Persian Nights – Chapter 9

Tamina had been overwhelmed with the sight of her new husband doubled over on the floor at the foot of their wedding bed retching up the white sand. She had immediately recognized the fine grains as the Sands of Time. When he had finished, she questioned him and uncovered what she believed was the problem. Unlike normal sand, the Sands of Time held special proprieties that were not fully known. They were of the gods… so anything was possible. She just wished she knew exactly how it had happened and how so much of the sand had gotten into his system.

Now, leading him through a secret maze of tunnels and corridors, Tamina took Dastan down to the bowels of the Temple of Alamut. He recognized some of the passages, claiming she had taken him to them before. Tamina could not remember, but then again, there were many things she could not remember. Things that had been erased when time had been rewritten.

"This way," she said pulling him through a stone doorway. Once pass the threshold, she held up the torch to illuminate the great space before them. When they came to a halt, Dastan let out a groan beside her. "What?"

"Not this place again," he muttered.

Tamina looked back. The large cavern that stretched out before them was filled with sand and on the far end was the winch lift that would carry them down to the inner sanctum.

"We've been here before?" she asked. Yes, she had forgotten; the sand trap.

Dastan nodded. "And I hope we have a different experience than last time."

Tamina narrowed her eyes, but then shrug it off and proceeded. She held out the torch for him, as she stepped on the little raised tile in front of her. Puffs of air shot up along a crisscrossing path that lead to the lift. She turned back to Dastan.

"Dastan, step—"

"—where you step," he finished with a smirk. "Yes, princess, I remember."

She gave him a hot glare, but then smiled. "Right, follow me, then."

Carefully, Tamina made her way across the room, always minding her step. She risked a glance over her shoulder to make sure that Dastan was following and smiled to herself when she saw him glancing at her, his eyes slowly drinking in her lithe body as she moved with a dancer's precision.

She found herself blushing, remembering the activities of the previous night. Tamina could not have believed it was possible to feel such pleasure, but when she was with Dastan, she felt a blissful rapture that was hard to explain. He had brought her so much pleasure that for a time she thought she had died and was basking in the eternal glory of the gods.

"Tamina," he called out. "Watch your step, you're not paying full attention to your footing."

Tamina shot him a hard glare, not because she was angry at him, but because she knew how much it would excited him. He chuckled slightly and shook his head. "For someone who doesn't remember our previous time together," he said, smirking with his boyish grin. "You certainly know how to make me want you all the more."

"Well," Tamina snapped. "You should be thinking with you head instead of your manhood at the moment. We need to fix what is wrong with you… or it may end up being your doom."

Dastan sobered after that, and gave a grave nod. Though his eyes never left her. It took her longer than she had thought, but eventually she made it across the cavern. Dastan was right behind her and sighed visibly when they stepped up on the stairs towards the lift.

He smirked. "Last time I had to ride a wave of sand down."

"Thankfully this time you kept a cool head and did what I said," she replied.

"I followed your orders last time," Dastan objected as they walked up the steps, his smiling widening as he looked at her. "There were just unseen obstacles."

"Like Nizam?" Tamina broached cautiously.

Dastan lowered his eyes and gave a gruff nod. "Like Nizam," he echoed, but said little more than that.

XXX

The ride down the lift had been rather long, but Tamina did not mind. Dastan and her fondled and kissed on the way down. She loved the feel of his hands on her, the way it made her cheeks flush and heat, and the sensations it stirred up in the rest of her body. And she loved exploring his hard muscles and chest. He kissed her softly and whispered sweet promises into her ear. Promises, he claimed, he would keep when they returned back to their wedding bed. Her head began to spin with anticipation for that return.

However, when the reached the bottom, she quickly backed away, determined to stay clear headed enough to fix the damaged that had been caused to her husband. She had just been married to him for less than a day and she was not going to lose him now.

The Hourglass of Time stood before them casting a soft orange glow about the chamber. Dastan looked up at it with sad eyes, no doubt remembering the things he had witnessed in this chamber before. Tamina gripped his hand tightly, their fingers intertwining.

