4
The cool breeze did wonders to calm Altair's nerves. He greedily took in another lungful of air before exhaling it all out again. If only he could be rid of all of his problems with such ease. Just the thought of all that awaited him below made him sigh. He flung himself back so that he was lying flat atop one of the highest guard towers in Jerusalem, his eyes closed but mind very much awake.
He had journeyed a total of four nights and five days from Masyaf to Jerusalem with the sole purpose of silencing the one named Talal. That had certainly gone as planned. With the exception of course that Jerusalem's Dai was now a helpless baby requiring constant attention and the fact that his target still breathed the same air as he. Yeah, things were definitely going according to plan.
Altair shifted his thoughts back to his recent meeting with Darim who was currently babysitting a sleeping Malik for him. "Isn't he absolutely precious when he's sleeping?" Darim had asked as he took the sleeping form of Malik into his arms to place him more comfortably on a bed. Altair had glanced at the baby before turning his head away and blatantly ignoring the old man's question though he secretly agreed with the man and hated that he did. Altair assured himself that he would've felt similarly toward any infant, it was just annoying that the infant had to be Malik of all people. Better than being someone like Abbas, Altair thought, shivering at the thought.
Focus, Altair told himself. If he wanted to clean up this mess as soon as possible (and honestly, if he didn't clean up this mess, who in their right mind would?) then he had to go through everything he knew and come up with some sort of plan. Darim had told him everything that he could put together regarding Malik's situation which had been extremely valuable information as now Altair had something to work with.
"This book," the old Dai had started, "was found in the underground catacombs of Solomon's Temple; the very place in which you sought to find the Ark of the Covenant some time ago." Neither Altair nor Darim missed the way Malik, who was still sitting in Darim's lap, went rigid upon mention of the tragic mission. Darim however, continued unperturbed, though Altair noticed the old man was now gently stroking Malik's side in a comforting way. "It is believed that this book was written by King Solomon himself and contains the secrets to his supernatural power. Why else would the king keep the book securely hidden beneath his very throne to which none other than he had access? How else could anyone explain King Solomon's power over animals, plants and elemental forces?
After the king's death the book was dug up and behold, within it the people found the language of magic and thus it was decided and agreed that the king had been a powerful magician and that his source of power lay in his book. Fear of an uproar amongst other things led the townspeople to return the original book to its resting place under the king's throne but only after several corrupted copies of its pages were made and spread. It was a time during which magicians flourished and magic was widespread. It is unknown how but shortly after its widespread re-discovery and use, magic once again became a thing of the past; an art seldom spoken of except in its condemnation and its practice remained only within the shadows. But of course most of what I just told you isn't exactly true."
"Dai!" Altair protested in annoyance; "I don't have time to waste and little patience for history lessons as it is." At this statement the old man laughed a little and shook his head; "I always thought that you had been quite fond of my history lessons as a novice, Altair." But seeing Altair's stern expression Darim returned to his serious mood and after pondering about where he had left off, continued explaining; "perhaps you may not find it important now, but there may come a day that you'll need this information to solve the riddle you now face. It is true that King Solomon commanded vast power but not through magic but through God did he achieve it as we are told in the Quran. What then is this book? Precisely what the people of Solomon had said it was; a book of magic. There was not just one however but several books, all containing different spells and rituals. It is also true that these books were copied, however imperfectly, and used profusely for some period.
This book," the old man moved it up and down in his hand; "is one of the last remaining of the original books. It was not written by King Solomon but by men like you and I who were taught by two angels the art of magic. It was a test for them and they were warned that no true good could ever come from its use. But man, the flawed creature that he is, is ever consumed by the lust of this world and their dark desires. Many sought to learn magic and from it came only evil and darkness that consumed the hearts of the people and corrupted their lands. For such reason did King Solomon order the collection of all documents containing knowledge pertaining to magic and ordered it all to be buried beneath his throne from which no man could do or receive harm from the cursed knowledge.
It must be clear to you now that this is indeed a powerful book and that contrary to what many would believe, magic is very real and very effective. It is however, also very restricted. For instance," and he said the following in such a grave and powerful tone that it sent a chill down Altair's spine; "magic cannot and will never be able to bring back the dead to life."
Altair was openly looking at Malik now to assess his reaction, however subtle it may be. Malik shrunk away from the old Dai's harsh tone and the truth of the words he uttered. His head was hung low as in defeat and his expression was one of guilt and grief. Altair could understand why Malik would have tried to revive his brother. He too had lost a father, at the young age of eleven. His father, Umar Ibn La'Ahad, had been a Master Assassin though the title had meant little to Shihab, the uncle of Salah Al'din, who had ordered the beheading of Umar right before the eyes of all of the assassins in Masyaf. Before the eyes of a young Altair crying out for his father. The sight still haunted his nights and many times he wished he could have prevented the needless death. Altair did not want to think of the way in which Malik would have witnessed the death of his brother...
"But it can do much else as we can clearly see." Darim's voice snapped Altair's attention back to the present and he blurted out the first question that came to his mind; "but why would Malik use magic to turn himself into a baby?" Malik made some sounds as in his defence but seeing as that was getting him nowhere he resorted to staring daggers at Altair who was failing terribly at maintaining a serious look. Of course Altair just found Malik's death stare even more amusing than his attempted speech.
"Getting along as fine as ever," the old Dai commented, some of his humour returning before he made to answer Altair's question. But just then Malik began to squirm in his hold, making a mess of his makeshift robes. Darim tried to settle the infant but Malik was set on breaking free from his bounds. At last the old Dai placed Malik in a sitting position on the floor after Altair's suggestion to do so.
