Hero at the Fall (Rebel of the Sands 3)

We traded quick glances. One of us had to spill all our secrets for the lives of everyone else. I ought to send down one of the twins. They were more innocent than Jin or I was. But I could see the naked fear on their faces. And I could feel Noorsham’s gaze boring into the back of my neck. I had volunteered to lead the Rebellion. I should take responsibility.

‘I will.’ I turned back to Noorsham. I stepped between two of the prayer flags, crossing over the invisible border and descending to stand across from my brother.

Up close I could see the Eye better. It was obviously magic, like Jin had said. At the edge of the shard of mirror’s jagged edge, there was something like a crackle of energy, like the spark that fed Leyla’s machines.

‘Where did you get this?’ I asked my brother, keeping a safe distance from the object in his hands.

‘You’re not the only one to come here looking for something,’ Noorsham said vaguely. ‘At first I had to guess what was in their souls. But then foreign soldiers came, and they brought this with them, a gift from God delivered to me by their hands. I use it to see who is truly looking for sanctuary and who seeks something else. And I decide if they stay or if they burn.’

A chill went through me at those words. I thought of the men Bilal had sent south looking for the powerful creature below the mountain that could grant his wish to cheat death. Sure enough, half a dozen of the prayer cloths encircling us now looked like strips taken from the uniforms from the Iliaz command.

Be good, or the monster in the mountain will get you.

Noorsham extended the shard of the nachseen towards me. ‘Look into the Eye, Amani. Let it see you.’

From the crowd above us a rhythmic noise started to pick up: hands pounding against the mountain rock. Just a few at first and then, gradually, more, picking up the cadence. ‘Eye,’ someone chanted, more quietly this time, as their hands slapped the ground like a drumbeat. ‘Eye, Eye, Eye.’ And soon the chant had spread again, everyone speaking softly, but their voices mingling together into a loud rhythm along with the beating of their hands.

We were surrounded. I had walked us all into a trap with a ticking bomb, one I had to defuse now, or we all died.

If Noorsham saw everything that I had done … I didn’t know that I would be seen as being sinless. But also I didn’t see that I had any choice in baring my soul to him either. I did as I was told. I looked down into the glass.

It was as if a tumble of images fell out of my mind, on to the surface of the mirror, and I was watching them all play in quick succession: Shifting desert sands and walls of fire. Execution after execution. Death after death. Djinn trapped under the palace. The Sultan at gunpoint. And then one final glaring image. The thing we were really here for: the man in the mountain.

I tore my head up, breathing hard. It felt like coming up for air underneath the White Fish, except it was as if my mind was what needed to breathe. Jin was next to me, even though I didn’t see where he came from, steadying me with strong arms around my middle. I leaned against him gratefully as Noorsham carefully held the shard of mirror in his hands, inspecting the contents of my mind in it for a very long moment.

‘If we need to run …’ Jin said, low in my ear.

‘You dodge left, I go right, split them up,’ I agreed. It was the only chance we might have of getting out of here in one piece.

Taking his sweet time, Noorsham placed the Eye back on the makeshift altar before turning to the crowd.

I caught Izz’s gaze. He gave me a slight nod, saying he understood; if we bolted he and Maz were ready to shift into something that could outfly the people of Sazi.

‘I have seen her sins.’ My brother finally spoke. ‘I have passed judgement.’ He spread his arms as he faced his disciples, all of them hanging on his every word, leaning forwards with wide zealous eyes. ‘They do not need to burn!’ he declared loudly. And suddenly the crowd was screaming again. This time with joy.

Though the funny thing was, I didn’t find it any less unsettling than when they were baying for my blood.

Chapter 21

I was keenly aware of the stars watching me as I turned over in my bedroll. I hadn’t bothered to pitch one of our tents. It was warm enough this far south, even at night.

Most of Noorsham’s people slept out in the open air. After all, what did they have to hide from the eyes of God? Only, for me, it wasn’t the eyes of God I was worried about but the eyes of the other women, asleep around me.

Unmarried men and women were separated, according to Noorsham’s rules.

‘It’s a sin for that boy to even look at you the way he does if you’re not wedded to him,’ one of the disciples hissed below her breath, casting a glance over her shoulder at Jin, who was watching me as they led me away to an area of Sazi that sat below a shallow dip of the rocks, just below where the mines used to be. That was where the women slept. I caught sight of my cousin Olia settling herself in under the last of the light. She caught my gaze and just shrugged. As if to ask me if I’d really expected anything to change in the Last County. I supposed I was the only thing that had, really.

I wanted to talk to Jin. I needed to talk to someone now we’d reached this godforsaken dead end to a hunt for some impossible story. We’d lost another day of searching thanks to me. Used to be I’d go looking for Shazad in the long dark nights full of doubt. But she was gone. I was stuck separated from the boys. And I wouldn’t put it past one of these women to sell me out if I snuck off in the dead of night. aded quick glances. One of us had to spill all our secrets for the lives of everyone else. I ought to send down one of the twins. They were more innocent than Jin or I was. But I could see the naked fear on their faces. And I could feel Noorsham’s gaze boring into the back of my neck. I had volunteered to lead the Rebellion. I should take responsibility.

