He was alone. Never in his life had he felt such contin- ued isolation, as he tread the loud floors and gazed down empty halls. He had not realized how terribly dependent he had become upon the bright company of the seven cheerful maidens, or how deeply he would feel their absence. Even the living orchards were somber, and paradise without companionship was torture.

He rode forth bravely by himself and slaughtered game and prepared the meat and ate it, alone. He visited each of the princesses' apartments in turn, fancying he could some- how commune with the owners; but their rich trappings and feminine adornments only served to remind him that the girls who used these things were gone.

He tried to divert himself by exploring the less familiar chambers of the palace, for there were many reaches and hallways he had never penetrated. He found behind one door an open court with a garden like that of the angels; the trees were of freshest green with shining yellow fruits, and pretty little birds were singing pleasantly. He walked among them and smelled the delicate breath of flowers, and almost believed he could hear the praises of Allah in the avian melodies.

He opened another door and faced what resembled a s.p.a.cious plain set with tall date palms and watered by a running stream whose banks were rich with flowery shrub- bery. It reminded him of his home city, Ba.s.sorah, the city of dates, but did not ease his isolation.

In other rooms were bulky colored marble artifacts and decorations of precious stones and sandalwood and other wonders beyond remembering. But physical wealth alone could never take the place of human fellowship. How he longed for his sisters' return!

Only one thing took his attention from his loneliness: the thought of the forbidden door. If there were wonders such as he had seen in the open portions of the palace, what might not lie behind that secret portal?

"My sister would not have asked me to stay away unless there were some tremendous secret!" he told him- self. "But what could she have to hide from me?"

He remembered her dire warning against this door, and resolved to restrain his curiosity and inquire when the princesses returned. But then it occurred to him that they, having concealed it from him this long, might refuse to en- lighten him later. If he really wanted to know the secret, he had no choice but to discover it now, while there was no one to stop him.

"By Allah!" he said, then paused because he knew he was taking the name in vain. One should not invoke Allah to witness an improper deed. "I will open that door and learn what it conceals, though death is there!"

He took the key and unlocked the forbidden door. He stepped back. Suppose there were some ravenous beast inside, waiting with bared fangs? He should have come armed!

He locked it again, unopened, and went to don mail and sword. He returned, turned the key again, pushed the door open with his foot while raising his sword defensively, and stood ready for the rush of whatever might come.

In that, at least, he was disappointed. No creature emerged, no sound, and the gloom of the room was abso- lutely still. Why hadn't he thought to bring a lamp or torch?

He ran to fetch one, cursing himself for his stupidity. He lit a torch and came back-to discover he'd forgotten to close the door! The thing might have escaped!

Cautiously he poked his head in, ready to leap back instantly. There was nothing, as the light flickered to the farthest corners. The chamber was empty.

He shut the door, locked it, and tried to reason out the meaning of this mystery. Why had Rose made such an issue over an empty room? Had this been set up as a joke, and were the sisters laughing even now to imagine his confusion? Rose was certainly capable of such a thing- but somehow he could not believe that she would have tricked him this way when she was not on hand to watch the result. She liked to appreciate her little jests person- ally. No-she had been serious, and must have had a better reason to put him to this torture of uncertainty.

Or had the room been occupied? He had left it open; if a demon lurked within, it would hardly have sat idle when escape was offered. Did it creep stealthily along the pa.s.sage- ways at this moment, waiting for him to pa.s.s? Was it cunning, knowing that he must sleep sometime? Was this the disaster Rose had feared, already loosed upon the palace?

Hasan looked nervously behind him. Was that a noise? Had he seen something, something that vanished just be- fore he turned?

Already he heartily regretted disobeying his sister's in- struction. But if he was to live, he had to undo the damage he had done. First he had to learn what kind of thing it was, so he could devise some means to kill it. a.s.suming it was a live creature.

Perhaps it had left a footprint.

He unlocked the door a third time, lifted his sword, and looked in with frightened boldness. Once again the torch brightened the corners. This time he saw that thick dust lay everywhere. There were no footprints. It was obvious that no one had occupied this room or even visited it for many months.

