The princess fumes silently beside you.

"Tell me, Dastan," Nizam says, getting up and crossing to stand in front of her. "Did she have some kind of . . . weapon on her?"

You're surprised that he seems to know about the Dagger. You glance at Tamina.

"So the true motive is revealed," she sneers.

You stare down at the Dagger. "You mean it was all for this? But why?"

"Yes, Nizam, why?" King Sharaman enters the room. "You're not the only one who has spies in his service. I understand you told Dastan that I was sorry he was the son who had survived. Why would you tell him such a cruel lie?"

You gape at your father, then at Nizam. You turn to Princess Tamina. "What is so special about this Dagger that my uncle would lie, betray his family bonds, go to war?"

"The Dagger has properties that make it powerful. So powerful," Tamina says, her eyes gleaming, "that I have dedicated my life to protecting it!"

In a swift move she s.n.a.t.c.hes back the Dagger. She dashes onto the balcony and leaps over it.

"Leave her be," King Sharaman says, glaring at your uncle. "We have a far greater enemy here in this room. Guards!"

Tamina may have gotten away, and you may never know the mystery of the Dagger, but you are grateful for what she did reveal: the truth about your unclea"and your loving father.

THE END.

You spin, ready to make your escape. Thunk! Suddenly you can't move!

A knife has ripped through your cloak and pinned you to a wooden post. Seso, the large, bald African you encountered earlier, stands grinning beside the sheikh.

"Trading her for a camel in Herat?" Shiekh Amar scoffs. "Look at the girla"she's worth at least two!" He circles you. "And you, my frienda"your brother Tus has offered a reward for you that, between the two of us, borders on the obscene. I'd turn in my own mother to collect that much gold."

Seso gives Amar a disapproving look.

"What? You didn't know what she was like," Amar protests. Then his voice grows serious. "Take him to the Persian outpost."

You notice Tamina hovering near the ostrich pen. She seems to be enjoying your predicament.

Seso reaches to remove the knife that has you pinned. His eyes rest on the Dagger in your belt. "Nice knife," he intones.

You reach for the Dagger, but Seso grabs it first. He hands it to Amar, who gives it an admiring glance. He tosses it to one of his men down on the track.

"Melt it down for the jewels," Amar orders.

11.

Everyone stares at you. Nizam's eyes blaze with fury. He lifts a hand to signal to a bodyguard. "Remove the criminal," he says.

Before the bodyguard can get to you, a tri-bladed knife slices his hand. His sword clatters to the ground.

Your eyes widen in shock. Seso has saved you!

Guards rush toward you, as another grabs Nizam and pulls him off the platform. Now Sheikh Amar appears and blocks their path with his well-armed men.

This is your chance. You rush toward Nizam, but the guards head straight for you. Suddenly the canopy over the platform collapses! It drops down and covers the guards. You're stunned to see Princess Tamina standing by one of the poles, grinning. She did this!

"We couldn't let you do this alone," she calls.

Turning, you fling yourself at your uncle, knocking him over. Quickly you grab the sacred Dagger from his belt.

You raise it high over your head. "This is what King Sharaman died for!"

"Don't believe this ungrateful wretch!" Nizam shouts. "King Sharaman took him in off the streets. Dastan never lost his criminal street ways."

The crowd murmurs. You can tell they don't know who to believe.

116.

Soon you come upon a disturbing sight. A sun-bleached skeleton mounted on a stake. Wind rattles through its eye sockets. More skeleton sentries stand behind it.

Tamina gasps. "Who were these people?"

You gaze upon the bones. "Years ago, this valley held the biggest salt mine in the empire. Until the slaves rose up and killed their masters." You nod toward the skeletons. "I heard they boiled them alive."

You glance at Tamina. She just nods, looking pale.

"Welcome to the Valley of the Slaves, Your Highness." You grin.

As you lead Aksh into the valley, Tamina trails behind. "I'm desperate for a drop of water," she complains.

"That's more than we have," you say, "since you emptied our canteen hours ago."

"I wasn't born of this desert like you Persians," Tamina says. "My const.i.tution is more delicate."

"I think you mean spoiled," you reply.

"The wells of Alamut are famous for their clean, cold water," she says.

"Perhaps if you spent less time admiring your wells and more guarding your walls, you wouldn't be here," you quip. When she doesn't respond to your dig you say, "A miracle! I've silenced the princess."

You turn to gloat but instead see that Tamina has collapsed on the sand.

46.

Princess Tamina's women surround you as she tries to run. They attempt to stop you, but you're too quick. You grab the princess and yank the Dagger out of her waistband. The women throw themselves at you, kicking, biting, scratching. You grip the princess's long, dark hair, yank back her head and bring the Dagger to her throat.

"One more move," you warn her servants, "and she dies."

The women fall back. Princess Tamina betrays no fear, just fury.

"You have no right to touch that Dagger," she snarls. "You're not worthy!"

