“Barely. She was just a kid, not even in her teens yet. I remember trying to get Zahra to be easier on her. But I wasn’t around that long. Our ship had sailed.”
“But you met Dalai this evening?”
“As I said, more of an encounter.” He changed the subject. “I’m going to stick around for a little while. Quinn would say that would be a waste of time coming back to Robaku for help when I’m already here at the palace. He’s all for conquering by combining tasks.” He paused. “I’ll see how I feel about that office when I get within striking distance. If I decide against going for it, I still have one other path I can try before I come back to Robaku.”
“What?”
“Never mind. It’s a long shot, but you can never tell what will work. I’ll call you when I leave here. Don’t phone me again. I won’t be able to answer you.” He ended the call.
A long shot. He stood for a moment in the darkness, staring at the wall passage into which Zahra and Dalai had disappeared. He had to admit he was curious…So go for the long shot?
And perhaps…reparation?
* * *
Gideon had no trouble remembering the layout of the rooms once he reached Zahra’s wing. The maid’s room was two doors down from Zahra’s suite. She always wanted privacy but also to have instant service when she required it.
He moved silently down the hall, listening for activity from Zahra’s suite or the guards on the floor below. He had waited almost an hour before he’d entered the passage. If it had been blood on that sheet, Zahra would probably have needed time to take care of Dalai’s wounds.
He hesitated. Time to make the decision. Go to Zahra’s office? Or go to Dalai?
Either would be a risk.
He stopped outside the maid’s room.
No decision. That blood…He’d known this would be the choice.
He listened.
No sound of activity.
He silently opened the door and slipped into the bedroom. The room was so plain and without color, it appeared almost sterile. A bed. A pine washstand. A chair against the far wall.
He could see Dalai sitting on the edge of the bed, still wrapped in the sheet, her eyes fixed dully on the floor.
“Dalai,” he said gently.
She stiffened, her gaze wide with alarm as she saw him.
Oh, shit. She was going to scream.
This was turning out to be a stupid idea, he thought. “Shh. Please don’t scream. I’m Sam Gideon. Do you remember me? I’m not going to hurt you.”
She didn’t scream. She just sat on the bed, panting, looking at him with those wide, dark eyes. “Of course…I know you. What do you want with me? Did Madam Zahra send you? I wouldn’t think she’d choose to permit you to have me.”
“All I want is to talk to you. Zahra didn’t send me.” He grimaced. “In fact, she would be very angry with me if she knew I was here. I’m surprised you remember me. You’d just come to the palace when I first met you, and I didn’t stay around for long. Your Madam Zahra and I were once what you might term an item, but that was long ago. She can’t stand me now.”
“I remember everything about you.” She was still stiff and unrelaxed. “But you’re right, now Madam feels differently. You have to leave here. I didn’t think she’d send you to me. But she’ll still punish me if she finds you here.” Her voice was trembling. “She does hate you. I can tell every time she sees you or talks about you. You make her angry. She must not get angry.”
“Because she’ll punish you?” He came toward her, his gaze on the sheet. “You’re bleeding. Did she do that to you? And those bruises on your shoulders?”
“Go away.”
“I thought I knew what a bitch she was, but I might have been way off.” His lips tightened. “You don’t have to take this, Dalai.”
“Go away.”
“Did she do it?”
“No. Yes. Go away. You’ll make things worse if she comes in and sees you.”
“Then we’ll keep our voices down, and she won’t come in. Unless she decides to come in and clean you up. I was thinking I’d given her time to have done that already.”
“Take care of me?” She gazed at him in bewilderment. “Why would she do that? She told me to take care of it myself because she had to take me out again later tonight.” Her hands clenched on the sheet. “You have to leave. She’ll be angry with me. She’ll think it’s my fault. She’ll give me to him again.”
“Him?”
She was shaking her head. “You have to go. She’ll hurt you, too.” She was beginning to tremble. “And I can’t take any more right now.”
