The Serpent's Veil

The Faithless

I have made edits to certain plot points so if you have a question please ask. 

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The guards flanking the gate were surprised to see a woman unaccompanied by a eunuch, but a single flash of the red bangle was enough to stop their questions. Ayaan sat atop his beautiful black gelding, and raised a hand to greet the girls. Beside him was another horse – tall and muscly – tacked with a larger saddle. Khaya and Meia would ride together. They wore identical deep ruby robes and veils with meshes over the eyes. To all observers there was no difference between them, besides the bangle, hidden beneath the long sleeves.

"Shall we?" Ayaan motioned to the horse, then waved at the guards. "Help them up, you idiots!"

The guards scrambled to help the girls mount, and soon enough they were on their way.

Zayan had already been instructed to tell anyone who asked that she was spending the day in her chambers praying and reflecting on yesterday's lessons. The only ones who could interfere with her privacy were Rayta and Rehan. Khaya squinted at the cloudless sky, throwing a prayer to the heavens that he wouldn't come visiting this afternoon.

X

Khaya was still not used to the horse's gait, and found the whole ride uncomfortable and bumpy, despite Meia's best effort to keep her touch soft on the reins. Once they exited the inner city the terrain began to change into something more familiar to Khaya – something disjointed and fractured, foundationless yet seamlessly standing upright. Twists and turns through narrow alleys, wide courtyards, and sweeping archways brought new sights and scents to her without pause – craftsmen and artisans, nursing mothers, young soldiers, street musicians, and more than anything else, children. Tens upon hundreds of children that seemed to be absent from the roads of the inner city.

She coughed as they walked past a lane of tanneries. "How much longer?"

Ayaan motioned ahead with his chin. "Just a bit further, hang on."

Khaya grumbled, gripping Meia's robes tighter as their horses pressed through the crowd. Ayaan had given her no details about the man they were to meet, other than the fact that he was a reputable informant with a penchant for asking strange favours. There wasn't even a guarantee he had what she wanted.

But it was a start.

Ayaan pressed ahead and dismounted further along the road, in front of a giant stone archway. When the girls arrived he helped them dismount, then handed the horses to a pair of scraggly looking kids no older than he was. The narrow courtyard had a stone statue of a giant hawk at its centre, looming above the three visitors. Khaya clutched at her veil from underneath as an armed man approached them. His expression quickly changed from wary to pleasant upon seeing Ayaan amongst the group.

"Unexpected to see you here, Barmaki. Your elders were here earlier this week." He glanced at the girls and raised an eyebrow. "Some unfinished business?"

Ayaan shook his head. "New business. Less pressing."

Khaya shot him a look, but no one noticed through the mesh.

The man nodded. "Luckily, he isn't that busy today. You won't have to wait."

Ayaan leaned to Khaya and said, "Usually its by appointment, Ibn Fakrid is a busy man," as they followed the man down an airy passageway. Soon they reached a set of thick oak doors, plain but for a gold ring at the centre.

The thud of the knocker rang so loudly in Khaya's ears she flinched back

Meia reached out a hand, concern plastered on her face, but Khaya shook her head.