“There he is!” She grabbed Huda’s hand, and yelled, “Make way, please!”

As it had earlier, the crowd parted on Rania’s command. Huda shook her head incredulously as the tall woman pulled her on. This time, instead of finding their passage jammed, the two of them were swept forward, like leaves floating on a stream. They sailed through the clothing market, past mountains of secondhand jeans, suit jackets, and baby bibs, until they were deposited at the entrance to Khan Murjan.

The ancient inn was boarded up. Thick cobwebs coated the gate, and centuries of rust had fused the locks. Huda’s heart sank to the cobblestones.

“No one’s been here for years. What a waste of time.” Rania turned on her heel and stalked off without a word of goodbye.

Huda slumped against the caravan’s ocher wall. Defeat mixed with the sweat running down her spine. She patted her pocket and prayed the urchin hadn’t stolen her purse.

“Huda!” Rania reappeared at the far corner of the inn. She crooked her finger, then disappeared again.

Huda scurried after her and found a side door to the inn slightly ajar. Bullets had left one corner of the iron door cratered as the moon, but never managed to fully penetrate the ancient metal. Huda climbed the steps and peeked inside. The musty smell of mold scratched at her nose. She glanced back at the busy stalls. A vendor had dressed six mannequins in rainbow-colored housecoats. They were lined up against a wall like they were waiting for a firing squad.

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 13

Inside the Khan Murjan, Rania stood with her back to the old metal door and waited for her eyes to adjust to the muted light. Somewhere, water dripped against stone. The sound echoed like a heartbeat through the great arches that formed the ribs of the old inn. She crept toward the cathedral-like central chamber, where columns of dust swirled below ancient skylights. The lights seemed to form a pattern, like the star charts used by travelers who once stopped here on their way to Mecca.

“You’re late.” A man stepped from the gloom. Rania wondered how long he’d been there, watching her. “You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”

“We didn’t have much time.” Rania did her best to appear unruffled, but she could hear the tremor in her voice. “And the crowds are thick today.”

“She’s right,” said Huda. Rania startled as the woman slipped in behind her. A memory flashed through her mind, of a small girl stalking a grebe at the edge of a fast-slowing stream. Even when the bird was in Huda’s hand, it barely registered what had happened. It seemed she’d lost none of her stealth.

“Even if your messenger delivered us on Aladdin’s carpet,” said Huda, “we would have struggled to make it on time.”

Rania bit back a smile. Huda had kept her quick tongue too.