“I’ll leave soon.” He was having trouble keeping his temper. She might be a rabbit, but she had clearly been mistreated, and she was displaying a courage that touched him. “Maybe you shouldn’t have to put up with any more of this. That’s what I want to talk about. But first things first; it annoys me that Zahra didn’t take care of you.” He went to the washstand and poured water in the basin. “So I believe I’ll do it myself.” He grabbed a towel and washcloth and came back to the bed. “You looked like you could use a little help when I came into the room. You were just sitting, frozen.”
“I’m just…tired. I was…resting.” Her hand clutched at the sheet. “Go away. I’ll do it.”
“But I’m not in the mood for Zahra to get her own way right now. I’m very irritated with her. So sit very still.” He was pulling the sheet down as he spoke. “And I’ll take care of—” He went still, staring at her breasts. “You look as if you’ve been savaged by a wild animal.”
She had gone still. “It doesn’t hurt much anymore. I don’t believe she’d like you to see it.”
“No?” The anger and pity were growing more by the second. “Who did this?”
She didn’t answer.
“Maybe later?” He dipped the washcloth in the water. “Sit still. I’ll try not to hurt you.” His lips tightened. “Though I don’t know how I’m going to do that. You look…raw.” He was dabbing carefully at her breasts. “You should probably go to a doctor. I’m tempted to take you with me when I go.”
“No!” She was frantically shaking her head. “I’m fine. She’d be angry. It won’t matter. She said it wouldn’t. Some men aren’t like you. Some men like to see—” She broke off. “Why don’t you just go away?”
“Easy.” He lifted his eyes to her face. “I went away a long time ago and that’s why I don’t want to do it now. I was thinking about that when I saw you downstairs. I was such a selfish bastard, just out of college, and I didn’t care about anyone but myself. I thought you’d be okay, but what did I know? I broke with her and went my merry way. Hell, I’ve hardly thought of you all these years.”
“Why should you?” She was looking at him with bewilderment again.
“That’s right, you don’t expect anyone to think about you or watch out for you.” He held up his hand as she opened her lips. “But I’m not going to make it difficult for you. I can see this isn’t the time. Do you have any salves you can use on these wounds?”
She nodded jerkily.
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” His lips twisted. “Then I’ll let you do it so that Zahra won’t be angry with you. Just let me finish this bit to make sure you won’t get rabies from the son of a bitch.”
She nodded slowly, her gaze fixed on his face. She sat very still while he finished washing and drying her upper body. Then, when he sat back on his heels, she asked quietly, “Is that all? I can see you’re angry. Have you changed your mind? Do you wish anything else of me?”
It was clear what she meant, and he felt another ripple of rage mixed with pity. He shook his head. “Just get your damn salve.”
He watched as she dropped the sheet, got to her feet, and walked naked across the room to a drawer beneath the washstand. Her body was exquisitely fragile, and he realized that there were more bruises than he had thought. That delicate gold skin had to have been brutally beaten. She took a small round tube of sa
lve from a drawer and rubbed it over her wounds. Then she turned to face him. “It’s done. But it might be a waste if she wishes me to bathe later to prepare myself again.”
“Prepare for what?”
She didn’t answer.
“Or should I say whom?”
She didn’t answer. “What do you want with me? Why did you come?” She moistened her lips. “I’m very confused, and I’m so tired. I’m forbidden to complain. But, if it pleases you, I would like you to go so that I can rest.”
“What would please me is if I knew what else you were going to have to face tonight from Zahra.” He took a cotton throw from her bed and wrapped it around her. “Sit down. Rest. I’ll be out of here soon. I didn’t mean to stay this long. You threw me a curveball I didn’t expect. I just have a few things to say, and I’ll be gone.”
Where to start? She was looking at him with those doe eyes that were making him feel as if he were aiming a rifle at her. Start at the beginning. Start with honesty.
“I didn’t come here to cause you any trouble. But I’m going to ask you to help me. There’s no reason why you should because it’s clear no one has helped you all these years. Certainly not me.” He shook his head. “And it might even be dangerous for you. If Zahra can treat you like this, there’s no telling what else she’ll do to you.” He paused. “But I have to ask it because it’s very important, and you may be our only hope.”
