The Ring of Solomon

concentrate on this …’
    The cat went very still. It sat before the open archway, regarding it intently. Presently it began to make the faintest hissing sound. Once or twice it raised its fore-paws and moved them from side to side, but otherwise it appeared to do nothing. Asmira watched in some frustration, angered again by her blind reliance on her slave. And he was a slave – there was no doubt about that. Whatever Bartimaeus had claimed earlier, there was no equivalence between him and her at all. None. The summons she had spoken had spelled his bondage out in black and white. It was a wholly different thing from her willing obedience to her queen.
    She thought of Queen Balkis, waiting back in Marib – hoping, praying for her loyal guard’s success. Only a day remained before the deadline! By now, they would probably all have assumed she’d failed, and be taking steps to withstand attack. Asmira wondered what magics the priestesses might construct around the city, what demons they were mustering in last, desperate defence …
    Her lips tightened. She was very close now. She would not fail.
    The cat gave a sudden chuckle and twitched its tail in appreciation. ‘There you go! Look at that beauty! The Obedient Breath’s a cracker, isn’t it? Works every time.’
    Asmira gazed at the arch. ‘I can’t see any difference.’
    ‘Well, of course you can’t. You’re human and therefore, by the immutable laws of nature, completely hopeless. I’ve used the Breath to push the nexus back, see, and put a Seal on it to hold it open. There’s a nice hole in the middle here. Not too big – can’t risk any of the threads knocking against each other. So we’ll have to jump through the hole. Yes, I know you can’t see it. Just do what I do.’
    The sand cat gave a vigorous spring through the centre of the arch, landed lightly just in front of the hanging drapes. Asmira didn’t hesitate; fixing the cat’s trajectory in her mind, she took two steps back, ran forward and launched herself into a tight somersault through the air. At the apex of her leap she sensed something cold close by; it made no contact and was gone. She flipped head over heels, landed right beside the sand cat and, carried by the momentum she had generated, fell head-first through the drapes.
    She came to a halt on all fours, half sprawling into the room beyond.
    It was a room of stately proportions, long and high, with squared white pillars projecting from the whitewashed walls. Between each pillar—
    Asmira sneezed.
    Small claws grasped her shoulder, dragged her back into the concealment of the drapes. Asmira sneezed again. The air was warm and close, and suffused with such an overwhelming flowery tang that her nose recoiled. She buried her face in her sleeve.
    When she recovered, the sand cat was looking at her. It was holding its nose with a paw. ‘Perfume got to you?’ it whispered. ‘Me too. It’s the king’s.’
    Asmira wiped her eyes. ‘It’s so strong ! He must have just passed by!’
    ‘Nope, could have been hours ago. Let’s just say Solomon likes his aftershave. But it’s a good job for us that he isn’t in there right now, given the way you’ve just been trumpeting like an angry elephant. We’re trying to assassinate the man, remember? A bit of care and subtlety is needed from here on in.’
    So saying, the cat slid forwards and disappeared between the drapes. Biting back her anger, Asmira picked herself up, took a deep breath, and stepped through into the private chambers of King Solomon.
    *
    As she had glimpsed a moment before, the room was high-ceilinged and of considerable size. The floor, of pink-veined marble, was strewn with ornate carpets covered in mystic signs. In the centre of the chamber was a circular, step-sided plunge-pool filled with gently steaming water; around it were chairs, couches and tasselled cushions. A large crystal orb rested on an onyx table, while amongst the potted palms, silvered trays sat on slim gold stands, bearing fruits and meats, piled seafood, pastries, jugs of wine and cups of polished glass.
    Asmira’s mouth fell open at the casual splendour of it all. Her eyes flitted from one luxury to another. At once the urgency of her mission receded. She longed to partake of the magnificence – sit on a couch, perhaps, and taste the wine, or dissolve her weariness by dipping her feet into the lulling warmness of the pool.
    She took a slow step forward …
    ‘I wouldn’t,’ the sand