"I see," Herezah said, and he knew he had not won the gamble. Her interest in the girl was too strong, and he knew how she loved to trade words with him.

"So what are these *conditions'?" She laced the final word with grim humor and Lazar could hear the men muttering behind him, could imagine the wry smiles on their faces.

"The mother insisted that Ana be permitted freedom one day each month."

"Preposterous!" Tariq cried on behalf of the Valide, his beard jewels flashing as he shook his head in anger.

Herezah raised a hand. She looked toward Salmeo, a question in her eyes.

"Never previously permitted, Valide Zara," the eunuch replied, equally outraged.

She nodded and returned her dark gaze to Lazar, who refused to squirm beneath it.

"I understand," he said, beginning to bow, hoping to remove himself.

"Not so fast, Spur," she said softly. "The girl is young. What sort of freedom did her mother have in mind for her daughter? Perhaps we could send Salmeo to escort her. She would be veiled completely, of course, at all times."

Now he did squirm. "Er, well, Valide, I think she rather had in mind something less constricting."

"Oh?"

"Her mother impressed upon me that Ana is startlingly intelligent. She had hopes that we might be able to encourage learning language, culturea""

"Yes, of course," Herezah interrupted, "she will get all of that and more if she shows talent."

"I'm not explaining myself well, Valide. Perhaps it's because I feel extremely awkward about the full extent of the mother's conditions."

Herezah's patience was wearing thin now. "Why don't you lay out the full extent of the conditions, Spur, so I can make a firm decision."

Lazar paused. "She required me to be her escort," he said firmly.

"You!" Her voice was soft but her fury was unmistakable.

He nodded. "My apologies, Valide. Felluj entrusted this most precious child of hers to me personally. She charged me with Ana's safety and education. She understood me to be a soldier and decided that I was the most appropriateaumaguardian, for want of a better word."

The pausea"and what wasn't being said in the dread silence that followed his wordsa"was so palpable and heavy, Lazar felt quite sure it could be cut up, served on a platter, and forced down his gullet. He had played his hand.

"And if I did not choose Ana, Spur, what would you do with her? Make her your own?"

"I would sell her, Valide," he said, adding an undertone of insult to his voice. "I have no need for a child."

Herezah's eyes sparkled in between the slit of the veil. She was loving watching him bristle.

"But you want to be her guardian, is that right?"

He deliberately took a controlled but audible breath to suggest that he was getting tired of this line of questioning. "The promise under which she was sold demanded that I agree to this condition on your behalf. I knew I had no right to do this, Valide Zara, but I believed the girl was worth it. She is special, as I'm sure we all agree, and someone to match minds with Boaz, who is something of a scholar. Ana has the potential to be a fulfilling mate for him, rather than just a plaything. I'm sure you above most would understand such a thing." His words couched insult with compliment, deliberately. Certainly his final line was meant to remind her that Joreb had chosen her for Absolute Favorite not only because of her beauty and prowess as a lover but because she had a bright, quick mind to match his own.

"One day a month, you say?"

"That's right. She would be in my care for that full day."

"She would be fully veiled. No one may look upon her."

"Of course," he said indignantly.

"Let me think on this, Spur. Ana must pass her Test of Virtue. Present yourself at the palace for my answer in the late evening tomorrow. We shall take supper together and discuss it. Until then, you are dismissed."

He bristled silently, hating the position he found himself in, being ordered around by this woman. Supper! Allad save him, he thought, calling upon his homeland god. "Thank you, Valide Zara." He bowed, and as he did so a loud sneeze exploded from nearbya"from behind the walls.

Salmeo looked thunderstruck, and with his single signal, men began to swarm.

"YOU FOOL, KETT," Boaz rasped, terrified.

"IaI couldn't help it, Zar. I will not let them know you were here," the youngster beseeched, scared that he might bring down the wrath of the harem on the Zar. "Run!"

Pez had to admire the young servant's courage. "No use running. There have been guards at every point since Herezah left her chambers."

"What can we do?" Boaz asked, his head swiveling from side to side as he looked for an escape.

"There is no escape. We must wait." They could hear men's voices, footsteps.

"Wait?" Boaz whispered frantically.

Pez noted how calm Kett appeared, his only show of anxiety the way he shifted his weight from foot to foot. The dwarf spoke in a voice Boaz had never heard before. "Boaz, stand close to me." The Zar spluttered a noise of hesitation but Pez ignored him. "Do it now! We have no more time."