“Help you?” She was frowning. “I don’t understand. I can do nothing. She hates you and wouldn’t permit me to help you. She would punish me.”
“Permit? Punish?” He paused. “You’re not a slave, Dalai. Even in Maldara, slavery is forbidden. I won’t tell you that there wouldn’t be danger, but I will tell you that I’ll protect you if you help me.” He added, “And I promise Zahra will never be able to punish you again.”
“You lie to me.” She shook her head. “I belong to her. My father sent me to her and told me I must always do as she commands.”
“You belong to no one but yourself. He was mistaken.” He wasn’t getting through to her. How could he expect to overcome the brainwashing Zahra had been giving her all these years? But every word she spoke was tearing him apart, and he had to keep trying. “You’ve lived here in the palace and heard all the speeches the diplomats made about freedom. You know that Zahra wasn’t telling you the truth. You’re free to do as you wish.”
She shook her head. “I’ve heard all that, but I’m different. She said that I belong to her, like the slaves that Kiya brought from Egypt on the Great Journey belonged to Kiya. That I have to do everything she wants me to do.” She added wearily, “And she can punish me. So that’s another lie, too. Will you go now?”
“Not yet. I have to tell you what I need. Then I’ll let you kick me out.”
“Kick you out?” she asked in horror. “I could not do that.”
He smiled. “Yes, you could. You just need the practice, and it would come naturally to you. But you might need my friend, Jill, to help you get over the first hesitation.”
“Jill,” she repeated tentatively. Then she said slowly after a moment’s thought, “Jill Cassidy. I’ve heard Madam speak of her. She does not like her either.”
“No, Jill has gotten in her way, and she doesn’t like it.” His eyes narrowed on Dalai’s face. “But you probably knew that, didn’t you? That’s why I need your help, Dalai. You know everything that goes on with Zahra. You’ve been with her for years, and she obviously treats you like wallpaper when she’s not mistreating you. You see and hear everything. She’d never think that you’d betray her.”
“Because I would not. You do not know what she would do to me.”
His lips tightened. “I can imagine, judging by what I’ve seen tonight. But I’m asking you anyway. Terrible things have happened here in Maldara, and Zahra is part of a plan to start it all again. There were so many deaths. My friends and I are trying to keep it from happening, but we’re working in the dark. We need names and faces.” He paused. “Particularly the name and face of one man who Zahra might be protecting. I believe you probably have information that might shine a light on that darkness. Information that can save lives. I need it, Dalai.” He paused. “And in return, I’ll promise to take care of you, and protect you, and give you a life that will give you all the choices you could wish. Is it a deal? Will you trust me?”
“You want me?” She was gazing at him in horror. “She would kill me. She would let him hurt me.”
“If you helped us, we’d keep you safe. Just furnish us with what we need to stop Zahra…and anyone else with whom she’s dealing. We’d protect you and even send you far away if you wish.”
“I cannot answer questions.” Her voice was shaking. “She said she would treat me as Kiya would someone who betrayed her. She even showed me the place with no air.”
“What place?”
“Go away!”
“I’m going.” He moved quickly to the door. “I understand why you’re upset. But I had to do it. If you help us, it could save lives. I know you think of me as an enemy, I’ve never done anything for you. But getting rid of Zahra might even save your life someday.”
“You don’t understand anything.” Her eyes were glittering, blazing. “I don’t want to die like a Kiya slave. I don’t want to die at all.” Her voice was no longer shaking but very strong and hard with determination. “I won’t let you or her or anyone do that to me.”
That sudden change of demeanor from meekness to ferocity had startled him. “I’m trying to understand, Dalai.” Gideon looked over his shoulder as he reached the door. Ferocity? He must have just frightened her. Except for those huge, blazing eyes, she looked infinitely fragile, and he couldn’t leave her like that. “Don’t let anyone else hurt you the way you were hurt tonight. Do you have a phone?”
“Of course, Madam might need me. I must always be available to her.”