"I'm not leaving you this time, Dastan," she said firmly.

He gave her a weak smile, but remained silent. Tamina led him up to the Hourglass and stared at it for a time, thinking. If her father were still alive, he would have known what to do. But he had died when she was young, leaving her in charge of Alamut and its sacred duty.

Dastan's eyes fixated on the glowing sands underneath the crystalline surface of the Hourglass. He slowly reached up and touched it. Immediately he became stiff and his eyes locked open, glowing slightly.

Frightened, Tamina tried to pull him away, but he pushed her back with such force that she nearly fell over the edge. She blinked back tears as she watched the glow seep through his arm and encompass his entire body. Then the sands appeared and swirled around him, lifting him up into the air.

"The gods have you now, my husband," Tamina spoke softly, closing her eyes, and kneeling down to pray to them, beseeching them to return Dastan to her.

Suddenly a voice rang out across the chamber. It was wondrous and powerful, eternal and never-ending. She looked up and saw Dastan hovering above her with those glowing eyes, bathed in an orange light. Tamina realized the voice was coming from him, yet it was not his voice.

"Our priestess," came the voice. It was more than one, sounding like many voice speaking in unison. The gods!

Tamina bowed before the hovering form of her husband, kneeling before her gods.

"This man whom we possess must remain in Alamut," the voices rang out as one. "He is destined to be its protector, as he was destined to be your husband."

Tamina looked up, feeling her heart pound with a fury that belied how calm the expression on her face was. She humbled herself before the gods and bowed deeply. "I will do what I can to keep him here," she said.

"From time to time," the voices sang. "We may have need of his body. We have used him once before, and the aftereffects were not as we had expected."

His lost memories! What need did the gods have for a mortal body? Why did they need Dastan? And why did their use of him make him appear drunk afterwards? As if the gods sensed her questions, the hovering form of Dastan approached her. He reached out a hand and placed it on her head as a father would a daughter.

"We needed a man noble and pure of heart," the gods answered. "Some falsely believe that all princes are noble and pure. But that is not so. This boy, born in the streets, yet raised to be a Prince of Persia, is a prince in spirit. And he is a true prince. One with a heart that is both pure and noble. His destiny is great, and together you shall bring birth to a golden age throughout our lands."

The gods pulled Dastan back and brought him towards to the Hourglass.

"You must guide and counsel him, our priestess," the gods commanded. "He will need your strength for what he will need to do. As we shall need you to bare him a son from your womb."

And then there was a flare of bright orange light and the chamber returned to the warm glow of the shining sands from the Hourglass. Dastan lay slumped against the ground. Tamina rushed to him and clutched him to her breast, terrified at what she had just heard.

Dastan was destined to be the Hand of the Gods. She had always known of the prophecy, but had never thought she would live to see it. It terrified her that Dastan was to be their instrument in this world. But her heart soared with joy at the knowledge that their love had been destined and that together they would create a new golden age for Persia. And that she would bare him a son!

Slowly, his eyes blinking, Dastan awoke. "Tamina?" he called out her name.

Tamina smiled down at him and stroked his face. "You are quite a Lion, Dastan," she said softly. "And it appears that the gods have a plan for you." She told him all that had been said. When she was finished, he looked worried and relieved at the same time.

Then his eyes became hazy and dreamy. "Hey, there beautiful," he slurred and burped, his hand suddenly reaching up to grab her breast. His breath suddenly smelled of liquor and his eyes glazed over like a drunken man. This was the side effect that gods had not intended. For some reasons, possessing his body left him intoxicated.

Tamina blushed slightly when she felt his hand slowly began to intimately caress her body. But she stifled it. He'd touched her before like this, but when he was sober, and it had been wonderful. She shook her head, clearing it of her daydreams. She needed to get him back to the palace. He would needed to sleep of this inebriation.

"Come, my Lion of Persia," she spoke softly, pulling him up to his feet. "Let us get you to bed. The gods are not through with you yet."