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Chapter 7
My heart droppedto mytoes.
Dahvi grabbed my hand, and we ran down the center of the market, away from the vizier’s guards. A kid carrying a tray of meat got in our way. I skipped left, accidentally bumping into a woman reorganizing her stall. She stumbled and her basketful of dates crashed to theground.
“Sorry,” Ishouted.
Sand crunched under our feet. It still hurt to put pressure on my ankle, but I couldn’t get caught as I had the other night in the Sultan’s cave. We needed to hide andfast.
Unable to keep up with Dahvi, I slowed my pace to a limp. My nerves were stretched. I glanced over my shoulder as two guards shoved people out of the way, cutting a straight line forus.
Shishkebab.
I overturned a stall of pastries and a rack of clothing. Merchants shouted curses at me. I heard the guards grind to a halt. The table scraped against the ground, and they were back on ourtrail.
Dahvi stopped to yank the cloth off a tent and let it fall on the guards. They shouted and scratched to getfree.
Up ahead, a man played a flute, charming three cobras in abasket.
As we passed him, the genie kicked the receptacle over, and snakes spilled all over the ground. They reared up, flaring and hissing. Everybody screamed as the place descended intochaos.
Sorry. But we needed something to slow down theguards.
If only the genie had his powers, we’d be out of the mess in a puff of smoke, and no one would gethurt.
“Which way?” said Dahvi as we arrived at an intersection at the end of themarket.
I chanced a look over my shoulder. The guard who had apprehended me in the cave jump over the snakes and continue hispursuit.
Crap.
My pulse thundered in my veins. “Thisway.”
We ducked down the next lane to ourright.
The genie and I took another right and then a left into the back alleys. I scanned the buildings surrounding us for a way out of this mess. Clothes air-dried on wire stretching between the buildings. Potted plants lined windowsills, their leaves stretching out toward the sunlight. A metal grille crawled up the wall of one of thebuildings.
Perfect.
“Quick, up there.” I climbed the grille, scaling the sandstone wall, passing one level of the two-story apartments in a matter ofseconds.
“Hey!” shouted the guard as he entered the alley. “Get backhere.”
Nothing was stopping me from getting to thetop.
“Hurry, Master,” Dahvisaid.
“Can’t move any faster with my ankle,” Isaid.
The genie’s hand cupped my bottom and pushed me up, giving me the boost Ineeded.
“Gods!” I said, surprised yet aroused by the position of hishand.
Once I reached the top, I flung my leg over the edge and pulled myselfup.
“Here.” I offered Dahvi a hand to helphim.
Dahvi took my hand, climbed up, and I lead him across four mica rooftops toward the west. Sure, they were dilapidated and old, but I’d been up here plenty of times to star gaze and knew they’d take myweight.
