The sun was just beginning to rise when Illya pulled his camel to a stop, using the riding crop to get the beast to lower itself down. He hopped off it quickly, not only feeling the pain in his lower extremities but in his back as well, but it was the nausea in his stomach and dizziness that forced him to halt.
He knelt beside the camel, hidden from A'lia's view as he began to retch violently, ridding himself of nothing but stomach bile as he had not eaten since the day before.
"Ilyãs are you alright?" She called over to him.
Once he was done gagging, he answered her." Fine, I am just fine."
A'lia slipped down from her camel, stepping around to see the Russian on his knees, the sand in front of him wet where he had gotten sick.
She was startled when she saw the pallor of his skin, he had gone so pale that it had taken on a bluish-green tinge to it.
"You are not fine, you are sick!" She pulled one of the water skins from her saddle soaking a cloth from her saddle bag; she applied it to his face.
He tried half-heartedly to push it away. "Really I am fine, just a bit of seasickness, that is all."
"How can you be seasick, you are on dry land?"
"I meant to say that it was motion sickness. It was the constant rocking and swaying of the camel..." he stopped covering his mouth with his hand, turning away from her in embarrassment as he got sick again. When he was finished, he tried speaking to her. "Really, I will be alright...you would not happen to have some ginger root in the supplies?" He asked sheepishly.
"No, but I have something that might help. You should have told me that riding camels made your sick." A'lia pulled a packet from her saddle bag." Here, suck on these, it should help." She said, holding out a few granules to him in the palm of her hand."
"What is it?" he asked, picking up one up in his fingers, sniffing it.
"It is a crystallized tree sap called frankincense and will help with your nausea."
Illya cocked his head, recalling when he was little the celebration of the Theophany; one of the gifts the wise men had brought to the Christ child was frankincense. "Thank you, " he said, popping the granules into his mouth. The irony that one of the magi was called Balthasar was not lost on him either.
"We will rest for a bit until you feel a bit better." she said.
"No, we need to keep going. I will be fine."
"Ilyãs I insist, as I find the color of your skin most distressing. It looks almost green. I have never seen anything like it. How is that possible?"
"It has to do with the paleness of my skin," he laughed, but not feeling up to arguing with her; he relented. They sat, garnerng some shade from the camels. At this point Illya was a little more comfortable that he wasn't going to be spat upon by one of the disgusting beasts, at least not just yet, though he eyed his camel warily.
"Ilyãs, I have a question about the ceremony with the suitors. How did you know that you were choosing the correct casket? If you had chosen wrongly you would have died?"
He smiled."Firstly nothing is guaranteed in life, so I was not sure it was the correct one, but based upon a clue that your father gave; I hoped that it was the right one...lately my life has been filled with nothing but hopes."
"And what was that clue? I recall none?" My father is quite clever with his riddles and stories, but the one about the camel race was of no significance other that to have a mere slave humiliate the suitors."A'lia realized what she said was insulting to him. "Sorry I did not mean to belittle you."
"Trust me, no offense was taken." Illya smiled.
"Your father called you his jewel, his pearl beyond price. I noticed there was a small seed pearl inlaid above the clasp on the wooden box. None of the other caskets had any such decoration. The pearl was the clue."
"Ah! You are a clever one...but you were lucky. My father has been known to give false clues."
"Really? Then I suppose I was lucky." He swallowed some water from the small bag on his belt, rinsed his mouth, then stood. " It is time we got moving again" Then a sudden bout of dizziness hit him.
He indulged himself a few more minutes rest as he flopped back down to the sand, though he had to admit once the frankincense took effect he did feel better. It would not help with the light headedness, so that he would still have to endure.
"Yalla my lady. I am much improved, thank you." He said a few minutes later.
A'lia knew that he was lying, though his color had returned somewhat. But he was a man and her upbringing told her it was not her place question or to challenge him further, even though he was not of the faith and a type of man she was not accustomed to.