“Of course,” he repeated. He strode back across the room and threw his card on the bed. “I’ll leave. But if you change your mind or get in trouble, call me, and I’ll come and get you. And you won’t have to tell me anything if you’re afraid to do it.”
Her eyes widened. “Why would you do that?”
“I told you. Because I didn’t do it when I should have done it all those years ago. When I got bored with her, I just took off. I didn’t give a thought to you.”
Her eyes were still bewildered. “Of course, you didn’t. Why should you?”
“I can’t explain it if you don’t know. Anyway, deal or no deal, call me if you need help.”
“I cannot do that,” Dalai said jerkily. She was silent another moment. “I think you are trying to be kind to me. But if I’m not very good, she said he will punish me again, and I can’t risk it.” Her voice was shaking again. “I could not stand it.”
His eyes narrowed. “Zahra’s not always truthful. She might not keep her word. If she changes her mind, you might remember that I’m offering you your own choices.” He added with sudden urgency, “No strings, dammit. Just use the card and call me.”
“I’m going to tear it up and throw it away. She might find it,” she said unsteadily. “But I’ll remember your number. I have a very good memory. But don’t expect me to use it.”
It was a small victory, but he’d take it. “I never expect anything. I hope for everything.” But she was still so damn defenseless. He impulsively reached into his pocket and pulled out his pearl-handled switchblade knife and threw it on the bed beside the card. “Take this in case you need it. My father gave it to me when I came home from Oxford. I think he’d want you to have it.” He smiled. “Now you can’t tear that to pieces. It’s a keepsake.”
“No, but I can never use it.” She reached down and gingerly touched the pearl handle. “I’ll have to hide it away so that no one will ever see it.” She shook her head. “Why don’t you understand? I can’t resist, or it makes it a thousand times worse for me.”
“No, I don’t understand. Becaus
e if you’d let me help, we could beat this.” He turned and moved back toward the door. “Just trust me.” He carefully opened the door and cautiously looked up and down the hall. “Take care of yourself, Dalai,” he said. “Since you won’t let me do it. And no one else seems—”
“I’ve never thought of you as my enemy.”
He stiffened at the words and looked over his shoulder. “What?”
“I never blamed you for leaving me,” she burst out suddenly. “Why should I? Everybody leaves. And I never thought I was important enough for you to worry about.” She stared him in the eye. “And I liked it when you were with her. You smiled at me and joked. It was different than it was later. You were nice to me.”
He was silent. “You have a very limited experience in that area. And that makes me feel like even more of a bastard than I did before. But call me. Let me help you.”
She shook her head. “Go away.”
He had to go, he thought in frustration. But she was sitting there, fragile, helpless, and he wanted to scoop her up and take her somewhere safe. Another casualty in this damn war that had taken so much from so many. But a casualty that he thought he might have prevented.
“Call me!” He closed the door and moved swiftly down the hall.
* * *
Robaku
“It’s about time you got here.” Jill came down the path toward Gideon when he arrived at Robaku an hour later. “Would it have hurt to have phoned me as soon as you could? Did you find out anything when you were going through Zahra’s personal quarters?”
“I didn’t get that far,” Gideon said. “I was checking out something else, and I got involved.” He held up his hand. “Don’t ask. I came up with zeros all around.”
“And you’re upset.” Jill was reading his expression. “You didn’t by any chance run into Zahra while you were ‘involved.’”
“If I had, I would have probably broken her neck,” he said grimly. “I was ready to do it tonight.”
“Why?”
“A poisonous combination of personal guilt and a few revelations that were particularly infuriating.” He stopped, then said, “Okay, I was thinking about using her maid, Dalai, to help us. I thought she could be a fount of information. But I blew it. And besides, she’s been used enough.” He made a face. “At one point, I believe I even offered your services, Jill. Be prepared if I drop her on your lap if I change my mind. Why should I be any different? Do you know Zahra even used the Kiya card on Dalai to convince her that she was only a slave and didn’t have any right to argue about how she was treated?”
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