Chapter 4

The sun rise brings an orange tint to the sky. King Sharaman, Tus, Garsiv and the Persian army prepare for their leave at the end of the week. They will wait to tell Dastan about their quest to kill the Hassansins until after the wedding. They will give him the wedding night and then they will all leave.

Tamina is at the end of a sleepless night. She's desperate to see Prince Dastan and tell him the dagger has been stolen but it's forbidden for a woman to seek out a man. She must wait for him to come to her. She paces her chamber waiting to see if Dastan will come. After another hour, she can no longer wait. She must find him. She peeks out her door and into the hallway in search of movement. When she sees no one, she leaves her chamber and walks the long corridors toward the main sanctuary. Just as she turns the corner toward the primary chapel, a hand reaches from behind a column, grabs her arm and spins her around pressing her back against the wall. At the same time, a hand covers her mouth to prevent her from making a sound. She lets out a muffled scream. The cloaked intruder whispers in her ear, anger in his voice.

"As you can see, it only takes a moment to disarm you, Princess." Tamina recognizes the voice. Dastan has a firm hold on her but she relaxes at the sound of his voice. He backs up just inches from her face and removes the hood of his cloak. The stern look he gives her is undeniable.

"I seem to recall a request I made of you; that you not be left alone. Sound familiar?" he says in hushed tones.

"I do remember the request but I blatantly disregarded it" she says just catching her breath.

Dastan almost smiles at her.

"It would be sad if I had to wring your pretty little neck in order for you to take this seriously," he offers.

"Actually, I was seeking you out, Sir. I needed to see you," she says. Quickly, she assesses the situation and gets feisty with him.

"And, besides I can use a sword, Dastan," she says. "And the whole of the Persian Empire is here. It appears I'm in more danger in this hallway with you than I would be outside the walls of Alamut," Tamina declares.

Dastan softens his demeanor. He looks down at her soft, parted lips and then again in her warm eyes. He parts his own lips and again looks at her mouth. He bends his head slightly and leans in to gently touch his upper lip to hers. Then, with more force he presses his mouth onto hers. She responds and reaches out to wrap her fingers around his neck and into his soft hair. Both Dastan and Tamina let the kiss last longer than they should. Finally, Dastan let's go of her lips and leans back a few inches. He looks into her eyes.

"Something's wrong," he guesses. "Tell me, "Dastan whispers.

"The dagger has been stolen," she reveals.

"And since only someone from your Order knows how to enter the chamber and the Hassansins are now part of your Order, it seems the list of suspects is unending," he offers.

"We have to find that dagger, Dastan," she says. "I can't reach out to the Gods without it."

"Tell me why?" he asks. Tamina takes in a deep breath.

"It's the way I can speak …

Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting the floor breaks their conversation. Dastan turns in the direction of the sound and pulls his sword, his body blocking Tamina's.

"Stay close," he whispers.

Tamina follows as he slowly moves along the wall of the corridor. They creep down the hall toward the chamber that houses the now missing dagger. They see nothing. The hallway ends at a right hand corner. Dastan presses close to the wall as he peeks around the corner. The hallway is dimly lit by several torches but Dastan sees nothing. Dastan slowly moves around the corner, Tamina in tow. Moon beams pour through the windows and into the hallway illuminating the doorway to the main sanctuary. There on the floor of the doorway, Dastan and Tamina see a long silver spear lying just inside the sanctuary. Dastan reaches down to pick it up. He recognizes the weapon as belonging to the Hassansins. He quickly turns completely around to view all areas of the corridor, ready for battle. Tamina stays close behind him.

"Well, this answers the question of who has your dagger, Princess," Dastan whispers.

From the corner of his eye, Dastan sees a shadow at the far end of the hallway. Tamina sees it too. "Dastan," she barely whispers.

"I see it," he says. "Whatever happens, stay close." He pulls a small sword from his belt. "You may actually get your chance to use this," he offers.

Tamina takes the sword. Together, they move down the hallway. As they get closer, they no longer see the figure in the shadows. Now, they see a large, dark shape lying on the floor of the corridor. Dastan bends down and turns over the body of a Hassansin enforcer, a knife plunged deep in his throat. Tamina gasps at the site.

"The only person that could get close enough to plunge a knife into his neck was someone he trusted, someone he knew," Dastan concludes. Tamina suddenly gets a chill and looks about the corridor to make sure no one's coming.

"The Palace is no longer safe," Tamina says sadly. Dastan stands to face her.

"You'll stay with me and the Persian army outside the city walls," Dastan orders. Tamina is speechless. She knows he's right.

"Be ready within the hour Princess," Dastan says. She offers no resistance and nods in agreement.

Bis is not happy with his latest mission. Searching the catacombs for what Dastan called anything "out of the ordinary" isn't Bis' type of crusade. He prefers a straight forward fight. For Bis, even being in the catacombs is out of the ordinary. And what was that last thing Dastan said before he left to check on Princess Tamina? Watch out for booby traps!

"This is crazy," Bis mumbles to himself. "I should be drunk and sleeping in a barn somewhere. Instead, I'm walking haunted tunnels under a strange city with a torch that's a breeze away from dying," he continues.

"And how do I find my way out of here?" he questions as he continues along a long tunnel running parallel to the chamber that holds the Sands of Time.

Bis sees many passages breaking off from the main tunnel. He grabs a stone off the floor and draws a map on the wall of his path to this point. He continues to the first passage on the left. On the wall to the entrance, he marks his position and enters the passage. He travels for several minutes and reaches a fork in the tunnel. He holds up the torch to see a gold tile on the wall between the two entrances. Etched in the gold tile is the symbol of the Sun God. Bis decides to continue to the left. Above the gold tile he makes another mark with an arrow to the left. He turns to enter the dark passage and is amazed to feel warm air and to smell sweet ginger. He continues slowly until he sees the end of the tunnel and a shaft of light coming from above. He looks up to see a city street. He turns back to the fork in the tunnel and the gold tile. This time he will take the other passage. He marks the way on the wall and enters. This passage is long and narrow. Bis begins to mumble again.

"Gods and sand. I'm close to being sick of both," he softly says. All of a sudden, Bis feels a hand from behind rest on his shoulder.

"Ahhh," he shouts and he jumps around to see …

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