Equal of the Sun A Novel - By Anita Amirrezvani Page 0,107

of her eyes so she could see but not be seen.

I called out for Fareed Agha, who entered behind me. He looked startled when he laid eyes on her. In her black clothing she was like a spirit hovering in the darkness.

“What is it, a jinni?” he asked, as if making a joke, but I could see he was awed.

“Come here,” Pari commanded, and he approached a little closer, but not too close.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I won’t tell you who I am, only that I have a splendid gift for you. Behold!” she said.

She opened a bag and spilled silver in front of him on the floor. The coins struck the tiled surface like music. Even in the dark of night, they gleamed, and his eyes became round with desire as he calculated what the money would mean.

“So you are a jinni after all!”

“Not so. I am a taskmaster.”

“What do you require?”

“Something very simple. I won’t tell you what it is unless you agree to be employed.”

“What is its purpose?” he asked.

“Ending the killings at the palace.”

There was a long silence.

“So this is a dirty business.”

“It is an essential business, one that requires a trustworthy man like yourself.”

“Why me?”

“I thought you might be a man of justice.”

“A man of justice? I have never seen myself that way.”

“Most of us haven’t until we are called on to do something of great importance.”

He looked uncomfortable. “I am just an ordinary servant.”

“That is exactly what we need. I understand that you served Gowhar and Ibrahim honorably for many years.”

“True. I feel very sorry for her now.”

“As do I. What do you do at the palace?”

“I make deliveries.”

“Of what?”

“Food, mostly.”

“Do you like working here?”

He was silent for a moment. “I used to.”

“What has changed?”

“The palace has become a place of fear,” he said. “One day a man is raised high; the next day his head is displayed on a stake outside the Tehran Gate. There is no logic to it.”

“That is the problem we wish to address,” said Pari.

“If your cause is pure justice, why do you pay?”

“In consideration of the great risk to you. We would do it ourselves, but we can’t go where you can.”

He took a deep breath. “Whom do you wish to extinguish?”

“I will tell you what you need to know if you accept my commission. If not, our conversation is finished. What is your decision?”

“It depends how you will protect me.”

“After you perform the deed we require, you will receive these coins and will be escorted outside, where a horse will await you. You will depart for a distant city and will live as a rich man from then on.”

“I would rather stay in Qazveen.”

“You can’t. It is not safe for any of us.”

“How do I know you won’t turn on me? Or blame me for what you yourself have tried to do?”

“I will give you my word.”

“And why should I take your word?”

“Royal blood flows through my veins. Isn’t that good enough?”

“Not if you can’t prove it.”

“What would satisfy you?”

“Only one thing: I need to see you.”

“And how do I know you won’t betray me?”

“I give you my word.”

Pari laughed. “That is not good enough.”

“That is what I want,” he said. “Show me your face to prove who you are, and I will do what you ask.”

“Don’t do it,” I whispered to Pari. If he could name her, and he betrayed us or was caught, people would believe his story was true.

Heedless of her own safety, Pari lifted her picheh and revealed her face. Her dark eyes were just visible in the moonlight that filtered into the pavilion. A drop of turquoise set in gold gleamed at the center of her forehead. The silver threads in her robe glowed as if she were a ghostly apparition. She was fearless—and in that moment my heart swelled to bursting.

“When you perform what I command, know that you do so by order of a princess who has the good of her dynasty foremost in mind.”

He was speechless at the sight of her.

“Our time is at an end,” I said. “Will you help us or not?”

He eyed the money on the floor one last time as if making calculations. I could imagine what he must be thinking: He would never have to work again, and he would live a life of ease. I envied him.

“What must I do?”

“When we summon you, you will come here alone to pick up a box. You will deliver the box to a location outside the