The procession stopped in front of him and the girl knelt at his feet. “Accept this crown, O mighty Ahmad, that forever after thou shalt be known as the greatest king of the greatest age of mankind.”
Two priests took the crown from its pillow and Ahmad knelt so they could place it on his head.
But before they could do so, two figures were brought before him dressed in rags and weighed down with heavy iron chains. Ahmad looked into their faces and knew them to be Umar bin Ibrahim and Jafar al-Sharif. Though they did not open their mouths, the men’s souls cried out to him through their eyes.
“Kill the traitors!” the crowd shouted up to him. “Kill these men who would lead you to your death, and by that act make yourself our immortal king.”
Jafar and Umar were made to kneel before Ahmad, a
