Desert Rising by Kelley Grant Read Free Book Online Page B

said. “Trust me, anything I’m uncertain about I will bring to you first. And nothing is final without your signatures, so what are you worried about?”
    Uncle Aaron exchanged a glance with Uncle Tarik. “We need to make a good impression,” he said. “A partnership between our two families would be powerful, beyond just business. We are the two largest clans in the South. If this Ashraf has orders to approach us on business, it could be that the Nasirof clan is feeling us out for something larger.”
    Uncle Tarik nodded. “This is bigger than just trading. Some of us feel it would be better to form a stronger alliance among the clans, just in case the Temple decides the South is too tasty not to finally take a bite of. We broke from the deities during the Great War, and our faith proved to the One we did not need the deities. But the Temple wants to expand its followers, to convert us back to the religion of the four.”
    â€œBut the One wouldn’t allow that,” Kadar protested.
    â€œThe One doesn’t involve herself in our daily lives,” Aunt Raella reminded him. “There have been wars between humans before, up north. We can’t expect the One to fight our battles for us; we need to prove to her our determination and faith.”
    She paused, then smiled at the look of uncertainty on Kadar’s face. “We aren’t asking you to stop a war, Kadar. We just think you need to be aware of what is really at stake. See what the Nasirofs want. Make friends with Ashraf if you can.”
    Kadar nodded. Uncle Tarik disappeared into the salesroom and came back with Farrah, who was carrying a package wrapped in coarse, brown cloth.
    â€œDrop this off at the Farid merchant stall on your way. Lina’s been doing a lot of promotion for us, and I want her to have the best of these silks,” Uncle Tarik said.
    Kadar reached for the package, and both Farrah and Uncle Tarik shook their heads.
    â€œI’ve got it,” Farrah said firmly.
    â€œLet her carry it. It gives her a reason to be with you. No respectable Illian man would be traveling with a Forsaken woman if she were not there to serve him. She’ll walk a ­couple of paces behind you.”
    Kadar grimaced, disgusted with the stupidity of the Illian customs. “Then how will she show me where the inn is? And how does it make me respectable to treat her with disrespect?”
    â€œI can whisper which way to turn,” Farrah said with a smile. “Unless, of course, you have the ears of an old man.”
    Kadar smiled back at her. “I can hear quite well, thank you,” he said, holding her gaze until she blushed and turned away. It seemed she wasn’t as indifferent to him as she pretended.
    Kadar sped through the marketplace, intent on getting his errand done so he could meet with Ashraf. At Farrah’s hiss of “Slow down, you idiot!” he slowed so abruptly she almost ran into him. She managed to get a foot on the heel of one sandal, pulling it off and tripping him. He blushed at his clumsiness.
    â€œOh, I’m so sorry, master,” she said innocently, helping him put it back on, but with a wicked gleam in her eyes. Her hair shone like golden sand in the sunlight, and he admired the oasis blue of her eyes.
    Bystanders were staring, so Kadar set a slower pace and led docilely until she directed him to a small stall to one side of the busy main road. He took the package from Farrah, and she stood over to one side of the road, away from the crowds, to wait for him.
    â€œI am looking for Mistress Lina,” Kadar told the girl behind the counter. She looked up from the ledger she was tallying and smiled.
    â€œMa!” she called. “A Hasifel’s here to see you.”
    At his surprised look, the girl laughed. “You’ve got the Hasifel nose,” she told him.
    â€œEshe, do you have the inventory done?” The girl’s mother stepped out