"What can this possibly do?" Boaz asked, putting his arms around the shoulders of the dwarf, who in turn leaned back against the Zar.

"Hush, Boaz, not a sound!" Pez commanded. "Forgive me, Kett," he added. "I cannot protect you, as I warned, but you and I will see each other again."

"Who are you?" Kett asked, his voice trembling but his expression stoic. The voices of the guards grew louder.

"Wait for me," Pez said. "Betray me not."

It was all he had time to say before the guards were upon them.

They descended on Kett; the boy made no protest. Boaz couldn't understand it; they were standing so close to him, it was obviousa"surelya"that he and Pez would be seen as well. Yet the guards' gazes appeared to slide past them. The Zar wanted to shout orders at them, demand to be heard, even though they seemed not to see him. His mouth was too dry to utter a sound. Boaz felt as though the glow from the main chamber through the latticework had lit them up like the trees they decorated for the Festival of Light, but the guards ignored the Zar and Pez and simply manhandled Kett away down the corridor. Zar and the dwarf were left alone, the voices and footsteps dissipating as the confusion in the Choosing Room increased.

"Pez," Boaz whispered, quite sure his bowels had turned to water, "what just happened?"

The dwarf sighed. Boaz was too intelligent to trick. "I told you I could protect us, not him."

Boaz broke away from his friend, spinning the small man around. "What do you mean by that? The guards were as close as I am to you and they didn't see us!"

"Hush, High One, or they'll be back."

"Tell me how it can be that they saw Kett but not us!"

"Another one of my tricks, Your Majesty" was all Pez would answer.

"No!" the boy growled low. "That was nothing like pulling kerchiefs from your nose or doves from your hat. That was much, much more."

"Boaz, I have asked you to trust me and I'm going to ask you to indulge me a little longer."

"What just occurred is impossible," the Zar moaned, but he was prevented from saying more by Kett's arrival in the Choosing Room. The boy was hanging limply between the grip of two guards. The Zar's attention was diverted but he gave Pez a warning glare, their conversation was not done with yet.

"IS THIS WHO was snooping?" Herezah demanded.

"We caught him in one of the corridors behind this chamber, Valide Zara," one of the Elim answered. As he bowed, the two soldiers dropped Kett between them. The slave kept his head lowered.

Herezah looked to Salmeo, who moved, his huge bulk surprisingly light of tread, to the cringing boy.

"Look at me," he commanded. "What were you doing in the corridor in a restricted area?"

"Grand Master Eunuch, I was lost," Kett said, his voice pitiful. "I was hurrying about my duties, I took the wrong entrancea"I'm so sorry, sira"I found myself on the other side of the room and knew I shouldn't be there and I became too frightened to move or make a sound."

"You weren't very successful, were you?" Tariq piped up. He looked around, waiting for someone to snicker at his sarcastic jest.

"Forgive me, Grand Master. I tried so hard to stifle my sneeze but that only made it worse."

Lazar grimaced. He sensed it would get ugly for this child. Salmeo was too cruel to let pass an insult to his authority, particularly such a public one. Glancing behind to Ana, Lazar realized that she was still in the chamber; her minders had not had the opportunity to leave since the interruption.

Ana returned his concerned look, her own expression fearful.

"What is your name, boy?"

"I am Kett, Grand Master Eunuch. I run errands for some of your men, although I hope to join the palace guard when I reach a suitable age. I am the son of Shelah Mohab." Kett struggled to keep his voice steady. He hoped that mentioning his mother's name would help his perilous situation.

"Shelah?" Herezah inquired. "My old servant?" She moved to stand beside Salmeo in front of the boy.

Kett bowed low again on his knees, his head touching the pale marble floor. "Valide," he whispered. "Yes, you were her mistress."

"I see." Herezah glanced at Salmeo.

Not to be outdone, the Vizier sidled up beside the Valide and the Grand Master Eunuch. "The penalty is death, surely?"

Salmeo turned to address Herezah, although everyone could hear him. "The Vizier speaks true. Death is the punishment to any unauthorized person who sees the girls of the harem. Guards!"

Lazar, horrified, stepped forward. This boy was clearly an innocent. His life must not be taken. "Valide, if I may be permitted?" Hoping to flatter Herezah, he bowed.