Either there had been no inhabitant, or- A fragment came back to him suddenly. He had men- tioned a remarkable bird, thinking of the roc, and they had reacted strangely. It had not been the roc that worried them. Had it been a bird in this chamber ... or some other flying thing?

Yet a bird would have had to perch sometime, and it would leave droppings. . . .

He moved into the room, glancing apprehensively into the upper corners. There were no ledges or perches. Fea- tureless walls met a featureless ceiling. His own tracks in the deep dust were the only sign of molestation.

His tracks! They would betray him! He would have to sweep out the entire chamber to erase them, and hope that no one would check until as even a layer had formed again. Meanwhile, he should search every foot of the room for whatever clues there might be. He had only guessed it might be an animal; probably it was something else en- tirely. Some magic object, perhaps. Some dangerous magic relic.

He glanced into an alcove. "Idiot!" he cursed himself. He had missed the obvious again. There was a stair as- cending from the alcove, winding up in a vaulted spiral into the dark. The secret was not in the room itself; it lay above!

He was fully committed now. He dared not stop until he knew the exact nature of the danger that confronted him. He mounted the stair, the torch flickering with the shivering of his hand. His fear increased as the s.p.a.ce constricted and the minutes pa.s.sed without any break in the still tension. What if a sinuous dragon lay above, waiting to roast him in a downward spiraling column of fire? He could never retreat in time.

The stair coiled around like the stomach of a python. He could not see the base below or the termination above. Where was it leading?

Light! After two complete loops, the end was coming in sight. He climbed into an open dome that overlooked the roof of the palace.

He hardly dared feel disappointment. He still had no idea why he had been warned away from this. He looked about.

The roof was a terrace, and as he gazed upon it he was amazed to see the entire palace grounds laid out before him. To one side the wall dropped off to expose the rising towers and minarets, and the open pits of the courtyards with the cultivated trees spreading their gentle foliage up. To the other side- A new world greeted him. The main roof of the palace was a garden more magnificent than any he had seen below, set with trees and flowers and softly flowing stream- lets and even a shining lake, the wavelets shimmering across its surface in the breeze. Beside the lake was a pavilion constructed of alternate courses of bricks; two of gold to each one of silver, studded with jacinth and emerald. Four alabaster columns rose to support the ruby dome, and within it a mosaic marble platform extended into an interior pool, a soft veil of green silk above the crystal waters.

"This must be the thing my sisters forbade me!" Hasan said, marveling at the beauty of the scene. But still he wondered why they should not have wished to share the ultimate glory of the palace with him. Surely the sight of such beauty would not in itself bring destruction?

He approached the pavilion and discovered that it was even richer than he had supposed. The center, around the sparkling pool, was a sitting room whose benches were thrones of polished stone latticed with red gold and inlaid with enormous pearls and symmetrically disposed gems. Above the pool was a trellis set with jewels the size of pigeons' eggs and on it was a climbing vine bearing grapes like rubies. Brilliant birds fluttered upon it, of a type Hasan had never seen on Earth, and their warbling seemed to celebrate the glories of Allah with throats of miraculous sweetness.

"What king could own a place like this?" Hasan ex- claimed. "Or is this Many-Columned Iram, the property of no mortal man?" And he sat down within the pavilion and glanced around him in continued amazement, hardly aware of the pa.s.sage of time during his contemplation. Had he once dreamed of mundane gold?

He was roused from his reverie by motion in the distant sky. Quickly he rose and ran to the stair ... in case. But it was only a flight of birds approaching from the heart of the desert plain, and he could tell by the steadiness of their pa.s.sage that they intended to roost on the palace roof and refresh themselves there. They were beautiful creatures with spreading white wings, and he did not wish to frighten them away. He ducked down and hid inside the little dome sheltering the stair, concealing himself as well as he could while keeping an eye on the formation.

They came, beating the foliage with the wind from their spectacular wings. These were enormous birds. They were smaller than the rocs, but larger than the eagles or buz- zards. They lighted on a mighty tree by the water, then dropped to the ground and paraded toward the pavilion.

