But she can't fight Amar's men. One holds her as Shiekh Amar eyes her up and down. He turns to you. "You're right. She's not bad. We have a deal."

Tamina glares at you as you step forward and take the Dagger back from her. You tuck it into your belt. Your head still hurts where she clobbered you.

"Clever princess," you sneer.

67.

Still in your costume, you arrive in Avrat, the funeral city of Persia. Just as you had hoped, no one paid any attention to two women traveling together. The disguise worked. But if you have to listen to one more joke at your expense from Tamina, you may use the Dagger to cut out her tongue.

"Do you know where your uncle will be?" Tamina asks. "This is a Persian city, a Persian ceremony. I don't know your ways."

"I've never been here before," you tell her. "But most people seem to be heading in that direction."

You and Tamina blend into the group as you follow the winding stone pathways into the heart of the city. They all seem to be funneling into a compound. "This is where they will prepare the body," you whisper to Tamina. "And where the foreign dignitaries will be entertained." You scan the crowd around you. That's when you realize you are not walking with a group of visiting officials. This is a group of workers.

As you and Tamina step across the threshold, a man stops you. "The women attendants enter the next doorway," he explains.

You gape at hima"then you remember your disguise. Clearly it's working!

64.

You do not act too hastily. You need to gather intelligence first. After all, if Nizam isn't here, you'll need to find out where he's gone.

You find your way to one of the poorer sections of the city. You know these streets well. You grew up here until King Sharaman brought you into his family. You still spend time herea"carousing with friends, taking part in games and sports.

Tonight you seek Bis's family. Your manservant died on your behalf, and you want to tell his family how brave he was and how proud you were that he was your friend. And you know you can trust them.

You reach the rundown shack and listen at the door. Then you knock softly. It's late, and luckily the streets are deserted. You don't think anyone saw you.

The door creaks open an inch and you see Bis's sister's face. "Yes?" she says. Then her eyes grow wide as she recognizes you.

You shove the door open, grab her, and put your hand over her mouth. You can't risk that she'll give you away. You have no idea where the night sentries might be. You push yourself inside and shut the door behind you.

"I'm sorry," you say, releasing her. "But no one can know I'm here."

"Youa"you're a murder!" she chokes out.

125.

"Destiny or not," you tell the princess, "if you want to stay close to your precious dagger, you're going to have to help me get into Avrat."

You can see her disappointment and disapproval, but you don't care. You must speak with Nizam and tell him what you know.

Not much later, you and Tamina stand in the crowd lining the streets. You all drop to your knees, and a mournful howl rises. The ornate wagon carrying your father's body is pa.s.sing. You see Nizam riding at the head of the escort. But you don't see Tus anywhere.

Tus isn't coming, you realize. He's still in Alamut. You don't understanda"at first. You grip Tamina's arms, making her look at you squarely in the face. "The sand that fuels the Dagger," you say, "there's more of it hidden somewhere in Alamut, isn't there?"

Tamina's breath catches but then she gives you a tiny nod. You release her.

"That's why Tus stays there. That's what he has our army searching for." Your head whips around to watch the procession pa.s.s, Nizam still leading.

You have to get a message to your uncle. You must meet with him and tell him everything. Prove that it was Tus, and not you, who wanted your father dead.

55.

"If they're making secret weapons, they'd probably want the security of being on a lower level," you reason. "So let's take this one."

You lead the way down the dark, dank tunnel. Evidence of others who came before you litters the ground. A few bottles, some stray fragments of cloth. Bones.

"Are those . . . ?"

Yusef crouches, bringing his torch closer to the ground. He stands back up. "Just someone's meal. Those are the bones of a pheasant."

You continue on, your heart pounding. Here the tunnel widens, and you see that there are chambers built into the rock face. You notice ancient writings on the walls. "This must have been from an earlier time," you observe.

"There has always been a city here," Yusef confirms, "built upon those that came before."

"But someone ate that pheasant not so long ago," you point out. "So there have been people down here a lot more recently."

Suddenly you signal for Yusef to stop.

There are voices up ahead, around the corner.

112.

Can it be true? Can King Sharaman, the man you called father, who called you son, be so angry because you are the one who survived? His adopted son and not those of his blood?

"Perhaps we can make things right," Nizam says. "If we can prove that there are weapons here, your father might see that a siege was the only choice."

"How can we do that?" you ask.

"Convince your father that we must keep digging,"

"You heard him!" you protest. "I don't think I will have much sway with him."

"You underestimate your powers of persuasion," Nizam says. His eyes narrow as he thinks. "There is another way to go. The princess Tamina has vanished. My spies tell me she is hiding somewhere in the city. Find her, and we can get her to reveal the location of the forges."

"Why would she stay?" you ask. "Wouldn't she escape from the city?"

Nizam's eyes flick away. "A woman's motives are hard to fathom."

He knows more than he's saying, but you don't press him. You're far too upset about your father and brothers to worry about some princess's fancies.

