The Sheikh's Desert Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 8) (7 page)

He felt sudden emotion rise in him, sensed the need to defend himself. Was she mocking him?

"I meant every word I told you," he said trying to hide the indignation that had flared in him.

"I know you did, Azim. That was the problem. Seemed to me it was more important than anything else."

Azim stared at her. "Are you suggesting that my duties as a sheikh were more important than my feelings for you?"

Lucy sighed. "Forget what I said. I didn't mean to offend you. As I said last night. The past is the past."

Azim pulled his horse to a halt and she did the same. He gazed at her. "But, you see, Lucy. That's where you're wrong. I haven't forgotten one single thing from the past. Especially what you and I had together. How could I have forgotten such a thing?"
 

Azim drew his horse closer and leaned toward Lucy. His gaze took possession of her suddenly hesitant blue eyes. She said nothing, merely glancing awkwardly toward him, as if waiting for him to say something else. He'd gone too far. He knew it because he could see the effect his words had had on her.

Suddenly his attention was caught by something just at the edge of his field of vision.
 

The flash of sunlight on metal.

He whirled his head around and gazed up in the direction from where the light had come. Was someone up there? Were they being watched? He tried to focus on where the light had come from, but he couldn't see any sign of movement, or what had caused the bright flash.
 

Lucy turned and looked in the same direction. "What is it, Azim?" she asked.

He paused, squinting a while longer, straining his eyes to see anything that would confirm the suspicion that had taken hold of him.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Did you see something?" she insisted.

Azim shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Are we being followed?" she asked.

Azim looked at Lucy. "I don't think so. It could have been anything. Just a reflection."

Azim gazed up ahead. It wouldn't take them much longer to reach their destination. Then, once she'd obtained whatever she wanted, he would make sure they would get out of this mountain range as quickly as possible.

"Let's get going again," he said, relieved that the distraction had temporarily ended what had been becoming an awkward conversation.
 

Lucy nodded.
 

Azim dug his heels into the flanks of his horse and started quickly forward. Lucy followed close behind.
 

As far as Azim was concerned, he and Lucy had already overstayed their welcome and he couldn't wait to get back to the only place where he felt truly safe; the only place where he was sure he could virtually guarantee the safety of the woman who was following behind him.

The desert called and he would do whatever it took protect his precious adventuress.

CHAPTER SEVEN

They continued on for the rest of the morning. During the ride, Lucy kept glancing up at the cliff tops trying to spot any sign of what had alarmed Azim. She'd seen the worry on his face and that could only mean one thing, as far as Lucy was concerned. Jawad's men were watching Lucy and Azim. Why would they do that? What did they have in mind? Were they planning to cause trouble for Azim and Lucy?

Even though she strained her neck repeatedly to see up to the top of the cliffs on either side, she didn't see any sign of Jawad's men. The thought that the men who'd held her captive might be tailing them caused a ball of worry to twist in her belly.
 

As the morning progressed, they stopped every so often to take a drink of water and attend to the horses. The heat was starting to become oppressive and she had to cover her eyes with the broad brim of her hat. Once, as she tugged the hat down over her eyes, she caught Azim smiling at her.
 

"That hat makes you look so cute," he said with a mischievous grin.

She didn't know quite how to respond to that, so she tried to wave away the compliment. "The sun's too bright. I'm not used to it," she observed.

Azim glanced up at the blue sky. "It's a nice day. Especially being here with you. That just makes it perfect."

Lucy felt her face color and she busied herself with taking another drink. She was determined not to encourage even the most casual advances from Azim. There wasn't any point in going down that road, she told herself. Soon, they'd arrive at the site, she'd do what she'd come here to do, and then they'd be off. Job done. Back to Qazhar.
 

And then?

She grabbed the reins of her mount. "We best be going, Azim. I think we must be almost there," she added lifting a querying brow toward him. He was her guide and she just had to accept that.

Azim nodded and took hold of his own reins. "You're right," he said a sudden sharpness in his voice. Was that disappointment on his features? Had she spoken too harshly to him, again?

He started off quickly and she raced after him.

She followed Azim and thought about what was awaiting her up ahead. She could have just high-tailed it out of these mountains with Azim, and left the site behind. But, she knew she would have regretted such a decision. She needed to know if the ancient statues had been damaged. The need to know was burning inside her. It meant too much for her to just turn her back on the truth.
 

She hoped that Jawad had been lying; wanted to believe that it had all been part of his attempt to stand up to Azim. Any defiance by Jawad had more to do with facing up to what Azim represented. Authority. Tradition. Strength.

The morning air was warmer now as they manoeuvred their way through the series of ravines and cuttings. The air was getting so warm now that Lucy had difficulty drawing a breath. Even with the movement of air it still felt like she was cutting her way through a wall of heat.
 

Of course, for Azim it was all business as usual, she thought as she tailed behind him. Watching his robes billow in the wind she got a real sense of how comfortable he felt in this harsh landscape. For him, this was entirely natural. It was his domain, the place where he felt truly at home.

Lucy gave a sudden sigh of relief when they at last emerged out of the narrow ravine and into a cutting in the cliffs that stretched ahead of them for about a hundred yards and about fifty yards in width. Azim pulled his horse to a juddering halt and Lucy's mount slid to a sudden stop on the sand-covered floor, hooves digging deep into the soft earth.
 

Lucy's heart started to hammer and her pulse raced with manic energy. Sheer excitement gripped her and she felt every nerve in her body quiver with a mixture of shock and awe.

What she saw in front of her literally made her gasp out loud. Tears welled up and her throat tightened. She raised a hand to her mouth to suppress the groan that leapt from her lips.

"My God!" she exclaimed.

