"Stephen Goldin - Storyteller" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goldin Stephen)

positions once Prince Ahmad's supporters were out of the way.

Her third list was of those people who were neutral in the silent struggle between Shammara and Prince
Ahmad, and it was similarly divided into two groups: those neutrals who, either with threats or with
promises, could likely be swayed into Shammara's camp once she held full power, and those who were
not worth the bother to try.

The wali of police helped Shammara draw up her lists; he had spies everywhere in Ravan and was
constantly gauging the direction and strength of the emotional winds. The wali was already firmly
committed to Shammara, and had been promised the rank of wazir once her administration was in place.
He would remain on top of this power swing, as he had all the others. He was known for his ability to
select winners.

On the other side, Prince Ahmad continued his studies in the Royal Temple under the tutelage of his
friend and instructor, high priest Umar bin Ibrahim. Although Umar was aware of Shammara's growing
power he was uncertain how to combat it—and neither he nor the prince knew the extensive details of
what Shammara was plotting. They continued to place their trust in Oromasd to preserve the proper
order in the Holy City, and took no counteractions of their own.

Unwittingly, Umar bin Ibrahim even made Shammara's task much easier for her. Suspecting some act of
treachery along the road to Marakh, he made certain that the prince's entourage consisted of those
members of the Royal Guard and those palace servants who were the most loyal and dedicated to Prince
Ahmad, and he added himself to the party as well. This considerably thinned out the ranks of the people
on Shammara's first list of those loyal to Ahmad who would be left inside the city when the prince
departed. Those who went with Prince Ahmad would be killed by King Basir's “brigands,” or at the very
least would be outside the city walls and powerless to prevent Shammara's takeover.

Prince Ahmad's wedding procession departed through Palace Gate at the northern end of the city with
great ceremony and the cheers of the populace. Shammara watched the departure from an upper
window of the palace with a growing feeling of destiny fulfilled.

Shammara was a tall, slender woman with piercing eyes, a small mouth, and prominent cheekbones. Not
a trace of gray marred her long black hair; not a line or wrinkle disturbed the gaunt smoothness of her
face. She'd been a beautiful woman in her youth; she'd lost none of the beauty, but age had put sharper
lines on her features, emphasizing them even more strongly. Shammara was a woman of few
compromises, either physically or politically.

She smiled to watch the prince's procession, knowing that the last significant opposition to her rule in the
Holy City was now gone. Those people who would inevitably try to defy her would have no spokesman
to rally behind, no symbol to unify them. Soon enough word would come of Prince Ahmad's tragic death
upon the road to Marakh, and all opposition would collapse as people realized there was no other
possible ruler for Ravan but Shammara's son, Prince Haroun.

The plans, long since made, proceeded automatically. Two hours after Prince Ahmad left the city, the
wali of police dispatched his most trustworthy officers on missions of murder. Noble homes were broken
into, their owners butchered unceremoniously until the grounds ran red with their blood. Powerful
merchants who worked in the bazaar were accosted by hooded strangers and had long knives shoved
into their bellies before they could react to possible danger. The assassins tried to keep the bloodshed to
a minimum, killing only their assigned targets and sparing wives and minor children—but on those few
occasions where their crimes were witnessed by servants or family members, the witnesses were slain as