The nights and the days had grown steadily cooler as they moved into the foothills. Their path angled northwest away from the southern border. The foliage became more evergreen forest and far less jungle. Their fire that evening was quite large, and as they went along, they collected any bits of wood that fit in the handcart. Rahma had thanked him twice more for the warm clothes. As’ad was grateful that he had thought to purchase another layer for himself.
They reached Jabal midway through the fourth day. The sight of the city sitting at the base of the mountain range between Sharamil and Bavenpier caused Rahma to stop in the middle of the road. Her jaw dropped as she took in the mass of buildings and people that had to be ten times the size of Nahr.
Built on the Sharamil side of the pass that connected both countries, Jabal had grown from a small outpost into a thriving metropolis. Merchant caravans from all over the world passed through here on their way to Mafur and Fanostrin. As such, inns, warehouses, and all manner of businesses had sprung up to cater to the merchants’ needs. A long wall ringed the city in a semicircle. There was no need for such protection where the city met the sheer wall of the mountain.
Rahma looked at the collection of buildings with delight. As’ad saw a million places for Suha to be hiding.
As they trundled through the city gates, a woman caught As’ad’s eye. It was the lady who had seemed out of place in Marj. She held his gaze and dipped her chin.
Chapter Eleven
During Which Rahma’s Patience is Tried
Whenthemysteriouswomanturned on her heel and began walking away, As’ad moved to follow her, disregarding the angry grumbles his abrupt change of direction caused.
The tug on his sleeve didn’t stop him, but he did answer Rahma when she asked what he was doing.
“I’ve seen that woman a few times now. She knows something about all of this. I’m sure of it.”
“What woman?”
He gestured with his chin. “The one wearing the dark-blue wrap.”
“With her hair pulled up?”
“Yes.”
“I wonder if I could get my hair to stay in that arrangement,” Rahma wondered aloud as they crossed an intersection heedlessly. The shouts of the rider who had nearly overrun them didn’t seem to make an impression. “It would require a thousand hairpins. Or more.”
The woman led them past the merchant district, through a residential neighborhood, and into an area filled with warehouses in various states of disrepair. As they walked, the steady flow of people tapered off into a trickle that eventually evaporated. They continued to wind through buildings that looked more and more abandoned until they came to a portion of the mountain wall that formed the back of the city’s defenses. No more man-made structures stood in their way, but it became difficult to navigate the handcart over what looked like a goat path in places.
Although they made plenty of noise, between the cart wheels and Rahma’s observations, their guide never looked back. She had to know they were following her. As’ad was ready to believe it was intentional on her part. After quite some time, the track had circled back toward the more populated areas. Ahead, he could see a large house of some sort. Set apart from the others, its bottom level seemed to be built up against the cliff face. The next two stories up were slightly smaller than the base, creating a pyramid look.
Finally, the woman turned to face them. She was still too far for words that weren’t yelled, so As’ad didn’t bother. A very brief head-tilt indicated the house. Before the pair could get closer, she turned and walked away. As’ad exchanged glances with Rahma, but when he looked back, the woman had vanished.
“That was weird, right?” his companion asked.
“Very weird.”
“She motioned to the house. So we need to investigate it.” Rahma sounded less sure of herself than normal.
“Her head-tilt was so fast, I was beginning to doubt I saw it at all,” As’ad confessed.
He looked around and found a rocky outcropping to stash the cart behind while they discussed their next move. Rahma was all for walking up to the front door and knocking. As’ad felt they could be a little more circumspect in their investigation. He convinced her to hide with him behind some of the rocks, at least until they decided what to do.
From their position, they watched for any comings or goings. Rahma chafed at the delay but accepted that knowledge was their friend in this case. For over an hour, no one entered or exited the building. No one even walked past, though there were a few other homes—if that’s what the ramshackle structures were—nearby. The whole area had a feeling of deep neglect.
Rahma returned to her previous argument. “Even if Hadia left right after us, I bet she didn’t push as hard as we did. You practiced changing my nose enough; I can go knock on the door. No one will recognize me.”
During their most recent travels, Rahma had taken many turns with the handcart in order for As’ad to practice creating illusions that would be more beneficial for whatever circumstances they encountered. He had learned how to create the illusion of a different nose that sat over her real one and moved however she moved. As long as she didn’t touch it, the effect was perfect. He had tested different eyebrows and a new chin shape but had trouble imagining the details, and she ended up looking like a caricature of herself.
As’ad thought he heard her grinding her teeth when he asked her to wait a bit longer.
“Then will you at least practice the environmental disguise while we wait?” Rahma pleaded. “I’ll keep watch. You can move over there.”
Another successful experiment had been a full-body camouflage that utilized their surroundings. Made more difficult by their need to keep moving and by the open space of the road, As’ad had finally figured out how to make the illusion of whatever was behind them sit right in front of them. It had been easier to accomplish when he walked behind Rahma and focused on disguising her alone. Or when he had traveled in front of her and walked backward. He was less confident in his ability to recreate that specific illusion, as his opportunities to practice had been few. Traveling to Jabal in the most straightforward manner meant they encountered a great deal of traffic going both ways.
He made her promise to stay where she was, then headed off farther into the rocky emptiness that had led them here. Rahma was still within sight, but because of the way the path moved uphill, he would be completely invisible from the house. Only Rahma’s head poked over her rocky hiding place, and she had tied a gray scarf over her dark hair to avoid sticking out against the stone backdrop.
