53. Keeping a Secret (Jafar & Hakim)
“Where were you last night?”
Jafar’s fingers, which drummed atop the desk he sat at, froze. His eyes trailed upward and met the stern gaze of Hakim, expression unreadable. Silent panic crept through his body.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” he replied stoically, eyebrow raised, “I was here in the palace.”
The guard was silent, nodding his head as he stepped toward the desk. Jafar’s hand curled into a fist, fingernails digging into his palm. Hakim’s observant eyes unnerved him.
Surely there was no way the older man could know. Jafar had been careful when leaving the palace grounds at night to venture out in the desert. The passage he had discovered to sneak out under the cover of darkness hadn’t been disturbed when he returned before the sun crept over the dunes.
Every trip thus far had been a failure. There was no sign of the Cave of Wonders, no matter how far he traveled. The maps that were within his books were a puzzle. The difficulty of trying to find the storied cave was beginning to irritate him.
No one could know of his secret. The quest for power that he yearned for, that he deserved. Once he had the lamp in his hands, everything would fall into place.
Hakim’s hands were clasped behind his back, standing in front of his desk. “We were to have a meeting last night, about the guards within the market place? But your guards would not let me through.”
Jafar inwardly cursed. How could he forget? A foolish mistake. Hakim couldn’t know what he was up to. He would grow suspicious, ask questions that Jafar didn’t need to be asked. The guard would bring unwanted issues.
Shaking his head, a practiced smile curved on his lips. “I apologize, it must have slipped my mind. Yesterday was…a busy day,” it left an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach to lie to Hakim, “I had requested that the guards let no one disturb me.”
Hakim’s gaze bore into him. The guard, as much as Jafar apparated him, was a mystery he couldn’t crack. The silence between them left Jafar on edge. His eyes flickered over to his staff, resting against the wall beside him. If he needed to, he could hypnotize the other man and make him forge-
“Don’t overwork yourself.”
Jafar’s eyes darted back, gazing up at the calm expression on the older man’s face. Concern flashed in them, gone as quick as it came. His heart pounded against his chest.
“Of course,” he replied cooley, “We can discuss the matter now if you have the time?”
No one could know of his search for the lamp. Once he had found the cave, everything would fall into place.
A secret worth keeping from one of the people he trusted the most.
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