"The baby," Lazar stammered, finally piecing together his shattered thoughts.

"Is yours!" Arafanz exclaimed. "We are about to have a Galinsean prince on the Percherese throne." And the wind began to howl around them as if echoing the rebel's glee. He looked at Ana. "That is the one lie I uttered between us, Ana. I care not that the blood is not of the Zar's line. I care only that the child follows Lyana."

Ana groaned and looked down. They all followed her gaze and saw that her waters had broken, running in a torrent down her legs, puddling in the sand momentarily before being sucked down by the parched earth. "My baby," she murmured. "He comes."

"Take them to the cells," Arafanz ordered, "and await my instructions. Come, Ana," he urged. She all but collapsed into his arms as he picked her up. He turned back to Lazar, who stared at the dissipating pool of life-giving liquid that had kept his son safe thus far. "If it's any consolation, Lazar, blame the dwarf. He has worked against you and your precious Zar and even Ana all along."

27.

Iridor had not been able to hear most of the confrontation, but from the way Lazar hung his head and Ana's body sagged into Arafanz's, he had to assume their situation was hopeless. He had not understood the man unwrapping his headdress or the subsequent shock written across Lazar's face but he could only see the back of the man's head, so he could not even guess what Lazar was looking at. Boaz kneeling was also a mystery. Iridor felt helpless, trapped in the body of a bird, unable to communicate without magic he still dared not risk using.

Why won't you draw on your powers? Ganya demanded when he returned to tell her all that he'd seen. He had to trust her; she was his only protection now.

I don't trust that we are safe.

This is connected with the Grand Vizier; I can feel his presence in your mind and yet I have assured you of his death. I saw his body, bloodied and lifeless and left to rot in the desert beneath the sun, fed upon by the hawks and buzzards and vultures.

The vultures. Of course! That's how he found us.

What?

Arafanz's lookouts would have seen the vultures circling. They would have followed the small caravan. That is how he was able to surprise you.

Birds have no loyalty.

What's that supposed to mean?

She sneered but said nothing.

Listen to me, Ganya. I am in Lyana's cause. That's all that matters.

So the rest of us can die and you don't care?

I do care. Those are my friends who are in trouble. Your father was my friend, too. I am trying to find out what's best for all of us.

You have magic inside you. Use it. Why does the Grand Vizier frighten you? He is dead and still you fear him, she urged through the bars of her cell.

I do not think he's dead, Iridor replied with similar forcefulness.

She laughed. I just told you- You saw a corpse. It is meaningless.

She stared at the owl. Meaningless?

It is merely a shell. No use to him anymore.

Him?

The demon Maliz.

She shrank back in horror at the mention of this name. Iridor felt their magical shield waver.

Be careful, Ganya-now you know why I need your ring of protection.

It strengthened again.

You know this for certain? she asked, eyes wide with alarm.

That he has risen, yes. That he had possessed the Grand Vizier, yes.

And now?

Iridor couldn't say it. It was hard enough to think it.

She said it for him. You think he has taken over Fayid?

Fayid doesn't exist, Ganya. Fayid is a cover for who the young man really is.

And who is he? He could see he was giving her too much disturbing information at once but there was nothing he could do about it. She needed to know everything.

The youngster is Zar Boaz.

She said nothing for several interminable seconds as the day lightened around Iridor and the strange wind that had been gathering since dawn began to test its powers. He would need to find shelter very soon.

I'm sure you can piece together the puzzle, he said distractedly. His thoughts were already racing to what Arafanz now had in mind.

You believe that the Zar of Percheron-the real one-is dead but that his body is inhabited by the demon Maliz.

The owl swung its neck around in the disconcerting way owls can. Precisely. But I cannot be sure, not until I look into Boaz's eyes or he gives me a clue. Until then I have to be suspicious. The demon Maliz cannot die through mortal means!

I'm sorry, was all she could whisper, which served only to make Iridor feel even more distraught. Ganya, trapped in a desert prison, having just witnessed her father's murder, was trying to comfort him.

Don't be, he murmured back, forcing back his grief. Only Lyana's success mattered now. If Boaz is dead, then he is gone. As with your father, we have no time to mourn those lost. We must concentrate on the living. I must leave and get to safety. This wind is going to blow me away otherwise.

This is no wind, she warned.

Pardon?

This is the Samazen. It will kill you. Get to safety. I will try and warn Lazar if I can.

Good luck, he said, and broke the mindlink, turning himself invisible for the short while he needed to fly into open space before he disappeared into the haze of swirling sand.

Arafanz laid a weeping Ana onto his bed. "I'm sorry you had to find out like that."

"Are you?" she hurled at him. "It didn't sound like it when you baited Lazar, with my husband kneeling in the sand before me as you did it."

"It's where he belongs, Ana. Kneeling at your feet."

"He is going to kil-"

"The young Zar is going to do nothing except die at my command."

"Don't, Arafanz, I beg you." She grabbed for his hand. "I am pleading with you to spare Boaz's life. He is a good Zar. I have never heard him speak ill of Lyana. He was born into Zarab's world. He didn't choose it."

"He knows no better-is that what you're saying?"

"Teach him! Tell him about Lyana and all that you believe in. Boaz is a scholar at heart. He loves knowledge, he loves to learn new things. He can be convinced if you're persuasive enough."

"To change faith?"

"Yes," she said, her eyes searching his face.

"To change a whole nation's faith?"

Her eager expression faltered. "He can try. At least with him it's got to be easier than how you plan to do it."

