“Shhh!” Masad warned.  He gestured that we should move into a narrow side street.

            Should I go with him?  What if he was going to kill me?  The silver insignia of a crescent moon and two stars was unmistakable on his black overcoat. 

            The decision was taken out of my hands as Masad firmly gripped my arm, pulling me into the alley.  When he finally stopped, I found myself staring at his unmasked face.  The mask had certainly not been to hide ugliness.  His dark brown hair hung roguishly over the tops of his ears and the rest of his features were just as striking as his eyes with a strong jaw and aquiline nose.  His eyes were the most notable, though.  Realizing that I was staring at him, I looked down, feeling the heat of embarrassment in my cheeks. 

            “Are you alright, Ethereal?” he asked in a low tone.

            I pulled away from him, remembering what Trenwyn had said.  “You’re working for the Seti!” I accused, venomously.  “You’re one of their mercenaries!”

            Masad looked down now, and what I could only call shame crossed his face.  “Yes.  I am.”  It was a simple confession but carried the weight of a load of bricks.  I hadn’t expected him to be so honest.

            “Are you here to kill me?” I demanded, though a little less harshly.

            His head jerked up.  “No, of course not!  I gave you my word.”

            “Then why are you here and how did you find me?” I pulled the medallion out of my blouse.  “Is this how you found me?  Did you give this to me in order to track me?”

            “I gave it to you to keep you safe.”  

His tone was earnest but I supposed a mercenary could be an excellent liar.  I found myself doubting both Trenwyn and Masad.  Which one should I trust?  Could I trust either of them?

            “And is it the reason you found me so easily?” I persisted. 

            “Yes,” Masad answered, honestly.  “This ring,” he held up his left hand, “connects me with that medallion.  I’ve known where you were ever since you put it on.”

            “You tricked me!” I accused.

            “I wanted nothing other than your safety.  The Seti are powerful enemies and I wasn’t sure you would meet your friend.  But you did?  He made it here?  How is your hand?”  He raised a questioning eyebrow seeing the new white splint in the place of the black one he’d made. 

            Did he truly not know, or was he testing me to see if I would answer honestly?  Was he trying to find where Trenwyn was so that he could turn us both over to the black majai?  Denying I’d found him would be too complicated in any case.  “Yes.  I found him.”

“Good.”  Masad seemed genuinely relieved.    

“And my hand is doing well, all things considered.” I smiled a little.  “Trenwyn insisted on burning the splint you made after he learned who you were.  The one he made isn’t as good, though.”  Why had I told him that?  Well, it was the truth, wasn’t it?

For a moment Masad looked a little smug but then the concern returned to his face.  That fascinating face… 

            “Have they removed the Seti sign yet?”

            I could not decide whether he was mining for valuable intelligence or whether he was sincerely concerned for my wellbeing.  Why would he be concerned?  It made far more sense that he was trying to pry information out of me. 

            “Why should I tell you, Masad?  You’re one of their agents.  Aren’t you just trying to trap me with Trenwyn and other members of his circle so the Seti can kill them?”  I watched his face carefully for any signs of deception, but saw none.  All I wanted was the truth and I had a sneaking suspicion that I hadn’t been getting the entire truth out of either Trenwyn or Masad.

            “If I were going to harm you, I would have done it on that hillside with no one around to see or help you.”

            I found this statement somewhat chilling for I knew that he could have done just this.  “And how am I to know that was not just a set-up to get me to trust you so that the Seti could kill more of the Duri circle?”

            Masad rolled his eyes.  “Yes, that was a set-up.  I caused your hand to break.  And I made you fall off that elk so I could trick you into trusting me and later murder you and your friend.”

            “He’s not my friend,” I muttered.  I didn’t know that I trusted Trenwyn any more than I trusted Masad.  They both confused me.  I considered dropping my ace.  If he was a spy, he could not keep denying it, and if he was not and truly was trustworthy, he may as well know.  “It would be an easy matter for the Seti to cause those incidents you mentioned since they have my true name.”

            “What?”  Masad’s tan face turned a shade paler.  “You’re not saying that I told them!  No, you couldn’t be.  You told me your name after that.  How do they have your name?”  His eyes locked with mine.

            “Do you deny that it is possible for them to have set this up?”

            Masad clenched his teeth and sucked in air, then let it out, closing his eyes and letting his head fall.  “No.  If what you say is true, if they have your true name, then they could have caused all of this and I could indeed be sent to assassinate you.”  His eyes remained closed for a long moment and he only opened them slowly as he began to speak again.  “But that’s not why I am here.”

            I was about to ask him just why he was here but he spoke first.

            “What will you do now that they have your name?”

            For a second, I walked the razor wire of indecision.  Could I trust him?  I wanted to.  I fell off one side of the wire.  I had already given him my name and if he was with the Seti, I was dead either way.  “Trenwyn and his circle are going to remove the sign and do a renaming.” 

