The golden grass swayed and sang like strings of God's violin. She awoke to this, having fled until she collapsed here in exhaustion. In a grassland beyond the ruins.

A lioness was sitting upon a log, watching her. Zaynab slowly sat up and looked around. She didn't see any of the cat's sisters. That didn't mean that none were out in the grass.

She recalled that she had killed everyone in Shapiro's dungeon. She'd killed Shapiro. The world felt empty and forgetful. If she just laid back down: surely she would fade into a mist and disappear. There was a distant roar from a male lion, calling to those around her. They left her there and she stood up and watched them go.

She walked in the opposite direction than where the lions went. Soon she found two tire-ruts that composed a road. She followed this and as thirst and the bites of flies reminded her she was still alive she hummed to herself.

The rumble of a vehicle approaching was felt in the packed earth. She turned and soon saw a jeep coming towards her. After awhile the jeep stopped next to her and the warden stared at her. He said something to her that she did not understand. Zaynab thought he might be speaking in Bantu, but she wasn't sure.

"English?" She asked. He just shook his head 'no'. Then he offered her a gallon-milk-jug full of water. She accepted it and climbed into the jeep next to him. He nodded and they drove back the way he had come to get her. He decided to talk to her anyway.

In the village they arrived in she bid him farewell and thanked him with a smile. The man had kind eyes and she knew that helping her was its own reward, for such a person. It was a reminder of why she had turned on AGT. She had come to realize that the world was not theirs; not when these were people of the world.

She begged for a ride on the back of a truck heading to Dakar. An hour later she was in Dakar. She wandered around all day on-foot and stopped to behold the African Renaissance Monument, just outside the city. She slept there on a rock she found, shivering.

The next day she walked through Dakar and stopped at the Mosque of the Divinity. Here she prayed and fasted for the remainder of the day. The evening found Zaynab's eyes sleepless and full of a lonesome kind of spirituality. In her heart she felt loved by her Creator as she battled for what she believed to be right. In her mind she felt doubt that what she felt to be right was holy, or that her Creator was concerned for her struggles.

The sun set on the sea and she watched this and fell asleep where she sat. As dawn approached she stood, stiffly. She was very hungry and wondered how she would get back to her goals, now that she had made such a mess of things.

Her options were considerable, having effectively vanished from sight. As a ghost, she was effectively invisible. She thought about the lioness she had met. While it watched her from plain sight half a dozen others had surrounded her and she could not see them in the grass.

Walking the waterfront in the morning she spotted prey of her own. She had no dearth of imagination and what she saw was opportunity. An old couple walking towards her, probably European and wealthy. They had nothing on them and instead an attendant followed them from some distance, wearing a backpack.

Zaynab didn't have to try hard to look pathetic after days without food or rest. She got them to approach her and she sobbed for them; her exhaustion made it easy to cry. They wanted to help her so she told them:

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"My fiancee' believed I was faithless. I had to escape." Zaynab didn't even have to lie.

"We will take you with us. We have our own boat. You come home with us, let us take care of you." They said to her.

Leaving Dakar behind brought her a sense of relief. She slept on their boat and the crew of four ignored her, asking no questions. She discovered her new home would be in Venice and accepted the adoption.

Living with her dreams visiting her as she slept made Zaynab anxious. That effect wore off after a couple of months in Venice. She immediately began studying Italian and carefully keeping track of all of their friends. Some were involved with AGT as wealthy investors.

As a couple months became a season, her plans slowly formed.

Zaynab had almost stopped fearing her own shadow. She stood on the parlor balcony one night as guests were leaving. She loved the off-yellow colored dress she was wearing. The lights reflected off of the water reflected off of her eyes.

"That dress looks very beautiful on you." A familiar voice spoke from behind her. She turned to see who it was; as the shadowy figure closed the door.

"Your name is Thrith." Zaynab recognized him after a moment. She'd met him in Marrakesh. It seemed like a long time ago.

"What are you doing here?" Thrith seemed surprised to find her.

"The same thing you are doing." Zaynab challenged him, bluffing.

"I doubt that. I am here to play cards. You are always doing something cool." Thrith still sounded bewildered.

"Play cards? You are buying weapons. Buying, selling, what is the difference?" Zaynab sounded bored, acting.

Zaynab answered his questions with partial-honesty, describing her life in Venice. The presence of AGT investors added credibility to everything she was saying. Her candor made Thrith wonder why she had so much to tell him.

"Maybe I could use some help. You live here so perhaps you could show me around?" Thrith prodded.

Zaynab stared at him for awhile before she confessed:

"I can't leave. I ran into trouble and fled here. I need papers and I need to get back to Orchard Six. Can you help me with that?" Zaynab asked carefully.

Zaynab was specifically honest and it made Thrith hesitate. He didn't believe anything she had said sofar; but now he wasn't sure what to believe. After a very long minute he went:

"I can call Klein for you. Tell him you are here and want some help." Thrith said with the weird cunning smile he got sometimes.

"Yes." Zaynab answered quickly. Thrith had thought about this for too long and Zaynab decided she had to agree to whatever he was offering. Either that or murder him.

"You do realize that Klein will have many questions. Unless AGT already knows you are not compromised; but they don't know. You are being hunted. Maybe it would be better if I got you there and didn't call Klein." Thrith pursed his lips as he said this, watching her like the card shark watches the tell of their opponent. Zaynab thought about her Uncle's nod whenever she looked for approval to play; a memory from her very early childhood.

"I am glad you will help me. Thank you." Zaynab pretended she was speaking to this one trusted person as she said this. The human-lie-detector observing her believed she was sincere. In truth Zaynab was afraid that her betrayals were obvious. Her instinct was to avoid help from Thrith, especially if it was not sanctioned by his handler, Klein. She had met Klein before and knew he would overlook her status if she came in. Thrith was an unknown danger.

"It is strange." Thrith said quietly after a few minutes standing next to her at the balcony. Zaynab did not ask what he meant. He elaborated anyway: "It is strange that you have done so much for The Path and never taken anything for yourself. Everyone else has rewards or things they took. Not you."

"I've never called this 'The Path' either." Zaynab claimed. "You?"

This made Thrith laugh. It was a sound like sand cascading and thunder rumbling. Very unpleasant. He said: "Not until just now. I thought you would be amused."

"I am amused." Zaynab recursed dryly.

"You are going home. Don't sound too excited." Thrith put his hand on the small of her back and it was like the sting of an electric eel. Zaynab shuddered involuntarily.

As he left she said softly to herself:

"I was already home."