Dark Empress Read Free

convincing lead. Asima was trying to picture the path ahead, to identify any place where she could use her intimate knowledge of the town to gain the lead. Where would…
    She was so surprised when Ghassan lost his footing and tumbled to a heap on the flat roof that she almost fell over him, leaping into the air at the last moment and performing a graceful manoeuvre as she skipped twice and then used her new momentum to clear the next street. She laughed as she landed on the other side and turned to see her lead over Samir had widened and that Ghassan, having pulled himself to his feet was now clearly at the rear of the group.
    Turning her attention back to the terrain ahead, she drew a deep breath. She was in the lead now and had to maintain her advantage. She had only won two races this year and they had both been on routes she herself had set. To maintain face, she had to win one of Samir’s routes. Asima could hear the laboured breathing of the smaller brother close behind her; so close.
    Biting the inside of her cheek, she ducked sharply to the right, around the upper storey of the temple-hospital of Belapraxis, with its roof herb garden full of plants with bitter-sweet smells and healing properties. It was oh so tempting to stop for a moment in the blessed shade cast by the extra level of plaster wall, but there was too much at stake today.
    Asima slowed as she neared the edge of the roof. Between this wall of the hospital and the grocer’s at the other side of the street, a single beam ran across carrying the water pipe that fed the hospital from a cistern at the highest point of the town. With the increased altitude of the buildings here, the carpet ceiling was a good fifteen feet below and the fall would hurt even if she landed well; a bad landing on one of the supporting struts would be crippling if not deadly. Really, Samir’s routes were getting crazy. Taking a deep breath and offering up her prayers to the four Gods whose names leapt easily to mind, she stepped out onto the beam and began to slowly inch across, placing her bare feet close in front of each other.
    Almost half way across, she paused and dipped her feet in the open section of water channel to clean and cool them. Samir was close enough behind her she could hear him breathing tightly as he traversed the beam. There was no sound from further back than that. Biting her cheek once more, she risked turning her head to gauge her pursuit. Samir was perhaps twelve feet behind her. His short legs went against him in a straight run, but his cat-like grace and reflexes allowed him to pick up the pace in places like this.
    Of Ghassan there was no sign.
    Where had he gone? Surely he had not been so slow that they had lost him? She swallowed nervously. The alternative was unpleasant. Had he fallen at one of the jumps? If so, then dear Gods please let it be a good fall at one of the places where the carpets were close. There was no time to worry now; Samir was closing.
    Turning carefully, she set off once more, her cool feet refreshed. Her grip would have been lessened by the slippery wet were it not for the interminable dust that settled on every surface of M’Dahz and gave her good purchase on the wood. She concentrated hard. Staying ahead of Samir was important, but so was making it across safely.
    Finally, after what seemed like an age, she reached the hot white roof of Jamal’s grocery store and stretched gratefully for only a second before setting off at a run on the last leg of the route.
    Up over a low dividing wall, past another roof garden and a quick, though awkwardly-angled jump, across the alley of the coppersmiths. A quick ‘S’ shape between the locked stairway entrances of three buildings and then a sharp corner next to a long drop… curse Samir for his insane routes. One more flat roof brought the last jump, a wide but straight leap across the stairway of Sidi M’Dekh. She smiled. There was no way Samir could catch her now; she was home