            “No.”  He lowered his voice to a whisper.  “Annalie, did he tell you what could happen?  What the ceremony could do to you?”

            I drew my lips into a thin line and nodded gravely. 

            “Don’t do this.”  He laid his hand on my shoulder.  “Please.  You cannot fully understand the meaning of this.”

            “What else can I do?”  I found myself whispering as well.  “I gave my name to one of the Seti back…back where I come from.  Is it not true that they can control me now that they have my name?”  I wanted him to tell me Trenwyn was lying for some reason, or at least overstating the danger.

            “They can control you absolutely.”  His tone was definite and left no room for argument.

            “And they want to kill me, so if you’re suggesting I just sit and wait for them, why don’t you just kill me now yourself?”  

His hands were still on my shoulders.  “There’s another way.”  He spoke slowly.

            “And what is that?”  I would not let myself get carried away and hope.  Putting my hope in a Seti mercenary was ludicrous. 

            “All the Seti who know your true name must be killed.”

            “You want me to kill people?” I demanded.  “Besides, I still have that sign on me.  If I get close enough to kill them, they’ll be able to sense me!”

            “Someone else will have to kill them.”  I held his gaze until he looked away, inhaling deeply.  “I will try to kill them if you will make me a promise.”

            My ears burned and rang with the blood rushing through them.  Was a Seti mercenary offering to assassinate his employers for me?  Why?  “How will you do this?  You’re their mercenary.”

            Masad smiled bitterly.  “Who better to kill them?  They won’t suspect me and only I will be able to find out which ones know your true name.  How many know?”

“Hopefully only the one I told,” I muttered.  

He nodded.  “If we’re lucky, it may be that he hasn’t yet passed along that information.”

            “Why wouldn’t he have?”  I wanted desperately to be able to hope.

            “Sometimes majai stay in your world for several weeks at a time before coming back here.  In a best-case scenario, he is still in your world and has not learned what you and Trenwyn have done.  If he does know, he might still keep your name to himself.  In sharing your name, he will be forced to share control over you and Seti do not like to share their agents or their marks.”

            “You said that you will only do this if I make you a promise,” I reminded him.  “What promise is this?”

            “Promise me that you’ll give me three days.  If I haven’t succeeded by then, you must go through with the renaming.”

            I was only too happy to make this promise and find a legitimate excuse to avoid the ceremony.  “What about the sign removal?” I asked.

            “By all means, have the Duri remove the sign.  That might make you a little safer.  But will you promise me the three days?”

            What if he was lying?   I couldn’t help but ask.  “What if you’re just trying to buy the Seti time to control me and kill Trenwyn and his friends?”

“That medallion I gave you,” Masad gestured to my neck and I pulled the medallion out.  This was a strange turn for the conversation.  “There’s more to it than I told you.  Hold it in your hand.  You’ll be able to tell if I’m lying.”

I did as he suggested, closing the fingers of my right hand tightly over the smooth metal.

“My name is Masad.”  A chill ran through my fingers and I somehow knew immediately that he was lying.  “I am not an agent for the Seti.”  Once again the chill ran through my fingers and I realized that he had not said anything that gave me this feeling the entire time I’d had the medallion on.  I couldn’t argue with this.  It was too incredible.  Masad looked earnestly into my eyes and I felt myself captivated by his gaze.  “Annalie, my name is Navarre Akahzian and I will do all I can to kill the Seti who know your name.”

I was very distracted by the intensity of his eyes but suddenly became conscious that I had not felt the tingle as he said this.  “That’s your true name!” I gasped, incredulous.  

He nodded.

  “I promise you three days,” I said, completely blown away by what had just happened.  Why would he tell me his name?

            Masad let out a breath, smiling slightly, his hands finally falling from my shoulders.  “Alright, listen carefully.  The medallion is connected to my ring.  I can feel you and know if you are anxious and where you are.  This link is only supposed to be used by Seti,” Navarre frowned as he said this.  “If, in the next three days, you feel the medallion go cold, go ahead with the renaming.  But if you feel the medallion grow warm, then I have succeeded.”

            “Will I not see you again?” I was more than a little distressed at this prospect.

            Navarre smiled.  “I’ll try to let you know in person if I can, but if, for any reason, I can’t get back before three days, I’ll still have a way of letting you know.”

            I nodded.

            “Now I need you to tell me all you can remember of the Seti maj you met.  When did you meet him and what did he look like?”

            I thought for a moment.  “I met him two days ago, back on Earth.”  It sounded strange to say that.  “He was short, about my height, with light brown hair, a little longer than yours, and blue eyes.  He spoke in an accent, but I suppose he could have been putting it on.”

            “Hmm.  Did he give you any name?”

            “He called himself Leo.”

            Navarre nodded.  “I’ll be able to find him if he has returned from your world.”