“You forget we now have a wizard of our own,” Prince Ahmad said, “a man familiar with the ways of djinni. He will help us find a way to rid your people of this pestilence.”
Jafar al-Sharif froze in cold fear. “Your Highness is very generous in his praise,” he said, adding to himself, and very quick to volunteer me in a cause. “Ordinarily there is nothing I would like better than to rescue the daughter of our gracious host from the grasp of this monster. But you forget how handicapped I am at the moment. Were I back at my citadel, surrounded by my talismans and amulets and tools and symbols of power, this would be a routine task—but here and now my abilities are somewhat limited and I can’t guarantee a successful outcome.”
“I understand,” Nusair ibn Samman said weakly. “Even the mage to w