Altair and Darim watched as Malik shuffled completely out of the sheet so that he was stark naked and began to crawl away from the two men. Malik stumbled a few times but both Altair and Darim were impressed with the baby's ability to crawl on his own with little difficulty despite the stump that replaced his left hand. Eventually Malik stopped, sat and seemed to be busy conversing and laughing with a ghost that no one else could see, completely indifferent to the presence of his two onlookers.
"...Does he do that often?" Darim asked Altair as he continued to watch the child. Altair rubbed his temples before responding, "Yeah, he's done something similar before. I'm hoping you can explain that too while you're at it." The old man sat back in his chair and seemed to be deep in thought. After a minute he "hmm'ed" looking back at Malik who was occupied with whatever he was doing before turning back to Altair.
"Yes, I believe it all makes sense now," he said at last. "I'm definitely missing something here," Altair mumbled starting to doubt the old man's sanity. He was old after all... "Then let us fill in the gaps," Darim answered, shuffling in his seat to find a more comfortable position. "It's all actually linked to the answer to the question you posed a moment ago. The answer to which is, Malik did not intend to turn himself into anything, let alone a vulnerable infant as you see him now. His intention was undoubtedly to resurrect his deceased brother. This ritual he performed however," he flipped to the page scattered with Kadar's name in the book, "was not to bring back the dead, but to 'see a dead person again'. The wording, written in what I can only presume to be an ancient language, little more than gibberish to the ignorant and a code to the knowledgeable, is very misleading due to its literal nature. It would be an understandable mistake to assume the title of the ritual to mean the resurrection of dead; alas it literally enables the person performing the ritual to see the deceased person of their choice. Tell me Altair, who can see the dead?"
"No one," Altair replied instantly. "No," was Darim's answer as he shook his head, "You really didn't pay attention in any of my classes, did you?" Altair knew he probably should've felt ashamed or embarrassed but he was too curious and impatient to feel either of those things. Looking back over to Malik the old Dai answered his own question, "Babies. Babies can see the dead Altair, just as they can see angels, perhaps even Jinn but of that we are not certain. Some say it is a gift from God whereas others believe it is due to a baby's absolute purity and innocence which enables them to see beyond this world. Regardless, it is the only plausible explanation as to why this ritual turned Malik into a baby. His behaviour just now reaffirms my theory. He is playing now with none other than his brother Kadar."
This was too much for Altair to digest. Plausible? He thought to himself. How on logical Earth could such an assumption be considered plausible? "Dai, I mean you no disrespect but do you really expect me to believe that Malik magically turned himself into a baby, accidentally, in order to see his dead brother? Surely there's a more reasonable explanation. Oh right, I forgot to mention. I was present during the ritual and some intangible force seemed to keep me from disrupting the proceedings, but I had an apple and that rolled right in front of Malik. Maybe that somehow interfered with the ritual?" Altair was desperate now, there had to be some other explanation, another perspective to this current predicament.
But the old Dai simply shook his head and though there was a small smile on his face it did not reach his eyes. "If an object was able to enter the magic circle then the ritual had already been completed. Altair, I understand this may be difficult to come to terms with, but the sooner you understand the details of the case at hand the sooner you can formulate and apply a solution," Darim explained, rising from his chair. Altair stood also before replying; "Is there a solution then Dai? You've a better grasp on this than I; surely you know then a solution."
A small spark seemed to light up in the old man's eyes and he spoke with much more eagerness than before; "Indeed dear boy, that is what I have been pondering all this time. It is quite simple really. At first I was convinced that we would need to perform another ritual, something akin to an anti-ritual to reverse the effects of the first one, hence returning Malik to normal size. Unfortunately I was unable to find a spell of that sort in the pages of the book I have read, though I must say that there are many more which I have not yet looked at. But I understand better now the writing behind the page containing the ritual which Malik performed. From what I gather, in order to make Malik normal again, he must truly and completely wish not to see his brother again. Only once his heart is contented with the loss of his brother will he be able to return to his true self."
"That doesn't sound simple," Altair stated. If Malik didn't care so much about his brother and long for his return so desperately he would not have gone to such extents to attempt to bring him back to the world of the living. "You can't change his feelings for his brother," Altair said, hardly conscious that he was speaking aloud until Darim replied. "Perhaps not," Darim agreed, "but you can replace them with stronger feelings for another. That may be our only hope."
The old Dai had a valid point. If Malik was given a new purpose in life, a new reason to live without the thought of his deceased brother constantly plaguing his mind, then, if the old Dai's speculations held true, they may just be able to return Malik to normal. Kadar had always been the most important thing in Malik's life, especially after the death of both his parents. He had watched over Kadar constantly, taking on the role of a mother, father and brother. Altair had seen it as a hindrance to his assassin training but perhaps it was his training that Malik found to be the hindrance to taking care of his brother at all hours. With Kadar gone Altair could only imagine how empty Malik would feel, he tried to compare it to losing his life as an assassin, being expelled from the Order, what purpose would Altair serve then?
"What do you suggest we do, to what can we divert his attention?" Altair asked, eager to begin right away. Darim looked hesitant and just as he was about to speak a small thump distracted them both. They looked to see Malik lying on the floor, fast asleep. "It'll take him some time to get used to his new body, though hopefully we'll have him back in the right size before that happens. I better take him to bed, it might be hot but he'll still get cold sleeping on the floor like that."
Darim had then proceeded to coo at the sleeping infant before taking him away. He had also refused to inform Altair as to what they could use to give Malik's life new meaning, claiming that he hadn't thought that far ahead and that he was sure Altair would be able to figure that part out.
That would explain what Altair was doing now; lying down a good six stories above the ground, trying to find the solution to this riddle to no avail. When the sun was beginning to set he decided it was time to return to Darim's home and discuss their next plan of action. After all, he still had a target to hunt and Jerusalem still needed a Dai to operate its Assassin's Bureau...