"What is it, Spur?" Herezah asked, pleased by the attention but feigning irritation.

"Thank you, Valide Zara. I don't believe this boy's life should be forfeit."

"How dare you!" Tariq began.

Herezah held up a hand, silencing the Vizier. "Why do you say that, Lazar?" She spoke from behind her veil; he could not see her face but there was laziness to the tone that he knew wella"it was seductive and dangerous.

"This boya"and let's not forget he is only a boya"is innocent of anything sinister, Valide. He has told you that he was lost and it would be generous of you to spare his life."

Lazar could see the Vizier fuming; Salmeo, though equally angry, was not nearly so obvious. The lids of his eyes had closed slightly, shading the windows into his thoughts.

"He must be punished," the eunuch said softly.

"And I agree," Herezah added. "Innocent of intent or otherwise, this boy was where he knew he must not be. It is forbidden."

"But, Valide, he did not realize until it was too late that he was somewhere he shouldn't be. He is a child. If he were a man, I would agree he should know better. If he must be punished, so be it, but not death. If I may be so bold, perhaps you might start your son's reign with a show of mercy, Valide. The palace will learn soon enough of your magnanimous gesture."

He was daring her into doing something generous, he was counting on her vanity to win through all the obstructions. He held his breath as she watched him intently.

It was at this moment that someone else joined the debate, someone so unexpected that it made Lazar draw in his breath sharply. The situation suddenly turned exquisitely dangerous.

"Valide, High One," Ana said, sliding in on her knees next to Kett, head bowed to the ground, her creamy back exposed through the transparent sheath.

Salmeo signaled angrily to two eunuchs. "Girl, this is not permitted. You may never address the Valide first! You may never speak in fact unless addressed."

Herezah smiled slyly. "No, wait. Let's hear what this girl has to say. Ana?"

"Spare him his life, High One," Ana said, using all the wrong terminology to address Herezah, not that it offended the woman who gloated above her to be addressed in the manner reserved only for the Zar. She was not looking at Ana, of course, but watching the Spur of Percheron, who stared at the prone figure beneath him, aghast.

"Why should I, Ana?" she continued.

"Because you can. You are all-powerful, Valide. If that is not reason enough, High One, I will exchange something precious for Kett's life."

At this Herezah gave a tinkling, affected laugh. "My dear, what can you possibly have that I would want?"

"My freedom, Valide Zara. I relinquish all of it. If I pass the Test of Virtue, I will give up the condition my mother placed upon the Spur. I will remain in the palace fora""

"No!" Lazar interrupted, unable to help himself. It had taken all of his wits to negotiate the releasea"however limiteda"of Ana into his care and now she was casting that freedom to the wind. He admired her courage in placing herself at the mercy of such people as Herezah and Salmeo. But his despair was selfish. He wanted to see Ana again, not see her so fully absorbed into the harem that he might never again hear the musical lilt in her voice or watch her beauty settle into full womanhood. "This cannot be permitted, Valide."

"Why not?" Herezah was relishing every moment of his discomfort. "Ana makes a gracious plea for Kett. Surely you admire it?"

There was little he could say to that. "I made a promise," he said helplessly.

"And you saw it through to its conclusion. I had already decided to grant Ana the condition you argued for so eloquently. It is Ana's freedom and so it is hers to give back to me if she so wishes."

He had not hated Herezah so much in all the time he'd known her as he did at this moment. Clever Herezah had seen through his ploy; she knew how to read men and she had read him like an open book. She could tell that he wanted Ana, and no matter how noble his intentions were, she intended to deny him. And why? he asked himself. Because he would not give himself willingly to her? Because he would give his time and affection to a girl, but not to her, Herezah had found a new way to punish him.

Young Ana could not understand all these undercurrents swirling around her. Innocently she asked, "Will you spare his life, then, Valide Zara?"

"Yes. I will take the precious exchange you offer, Ana," the Valide said, loading the word precious with sarcasm. "This boy will not be executed," she added, to the audible disappointment of the Vizier and the relief of the others who were audience to this surprising piece of theater. Salmeo remained unreadable.

"He will, of course, be punished," Herezah added, and Lazar heard viciousness in her voice.

She addressed the boy now, still bent in obeisance. "Kett."

"Yes, Valide Zara?"

"Ana here has bought your life with her own freedom. You will not be executed as protocol calls, but I fear you must now join the very place you have trespassed upon."