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mouth."
    Alai remained seated. He said nothing.
    The man turned to the soldiers. "Take her!" he
said.
    The soldiers began to move.
    "Stop," said Alai. Quietly but clearly.
    The soldiers stopped. They looked miserable and confused.
    "He doesn't know what he's saying," the man said
to the soldiers. "Take the girl and then we'll discuss it later."
    "Do not move except at my command," said Alai.
    The soldiers did not move.
    The man faced Alai again. "You're making a
mistake," he said.
    "The soldiers of the Caliph are witnesses," said
Alai. "The Caliph has been threatened. The Caliph's orders have been
countermanded. There is a man in this garden who thinks he has more power in
Islam than the Caliph. So the words of this infidel girl are correct. The
Caliph is a holy figurehead, who allows his servants to keep him within walls.
The Caliph is a prisoner and others rule Islam in his name."
    Peter could see in the man's face that he now realized that
the Caliph was not just a boy who could be manipulated.
    "Don't go down this road," he said.
    "The soldiers of the Caliph are witnesses," said
Alai, "that this man has given a command to the Caliph. A challenge. But
unlike the girl, this man has ordered armed soldiers, in the presence of the
Caliph, to disobey the Caliph. The Caliph can hear any words without harm, but
when soldiers are ordered to disobey him, it does not require an imam to
explain that treason and blasphemy are present here."
    "If you move against me," the man said, "then
the others—"
    "The soldiers of the Caliph are witnesses," said
Alai, "that this man is part of a conspiracy against the Caliph. There are
'others.' "
    One soldier came forward and laid a hand on the man's arm.
    He shook it off.
    Alai smiled at the soldier.
    The soldier took the man's arm again, but not gently. Other
soldiers stepped forward. One took the man's other arm. The rest faced Alai,
waiting for orders.
    "We have seen today that one man of my council thinks
he is the master of the Caliph. Therefore, any soldier of Islam who truly
wishes to serve the Caliph will take every member of the council into custody
and hold them in silence until the Caliph has decided which of them can be
trusted and which must be discarded from the service of God. Move quickly, my
friends, before the ones who are spying on this conversation have time to
escape."
    The man wrenched one hand free and in a moment held a
wicked-looking knife.
    But Alai's hand was already firmly gripping his wrist.
    "My old friend," said Alai, "I know that you
were not raising that weapon against your Caliph. But suicide is a grave and
terrible sin. I refuse to allow you to meet God with your own blood on your
hands." With a twist of his hand, Alai made the man groan with pain. The
knife clattered on the flagstones.
    "Soldiers," said Alai. "Make me safe.
Meanwhile, I will continue my conversation with these visitors, who are under
the protection of my hospitality."
    Two soldiers dragged the prisoner away, while the others
took off at a run.
    "You have work to do," said Peter.
    "I've just done it," said Alai. He turned to
Petra. "Thank you for seeing what I needed."
    "Being a provocateur comes naturally to me," she
said.
    "I hope we've been helpful."
    "Everything you said has been heard," said Alai.
"And I assure you that when it's actually in my power to control the
armies of Islam, they will behave as true Muslims, and not as barbarian
conquerors. Meanwhile, however, I'm afraid that bloodshed is likely, and I
believe you will be safest here with me in this garden for the next half hour
or so."
    "Hot Soup has just taken over in China," said
Petra.
    "So I've heard."
    "And he's taking the title of emperor," she added.
    "Buck to the good old days."
    "A new dynasty in Beijing now faces the restored
Caliphate in Damascus," said Petra. "It would be a terrible thing,
for members of the Jeesh to have to choose up sides and wage war against each
other. Surely that's not what Battle School was ever