‘I will.’ I turned back to Noorsham. I stepped between two of the prayer flags, crossing over the invisible border and descending to stand across from my brother.

Up close I could see the Eye better. It was obviously magic, like Jin had said. At the edge of the shard of mirror’s jagged edge, there was something like a crackle of energy, like the spark that fed Leyla’s machines.

‘Where did you get this?’ I asked my brother, keeping a safe distance from the object in his hands.

‘You’re not the only one to come here looking for something,’ Noorsham said vaguely. ‘At first I had to guess what was in their souls. But then foreign soldiers came, and they brought this with them, a gift from God delivered to me by their hands. I use it to see who is truly looking for sanctuary and who seeks something else. And I decide if they stay or if they burn.’

A chill went through me at those words. I thought of the men Bilal had sent south looking for the powerful creature below the mountain that could grant his wish to cheat death. Sure enough, half a dozen of the prayer cloths encircling us now looked like strips taken from the uniforms from the Iliaz command.

Be good, or the monster in the mountain will get you.

Noorsham extended the shard of the nachseen towards me. ‘Look into the Eye, Amani. Let it see you.’

From the crowd above us a rhythmic noise started to pick up: hands pounding against the mountain rock. Just a few at first and then, gradually, more, picking up the cadence. ‘Eye,’ someone chanted, more quietly this time, as their hands slapped the ground like a drumbeat. ‘Eye, Eye, Eye.’ And soon the chant had spread again, everyone speaking softly, but their voices mingling together into a loud rhythm along with the beating of their hands.

We were surrounded. I had walked us all into a trap with a ticking bomb, one I had to defuse now, or we all died.

If Noorsham saw everything that I had done … I didn’t know that I would be seen as being sinless. But also I didn’t see that I had any choice in baring my soul to him either. I did as I was told. I looked down into the glass.

It was as if a tumble of images fell out of my mind, on to the surface of the mirror, and I was watching them all play in quick succession: Shifting desert sands and walls of fire. Execution after execution. Death after death. Djinn trapped under the palace. The Sultan at gunpoint. And then one final glaring image. The thing we were really here for: the man in the mountain.

I tore my head up, breathing hard. It felt like coming up for air underneath the White Fish, except it was as if my mind was what needed to breathe. Jin was next to me, even though I didn’t see where he came from, steadying me with strong arms around my middle. I leaned against him gratefully as Noorsham carefully held the shard of mirror in his hands, inspecting the contents of my mind in it for a very long moment.

‘If we need to run …’ Jin said, low in my ear.

‘You dodge left, I go right, split them up,’ I agreed. It was the only chance we might have of getting out of here in one piece.

Taking his sweet time, Noorsham placed the Eye back on the makeshift altar before turning to the crowd.

I caught Izz’s gaze. He gave me a slight nod, saying he understood; if we bolted he and Maz were ready to shift into something that could outfly the people of Sazi.

‘I have seen her sins.’ My brother finally spoke. ‘I have passed judgement.’ He spread his arms as he faced his disciples, all of them hanging on his every word, leaning forwards with wide zealous eyes. ‘They do not need to burn!’ he declared loudly. And suddenly the crowd was screaming again. This time with joy.

Though the funny thing was, I didn’t find it any less unsettling than when they were baying for my blood.

Chapter 21

I was keenly aware of the stars watching me as I turned over in my bedroll. I hadn’t bothered to pitch one of our tents. It was warm enough this far south, even at night.

Most of Noorsham’s people slept out in the open air. After all, what did they have to hide from the eyes of God? Only, for me, it wasn’t the eyes of God I was worried about but the eyes of the other women, asleep around me.

Unmarried men and women were separated, according to Noorsham’s rules.

‘It’s a sin for that boy to even look at you the way he does if you’re not wedded to him,’ one of the disciples hissed below her breath, casting a glance over her shoulder at Jin, who was watching me as they led me away to an area of Sazi that sat below a shallow dip of the rocks, just below where the mines used to be. That was where the women slept. I caught sight of my cousin Olia settling herself in under the last of the light. She caught my gaze and just shrugged. As if to ask me if I’d really expected anything to change in the Last County. I supposed I was the only thing that had, really.

I wanted to talk to Jin. I needed to talk to someone now we’d reached this godforsaken dead end to a hunt for some impossible story. We’d lost another day of searching thanks to me. Used to be I’d go looking for Shazad in the long dark nights full of doubt. But she was gone. I was stuck separated from the boys. And I wouldn’t put it past one of these women to sell me out if I snuck off in the dead of night.