The genie smiled sardonically. "Do you mean to seduce him, my princess?" he mocked her gently.

"If I must, but I think not," she replied. "Haroun would send me as a gift, a concubine. It is an insulting gesture to us both. If I must take this man, then it must be as his wife. This is why I need to speak with him, Kansbar."

"Look at me, my princess," the genie said, and after their eyes had met for a long minute he continued, "I see what it is you will say to him, and he should see reason, my princess, for he is not a foolish man."

"How can you be certain?" she asked.

"I do not spend all my time in this bowl," Kansbar said sharply. "While I am bound to serve Dariyabar, I need only come when I am called. Tonight! You will go to him tonight, for there is no time to waste, my princess. At the midnight hour I will send a gentle fog across the city and the khan's encampment. All will sleep but for you and Amir Khan alone. You will find his command tent in the very center of his camp. The moon will clothe you and light your way. No one will challenge either your coming or your going. My spell will only hold to the dawn, however."

She nodded. "Thank you, Kansbar," she told the genie.

He nodded at her in acknowledgement, and then both the genie and the water in the bowl disappeared, while the round vessel again took on a dull sheen with no hint of gold at all. Zuleika arose, and taking the bowl replaced it back in the cabinet. She rejoined Bahira and Rafa in her small private walled garden.

"What mischief do you plan?" Rafa asked her, suspicious.

"None," Zuleika assured her.

"I think I shall remain with you tonight," Bahira said.

"No," Zuleika told her. "You will rouse my cousin's suspicions if you do. Particularly in light of what he has told me today."