There were ten of them, and their leader was a hen of remarkable beauty, sleek and haughty and a veritable queen among birds, strutting and pecking at the lesser ones who did service to her. Hasan was not surprised to see that birds had their royal personages, just as men did; this was the natural state of the kingdoms of Allah.

They filed into the pavilion and perched upon the great stone couches there. Hasan craned to see what went on inside, but the pillars interfered with his view at crucial moments. They were doing something, stretching out their wings and twisting their torsos with the most unbirdlike gyrations and clawing at their downy b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Had they come here to slay themselves with exercise?

Lo! The shapes of the birds collapsed, and suddenly Hasan pawed at his own eyes to relieve them of an impos- sible vision. For there were no longer birds in the pavilion, but people! How had this happened?

Too stunned to move, Hasan watched as the ten daugh- ters of Adam stood up, maidens whose beauty shamed the brilliance of the full moon. They wore the filmiest of gowns; but in moments they drew off even these and threw them aside and plunged naked into the pool.

Hasan stared as they bathed, and not merely from sur- prise. These were high-bosomed virgins as lovely as any he had seen. The vigor with which they washed and sported, shrieking and splashing each other, only served to enhance their youthful pulchritude. Most striking of all was the princess-for such she had to be-who sashed and dunked the others, but upon whom n.o.body laid hands in turn.

As he watched, he remembered with a hot rush what had been missing from his happy life with the seven sisters. They were his sisters, which was the trouble. There was that a man could not do with his sister. They were beautiful-but there were beauties a man could not view in his sister. He loved them all-but there was love that could not be shared among sisters.

Hasan stood behind a post, gazing upon the maidens while they thought themselves un.o.bserved. The sight of their dancing b.r.e.a.s.t.s and wetly quivering thighs excited his mind to lecherous promptings. His loin grew hot. He sighed to be among them in that pool, touching what he could only glimpse at the moment and caressing what he could only dream about. He felt a flame that could not be quenched and a desire whose signs might not be hidden.

The chief damsel tired of the sport. Bidding her com- panions to remain, she stepped out of the pavilion and stood, unknowingly, directly before Hasan's blind. She stretched her sleek limbs and combed out her long hair, dazzling him with the splendor of her person.

Her body was exquisite in the afternoon sunlight, gleam- ing with dripping water and seeming to shine with its own sublimity. The l.u.s.ter of her face outshone the resplendent moon; her damp hair curled around a bosom whose out- lines were no less than the masterwork of Allah. Her neck was a bar of silver smoother than that of a gazelle; her teeth gleamed, perfect hailstones in the sun. Her belly was softly rounded and delightfully dimpled. Her b.u.t.tocks pro- jected generously, resilient as cushions filled with ostrich-down, and strove against each other when she walked, shaping and reshaping the darker shadows of their separation. Her thighs were heavy and firm, expanding columns embracing that same shadow.

She sat upon the low wall of the pavilion and lifted her lithe legs so that she could brush the sand from dainty feet, and there was revealed to Hasan, as from behind a cloud, what lay between her thighs.

It was midafternoon when Hasan was startled from his trance by the clear voice of the royal maiden. She spoke in a lovely language he could not comprehend, but his imagi- nation filled in the words. They were obvious in the context: "O daughters of kings, the hour is late and our home is far away. Come-we must depart."

The girls arose and went to the benches in the pavilion. They were dressed now, but they took up the feathered suits and behold: they were birds again! They filed out, spread their wings, and ascended into the sky.

Hasan stood bemused, unable to credit his senses. Had the damsels really transformed themselves to birds before his eyes, or had he suffered another delusion like the one Bahram had shown him in the fire? Could he really have looked upon the naked glories of an incredible woman, even to that which no unmarried man was privileged to see?

Only when the last speck vanished beyond the clouds did he think to ask himself the basic question: could he really have fallen most pa.s.sionately in love with an alien princess who could transform herself into a bird?

Hasan hardly remembered dragging himself down the stair and back to his own chamber. He lay without appet.i.te or thirst, drowned in a solitude suddenly magnified ten- fold. For it was true: he was smitten by the beauty of the bird maiden, and he was unable to rest in her absence. All night he tossed about, finding no comfort, and he wept and moaned with frustration until morning.

