Infinity Ring 05 - Cave of Wonders (17 page)

Farid sighed and carried Dak a little ways before setting him down. “We are alone,” the rug merchant said, and unrolled Dak from the rug.

As it opened up and spit Dak out, he kept rolling a couple of times, his legs and arms flopping. Then, between the stress and his desperate attempt to relax, all he could do was just lie there. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to move again,” he said to himself.

“Well, you’d better.”

He looked up at Sera.

“Hulagu will be here soon.”

Dak struggled to his feet, and for the next little while, they helped Farid lay out the rugs, covering the floor of the audience hall. Dak got a look at his surroundings for the first time. The room was tall, with carved, blue-tiled pillars supporting a vaulted ceiling. High windows let light into the rafters, but left everything below in a soft glow. There were some pieces of wooden furniture along the walls, cabinets and chests. Probably meant to hold the tributes and gifts sure to come Hulagu’s way. At one end of the room stood a raised platform, with an ornate, upholstered seat. Hulagu’s throne. They were definitely in the right place. And almost at the right time.

After that, and with a lot of reassurance, they eventually convinced Farid to leave them alone to wait.

“I almost wish I could have seen it,” Dak said.

“What?” Sera asked.

“The battle at the Persian Tower,” Dak said. “It’s an important moment in history.”

“A
violent
moment in history,” Sera said. “No thank you.”

“Bad things happen,” Dak said. “
Really
bad things happen. I mean, just think about how many wars have been fought here in Baghdad.” He shook his head. “Ancient wars. And modern wars. You’d think we could learn something from that and not keep making the same mistakes.”

“I know bad things happen,” Sera whispered. “But I’ve seen enough wars now to know
exactly
what they’re like, and I don’t want to keep seeing them over and over.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Dak said.

Sera pointed over in a corner. “There’s an empty cabinet over there. I think we can hide inside it until the right time.”

Dak nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

S
ERA AND
Dak hunkered close together inside the cabinet, waiting. It was musty smelling, and old. They knew it was only a matter of time now until Hulagu entered the city and took possession of his temporary palace. Only a matter of time until Sera and Dak had to step out and convince him, somehow, to spare the House of Wisdom.

“Listen to that,” Dak said. “The siege has ended.”

Sera cocked her ear. He was right. The sounds of battle had gone, and the city was quiet.

“Won’t be long now,” Dak said. “Hulagu . . .” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

“What?” Sera asked.

“Nothing.” He looked away. “I was just going to annoy you with another historical fact.”

Sera felt a little stab of guilt over the way she’d been treating Dak. Sure, his historical babble annoyed her at times, but it was also something she liked about him, because it was part of what made Dak . . . Dak.

“I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you,” she said.

He looked up.

“Riq and I have been kind of ganging up on you. Normally, I’ve always defended you, but I haven’t been a very good best friend lately.”

“That’s okay,” Dak said. “You had the whole seeing your parents and the Cataclysm thing to deal with. It’s fine. We’re good.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Dak said. “And I mean, I know I can be really annoying. I just can’t stop it.”

“You really like history,” Sera said. “And that’s okay. That’s you.”

A few minutes of silence passed. Then Sera asked, “So, what was the fact you were going to tell me?”

“Well” — Dak grinned a little — “it was that —”

But noises outside the cabinet cut him off. The
clomp
of many, many boots, and the din of many voices. It sounded like a wave rushing into the room. It settled all around them, and Sera opened the cabinet just a crack to look out. The room had filled with Mongols, and some people from Baghdad, too. They milled around, talking, waiting. Then, a short while later, they all fell silent at the same moment, and Sera knew that meant Hulagu had entered the room.

Everyone dropped to the ground in a bow, and Sera saw him stride forward with wide, bow-legged steps. He wore flashing, gilded armor, with a jeweled helmet on his head, and a jeweled sword at his waist. Behind him came a train of attendants, including Tusi.

Hulagu climbed to his throne and sat down. The entire room stayed bowed as his imperious gaze swept across them. “You may rise,” he said at last.

What followed appeared to be some kind of ritual, where generals and warriors came forward, and Hulagu praised them for doing something extraordinary on the battlefield. Then they exchanged gifts, and the gifts were almost always clothing of some kind. The fancier the item, the higher the honor, with some hats and coats appearing to be made entirely of gold thread and gemstones. So Hulagu gave gifts to his people, and the people gave gifts to Hulagu.

“What’s going on out there?” Dak asked. He couldn’t see like she could.

She tried to describe what she was seeing, and Dak nodded along, but she could tell he was frustrated.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I just want to know what’s going on,” he said.

Sera smiled. That was very true of Dak. Everywhere they went, he was always trying to figure things out, and usually he did that by relating whatever was going on back to history in some way.

“Okay,” she whispered, willing to try harder for him. “Now there’s a guy giving Hulagu a long coat with a peacock embroidered on it. Lots of silver thread.”

Dak sat back, listening, and this went on for a long time. So long, Sera actually started to get bored, and she yawned.

“This could go on forever,” she said. “What should we do?”

“Keep waiting?”

Sera didn’t want to keep waiting. Everything depended on them getting this right. They’d planned to try to find a time when Hulagu would be alone, but that didn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. Maybe not at all.

“I think we should do it now,” she said.

“Here?” Dak straightened. “In front of everybody?”

“Yes,” Sera said.

Dak rubbed his head with both hands. “Okay. Okay, let’s do it.”

