."

Daoud reached out to de Gobignon. "Find Sophia."

Friar Mathieu knelt next to Rachel, who moved aside to make room for
him.

Daoud said, "Father, when I am too weak to talk, put your fingers under
the collar of my tunic. You will find a small leather packet tied around
my neck. Take it off and give it to Rachel." He moved his head slightly
to see Rachel better. "It is a talisman made by the Sufis, Rachel. It is
called a tawidh. If it would not offend your faith, I would like you to
have it as a remembrance of me."

Rachel laid her hand on Daoud's and repeated the unfamiliar word.
"Tawidh. I will treasure it always, and give it to my children."

Friar Mathieu said, "I heard what you told Simon about your past. You
were baptized a Christian, Daoud. In God's eyes you are still a
Christian. You must confess that you have sinned, and you must renounce
Islam before you die, or you will not be saved. Your Christian mother
and father are waiting for you in heaven. Come, I can give you
absolution."

Daoud shook his head, smiling. How kind this man was, but how sadly
misguided.

"Saved? Of course I am saved. When a warrior dies fighting in defense of
the faith, God welcomes him with open arms into paradise. I do ask your
blessing. You are a holy man. And I ask your forgiveness for throwing
you down those stairs."

"That was you!" De Gobignon's eyes widened.

"Of course. I wish I could tell you all the things I have done, good and
bad. I have had a life of many miracles."

De Gobignon's face hardened. "You killed Alain."

Daoud hoped the realization would not turn de Gobignon against him.
Sophia's life might depend on the count's forgiving him.

"Have I not admitted that I waged secret war on you in Orvieto? Yes, I
killed your friend. I later was sorry I had done it, but he could have
exposed me. I hurt Friar Mathieu. But I could not kill--a priest. All
the things that thwarted you in Orvieto--they were my doing."

"I hate you for those things. For Alain especially."

"The princes of Europe and the Tartars would put countless men, women,
and children to the sword. They still may do it. That is what I came
here to fight against. To save my people."

De Gobignon shook his head. "How can you feel they are your people? You
were not born a Muslim."

"Nor was Muhammad. May God commend and salute him. My faith is the faith
of the homeless, the uprooted, the exiled. The Prophet said, _Islam
began in exile and it w