When the sun rose he rushed out of his room, entered the forbidden chamber with no thought of danger, and mounted the spiral stair to the roof. All day he waited, growing faint from the heat of the terrace and from lack of nourishment, but the bird-maidens never came. When his hope at last expired, he fell to the ground in a fainting fit. There was no one to comfort him.

The cool of the evening roused him. He crawled down the steps on hands and feet and dragged himself back to his room. There he pa.s.sed out again, and lay on the floor all night, dreaming of beauty and sorcery.

On the following day he made his way to the terrace once more, but the pavilion was deserted. His love was gone. After that he stopped looking. His life became a delirium of melancholy, lamentation and unrequited love.

For the first time, he was sorry he had not died on the Mountain of Clouds. He had approached the forbidden door with a raised sword to guard his body-but it was his heart he should have protected.

When the seven sisters returned from their visit to their homeland, Hasan roused himself and hid, ashamed to show himself to them and wishing only to die. For they had warned him, and he had stubbornly violated their trust, and now he had to bear the penalty of his deceit. He no longer deserved their company.

Rose didn't wait to doff her traveling-gear, but dashed immediately to Hasan's room. She found it sadly disar- ranged, and her brother nowhere in sight. She searched everywhere in growing anxiety-and finally found him slumped in a closet, thin and feeble. His body was so shrunken and his bones so wasted by starvation and fatigue that she hardly recognized him.

"O Hasan!" she cried. "What has happened?" But his sunken eyes only flickered in the pale face. He did not answer.

She gripped his emaciated shoulders and dragged him bodily to the bed. "O my brother-I would give my life to save yours! Tell me what illness has befallen you."

Hasan felt her sympathetic embrace and wept. What could he say to his well-meaning sister? His mouth opened.

When parted from the thing he loves A man has naught but woe to bear.

"But Hasan-"

Inside is sickness, outside doves; His first mere fancy; last, despair: "What are you saying, Hasan? I don't understand!" Her confusion was natural; he himself did not compre- hend what was happening. Still he found himself unable to state his case.

Rose fluttered her hands, thoroughly shaken. "You're dying, O beloved. How have you fallen into this terrible plight? We told you we would come back-"

The birds took flight and went away And gave me Love's death blow.

"The birds took-"

I'll keep my secret while I may- Ah, but Love's needs must show!

Rose stared at him, appalled. "Hasan-you opened the door!"

It was out. Now would come the punishment he de- served, the censure he had brought on himself.

Rose cradled his head against her bosom, crying without shame. "O Hasan, Hasan-we meant to spare you this. I should have thrown away that key!"

But in a short time her natural exuberance rea.s.serted itself. "By Allah, O my brother, I will not abandon you now, though my life be forfeit! Tell me everything, and I swear by the bond that binds us together I will help you somehow."

Now everything that was within him poured out, and he told her of the terrible pa.s.sion he had conceived for the beauteous bird-maiden, and how he had been able neither to eat nor to sleep since seeing her. "My heart is gone," he finished. "She has flown with it, and I have no wish to live any more."

Rose wept for his misery, not condemning him at all, then brightened again. "O my brother, be of good cheer and keep your eyes cool and clear. You'll see her again, and if it is the will of Allah Almighty you might even win her. I'll help-"

"But what can you do? She's gone."

"I don't know, Hasan; but whatever it is, I'll do it. Now you've got to eat something. Promise me you'll eat if I sneak some fruit to you. I can't get anything else while my father's troops are downstairs."

Hasan promised, encouraged by her certainty, and shortly she was back with an armful of breadfruit and coconut. "But remember, Hasan-don't breathe a word of this to my sisters. I'm afraid of what they might do if they found out. If they ask you about the door, you must tell them you never went near it."

"But how shall I explain my illness?"

"I'll think of something. My sisters won't see you until the escort departs. You must stay here and try to get well. We can't do anything if you don't get strong again, Hasan."

