Page 26 of A City of Hearts and Feathers

"You think you will be able to find the shop easily? There're thousands of shops in the Bazaar," she said, looking at the picture on her phone that she had taken of her father's organizer entry.

"There's a method to the madness that is the Bazaar. I'll find the shop, don't worry," he assured her.

Despite Zoe's teasing about Kahil being her guide, she was glad to have him once they arrived at the Bazaar itself. The place was packed with shoppers and groups of rowdy tourists. Outside the arched way leading into the Bazaar were food carts selling roasted nuts, grilled corn, and piles of baked simit. It was loud, overwhelming chaos.

Zoe moved behind Kahil automatically to use him as a human shield. Kahil pushed his glasses on the top of his headas they entered the enclosed alleyways. It was brightly lit with white painted walls and filled with the noise of people shopping and bargaining.

"Don't get lost," Kahil said, taking her hand before leading her through the crowds. The stall attendants seemed to take one look at him and not bother to try to sell him anything.

"They know you around here?" she asked.

"Some of them do, but most can recognize if you are a wide-eyed tourist or not," Kahil replied.

Zoe followed him until they were out of the initial crush of crowds and in a whole different section of the Bazaar. It felt and looked older, with less touristy merchandise and more items that were meant for the locals.

"Here it is," Kahil said, pulling up in front of a carpet shop that was barely a doorway. There was a sign hanging in the window that said they imported from local and Egyptian sources written in English, Turkish, and Arabic. "Let me go in first and make sure it's safe."

Zoe dropped her grip on his hand and followed him inside. The shop was tiny and had beautiful carpets and other textiles covering the walls and rolled into corners in stacks. A grizzled, bald man sat behind a counter, reading a paper. He took one look at Kahil and spilled his tea.

"Whatever you are here for, I didn't do it, Mister Reis," the man said quickly.

"Are you Hasan?" Kahil asked.

"I am, sir. What is this about?"

Kahil moved out of the way to reveal Zoe standing behind him. Hasan's dark eyes went wide behind his smudged spectacles.

"This cannot be Oman's sweet baby daughter," Hasan said, his face craking into a wide smile.

"Hello. I'm here because—" Zoe began, but Hasan waved her quiet.

"Don't worry. I know what you're here for. Let me go and find it. Have a look around, hmm? I'll do you a good price on anything that catches your eye." Hasan opened the door to a storeroom and disappeared inside of it.

"You don't thinkbabaleft the rest of the codex with him, do you?" Zoe asked.

Kahil shook his head. "Not a chance. If Hasan knew he had part of the codex, he would've sold it by now just to get it out of here."

The man in question appeared again, carrying a package wrapped in brown paper. Kahil took one look at it and moved Zoe behind him again.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know, but it's got an enchantment on it," Kahil replied.

Hasan clucked his tongue. "It's harmless. It only makes sure that this goes to Zoe and no one else. Oman wanted it to be a surprise for her. He paid me to look after it. I just didn't think it was going to take twenty years for you to come and collect it. I've been dying to know what's inside of it."

Kahil passed the package to Zoe. "Did you do a lot of work with Oman?"

"Of course. He would sometimes have items delivered to my warehouse in Cairo, and I would ship them in with some of my stock," Hasan replied. He held his hands up. "Nothing illegal like artefacts, I swear. Just old books and a few boxes of other things. I didn't bother looking. Oman wasn't the type to try and move anything illegal."

Zoe placed the package on the counter and unwrapped the brown paper. Inside was a beautiful wooden jewelry box, inlaid with slivers of mother of pearl in a pretty spiral design. Therewas also a burgundy leather folio. Zoe didn't dare open it in front of Hasan.

"Ah, a book and a trinket. I should have known," Hasan said with a frown. "It's a bit disappointing. I thought it would be some kind of rare manuscript or treasure with that enchantment on it."

"My father loved creating treasure hunts for my birthday when I was a child," Zoe lied smoothly, not liking the gleam that was still in Hasan's eyes. "It's a rare treasure to me because it came from him."

"I understand. Oman was a good man and a better friend. You must miss him. I'm glad there is a Kartal back in the bookstore. It has been empty for too long. If you ever need anything imported, Zoe, please come and see me," Hasan said, passing her a business card.

"Thank you, Hasan. I will," she said. She accepted a shopping bag from him to put the folio and jewelry box inside of. She couldn't wait to get home and figure out what was inside the folio. Would it be another part of the codex? Or something else altogether?

---