"Well, then I guess someone who is worthy will have to escort it." You carefully release your hold on her hair, but still clutch her arm.

"Escort it where?" Tamina demands. "What do you plan to do?"

Good question.

Should you bring her to Nizam? Perhaps he can question her about the forges and get vital intelligence. GO TO PAGE 86.

Or should you bring her straight to King Sharaman and try to make peace with your father? GO TO PAGE 97.

The next morning, you and Tamina ride Aksh at the end of a long trail of people heading to your father's funeral. You have continued your journey safely away from the Valley of the Slaves. Now you approach the imposing gates that lead into Avrat, the funeral city of the Persian empire.

"There's got to be a hundred Persian soldiers watching those gates," Tamina says, worried.

"Maybe more," you comment.

"Please," Tamina implores you. "We must take the Dagger north. There's a Guardian Temple hidden in the mountains outside Alamut. Only the priests know of it. It's the one place the Dagger can rest safely."

You don't respond, you just keep walking.

Tamina clutches your arm. "Why do you think your father took you off the street that day?"

You turn and gaze at her, wondering why she asked that question. "I suppose he felt something for me."

"Love?" Tamina asks. "He very well may have." Now her expression grows more thoughtful. "But that's not what was at work. It was something far greater. The G.o.ds have a plan for you. A destiny! "

36.

Your head throbs as you lie flat on your back on the ground. You sense movement around you. You slowly open your eyesa"and see a dozen men on horseback surrounding you. They are armed to the teeth, dressed in a battle-worn mixture of Persian finery and Bedu cloaks. These must be the slaves from which the valley gets its name.

You're about to leap up whena"thunk!a"something lands between your legs. A tri-bladed throwing knife. You stare at the still-quivering ivory handle. One more inch and . . . you don't want to think about it.

"Do you know where you are, Persian?" a turbaned, powerful looking man demands.

Your eyes leave the weapon and travel to the man's craggy face. You nod.

"And yet you enter?" the man asks.

You nod again.

"I am Sheikh Amar," he says. "This is Seso," He points to one of the riders, a tall, bald, African man, wearing a bandolier of tri-bladed knives across his chest. He is spinning another in his hand.

"Tell me, Persian who enters our valley uninvited," Amar says, "is there any reason I shouldn't ask Seso to put his next throw just a bit higher?"

You gulp, and frantically try to think of a story to get yourself out of this predicament.

38.

Tamina suddenly jumps up and pushes past you.

"What are you doing?" You grab her by the arms, stopping her.

"There's only one way to stop all this," she says. "To be sure the Dagger is safe."

"How?" you ask.

"The first thing we learn, if all else fails," she says. "Put the Dagger back in the stone. The Dagger will disappear forever, returning to the G.o.ds."

Before you can ask more questions, you hear the sound of hoofbeats and the clanking of weapons. The Persian cavalry bursts through the trees.

There's nowhere to run, no way to escape. You're surrounded.

Then your brother Garsiv dismounts and strides toward you.

"Garsiv," you say, "listen to me. There are four dead priests over there. Murdered by the Ha.s.sansins. On Nizam's order. He's the traitor!"

Garsiv laughs, sending a chill through you. He draws his sword and holds it to your neck. Then he pulls you inside a small farmhouse.

37.

The gigantic Sandgla.s.s seems to have grown from the rock itself. It holds thousands of tons of glowing white sand that bathe the chamber in an ethereal light. You and Tamina hover in the shadows. Nizam has arrived ahead of you.

There is another deep rumbling. You rush to stand between Nizam and the Sandgla.s.s. You pull out your sword. "You murdered your own family!" you cry, your voice echoing in the vast chamber.

Nizam grips the sacred Dagger. "At first I thought it would be difficult," he says. "But in the end it wasn't. Just like any war."

"Sharaman was your brother!" Your voice is nearly drowned out by the cracking sounds around you. "And my curse," he spits back. A piece of the ceiling clatters to the ground. An earthquake is rattling around you. "How could you have done this?" you demand. "Do you know what it's like, boy?" Nizam says, now beginning to circle you. "No matter what lands you conquer, what glory you bring the empire, when you walk into a room all eyes are on the man next to you. And you know, if only on that day so long ago, you had simply let him die . . . it would have been you."

130.

The Ha.s.sansin sweeps the sword at your legs. You leap up and tumble over the edge of the roof. You crash to the ground, the wind knocked out of you.

Before you can get back up, the Ha.s.sansin lands beside you. His hand clamps around your throat. You struggle against him, clawing at his hands. You can feel the life being choked out of you. Your eyelids begin to flutter.

Suddenly the Ha.s.sansin loosens his grip and tumbles over.

You shove him off you and jump up, gasping for air. You are shocked to see a sword has pierced the Ha.s.sansin's back.

"Dastan . . ." a voice calls.

You turn to see your brother Garsiv, the needles still protruding from his body. He used his last ounce of strength to save you. That's his sword in your a.s.sailant.