From behind the dune appeared the skeleton of the plane, already half-buried with sand, a man was standing near it.
Arshad and Gifar exchanged glances. They were sure that during this time the desert had killed all the survivors in it.
"Don't kill this," Arshad ordered, then turned to Gifar, "I'm even interested to look at the one who could survive here."
Gifar and his men galloped forward. Arshad and Maksud restrained their horses, waiting for Gifar to check if everything was safe for their approach and to give a signal.
The man standing by the plane offered no resistance. They surrounded him, placing two guards next to him, the rest of Gifar's men quickly surveyed the plane, then reported that there was no one else there.
Arshad saw the signal and touched the horse. The Sheikh and his retinue galloped towards the plane.
***
When Kai realized that the approaching horsemen were not a mirage, not a figment of his inflamed consciousness, he got up, walked away from the plane, and waited for their approach. Although he had a weapon on the plane, Kai decided it was completely stupid and pointless to use it. In general, it was not clear why he should shoot these people at all. These would be useless sacrifices and nothing more. He would not be able to shoot everyone - there were about thirty of them. He would always have time to die from a bullet. From this, Kai decided to just stand and wait for the people on horseback to approach him.
The chief of them was named Gifar, Kai heard this from the people, who constantly turned to him. They spoke, of course, in Arabic, and, naturally, they were sure that he did not understand them since they saw a European in front of them.
Kai was searched, then two soldiers again stood next to him. Everyone was waiting for the approach of another group of horsemen. When the riders arrived, two rode out of the common row. They drove closer to Kai. Then one of the guards pushed Kai under a knee. Kai fell but immediately got up.
"On your knees, infidel," came the voice of Gifar, who said it in English.
After another kick, Kai got up again and boldly looked into the eyes of the rider in the most luxurious clothes standing in front of him.
Gifar's voice sounded again:
"On knees! Before you, there is Sheikh Arshad himself!"
Now Kai realized who was in front of him. He never saw Sheikh Arshad, but since he was a fairly well-known and influential person, he heard a lot about him.
Kai was pushed again, he got up again and looked into Arshad's eyes again.
The Sheikh silently watched this scene. Seeing that this strange, thin, short youth was rising to his feet with such persistence, he raised his hand. Everyone froze.
Arshad approached him a little. Yes, he was clearly young, although, under a layer of dirt on his face, shriveled lips, dull tow hair on his head and burnt-out clothes, it was difficult to understand his exact age and, in general, how he looked.
"Thin and filthy," thought Arshad and was about to turn the horse around, but, colliding with the eyes of this impudent ragamuffin, froze.
Again he approached and looked again into those eyes.
"Shine of emeralds ..." flashed through his mind.
"Did you land the plane here?" Arshad asked Kai in English.
"Do you see anyone else here?" answered Kai in Arabic.
Everyone froze as they looked at him.
Arshad spoke first but in Arabic.
"You have a European appearance; how do you know our language?"
"What's so strange about it? I've learnt it."
"Who are you?"
Kai knew that his uniform had no army marks on it. There was also nothing on the plane that could give them a clue about his identity. Was there any point in saying that he was Russian? Definitely not. Although Arshad did not take part in this war, he was not on the side of the Russians. Based on this, Kai made the decision not to reveal who he was.
"It did not matter."
Gifar snatched out the whip and already brought it in with the words:
"Impudent infidel, now I will teach you to respond respectfully to the great Arshad!"
Arshad raised his hand again. Gifar dropped the whip.
"And you are really cocky. Are you not afraid of me?"
"You don't seem to be frightful."
By the time of this conversation, Arshad lowered the kerchief covering part of his face, and now he smiled when he heard the answer.
Looking again into Kai's eyes, he turned to Gifar.
"Take him with us. We'll figure out who he is at home. Well, since our "guest" is too arrogant, let him go on foot."
Arshad kicked the sides of the horse and galloped towards the plane.
Gifar gave the order, and immediately two guards began to tie Kaya's hands in front with a rope. At that moment, the second companion, all this time silently standing next to Arshad, approached Kai. Everyone froze at his approach. Kai looked up at him. The rider also dropped his kerchief from the face. He looked closely at Kai, bending down slightly from the horse.
"My name is Maksud, and what is yours?"
"Is it important?"
"You are daring and brave. But this is stupid, you could have gone on horseback to the palace, but now for your insolence, you will go on foot."
