not touch it.â
âI told you,â Arioch said.
âNever touch that which belongs to the gods,â Elu-ki agreed.
âAlways good advice,â said Arioch. âNow if Daniel here could only manage to keep out of matters that belong to kingsââ
âThe dragon wasnât my fault,â Daniel insisted plaintively.
âIt never is, Daniel,â Arioch said. âBut somehow weâre now saddled with a dragon. Iâm just pointing this out before the next time you decide to bring home a little something from a temple.â
Daniel glared at Arioch. âThere isnât going to be a next time.â
Silence. Skeptical silence. Priestess Amunet-Nefer-Setmut-Elu-ki smiled very sweetly and stroked Belâs long supple neck.
âAnd Belâs a very small dragon,â Samamat pointed out.
âSomehow thatâs not a very great comfort to me,â Arioch said. âI just hope that King Darius, may he live forever, wonât give Daniel any more gifts.â
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
But it wasnât any royal whim that had carved Danielâs reputation for wisdom in stone.
It had been a desperate husbandâs plea. And for once, Ariochâs accusation that Daniel sought out trouble was right, for Daniel had deliberately involved himself in the affair. Oh, it was the womanâs husband who had begged Danielâs help, but it was Daniel himself who had sought the man out. Even now, Daniel hesitated to speak of what had sent him, unbidden, to judge between lies and truthânot because Arioch and Samamat would scoff, but because they would believe. And Daniel wasnât sure he wanted to carry the burden of that belief.
All Daniel knew was that God had sent him to save Susannah. And that was all he needed to know.
He could no longer remember the words that had commanded him, nor the sound of the voiceâif voice there had been. Once that troubled him. How could he not recall what the Most High had said to him, or how? Later he realized that wasnât important. What mattered was that the Lord had intervened to save a virtuous woman â¦
 ⦠and if Daniel had not proven Susannahâs innocence, thousands of lives would have been lost many years later. Daniel tried very hard never to think of the future that would have come if Susannah had perished.
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
The three of them had been peaceably occupied at home when Daniel heard the summons. Between one breath and the next, time ceased, and Daniel became the still center of a silent world. He waited, while beyond him, Arioch and Samamat moved slowly, as if through clear honey instead of air. He saw Samamatâs lips move as she spoke, but he could hear nothing but the beating of his own heart.
A voice echoed within him, commanding, pressing him to act. Act now. Act against falsehood. Against evil. Seek it and destroy it. Where? Daniel asked the silent voice. You will know. Go. Go now.
The force released him as suddenly as it had seized him. Daniel stumbled and Samamat steadied him; for a breath he clung to her arms, drew in the scent of her hair. âDaniel?â she said. âAre you all right?â
He pushed himself away from her. âI have to go.â
âWhere?â Samamat looked at him as intently as if he were a new star in the night sky.
âIâll explain when I get back.â
âOh, no, Daniel.â Arioch moved to block the doorway. âYouâll explain now.â
âThere isnât time. Stand aside, AriochâI have to go now.â
For once Arioch hadnât argued. Heâd stepped aside, and Daniel had fled into the street, following the Lordâs command.
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
The voice had been right: Daniel knew at once which way to run. As he hurried through the gate into the Jewish Quarter, a man ran hard into him, and only luck kept them both upright. Daniel found himself gazing at a man