Illya climbed on board his beastly ship, giving it a prod with his heel and riding crop. "Hut hut," he called out, getting the camel to rise. All the while he tightened his stomach muscles readying himself for the rough ride. He pulled his scarf up to protect against the sun and sand, watching A'lia mount her camel doing the same, listening carefully as she told him of her plans.
"We make for the paps of Sheba, they are a small rocky outcrop and part of an oasis that has the most refreshing and clear water that flows from the rocks. Date trees are plentiful, so there we can camp and rest."
"For someone who has spent their their life sequestered in a compound; your knowledge of the outside world is quite impressive. "
"I not only read Ilyãs, but I listen well."
He was sure by the look in her beautiful brown eyes that he was detecting a smile behind the blue scarf that covered her face. And the name the paps of Sheba took his mind to envisioning the rest of A'lia's anatomy hidden beneath all those robes.
"Sheba?" he asked, "as in the Queen of Sheba?"
"Yes, it is one of the names for the legendary queen of Ethiopia, whom we called Balqis, she was said to have come from the city of Sheba, and was converted by Suleiman." A'lia pulled out a silver filagree pendant from beneath her robes. "This is the hand of Fatima, legend has it the the Queen wore it to protect herself from the evil of the jinn."
"Jinn as in a genie?" Illya smiled.
"Oh yes the jinn are supernatural creatures who live in a world alongside that of mankind. The Qur'an says they are made of smokeless flame or scorching fire, but they can assume many forms, vultures, snakes, tall men in white robes. They can assume human form to mislead humankind, though like human beings they can be evil, good or naturally benevolent."
"King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba and jinni, those are most unexpected topics. I supposes you wouldn't be interested in discussing the five pillars of Islam?"
"Ilyãs, for a man who is not of Allah, you are most certainly well versed in things of the Qur'an."
"A'lia, like you books were and still are my friends. The Christian bible which has many parallel stories in it like the Qur'an, to me are just more books to be read, I mean that with no disrespect."
"None, taken."
"Though I have one true friend, "Illya suddenly added, " His name is Napoleon and I was hoping he would be the instrument of my rescue, but in the end I could not wait for his arrival."
"How could he find you Ilyãs, once a man has been sold into slavery it is near impossible for a man's loved ones to ever find him. A man lost that way is considered as good as dead and is mourned."
Illya held up the silver homing disc between his fingers. "This is a device that is used to help track some one by emitting an electronic signal; as long as Napoleon is within range with his equipment, he can detect the signal from this and will be pointed in the right direction. The closer he gets, the stronger the signal will become. I can only hope that he has been looking for me and can only assume that he has not been close enough to pick up a good signal. I have been on the move, changing directions for many days until I arrived at your father's compound.
"Are you so sure he searches for you?"
"Absolutely."
"This is a true friend who would do this for you."
"Yes he is a true friend indeed."
A'lia held up the filagree hand, the silver catching the sun from it's polished surface. "Well Ilyãs, you have your magic disc and I have the magic of the hand of Fatima to protect us from the jinni."
Illya smiled thinking as intelligent as A'lia was, she was still able to believe in such superstitious nonsense. " I am familiar with the Moroccan tale of the genie that can magically grant three wishes, as I read the French translation of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights. There were many such tales of the jinn, but they were just that...stories. They do not really exist."
Though he knew they were just skazka_fairytales, the Russian word came to mind as he reminded himself that many such tales had some basis in fact.
"According to tradition," A'lia said, the jinn stood behind learned humans in the court of Suleiman the Great, who in turn sat behind the prophets. The jinn remained in the service of Suleiman, who placed them into bondage and to this day guard his great mines.
"King Solomon's mines? Illya laughed out loud. "There is no such thing," he thought of the story of the treasures of Solomon's mines and his Queen of Sheba, thought to be equally as wealthy.
