Desert Stars by Joe Vasicek Read Free Book Online

deceitful it seemed, to shame him into
marrying her.
    Maybe he’ll fall in love
and change his mind on his own, she
thought hopefully to herself. Maybe I
won’t have to sleep with him just to get him to come
back.
    If he didn’t, though, she didn’t know
what she’d do.

Chapter 3
     
    Jalil stopped outside the
doorway that led to Sathi’s private quarters. He hesitated for a
moment, running through the monologue he’d practiced in his head
nearly a hundred times. Hello, Father.
With your blessing, I wish to leave with the Jabaliyn convoy. Yes,
I’ve already spoken with Sheikh Amr about it. No, I don’t know when
I’ll be back. No, I can’t promise I’ll return, but—
    Before he could bring his hand up to
knock, the door creaked open. “Jalil, my son!” boomed his father,
making him jump. “Come in, come in. I’ve been expecting
you.”
    A little shaken, Jalil stepped into
the private study. The room was well decorated, with purple silk
hangings draped across the walls and a faded mosaic on the floor
depicting a garden full of fruits and animals. A pair of highly
ornamented ceremonial gold swords hung on the wall immediately
opposite the door, crossed above the red and white banner of the
Najmi tribe. An old, dusty computer sat in the corner, the hologram
projector switched off to conserve energy. Illumination came from
an enormous stain glass lamp that hung from the center of the
vaulted brick ceiling.
    Jalil swallowed and sat cross-legged
on a small cushion near the center of the room, while his father
stretched out on the couch.
    “ Some tea?” Sathi asked,
motioning to a large golden kettle on the ornate wooden table
between them.
    “ Yes, please.”
    With his free hand, the sheikh took
the kettle and poured the tea. Jalil leaned forward and accepted
the second cup, taking a short sip before setting it
down.
    “ So,” Sathi asked, pouring
himself a cup, “have you been enjoying yourself these past few
days?”
    “ Yes, I have,” Jalil
answered. Small talk first, then the big
stuff.
    “ Excellent. It’s not every
year we have a wedding.”
    “ I know,” said Jalil,
taking another sip of his tea. “But maybe this year, we’ll be
blessed to have two.”
    Sathi threw back his head and laughed.
“Yes indeed! God-willing, perhaps we will.”
    What did I say that was so
funny?
    “ I’ve heard a lot of good
things from the Jabaliyn tribe,” Jalil continued. “They won’t
forget our hospitality.”
    “ Good, good—as well they
shouldn’t.”
    “ Mazhar is with the camp
to stay, then, is he?”
    His father let out a tired sigh.
“Perhaps. But it isn’t right for a man to stay in his
father-in-law’s tent. I don’t know whether they’ll choose to
stay—only Allah knows.”
    They’ll stay, Jalil thought to himself. Lena was Sathi’s oldest
daughter; the inheritance would pass to her, making her husband the
next sheikh of the camp. No tribesman in his right mind would pass
up that kind of wealth.
    “ Mazhar seems like a good
man,” Jalil said. “God-willing, he’ll do well here.”
    “ God-willing,” muttered
Sathi. He took a long sip of his tea.
    Jalil set down his drink and coughed.
“There is something I wanted to speak with you about,
Father.”
    “ I know, my
son.”
    Jalil frowned. “You do?”
    “ Yes. You want to make the
pilgrimage to the Temple of a Thousand Suns, don’t you?”
    At his father’s words,
Jalil’s stomach fell through the dusty mosaic floor. How does he know? he
wondered. It was too late to stop now, though. There was nothing to
do but press on.
    “ Yes,” he
whispered.
    “ And why do you wish to do
this?”
    Jalil took a deep breath. “Because it
is the duty of all believers to make the pilgrimage at least once
in their lives. I’m young, I have no wife or family obligations,
and—”
    “ Yes, yes, I know all
that. But why go alone—why not wait until I make the pilgrimage,
and go with me?”
    Sathi looked at him expectantly,
waiting for his