood looking on, they pressed crude wooden crosses into the mound of soft earth, and prayed over the grave, commending the soul of the slender youth to the Almighty Giver and Receiver of Life.
By the time they finished, the prince's servants had a hot supper prepared, so they all sat down around the fire to warm themselves and eat a simple meal. Cait related what Abu had told her about Alethea's escape and where to look for her. 'Then something good has come of this, at least,' Hasan observed. 'Allah is wise and merciful.'
They finished their supper in silence, each wrapped in private thoughts which none cared to disturb. When they had finished, Hasan, his face pale with fatigue, rose. 'The excitement of the day has given me a headache,' he said, 'and I am tired. May Allah grant you a peaceful repose.' He bade them a good night and retreated to his tent.
After he had gone, Rognvald called the knights to attend him; they moved a few paces away from the fire. 'It may be that darkness will inspire the thieves to boldness,' he said.
'Let them come,' said Yngvar. 'We will make the wolves a feast they will not soon forget.'
'Nevertheless,' said Rognvald, 'we will take no risks. Rodrigo and Dag will take the first watch. Yngvar, you and Svein take the second watch, and I will take the third.'
Thus prepared for the night, the rest of the party retired to their tents to sleep-except Cait, who noticed the way the tall knight had begun favouring his arm as he ate his supper. 'A moment, my lord,' she said as he came into the light of the fire, 'I would examine your wound.'
'A scratch,' he insisted, 'is scarcely a wound.'
Not to be put off, she stepped before him. 'Then it will scarcely matter if I have a look at it.' She took his arm, and led him to the fire where she had prepared a bowl of hot water and some strips of clean cloth. 'Sit you down,
