Chapter 6: The Journal
The sun was just beginning to rise after their first night of traveling alone through the Kholaj Desert when Prince Ahmad and his party made ready to camp. Their arrangement was to use two tents—one for the prince and Umar bin Ibrahim, the other to shelter Jafar and his ghostly daughter. Since Selima took up little room, their water skins and other supplies would be kept in Jafar’s tent, safe from the horses.
Although they hadn’t yet reached the hot part of the day, they knew it would take them longer to set up camp than it would for more seasoned travelers. The hours just after sunup and just before sundown were considered best by desert wayfarers, but the prince and Umar were willing to forego them to avoid being caught in the midday summer sun without adequate p
