As the physician bound Hawksworth's arm in readiness, a palanquin was brought from among the women's elephants. "A contingent of Rajputs can go with him." Arangbar shouted instructions to the captain of his guard and watched the men fall into formation. Then he remounted his elephant and signaled for the buffalo to resume their sweep of the tall grass.
As the party started forward, Hawksworth saw Nadir Sharif shout orders to one of the servants attending him. And as four Rajputs lifted Hawksworth's palanquin off the ground, a servant rushed forward to shove a flask inside.
It was brandy. Hawksworth turned to see Nadir Sharif grinning, a gleam in his eye.
She watched the palanquin ease up the weathered, winding path leading to the fortress gate. The procession had moved slowly through the gate at the northeast corner of the city's walls and now the Rajputs were clustered around the palanquin and the lone rider. The night was still, awash in a wild desert fragrance, and the moon was curing slowly from white to a rarified gold. Her vantage, in a corner turret of the wall, was shadow-less and perfect. She examined the rider and smiled when she recognized the face.
Nadir Sharif. You have kept your part of the bargain. All of it.
As she studied him through the half light, she wondered why they were coming a day earlier than planned. Then the palanquin stopped and the other figure emerged. She hesitated before looking, at last forcing herself, willing her eyes to see.
After a long moment she turned to the tall man standing next to her. His beard was white, as were his robes. His eyes saw what she saw, but he did not smile. He turned to her and nodded wordlessly. Then he tightened his white robe and moved easily down the stone staircase toward the courtyard below.
Hawksworth had sensed the autumn light begin to fall rapidly as they approached the gates of the fortress-city. Already there was a pale moon, promising fullness. In size and grandeur the portals of the gate reminded Hawksworth of the Red Fort in Agra, only the walls themselves were considerably less formidable. The palace itself sat atop a wooded hill, and already the stones of the abandoned roadway leading up the hill were becoming overgrown. There was a small village at the bottom of the hill, where smoke from evening cooking fires had begun to rise, but from the fortress itself there was no smoke, no hint of life or habitation.
He alighted from the palanquin at the bottom of a steep stairway leading to the palace gate and together with Nadir Sharif passed slowly up the abandoned steps. The Rajputs trailed behind them as they reached the top and passed under the shadow of a tulip-curved arch that framed the gateway. The dark surrounded them like an envelope, and the Rajput guards pushed forward, toward the black outline of two massive wooden doors at the back of the recess. They pushed open the doors, and before them lay a vast open courtyard, empty in the moonlight.
"Is this place completely abandoned? I still don't understand why I'm here."