The Bones of the Old Ones (Dabir and Asim) by Howard Andrew Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

mouth and speak clearly, but his features were forever marred by lumpy flesh and a patchy beard. Despite all this, or perhaps even because of it, all of the governor’s soldiers looked upon Tarif with favor.
    As his men departed Tarif raised his deep voice to a more formal level. “Excellency, this is one of the wooden demons that the wizard set against folk in the square. Asim pitched it into the fire, where it died. The other one fled after killing two of my men and badly wounding another.”
    The governor stared down at the motionless form, saying nothing. The long-bearded court hakim came in through the open doorway, a female attendant trailing. They bowed to the governor, who pointed up to the settee, then moved off to obey.
    “I set riders after the wizard who commanded these things,” Tarif continued. “But he galloped away on a wooden horse, and vanished into the distance.”
    The governor prodded one of the wooden man’s charred legs with his foot. “At great cost,” he said reflectively, “I have set up a place for my people to find succor in the square of my city.”
    “You are a very shepherd to your people,” Shabouh broke in, bowing his head.
    You might think that Shabouh was one of those who sought praise from his superior by giving it, but you would be judging the poor old astrologer unfairly, for the comment was heartfelt and shared by anyone with sense in the whole of the city.
    “This is not to be tolerated.” The governor’s head rose resolutely. “My people were endangered, and my soldiers murdered. Tarif, I wish you to find this wizard and bring him to me to answer for his crimes.”
    Tarif grinned fiercely. “Nothing would please me more.”
    “If I may, Excellency,” Dabir said, “there is a man I know in Harran who is a great scholar, and knows much about the history of wizards, perhaps even the identity and powers of this one. I believe he could be of tremendous help to us.”
    This was the first I had heard of this matter, or of anyone important in Harran, and I eyed my friend curiously.
    “I shall send for him,” the governor announced.
    “Better, I think,” Dabir said, slowing his speech so as to be more respectful, “if I go to him. He is disinclined to travel and cannot bring his library with him. Together the two of us might find the clues we need to ascertain the true aims of this wizard.”
    The governor frowned. “What are we to do if the wizard comes for the woman while you are gone?”
    “It was my thought that I might take the woman and the spear with me so that the scholar could examine them both.”
    The governor’s expression had softened, but he did not speak for a long while. “I care not a whit for the spear,” he said finally. “If I might rectify matters by hurling it into the Tigris, I would do so on the moment. But the young woman is afflicted with madness. Shouldn’t she be left in the care of her relatives?”
    Again Dabir bowed his head. “She has no relatives in Mosul, Excellency. And I do not think she is mad. Her reports match the strange things that we have seen. I suspect she is suffering from her treatment at the hands of the wizard. I hope that my friend—the learned Jibril ibn Jaras—may be able to help her.”
    The governor turned to Shabouh. “What do you think of all this?”
    The astrologer patted his ample belly. This, I think, was the moment he had been waiting for. “Excellency, have I not been warning you of the dire signs? Merrikh and Mushtarie are both passing through Al-Jabbar.”
    “So you have said,” the governor replied. “And things surely have grown worse. But what is to be done?”
    A lesser man might have used that moment to further his own schemes at Dabir’s expense, but Shabouh was no Baghdad courtier. “It is folly to hesitate,” he said. “I think you should heed Dabir’s plan.”
    “Let us go get this man of Dabir’s straightaway,” Tarif agreed, eager for action. “If Dabir knows about wizards,