The Ring of Solomon

limiting the historical comparisons to a minimum and only concluding with three rhyming paeans of self-praise. When I finished, I waited expectantly, but the girl said nothing; she was still too busy plucking thorns from her underclothes.
    At last she finished. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘Well done.’
    I stared at her. ‘ Well done? Is that all you can say?’ I gestured at the empty trees and rustic arbours all around. ‘Look – nothing left on any plane! I’ve cleared the way right to Solomon’s door. A marid couldn’t have done any better than that in the time available. Well done? ’ I scowled. ‘What kind of a response is that?’
    ‘It’s a thank-you,’ she said. ‘Would your other masters have spoken any better?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Well, then.’
    ‘Only I’d have thought you might have viewed things in a different light,’ I said idly. ‘You know, on account of you being a slave yourself.’
    There was a silence; ahead of us, between the trees, the king’s apartments could now be seen, a dark domed mass rising sheer against the milky sheen of stars.
    The girl jumped over the little tiled channel that marked the beginnings of the water gardens. She said: ‘I’m not a slave.’
    ‘Sure.’ I was in human form again: the handsome young Sumerian, lolloping along like a wolf, with easy strides. ‘I remember. You’re a “hereditary guard”. Nice one. Altogether different. That “hereditary” bit, incidentally – what’s that mean?’
    ‘Is it not obvious, Bartimaeus? I follow my mother, and my mother’s mother, and so on down the years. I, as they, have the sacred role of protecting our queen’s life. There is no higher calling. Where now?’
    ‘Left around the lake – there’s a footbridge there. So you’ve prepared for this from birth?’
    ‘Well, from early girlhood. As a baby I couldn’t hold a knife.’
    I glanced at her. ‘Was that a joke, or just painfully literal thinking? I’m guessing the latter.’
    The girl said flatly: ‘Do not seek to demean me, demon. I have an exalted position. There is a special altar in the Temple of the Sun dedicated to the guards. The priestesses bless us individually at each festival. The queen addresses us each by name.’
    ‘How thrilling for you,’ I said. ‘Wait, watch out on the bridge – there’s a trip-thread on the second plane – it’ll trigger an alarm. When you get to the top, do a little jump like me. That’s it; you’re over it … Now, I’ve a question. Have you, at any time, had any choice in what you do? Could you have been anything other than a guard?’
    ‘No. And I wouldn’t have wanted to. I followed my mother.’
    ‘Lack of choice,’ I said. ‘Preordained from birth. Ordered to sacrifice yourself for a cruel, unfeeling master. You’re a slave.’
    ‘The queen is not unfeeling,’ the girl cried. ‘She practically wept when she sent me—’
    ‘Here to die,’ I finished. ‘You can’t see what’s right in front of your nose, can you? Speaking of which, there’s another trip-thread here, suspended between those trees. Bend down double, like this, nice and low. That’s it, you’re through. Take it from me,’ I went on as we took up the pace once more. ‘You’ve got a fancy title and a nice line in weaponry, but you’re just as enslaved as if your neck was chained. I pity you.’
    The girl had had enough by now. ‘Be silent!’
    ‘Sorry, don’t do silent. The only difference between you and me is that I’ve got self-knowledge. I know I’m enslaved, and it gets on my wick. That gives me just a shadowy slice of freedom. You haven’t even got that. This queen of yours must be laughing her crown off, you’re so eager to obey her every whim.’
    Something flashed in the starlight; a dagger was in her hand. ‘Never dare to insult the queen, demon!’ the girl cried. ‘You cannot imagine the responsibility she holds. She has absolute faith in me, and I in her. I would never question a command she gave.’
    ‘Apparently not,’ I said crisply. ‘Right, watch out here: we need three little jumps, one after the other, high as you can. That’s it. Now get down on all fours … wiggle forwards … try and keep your bottom a little lower please … a bit more … OK, you can get up now.’
    The girl stared back at me across the empty patch of lawn in wonder. ‘How many trip-threads were concealed there ?’
    I strolled across to her, grinning. ‘Absolutely none. That was just a little