Razoul knocked softly on the door of the address he'd been directed to. He was supposed to be finishing up handing over the city guard responsibilities but he'd decided he had to make time for this; especially after what he'd seen that night at the Astronomer's Tower. This had to be the person the old women had wanted him to tell about the non-twinkling star.
There was no response and he knocked harder. "Coming. Give me a minute." A voice sleepily replied.
There was a shuffling sound followed by the rasp of bolts being drawn. The door opened and Achmed the Astronomer Royal peered sleepily out at him. "Razoul? What is it?"
Razoul knew he was going to sound like a fool but he had no choice here. If this man believed his warning, it might go a long way towards making Jasmine Sultanas. "Astronomer Royal, forgive me for disturbing you, but this could not wait. Can your magic in the tower see any part of the night sky up close?"
The old man frowned and then nodded. "It can if I know what I'm looking for." He paused. "And you have something you think I should be looking for, don't you? Be aware that I do not do horoscopes or any of that other bunk."
"It's not that." Razoul forced himself to continue. "You'll think I'm crazy but recently when I almost died three old women appeared and delivered a prophecy which seems to be coming true. They told me that Jazmine had to save the world from a disaster which would appear in the skies in nearly a year. They told me to befriend her and train her so she could become the Sultanas and save us all from disaster and that I could only tell one man after she was recognized by your tower."
The old man pulled his red beard. "And you want me to verify whether the warning is real or not?"
"Yes." He said with relief. "And if you find anything, please let me know because it could be vital to the job she has to do."
"Well, it won't hurt me to listen." The old man sighed. "What was the warning?"
Razoul screwed up his face trying to remember. "They spoke about a light in the sky that would appear as a morning star. They said the light would not twinkle but grow in size and within months the world would be nearly destroyed."
The Astronomer Royal sighed. "Thank you, Razoul. I'll look into it and get back to you."
"You must believe me, Sir. The woman warned the fate of the world depends on it."
"Yes. Yes. Now you go home. I'll let you know if I find anything."
Razoul sighed. He'd been afraid of this. He was an illiterate guard. Why would one of the educated listen to him? He turned around and trudged back, trying to figure out what he would do next.
Achmed shut his door with a shake of his head. He was so tired of being bothered by everyone who thought they had a message from Allah. Oh, well. He could still get some sleep. He turned around the corner of the hall heading for his room when everything vanished in a swirl of grey fog.
He stopped and stared in shock at three young women dressed in armor who stared right back at him. In front of them a large, black cauldron belched out clouds of steam and smoke. "No." He said. "It can't be."
"It certainly is." One replied. "You disappointed us, Achmed. Particularly you disappointed me. I'd wagered that you would believe our messenger."
"I won." The second intoned. "And that means everyone else lost."
The third stirred the pot with a long black stick. "Maybe you'll believe this messenger."
A face formed in the smoke above the cauldron, a face which he knew all too well as she had taught him everything he knew and had created the magic of the tower. "Jezra?"
"Yes, Achmed, Jezra. That young man just told you something vital and you are choosing to ignore it. That's not how I taught you to think."
"What do you mean? His warning is so vague that it's laughable."
"Achmed, Achmed. What light in the sky does not twinkle?"
He frowned. "The planets of course."
"Yes, and what other bodies?" When he paused she said. "How about the comets and their cousins the asteroids? What does it portend for earth if one of them rises in the east and grows bigger with each day?"
He blanched. "A collision or near miss."
She nodded. "Go to the Library and read up on what that has meant in the past." She vanished.
The three woman swirled and became one being who seemed to be a wolf standing on his hind legs. "I'm he whom the Amerindians called Old Man Coyote and you Achmed have been given your last warning. Use it wisely."
The mists and the other world were abruptly gone and Achmed found himself leaning against the wall for support while he gasped for breath. As soon as he had recovered he hurried to his room, got dressed, and practically ran to the Library.
It took most of the day for the Searchers at the Library to find what the Astronomer Royal wanted and in the end he wished they hadn't.
He stared at the papers representing hundreds of years of study by men and women now dead. Some had lived in the world that had preceded their own and they spoke fearfully of an ELE or Extinction Level Event that was created when a giant asteroid or comet slammed into the Earth.
Even recently in China the same type of star was reported but this time after it had vanished a monstrous tidal wave ravished the shores of the Indian Ocean. The monsoon rains were reported to have been very early arriving and more intense than usual.
Later that night he mounted the tower and did a magic scan seeking any threats in the next year. He had already checked with his assistants and no one had observed anything unusual in their observations over the last few weeks.
He decided for thoroughness he would ask only for objects that did not twinkle to be shown, especially those that were hidden from him by the sun which made no difference to the magic. He rejected two as the well-known planets, Venus and Mercury, and then he saw it. A small red object floated in the center of the magical image and it had an almost visible circumference.
He asked the magic to zoom in. Slowly it grew in size and he wondered if he'd discovered an unknown planet and then it rapidly expanded until he was looking at an object like two balls of dough that had been pulled apart but which were still connected by a piece of dough but this was not dough; this was rock. As he watched the object slowly spun so that first one ball was facing him and then the other. What had he just found?
"What am I looking at?" He asked the magic narrator.
"You're viewing what was determined by the end of the nineteenth century to be an asteroid." The narrator's voice replied. "It appears to be what was called an 'Earth crossing asteroid'. This one has two parts, each about a mile in diameter and it will cross Earth's orbit once more in its journey around the sun."