It was the turning point. Hasan was weak and uncom- fortable, but he did begin to eat. When the King's troops left, the other sisters came to see him as a group.

"You have not been exercising, brother," Eldest said, and Fourth nodded agreement. The others looked con- cerned, for this careful understatement could hardly justify his obvious emaciation.

"I told you, sisters," Rose said. "Our severance from our dear brother left him desolate, for the days we have been absent were longer than a thousand years to him, a stranger in the palace and solitary, with none to keep him company or cheer his lonely heart. He is just a youth, and maybe he remembered his poor mother, who is very old and ugly, and thought of how she weeps for him all day and all night, mourning his absence. We used to bring him solace with our society and keep his mind off such things. But when we deserted him-"

"We understand, sister," Eldest interrupted gently.

They gathered around him, comforting him and offering dainty tidbits for him to eat. They bemoaned his yellow color and shrunken flesh and promised never to desert him again. They told him of the wonders and rarities they had seen on their journey and of the splendor of the wedding in Sind. And if they had reservations about Rose's story, they did not say so in words.

A month pa.s.sed, but though Hasan's health improved, his melancholy hardly abated. When he closed his eyes he saw the face of the bird-maiden, her mouth as magical as Solomon's seal and her hair blacker than the night of estrangement after his own love-despair. Her brow was as bright as the crescent moon on the eve of a feast after long fasting, and her eyes were those of an innocent gazelle. Her nose was straight as a cane, her cheeks like a bright anemone, lips like coral and teeth like strung pearls. She was perfection.

Her lips are sweet as honey, in their virginity; Keener than a scimitar, the glance she cast at me!

His body had recovered, yes, but his spirit remained waxen. All of his longing and the extemporary couplets sp.a.w.ned by it could not make real the intangible vision. The bird-maiden had cast no glance at him, and had no inkling of his existence. If she had seen him, she would have flown that much sooner.

At the end of that month, Eldest organized a hunting and birding party of several days' duration. Rose declined to accompany them. "By Allah, O my sisters, I cannot join you while my brother is in such plight, too ill to take proper care of himself. I must stay and comfort him until he is well again."

Eldest replied with a half-smile. "Allah will reward you for your efforts on behalf of our brother."

The six princesses rode forth without delay, carrying with them supplies for well over a fortnight. "Perhaps he will be better when we return," Eldest said wisely as they parted. Rose missed the significance.

Rose watched them until they were well out of sight and the noise of their animals faded. Then she went eagerly to Hasan. "Come, brother," she said. "Show me the place where you saw the maidens."

Hasan, too, had observed the departure of the hunting party. "Yes, sister," he agreed. He jumped to his feet and promptly collapsed. His enthusiasm was greater than his strength, despite the improvement of his color.

Rose put her arms around him where he sprawled, letting his head rest between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s while she hauled him upright. An observer might have suspected that she took more time than was necessary. "Just hold on to me, Hasan. I'll get you there somehow."

He found that he could walk well enough, with her support, and his strength gained steadily, now that they were taking positive action. They stumbled through the forbidden room-his old footprints still plainly visible, for he had forgotten to dust-and up the spiral stair to the terrace. "That's it," he said, pointing to the splendid pavilion.

"Now show me just where they came from, and where they went, and describe everything you saw them do."

Hasan obliged, sparing no detail. He paid particular attention to the chief bird-maiden and the marvels made manifest by her nudity.

Rose paled, obviously upset. "O my sister," Hasan inquired, "what is the matter? Why are you so wan and troubled?"

"I am not jealous," she snapped. "Let's get out of here."

Hasan had to make his own way down the steps. Rose led the way briskly to the library. "I didn't have a chance to look while my sisters were here," she explained, "but there must be some information on this. All I know is that those bird-maidens come every month or so to spend a day sporting in the pool, and we leave them strictly alone because there is powerful magic about them. We knew you'd get into trouble if you saw them: That's why we tried to keep you away. Something awful would happen if they caught a man spying on them."

"I must have her," Hasan said.

Rose paced around the library. "We have books on everything. If only I knew where to look."

"What's that scroll on the table?"