Riad
‘Wait,’ said Riad, stopping dead in the process of exiting the pointless library. ‘Where’s Zod?’
His remaining jinn looked blankly back at him, five of them only, and of what use could five be when six hadn’t been enough? ‘We don’t know,’ said Sidah, helpfully.
‘Well,’ said Riad. ‘How long has he been gone? At least tell me that much.’
But they couldn’t, any more than Riad could himself. He supposed that meant they had been too busy with the task he’d assigned to them to pay much heed to their colleague, and he further supposed he ought not to be angry with them for it.
Still, the disappearance of Zod was a complication, yet another one. He thought back to the glorious day when he’d seen Ibn Samar’s famous palace glimmering on the horizon, and recognised it for what it was. His e
