Angels and Djinn, Book 3: Zariel's Doom by Joseph Robert Lewis Page A

“You two are trying to rescue… Wouldn’t a king have an entire army to come rescue him?”
    Rahm rolled his eyes. “The king took his army to slaughter the demon, but the demon slaughtered the army instead. Only two men lived to tell the tale, saying that old King Kavad may still live in the demon’s cellars, somewhere beneath the desert.”
    “Beneath the desert…?” Iyasu looked sharply at him. He grabbed Rahm’s arm in his enthusiasm and paused momentarily at the eerie sensation of the massive muscles under his small hand. “Uh, yes, very large arm there. Anyway, your demon-lord, it may have something to do with the attack on Shivala a few weeks ago. In fact, it may not be a demon at all. It might be a djinn. Your demon’s cellar may be the djinn city we’re searching for!”
    Hadara pushed her husband aside and stood in front of Iyasu, towering over him. “You know about these creatures? You know how to kill them?”
    “Well… yes.” He nodded.
    The warrior princess smacked Rahm on the arm. “You see! He’s the one who will help us kill the demon. He’s the one we were sent to find. And you thought she betrayed us.”
    Rahm grinned and shook his head. “Never for a moment!”
    “You thought who betrayed you?” Azrael asked.
    “The one who sent us here,” Hadara said. “The angel Simurgh.”
    Iyasu blinked. “You spoke to the angel Simurgh?”
    “Isn’t that what I just said?” The princess narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to call her a liar.
    “Yes. Yes, it is. Yes, it was.” Iyasu smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s uncanny, that’s impossible. That’s who we were sent to find. The angel Simurgh, she can help us find the djinn city. You can take us to her?”
    “Of course not.” Rahm paced away.
    “What? Why not?” the seer asked.
    “Why not?” Rahm laughed and pointed at the two karkadann riders guarding the gate. “ That’s why not.”
    “Oh, that? Well…” Iyasu winked at the easterners. “That’s actually not a problem. We can leave whenever we want.”
    “Oh, really?” Hadara’s tone clearly indicated that she thought he was an idiot.
    “Really, really.” The seer nodded like a puppy wagging his tail, unable to stop grinning. “We can walk out that gate right now, if we want. Although I’d rather wait until after supper, seeing as how it’s getting a bit late and I’m starving, and once we’re on the run again, well, we’re not going to get much to eat, not even prison rations.”
    “Prison rations?” Rahm snorted. “Look around, little man. This is hardly a prison. And the food is fit for a princess.”
    “All the more reason to stay another few hours.”
    “And then what?” Hadara asked. “You’ll swat the karkadann aside with those delicate little hands of yours? If Rahm and I cannot escape them, no man or woman can.”
    “Oh, I don’t doubt that, not for a minute.” Iyasu went on grinning. “But we’ve got something much, much better than a man or a woman. We’ve got an angel.”
    Rahm and Hadara both looked at Azrael.
    Iyasu saw their eyes shift. “Really? You’re not even going to consider that it might be me?”
    “Or me?” Kamil added.
    “No,” Hadara said, still staring at Azrael. “So, is it true?”
    “Yes,” the angel said. “It’s true. We’ll be leaving after supper tonight.”
    Supper eventually arrived as a collection of covered silver platters on a small cart drawn by a sleepy-looking mule and driven by a very friendly young woman who backed the cart into the courtyard and then leapt down to unhitch the mule and ready the meal. The cart itself served as the dining table, and several small wooden chairs were quickly unhooked from beneath the cart and placed beside it. She then uncovered the dishes and produced several glasses, which she filled with water, and then when everything was set, she led the mule away from the cart and went to stand by the gate.
    Iyasu watched the performance unfold