gnon what I know about
you, you would surely be dead by now."

Daoud forced himself to his feet. The pain shot through him like a
lightning bolt, but in his fury he ignored it. He bent down and seized
Sordello's throat with his right hand. He fell back sitting on the bed,
pulling the popeyed bravo toward him so that his good knee pressed into
the Sordello's chest.

Somewhere, nearby, he heard Sophia cry out in protest, but he paid no
attention.

"Confess that it was you, and I will kill you quickly," Daoud whispered.
"I have shown you paradise, and I can show you hell. If you do not give
yourself up now, and I find out later that it was you, I will inflict
torments of mind and body on you beyond your imagining."

"David, stop, you will kill him!" Sophia screamed. She gripped Daoud's
arm, digging her nails into his muscle.

Gradually Daoud released his hold on the corded throat. With his eyes
alone, employing the Hashishiyya "look that imprisons," he held Sordello
fast. The bravo's eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed.

He was glad Sophia had stopped him. She must have realized that he would
regret it if he killed Sordello in a fit of rage. If Sordello had not
betrayed them, his false reports to Simon de Gobignon would still be
useful. And in any case his sudden disappearance immediately after the
attack on the Monaldeschi palace would draw de Gobignon's attention.

"If it is not you, then there is another among us who told Simon de
Gobignon about my plans. If you want to save your life, you will find
out who it is."

"I promise you, Messere." Sordello's voice was a hoarse croak. "Whoever
the escremento is, I will deliver his life into your hands."

Sordello stood up, then turned to Sophia and bowed.

"Madonna," Sordello gasped. "My eternal gratitude--"

"Just get out," Sophia snapped.

Was there a suggestion of a leer in Sordello's lumpy face as he stared
at Sophia? But pain spread from the wound in Daoud's leg in great
ripples through him, and he lay back and concentrated on the Sufi
exercise that detached him from his body.

The heavy oak door closed behind Sordello. They were all three silent
for a moment. Then Lorenzo jerked the door open and looked out into the
corridor. He nodded, indicating Sordello had truly gone.

"It might have been wiser to strangle him," said Lorenzo. "He has all
our lives in his hands."

Daoud held up his hand. "What he said was true. He could have delivered
us to our enemi