She became a little miffed at that. " Laugh all you want, as it is a true story!" She tapped her camel with the riding crop, making it trot ahead of the Russian.
.
Narcissus seemed nervous, finally admitting the truth to Napoleon about how the slavers had taken she, Illya and her men and how she tricked Illya into helping her escape as they camped out beneath the desert stars for the night. She was afraid that the slavers would come again in the middle of the night, but made no attempt to snuggle up to her companion, and at this point her protector.
She had finally gotten Napoleon's message that he was done with her and the "by any means necessary" comment had planted just enough of a seed of doubt in her head to make her behave; though deep down inside she knew that Napoleon Solo was not a cold-hearted killer, unlike that Russian partner of his.
She was impressed at Solo's devotion to the man and his willingness to endure these hardships to rescue him; though the diamonds were part of the equation, it seemed Kuryakin's safety was of the greater concern.
Her diamonds were probably long gone, sold off by the slavers to some dealer in gems, and the prototype weapon lay buried beneath the sand thanks to the storm, that left her little to worry about now but to bide her time until she could maneuver an escape.
For now she would have to cooperate, playing the U.N.C.L.E. agent's game, but as soon as an opportunity arose to her advantage; she would take it. She had no intention of falling into the hands of his organization; ending up in one of their terrible prison facilities. She'd heard rumors of mistreatment, torture and drug-induced stupors...though she smiled as she realized this made the so-called good guys no different than Thrush.
Napoleon looked across the campfire at Narcissus, thinking it was such a terrible waste. She was a beautiful woman caught up in her own vanity and self-importance, working for an organization that would get rid of her in a heart-beat.
None of Thrush's operatives seemed to realize the precariousness of their association with such a nefarious organization, though in reality they were just as expendable any U.N.C.L.E. agent. But at least UNCLE's people weren't done away with for such a simple reason as reaching retirement age.
It was a shame she couldn't be turned, possibly to work as a double agent, but she was too deeply embedded in Thrush's nest. Narcissus was deadly, but still not in the same category as Angelique or Serena.
"Napoleon?" she called to him." These handcuffs are just too uncomfortable on my wrists, I've been wearing them all day. Can't you please do something about them? I promise I'll be good and won't run away. " She cooed at him mustering all the sincerity that she could.
"I think I can do something to alleviate that." He walked over to her, removing the cuffs from her.
"Thank you," she said, rubbing her wrists, "as I said, I'll behave."
"Oh I know you won't," he smiled grabbing hold of her ankle, locking a cuff onto it, then the other. Then he returned to his bed roll, laying down as he gave her a look of satisfaction. He showed her his Walther, that he tucked under his arm before settling in for the night.
Narcissus glared at him from across the crackliing flames, then finally laid down with out saying a word of complaint.
The next day they broke camp, and after but a few hours ride, they arrived at the compound of Sheik Ali el-Mahdi Karmaj located just at the edge of the Ourika valley. He pulled brought the jeep to a stop, parking it outside the main gate.
"Look, put on your hijab, cover your face and don't even think about opening your mouth. I don't think this man is going to be as hospitable as our last host, so just let me do all the talking and follow my lead if you want to get out of this with your life."
"These people mean serious business here when it comes to slaves, so don't draw any undue attention to yourself or your fanny could end up as one of their newest acquisitions, got it?"
"I don't have to be your wife again do I?"
"Nooo, but you do need you to act demure and humble? I know that's a bit of a stretch for you, but you're an excellent actress."
She was going to say something at the backhanded compliment that he had just given her, but then changed her mind." You do have a plan don't you?"
"I'm kind of making that up as I go along...being a kind of a fly by the seat of my pants sort of strategist." He checked the signal from Illya's homing disc, finding it weaker than he had expected it to be and not sure what that meant.
Narcissus just shook her head as she rolled her eyes at him. She was learning quite a bit about the great Napoleon Solo, and doing so she now realized why Thrush always had trouble with the man. He was just too unpredictable, except when it came to his loyalty to that abominable Russian; thinking that perhaps was a weakness that could eventually be exploited.