"So what will you do?" he asks, looking at you again.

Do you try to convince your father to continue the search for the weapons forges? 126.

Or do you try to find the missing princess? 72.

Shiek Amar is enjoying your astonishment. "I crafted our lurid reputation to fend off the most insidious evil stalking this forsaken land. Taxes!"

You gape at him, trying to figure out if he's serious or not. He is.

"You think these hardworking, albeit slightly smelly desert boys want to win a race only to see their purse halved by some Persian bean pusher?" he says. "No sir! So I came up with a campaign to generate a bit of false notoriety. Now the tax collectors steer clear of me and my customers. And everybody's happy."

The ostriches cross the finish line. Half the rowdy crowd cheers and the other half boos. A fight breaks out, and Amar's men swiftly move in to stop it.

Amar shrugs. "Of course, there is the small matter of blood feuds. Ancient hatreds, honor killings . . . They're easily stirred up."

You watch as Amar's guards confiscate weapons and toss them to a slave guarding a locked cage filled with swords, daggers, clubs, and other deadly instruments. These are not men you want to cross.

98.

"I should really get back to my men," you say. "It sounds as if the storm has pa.s.sed."

"Are you sure you want to risk it?" Yusef asks.

You push up the trapdoor. "See?" you say to him. "All clear." You climb out and find yourself just at the edge of Alamut's city walls. You can hear the horrific sounds of a vicious battle raginga"the crash of steel against steel, shrieking horses, war cries, and cries of pain.

You grip your sword. You hope your battalion was able to take cover in the sandstorm, and that your brothers were able to breach Alamut's defensesa"all without you.

The gates have been battered open. You quickly charge up the sun-bleached steps, ready to face the fray.

120.

"Tamina!" you cry. You rush to her and kneel down beside her. "Tamina, can you hear me?"

She doesn't respond. You turn, thinking you might have something in your saddlebag to help her with when . . . Thunk!

You don't know what she hit you with, but it packed a wallop. You fall over as she says, "Yes, Dastan, I can hear you."

That's the last thing you hear. Everything goes black.

92.

The sounds of clashing steel and shouts surround you as the Persians and the Ha.s.sansins fight. It's total chaos. The air fills with blood, dirt, and cries of pain. You clutch a sword in each hand, lunging and thrusting. You have your eye on the Ha.s.sansin with the bandolier.

You fling your sword at him, striking true. He topples over, and you yank off the bandolier. You hurl a grenade and it explodesa" just in time to save Sheikh Amar from a halberd-wielding a.s.sailant.

You're about to throw another when you turn and discovera" Tamina is gone!

"Tamina!" you call frantically.

"Find her," Amar says.

You nod and toss the bandolier to Seso. "Forget the knives, throw these!"

Seso smiles and begins hurling the grenades to create a wall of fire, blocking the Ha.s.sansins.

You rush back inside the farmhouse, but she's not there. You hear something moving overhead. You dart back out and pull yourself up onto the roof.

That's when you see it. A crack in the seemingly solid rock face that rims the village.

Yes! You found it! The secret entrance to the Guardian Temple.

GO TO PAGE 124.

That's strange, you think. Why would there be sand in a dagger?

Even strangera"images appear around you. The fight you just had with the woman rewinds in front of your eyes.

"I don't believe this," she says. Just as she did a minute ago!

You hold up the Dagger. "Thisa"this turns back time!" you sputter.

"Give that back!" she shrieks. But her injured ankle prevents her from getting to you. You turn and race away. You have to get this Dagger to your father and brothers. This could have a decisive effect on the invasion!

You make your way out of the tunnel and emerge in the city.

And find a complete and utter ma.s.sacre.

Your brothers are both dead, and there have been many other casualties on both sides. You get word that the terrible toll of the battle caused your father so much despair that his heart failed. He is dead, too.

You gaze down at the Dagger in your hand. You know what you need to do. You press the jewel to turn time back and make a new choice.

And hopefully a new destiny.

2.

The dancing ends and a meal is served. All through the meal your every move is watched. You feel a bit like an animal on display, as if you're being studied. Tamina speaks softly with different members of the group, but you can't understand most of what they're saying. You're relieved when it's time to go to sleep.

You wake up feeling groggy, with a pounding headache. What kind of tea did they give me? you wonder. You try to reach up to rub your face but discover you can't. Your hands and feet are bound. "Tamina!" you cry.

You are soon surrounded by the Shakshi. "Where is Tamina?" you demand. "Untie me!"

The leader comes forward, waving a rattle at you. The others murmur in growing excitement Now you understand! The princess sold you out! She told them you were a demon and that you were holding her captive.

You struggle to untie yourself as they paint symbols all over you. Soon they are chanting and drumming. Some sort of ritual is taking place, and you are at the center of it.

As the leader of the group stands over you wielding a sharp, two-bladed ceremonial sword, you have the terrible realization of what they have in mind.