Arafanz shook his head. "He is too much part of the old traditions, Ana. He will cling to them."

"No, no-that's just it. Boaz likes change. He has been trying to introduce new ways into the harem and the palace since he was crowned."

"It's not fast enough. I'm talking about a change that will shake the world of most Percherese. He can't do that."

"What makes you think my baby can?"

"Your baby will herald a new era. And the Galinsean war only aids my plans. War always brings change-a sweep of the broom, you could say. King Falza's timing couldn't be better."

"What do you plan to do?" she wept.

"I await your son. Give him to the world soon, Ana."

"He'll come when he's ready and not for me and not for you. I have no say in it."

"Well, until I hear the cry of a prince, I shall have to find some way to pass the time whilst the Samazen keeps us imprisoned in our own fortress."

His intention was obvious. "What are you going to do to Lazar?" she demanded.

"Whatever I choose. He is my prisoner. He is also my enemy. I normally kill my enemies."

"If you kill him, then I become your enemy!" she hurled at him.

"Do you remember our time together at Lyana's cave, when her Crystal Pillars sang for you? That was a good day. We became friends that day. We have hardly been out of each other's sight since. I don't think you hate me."

"But I am your enemy, Arafanz. If you hurt him, I will hate you in a way I know I haven't been capable of yet. And so help me, if I can call down the wrath of Lyana, I will beg her to use it against you and to tear you limb from limb."

He faltered at the ferocity of her tone. "And I love you in a way I know I haven't been capable of before, no matter what you choose to do. But I cannot save your precious Lazar. I told him not to come back. I allowed him to escape the last time he trespassed. He can live on through his son. He knew it would mean death for one of us if he returned."

"Then I hope it is you," she said, and turned her back on him before groaning as the first genuine pain of labor began to take its relentless toll on her body.

Lazar and Boaz sat bound and chained to the wall on opposite sides of their windowless cell. A single tallow candle sputtered on the floor and dimly illuminated the gloom of their prison. Lazar had shouted for Ganya but either she couldn't hear him or was located nowhere near them.

Boaz had spoken not a word. His head hung between his legs in the silence.

It was hard to find any words of comfort but Lazar tried at least for some sort of conversation. If he could keep Boaz talking, no matter how angry the Zar was, it meant he wasn't giving in as he appeared to be; talk, rage even, meant he could get Boaz to fight back, perhaps work with Lazar to save themselves...or at least, the Zar.

Lazar turned to face his Zar. "If you knew, why didn't you just have me killed?"

Boaz took his time formulating a reply. "Because I'm a pragmatist, Lazar. The announcement of an heir at the time it came was helpful for the Crown. And I needed to be sure. No one had confirmed Ana's pregnancy, so I didn't want to make accusations without having the correct information. Now I do."

"Pez had-"

"Pez? Do you believe that story from the desert, that he could survive that time alone, lost, and still somehow find his way back to us? I didn't know what to think about Pez's return. I was incredibly happy to see him alive, safe, but I didn't know whether to trust him."

"You mean after all these years you don't?"

Boaz looked up. His face showed none of its usual serenity. His peace and his good looks had transformed themselves into a mask of hatred and bitterness, fueled by anger. "Do you still trust Pez? Now that you know how he hoodwinked you?"

"There had to be reason for it. We have to-"

"We? There is no we anymore, Lazar. There is the treacherous Spur and his trusting Zar. We are enemies, you and I. From now on, don't even mention us in the same breath. We no longer exist."

"Boaz-"

"I am Majesty to you, Spur. If you're going to address me, use my title." He stood, shocking Lazar by beginning to yell and shout for the guards. Predictably the door was opened and three men came in, checked their prisoners were still secured. "Get me Arafanz!" Boaz began to demand. His demands escalated to screams, repeating the rebel's name over and over to make himself understood. Language barrier or not, they understood. Several minutes later, after one of the captors had disappeared and Boaz had kept up his howling demand, the rebel himself appeared.

"Zar Boaz?"

Boaz slumped against the wall; his wailing stopped as Arafanz continued: "I'm attending to your wife at present, who seems to be in labor. Perhaps it was the shock of seeing her lover again, or maybe it was seeing you both, or, most likely, having her secret shared. It matters not, for the next Zar of Percheron is soon to be born-shall we call him Lucien, out of respect for his soon-to-be-dead father?" He threw a sly glance toward Lazar. "What seems to be the problem, Your Highness?" he asked, his last two words, though polite, loaded with irony.

"Get me away from him. I don't wish to be near him, to lay eyes on him. Or give me a blade and I'll kill him for you."

Lazar stood, knowing that he was in no position to defend himself.

"How interesting, Majesty. Now, that might be amusing to witness. But I have a better idea. Take him from here," he ordered one of the men, who did as asked, pulling Boaz from the chamber.

Lazar saw the look of hate thrown at him by the Zar. His sorrow deepened at knowing he had lost Boaz through his own weakness for Ana.

"We shall be back soon, Spur. I would take the opportunity during this quiet period to say your final prayers. Your time has arrived," Arafanz suggested.

Lazar ignored the warning. "What about Ana?"

"She is laboring. First child? Who knows how long-you may be dead before you see your son, Lazar. Now, wouldn't that be cruel?" He turned to leave, looked back. "Don't waste the precious little time you have left. Make peace with yourself and your god. I make you this promise. I will put your son on the throne of Percheron-he will be safe and protected for all his life. He will never know that his father was not Zar Boaz, nor will any of his people."

"Do you expect me to thank you?"