Sera opened the cabinet door, and they slipped out of it. Everyone in the room was facing the khan, so nobody noticed them at first. They managed to glide along the wall, getting closer and closer to the throne.

But then Sera made eye contact with a warrior, and he nudged the guy next to him, and that guy turned to stare. Then he tapped the guy in front of him, and that man shouted.

“You! What are you doing here?”

The attention of the entire room swiveled toward them, and everyone fell silent. Sera thought maybe this was a bad idea, after all. Her stomach sank. Was this how Dak felt when one of his ideas didn’t pan out the way he’d hoped?

“What is the meaning of this?” Another man marched toward them with a very hard and menacing gait. “Who let these children in?”

“I don’t know, General Guo Kan,” the warrior said, bowing. “I just saw them creeping toward the great khan.”

So this was the Time Warden. Guo Kan. When he drew near, he recognized Dak immediately. “So, you’ve come back,” he said. “I appreciate prisoners who return to their cells. I see you now have the girl with you but are missing the African. Where is he?”

“Defeating the vizier as we speak,” Dak said.

“I doubt that,” Guo Kan said. “But you, you have disrupted an important ceremony.” His voice fell to a deep growl. “So I will deal with you personally.”

“Bring them here!”

Sera, along with everyone in the room, turned toward the throne. Hulagu stood, staring at them. Waiting.

Guo Kan clearly felt torn. He obviously didn’t want Sera and Dak anywhere near the khan, but Sera also figured he couldn’t disobey Hulagu’s order either.

“Yes, my lord,” the general said. He grabbed Sera and Dak by the arms, one in each hand, and dragged them forward until they stood before the throne.

Sera dropped to her knees, bowing, and Dak did the same.

“What are you doing here?” Hulagu asked.

“They are spies, great khan,” Guo Kan said. “Sent to assassinate you.”

“Children?” Hulagu said. “Assassins?”

“I think not,” came a calm voice from the side of the throne.

Sera looked up as Tusi stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back. She was shocked. Was he actually sticking his neck out to help them?

Tusi cleared his throat. “My reading of the stars foretold an unexpected visit to your court, great khan. What are these children if not unexpected? I believe they may be a portent, possibly sent to you for a reason known only to your gods. How you deal with them may have lasting importance to your reign.”

Hulagu looked at Tusi. “I see.”

Tusi
was
helping them! He made eye contact with Sera, his expression unreadable. Angry? Sad? Frightened? He spoke again. “I would like to consult the stars again, great khan. I advise you take no action until I have had the opportunity to study the matter.”

Hulagu returned to his throne. “Very well. Your reading of the heavens has guided me true until this point. I shall put my trust in you again, Tusi.”

Tusi bowed. “I am honored, great khan. May I interview these children in private?”

Guo Kan’s face burned red. “Great khan, I would urge —”

“Yes,” Hulagu said. “You may interview them in private.”

Tusi looked at the general, who released Sera and Dak as roughly as he had grabbed them.

“With your leave, great khan,” Tusi said, “I will take them now.”

“Yes, yes,” Hulagu said. “Go.”

Tusi bowed. He motioned for Sera and Dak to bow, which they did, and then they left the audience hall through a little side door. Tusi led them into an adjacent room, and after he had shut the door, he spun on them with rage that seemed barely controlled.

“Do you know what you have done?” he asked.

Sera felt herself withering, but recovered quickly. They had done nothing wrong. In fact, they were doing the exact right thing. It was Tusi who had made the wrong choices.

“We’re doing what we have to,” Sera said, “to save the House of Wisdom.”

Tusi groaned. “What madness is this? Forget the House of Wisdom! There is nothing you can do! But now you’ve come here and put your lives in danger, and I foolishly stepped out to defend you, putting my life in danger as well!”

“We didn’t mean to put your life in danger,” Sera said.

“Yeah,” Dak said. “What’s your problem? We didn’t ask for your help.”

“The general would have made swift work of you if I had not intervened, believe me. He was not pleased with your previous escape.”

Dak smirked. “No?”

“No. He executed the warriors who failed to guard you.”

“Oh.” Dak’s smile crumbled.

“But that is not your fault,” Tusi said. “You simply have no idea the nature of the men you deal with. Guo Kan is merciless. And Hulagu does not see the world the way you do. You cannot reason with him.”

“But you can!” Sera said. “You could do something!”

Tusi made a fist and pressed it against his forehead. “I cannot. It is not my responsibility.”

“You’re only thinking of yourself,” Sera said. “What about your responsibility to science? To knowledge? Those matter to the entire world! Don’t you care about that?”

Tusi brought his hand down. “Of course I do.” His voice softened. “Since you came to me at the war camp, I have not had a single restful night. My doubts keep me awake. I have spent many hours wondering how I could convince the khan to keep his men out of the libraries, to spare them. But there is nothing I can say that will convince him.”

“I can think of something,” Dak said.

Sera turned toward him. So did Tusi.

“Hulagu obviously puts a lot of trust in the stars, right? So what do you need to study the stars?”

“Celestial globes,” Tusi said. “Charts, tables.”

“Right,” Dak said. “But what you
really
need is an observatory. And what does an observatory need?”

Sera saw where Dak was going. And it was brilliant.

Tusi saw it, too. Sera could tell because a smile broke unevenly across his face. “A library,” he whispered.

“Right,” Dak said. “You just need some books. And I happen to know a place where you can find
lots
of them.”