LITMIR.BIZ

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and would see any attempt at escape. If not, where would she flee?

      Granada was a city of countless dwellings and strangers who would never offer sanctuary to a Spanish noblewoman. The free women here were as shrouded as she was, with only their eyes uncovered. However, if she could secure one of the dark robes sold in the market and disguise herself as a Moorish woman, there might be a chance to flee. No man would dare break the sanctity of the veil, not even to search for an escaped slave. The Moors’ religion forbade it.

      The robes were tantalizingly close, though still out of reach.

      The slaver’s voice rose again. He spat on the dinars the eunuch had offered. The eunuch’s palm looked as soft as a woman’s, his dark face bearing no trace of a beard. Clearly impatient, he gestured to Isabella’s robe. The slaver yanked the hood off her head. She gasped.

      A flurry of excited murmurs rippled through the crowd. The eunuch stared openly at her elaborately braided hair, apparently stunned at its unusual auburn color. The slaver gestured to her robe, his words seeming to imply how the Moors had prepared her body for sale. The eunuch focused on her eyes, the same blue-green as Queen Isabella’s, a color well known within Spain’s Royal House of Trastámara.

      The slaver’s broad smile revealed most of his decayed teeth. When he spoke again, the eunuch grew thoughtful.

      On a shuddering breath, Isabella searched the market for any means of escape and found none. Too many people pressed close with no clear route from the area. If only she could see what was behind her, she might find a way out.

      A quick glance showed even more people and cramped stalls, proving how trapped she was. The eunuch’s high-pitched shout suddenly rose above the slaver’s angry growl. Wanting away from them, she inched back. The eunuch dashed to her right, blocking her. The slaver to her left and reached for her robe.

      Piercing wails filled the heated air.

      Isabella stiffened. The slaver’s hand fell from her. He and the eunuch turned toward the sounds. Two dark-robed women pressed their hands to their veiled mouths. Children had stopped playing, their youthful eyes widened in wonder or fear at an aged man. His white beard trailed down his chest, and infirmity bent his tall frame, forcing him to keep his face lowered. He wore a turban and full robe, the voluminous fabric hiding the contours of his body.

      Suddenly, he thrust his hand into a fire used to cook some manner of food.

      Many in the crowd gasped. A young girl backed into a basket of olives, toppling it. The fruit rolled across the ground until it reached a pool of spilled honey where a black cat prowled.

      The aged man kept his hand in the fire without bellowing in pain. He chose three smoking coals, tossing the hot embers from his right hand to his left much as jugglers did at fairs with brightly colored balls.

      This was no fair nor was he a juggler, but a fakir, a holy man.

      Isabella had heard tales of such beings who traveled the Arab territories. Fakirs had no homes or commerce, begging for food as they roamed from place to place, performing amazing feats to shock everyone, as he did now. Merchants, free women, and children waited to see what the strange man would do next.

      With no one watching her, Isabella prepared to break into a run, to lose herself in the throng.

      The fakir tilted his face and met her gaze.

      Her heart caught. His eyes were arresting and strangely beautiful, his gaze so intent she stepped back. His expression changed. With a hard frown, he seemed to warn her to remain where she was. He turned to the eunuch and slaver, crying to them in Arabic, his voice reedy with age.

      Her stomach churned. Was he warning them of her intent to flee?

      When he looked back at her, raw power lit his expression, holding her to the spot.

      Even if she’d wanted to move, she couldn’t now. The eunuch and slaver stared at her.

      The air grew heavier than before and far too still. The slaver adjusted his weight from foot to foot as he and the eunuch spoke to the fakir. The holy man answered in kind, juggling the hot coals. He drew closer to them, his movements inefficient and tottering, no different from a babe. The slaver stepped back. The eunuch did not. His shrill voice rose in what sounded like an oath. The fakir hobbled closer, the hot coals jumping more slowly between his hands. At last he responded, his voice low.

      The eunuch scowled and shouted a string of foul-sounding words. The fakir grabbed the eunuch’s throat, pressing the hot coals to it. Squealing in agony, the eunuch fell to the ground, rocking and mewling.

      Frightened sounds rippled through the crowd. The holy man spoke to the spectators, who exchanged glances with each other and shuffled back.

      The fakir grabbed more hot coals from another fire and staggered toward the slaver. Unlike the eunuch, the slaver offered no retort as he stepped back quickly. The fakir followed. It was a strange dance, the fakir plodding forward a step, the slaver retreating the same distance as he focused on the newest coals.

      Again, Isabella realized no one noticed her. Before she could think to escape, the fakir was at her side, clutching her hair in his free hand, shouting at the others.

      Again, they backed away.

      He yanked Isabella toward him and whispered in Castilian, “When I release you, grasp your throat and cry out. Your freedom and life depend upon it. Do you understand?”

      Her heart hammered so wildly she could barely breathe, much less think. With no time to consider why he would help her, she nodded.

      The fakir shouted something to the others then brought the coals close enough for her to feel their heat. She clutched her throat and wailed.

      The slaver spoke hurriedly, his words seeming to beg for mercy.

      The fakir lifted the hot coals to his mouth and blew. Flames poured from his parted lips. Screams tore through the crowd with more than a few bolting.

      The fakir gripped her wrist, his touch steel.

      Again, he lifted the coals to his lips. Flames shot out of his mouth, which he directed to the black silk hanging on a stall. The cloth caught fire. He bolted, pulling her with him.

      She struggled to keep up as they dashed through the narrow streets of the market, past stalls and startled people. Behind them, men shouted. She glanced over. Guards pursued them. The fakir ran faster, forcing her to follow. They darted down one cramped street after another. He knocked over goods deliberately. Both of them dodged buyers. Finally, he rushed into an unattended shop offering a variety of baskets.

      Before she could question why this place was empty of a merchant or buyers, the fakir pushed her toward a shadowed corner near the entrance and shielded her with his body. She was so close to him her face and breasts pressed against his surprisingly muscular back. He shifted his weight. An object beneath his robe tapped her knee. She looked down at a long, thin outline hidden by the fabric. A sword?

      Outside, the shouts grew closer. Moments later, guards ran past.

      As their footfalls faded, the fakir turned to her. “No matter what happens in the coming moments keep quiet. Do only as I command.”

      He pulled Isabella to the back wall and a massive cabinet empty of shelves and merchandise. After shoving her inside the space, he joined her, bolting the doors so no one could open them from the other side.

      “On your knees.” He pointed down. “Now.”

      She fell to her knees.

      “On the floor of the cabinet and to the left is a small door. Open it and take the steps to the bottom. There, drop to your hands and knees to enter the tunnel. Go. Now.”

      As she opened the trapdoor, the sound of footfalls broke the silence. Too soon, numerous individuals poured inside the shop. She turned to the delicate latticework on the cabinet doors that gave her a view of the area. The guards lifted their swords as they searched for her and the fakir. One man’s attention swept left and

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