He undid her handcuffs, reminding her that trying to escape was futile as she was in the middle of no where in slaver country and would most likely end up on an auctioneers platform if she tried wandering off.
Napoleon knocked on the gate, when a trap door opened.
"Who are you?" The young boy asked in heavily accented French, since Solo did not look Arabic.
"My name is Solo, Napoleon Solo and my companion and I seek respite and an audience with your master. We are in search of someone. Might your master permit entry to weary travelers?"
Napoleon knew those words would gain them admittance as a servant would not let his master be shamed by violating the rules of hospitality to those who were obviously not beggars.
The gate opened and the young man politely introduced himself as Naser, then lead them through a large courtyard with a large fluted fountain in its center.
Napoleon noticed a number of people of people with slave collars around their necks moving about their tasks, but Illya was no where to be seen. The weak signal on the tracking device made him wonder how accurate Marie's information had been.
Naser showed them to a room where they were to wait, then several servants arrived with wash basins, pitchers of water and towels for them to freshen up. They were served mint tea and fresh fruit.
Once ready they were lead to a small receiving room where an elegantly dressed man wearing a turban was seated in a regal looking chair.
"This is the master Sheik Ali el-Mahdi Karmaj. Master this is Napoleon Solo."
"I do not mean to be rude Mr. Solo," the Sheik spoke in French, but my time is short as we are in the midst of my daughter's wedding preparations. What may I do to be of service to you?"
"We are in search of my sister's husband who went missing a week ago and received word that he might be here." He handed Naser the photo of Illya, noticing the boy's eyes go wide with recognition.
"His name is Illya Kuryakin, and he is my sister's husband." He watched Narcissus' reaction out of the corner of his eye, noting that she behaved herself.
For a brief moment the Sheik's eyes gave himself away, then his expression went blank.
At that moment the house Steward appeared, approaching his master, bending forward, he whispered something into the Sheik's ear.
"What?" The Mahdi blurted out, red faced.
The steward, assuming he would be struck, spoke out. "Yes master, Ahmed was found in the courtyard, his jaw was broken and Ilyãs and your daughter are missing. They are no where to be found and there are three camels missing as well. Ahmed indicated he caught them leaving sometime during the night."
"YOU! Woman!" The Sheik pointed his finger at Narcissus, "prepare to become a widow, as that dog of a husband of yours will die for tricking me into permitting him to marry my daughter, then to dare sneak off with her in the middle of the night. That Kifir, that defiler of my jewel! You should count yourself lucky that you will be free of a deceiver such as he for he is now a dead man!"
"You Mr. Solo and this woman, leave my house!"
They were ushered out and through the gate quickly by the boy Naser with the help of several husky looking guards.
"You are the friend Ilyãs spoke of. "Naser whispered," Seek the paps of Sheba in the desert, for that is surely where they will head."
"What is that?" Napoleon asked quietly.
"It is an oasis due east, you cannot miss it as as there are two large rocky outcroppings, that are the breasts of Sheba, the pool is called the milk of Sheba. I hope you find Ilyãs, he is a kind man."
"Thank you Naser." He said, then called to Narcissus. "Get in!"
She jumped into the seat without a word, not wanting to be left behind at the mercy of this slaver's household.
Napoleon started up the engine, hitting the gas as she barely had the time to get it before he floored it, leaving a cloud of dust behind them.
"We have to put some distance between the Sheik and his men as they're going to be coming after Illya too."
"Kuryakin running off with a girl...that's unusual for his tastes isn't it?"she laughed.
"Narcissus, enough with the innuendo. Illya does not lean in that direction, period. So drop it will you?"
The homing signal was still sounding as they headed off into the desert, but not far behind them, following his own tracking signal that he'd planted in Solo's jeep was Adolphus Kruger, the suitor from the Island of Rhodes.