He swallowed, remembering Razoul's message. "Is it a threat to Earth?"
"It will take some time to calculate a precise orbit from prior observations that took in this part of the sky by accident. Do you want to wait?"
"Please." He said. He stared up at the night sky and for some reason called Olympus Mons back into view. He watched as the great volcano roared its fury into the skies of Mars. Rain was falling almost constantly. If one giant volcano could disrupt and change the climate of a planet what would two miles of rock do to the Earth's climate?
There was a PING. "The preliminary calculations are complete. There is a 95 percent chance the asteroid will impact the western coast of North America."
The Astronomer Royal sagged. "Will it be an ELE?"
"A detailed calculation will take a week to complete. Do you want the resulting full simulation?"
"Yes, please." The Astronomer Royal decided he was going to have to involve the Princess. Some leader with brains was going to have to handle this and that let the Sultan out. It was time to consult with the Library Committee. Jasmine had to be involved.
Jasmine looked at her face in the mirror. The puffiness was gone but she knew she was going to have a bad purple and green bruise where the assassin had struck her. The healer's magic had restored her health but she was still reminded of her healing injuries when she moved.
She decided not to apply makeup to conceal the bruise. Razoul knew it was there and he'd been more considerate than she would've thought possible about her pain. She'd been told that men were generally not romantic and had little consideration for women's pain when they made love. Razoul was not living up to that reputation.
Well, they hadn't done more than kissed but still he'd made every effort not to hurt her. She was feeling more comfortable with her decision all the time. They might never be able to marry but she had a feeling that it would be a joy having him for a lover.
She pushed the curtain aside and saw him standing there in the lobby area where he could watch both entrances. "Are you ready to take a break for dinner?" She indicated the table with the steaming bowls on it. As per her orders the cook's servants had set it on the balcony table which was sitting under the awning with two pole props that looked like they were modeled on spears.
He sighed. "I cannot guard you and eat at the same time."
She grinned and twined a loose strand of black hair between her fingers. "But you can guard me and kiss me at the same time."
"Princess, I.."
She cut him off. "I'm just teasing you, my brave guardian. How about this? I eat and you guard and then I guard while you eat?" She laughed at the look on his face. "Oh, come on, Razoul. You have to eat sometime and that sounds like the best solution. Especially with the front door locked; we only have to worry about flying threats like birds."
"You have a lot more to worry about than birds, Princess!" An angry but terrifyingly familiar voice snarled.
They whirled around as the former Grand Vizier landed lightly on the balcony floor. He held sputtering balls of magic in each hand.
Jazmine shook her head in disgust. "Give us a break, Jafar. We're both immune to your magic."
Jafar grinned maliciously. "But the walls aren't." He hurled the ball in his right hand and then the one in his left. There were bright flashes as they exploded above their heads followed by a numbing concussion of sound.
Razoul watched in horror as a whole section of the wall peeled free and then he lunged putting his body between Jazmine and the falling masonry. The blows from the heavy stones smashed him to his knees as he shielded her from the worst of the falling rocks. The table where they had been going to eat was reduced to splinters and the awning was ripped off the wall.
Razoul staggered erect. A quick glance showed him that Jasmine was relatively unharmed except for bruises and that she seemed to be searching for something in the debris. He knew he had to stop this madman before he could unleash anymore explosions but he also knew he was going to fail badly with his injuries hampering him. "I love you, Jazmine." He said softly and then he lifted his sword and charged Jafar. At least he tried to. The best he could manage was a staggering walk.
Jafar began laughing. "How pathetic and to think I was worried about you." He reached into his robe and pulled out a fully loaded crossbow. "This time I'll make certain of you. Die!" Jafar shouted as he depressed the trigger.
The crossbow twanged and its bolt passed right through where Razoul had been a moment before. Jafar looked up in puzzlement and then saw Jasmine. She'd just tripped Razoul to the ground by hooking his leg from behind while she was still on the ground and was now on her feet facing him and her eyes were filled with rage.
"No! You die!" Jasmine stepped forward with the artificial spear she'd torn from the awning's ruins poised over her shoulder and hurled it at him.
Jafar tried to put up a defense spell but he was too late. The faux spear penetrated through the right side of his chest just below his shoulder and emerged from the other side. He screamed as he grasped his bleeding shoulder and then saw Jasmine raise the second spear. "This is not the end!" He shouted as he vanished a moment before the second spear ripped through the space where he'd been standing.
Jasmine helped a battered Razoul back to his feet and leaning on each other they staggered over to the balcony railing. They saw nothing but the sleepy city below. Jasmine shook her head. "You were right about being on guard during our meal and I was wrong. I apologize." She looked sadly at the balcony. "I so loved this spot and its view. It's not going to look the same with iron bars." She considered for a moment. "Do you think he'll be coming back tonight?"
"Jafar doesn't give up easily but I think this was too much even for him. He won't be back tonight." He sighed. "Speaking of being wrong, I was wrong. You can share guard duties with me anytime." He got a smile in return. He sheathed his sword and looked about at the ruins. "It looks like dinner is spoiled."
Her hand caught his arm and pulled him around to face her. She smiled. "But my appetite is not spoiled for other things."
She reached up a hand and gently stroked her fingers down his cheek. "So you love me, do you? A woman likes to hear that from the man she loves." She put her arms about his neck and drew his face down for a kiss that lasted a long time before they went back inside, battered but unbowed.