But perhaps there was some way of tricking the priest into deciphering the book for him. “Since we are caught in the tangled webs of kismet together, O Umar, and since we seek the same goals, it would be terribly selfish of me to hold the book exclusively to myself. I propose we share it and study it together, the better to unravel the secrets it must contain.”
Umar looked hungrily at the journal in Jafar’s hands, a war of emotions playing across his face and behind his eyes. After a few seconds, though, he shook his head and said, “You tempt me greatly, O Jafar, with your noble and generous offer—but I’m afraid I must refuse. While we do travel to the same goal, you and I must each walk our separate roads.”
“I don’t understand your meaning,” Jafar said.
“As a priest, mine is the way of
