Free Game of Queens by India Edghill

not touch it.”
    â€œI told you,” Arioch said.
    â€œNever touch that which belongs to the gods,” Elu-ki agreed.
    â€œAlways good advice,” said Arioch. “Now if Daniel here could only manage to keep out of matters that belong to kings—”
    â€œThe dragon wasn’t my fault,” Daniel insisted plaintively.
    â€œIt never is, Daniel,” Arioch said. “But somehow we’re now saddled with a dragon. I’m just pointing this out before the next time you decide to bring home a little something from a temple.”
    Daniel glared at Arioch. “There isn’t going to be a next time.”
    Silence. Skeptical silence. Priestess Amunet-Nefer-Setmut-Elu-ki smiled very sweetly and stroked Bel’s long supple neck.
    â€œAnd Bel’s a very small dragon,” Samamat pointed out.
    â€œSomehow that’s not a very great comfort to me,” Arioch said. “I just hope that King Darius, may he live forever, won’t give Daniel any more gifts.”
    *   *   *
    But it wasn’t any royal whim that had carved Daniel’s reputation for wisdom in stone.
    It had been a desperate husband’s plea. And for once, Arioch’s accusation that Daniel sought out trouble was right, for Daniel had deliberately involved himself in the affair. Oh, it was the woman’s husband who had begged Daniel’s 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 truth—not because Arioch and Samamat would scoff, but because they would believe. And Daniel wasn’t 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 voice—if 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 wasn’t important. What mattered was that the Lord had intervened to save a virtuous woman …
    Â â€¦ and if Daniel had not proven Susannah’s 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.
    *   *   *
    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 Samamat’s 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. “Daniel?” she said. “Are you all right?”
    He pushed himself away from her. “I have to go.”
    â€œWhere?” Samamat looked at him as intently as if he were a new star in the night sky.
    â€œI’ll explain when I get back.”
    â€œOh, no, Daniel.” Arioch moved to block the doorway. “You’ll explain now.”
    â€œThere isn’t time. Stand aside, Arioch—I have to go now.”
    For once Arioch hadn’t argued. He’d stepped aside, and Daniel had fled into the street, following the Lord’s command.
    *   *   *
    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