Azim twisted in his saddle and smiled at her. Even he looked impressed, she thought. "Look at that, Lucy," he said pointing straight ahead. "Isn't that a sight to behold."

And, indeed it was, Lucy had to admit. She slid down off her horse, her boots sinking into the soft sand. Her legs felt weak, and she leaned a hand against her horse's flank to steady herself. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.
 

Lucy stood transfixed, staring in wonder at one of the most amazing things she'd ever seen.

Azim dismounted and came over to her side, gazing up at the enormous statues which were carved into the high cliff in front them. Lucy was barely aware of his presence by her side as she lifted her head to take in the sheer enormity of what she was looking at.

"It's intact," was all she could say in breathless tone.

Azim smiled at her. "Completely undamaged."

Lucy gasped and felt a tear race down her cheek. "I thought you said it had been destroyed," she said to Azim.

"Jawad was lying," Azim replied, disgust filling his voice. "Nothing surprising there," he added with a shrug. "But, look at it. Isn't it amazing?"

Lucy took a few steps toward the cliff carvings and tried to appreciate the awesome beauty of the object she was looking at.

There were cliff carvings all over this region. She knew that. But, this took the whole concept of ancient cliff carvings and statuary to a whole new level.

Lucy turned to Azim. "Can you believe it?" she said.
 

Azim smiled at her. "I can believe it, Lucy. I'm just so pleased that its intact. Just like it has been for over two thousand years.

Lucy turned back and gazed up at the enormous figures which had been carved into the rock. They were two huge carvings of winged lions that faced each other, strange almost mythical looking creatures that could have stepped out of the pages of a book of fantasy animals.
 

Weather had taken some toll of the carvings. Parts had crumbled away. That would have been inevitable since the bas-relief statues had been dated to around 200 B.C. But, still the original artisans who'd created these giant testaments to some long lost deity, had carved the stone deep as if defying the future elements. They had intended these mythical offerings to last into the depths of time.

The figures had been dug out of the rock, expertly and delicately carved by a myriad of expert hands. Both figures stretched up to perhaps one hundred feet in height, she estimated. The heads of the lions had enormous carved manes, rock carved to flow like hair, and the two powerful muscled bodies stretched along the length of the cliff wall.
 

No wonder her breath had been taken away, Lucy realized. As she knew all to well, it was one thing to see photos or video images of something like this. But, it was an entirely different experience just being in the presence of something which had stood since early Roman times.

Beneath the twin facing winged lions, just above the valley floor, she saw the almost completely crushed remains of a high stone platform. No-one knew what this place had been used for, but the educated guesses were that some kind of group had settled here in ancient times, existing nearby as cave dwellers. In those times the climate had been different in these parts, more moist, with possible vegetation in these mountains, and such a life might have been sustainable for a modestly sized community of believers. But these winged lions had such an incredible majesty about them. They exuded history and power and mystery like she'd never witnessed before.

 
She'd seen similar animals depicted in ancient Assyrian wall decorations in other parts of the region. But, for various reasons, those countries had become inaccessible to people like Lucy in recent times. Emotion overtook her and she felt another wave of sobs threaten to swell up within her.
 

Lucy turned to Azim and saw the concern in his eyes. She could tell he knew just how much this meant to her. It had been her passion since she'd studied ancient history at college.

Azim came to her and she didn't resist him at all when he wrapped his arm around her and held her close. She leaned her head against his shoulder and looked up at the incredible sight before them.

"I'm so happy," she murmured. "They're undamaged. It's amazing."

She felt Azim pull her closer to him. When she looked up she saw his eyes were bright with appreciation. Then he did something which took her by surprise, but on reflection it really shouldn't have. She felt his head dip and he planted a kiss on her forehead. She did nothing to stop him doing that. It felt almost right for him to do that, she told herself. His lips felt moist against her skin for a brief moment, and she pushed away the sudden thought that rose up in her mind. Hadn't that felt good, she asked herself.

"I'm glad," he said. "Aren't you going to do what you came here for?"

Lucy snapped out of her reverie, suddenly aware that she had plenty of work to do. Her camera was in her bag in the pack on the horse.

Azim released her and she raced to her horse and started unpacking the equipment she would use to record the evidence for which she'd come such a long way.
 

Lucy glanced over toward Azim and saw him standing, hands on hips, craning his neck back to take in the sight of the winged lions. She knew he cared as much about this as she did. Maybe being here would focus his mind, and that of others who had influence, to do something to ensure that this incredible site would be properly protected, made safe from potential damage by those for whom this was probably an affront to their own beliefs or ideology. But she had no time for such thoughts.

She finally managed to get her equipment ready and for the next hour she took all the pictures and video images she could get. Azim watched her the whole time and he seemed fascinated as he observed her doing what she had done so many times before.

 
In fact, at one point Lucy realized she was taking a secret delight in Azim watching her at work. It reminded her of how he had watched at her in the past, when they had just met, when everything was still exciting and new and full of hope.

Finally, she felt she had enough material. She'd just about filled up the memory of her camera, and she was satisfied she'd covered every angle that was available to her from her vantage point on the ground. She wished she could get up higher and get some shots of the more elevated parts of the carvings, but she knew that wasn't going to be possible. She took some satisfaction from the realization that she'd captured images of what was truly important; the undamaged condition of the monument. The pictures she'd obtained would be persuasive. She was sure of that.

"Finished?" she heard Azim ask as she started to pack her gear away into the pack.

Lucy sighed and glanced up at the monument. "I could spend all day here," she said.

Azim smiled. "I'm sure you could. But, we have to get going. If we're going to have any chance of getting out of these hills before sunset, I think we have to get going."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Azim looked up at the sun. "We need to head south. If we move fast enough, there's a place I know we can use to stay overnight."