Kai listened silently to Maksud. Maksud saw that this guy with emerald-colored eyes would not answer anymore. He straightened up in the saddle and, finding Arshad with his eyes, went to him, thinking that they had found an emerald of extraordinary beauty in this desert. Under a layer of dirt, Maksud could see the features of their captive. He felt sorry for Kai, but now Arshad could not be persuaded.
When they set off on their way back, Maksud constantly looked at the prisoner, following the horse, to the saddle of which a rope stretched, binding his hands. After a while, the prisoner began to fall more and more often, and then Maksud saw that he was no longer getting up, but dragging along the sand.
Maksud drove up to Arshad.
"Our mysterious prisoner, I think, is already repenting of his impudent words. Maybe you should spare him?"
"I don't think such a person will repent of anything."
"Arshad, we don't know anything about him yet, but if he drags behind the horse, I'm afraid we won't even know," Maksud decided to speak bluntly.
Arshad turned around, saw how the body of the prisoner, who was clearly unconscious, stretched behind the horse across the sand.
"Do what you want," Arshad threw, turning again and looking ahead.
Maksud spurred his horse, waved to his servants, rode up with them to Kai. The servants unhooked the rope from the horse, turned Kai over, poured water into his half-open lips. Kai came to life; he was given another drink. Then they pointed to the horse, helped to sit on it. The servant took the horse's reins and rode a little ahead, leading Kai's horse, tied to his. Kai's hands were also tied, only a large kerchief was put on his head, which, like everyone else, covered part of his face.
Kai understood that a miracle had happened, that he was spared and given a horse. Although the sun was shaking from weakness and heat, and everything was floating in front of his eyes, he tried not to fall out of the saddle. So he rode, now falling into strange oblivion, then coming to his senses he straightened out in the saddle and tried to endure it all.
By evening, their small caravan stopped. They quickly began to set up small camp tents, make fires, and cook food.
Kai was roughly dragged from his horse and seated to one of the fires so that he was constantly under the close supervision of everyone. Kai saw that they kept their eyes on him.
He just sat, eyes half-closed, watching the picture of the life of the camp, and enjoyed the coming coolness after the incredible heat. His hands were not untied, they were numb and very painful, especially since the skin on his wrists was also ripped off with a rope while he dragged behind the horse.
The food was prepared, hungry warriors ate it with appetite, sitting by the fires, and chatted animatedly with each other.
Sensing someone's presence, Kai looked up and saw Maksud with two servants. The servants put a jug of water near Kai and put a bowl of food and a piece of bread.
"Eat - you need it," Kai caught notes of sympathy in Maksud's voice.
He raised the eyes to him, Maksud smiled, then silently went to his tent.
Kai did not show off and pretend to be a proud idiot who disdained food from the hands of the enemy. Moreover, they were not particularly enemies, and he, it seemed, was not a particularly moron. So he drank water, ate, and drank the rest of the water. Starving himself was stupid and unjustified. What to do next, until he decided, which meant that he needed strength to fight.
Gradually night descended on the desert. Instead of pleasant coolness, the cold began to chill. Kai started to shake. He clenched, huddled, pulling his knees up to his chin and wrapping his bound arms around them. But he was still shaking.
At some point, he again felt that someone was next to him. He raised his eyes - it was Maksud, who was looking at him very attentively, and then, unfolding a huge woolen piece of fabric, wrapped Kai with it and silently left.
Kai was confused, then felt the wool was warming him, he wrapped himself in it more tightly, lay down on his side, and fell asleep.
He woke up from the noise. It was still very early, but everyone was getting ready to hit the road before the main heat. The tents were quickly folded up; the camping belongings were loaded onto the horses. They put Kai on the same horse, and everyone started. After yesterday's meal and sleep, Kai felt practically well. Now he rode and looked at the riders. Arshad, Gifar, and Maksud were regularly in his field of vision. By the fact that Arshad never looked at him, Kai realized that he had already forgotten about his existence. Gifar occasionally cast glances at him, Kai knew that he was responsible for everything, and Kai was also his responsibility. But he constantly felt Maksud's gaze on himself, but it did not bother him, Maksud did not radiate threats, on the contrary, it seemed to Kai that he felt care and anxiety. Or did it just seem to him?..
The whole day they moved almost without stopping, only a couple of times there were small halts. Throughout the day, a servant of Maksud regularly drove up to Kai and handed him an animal skin bag with water. Kai was very grateful for this. Riding all day under the scorching sun without a sip of water would be very cruel, and the trip was even very comfortable.
Towards evening, Kai saw lights from afar - it meant that they were approaching the same mysterious palace in the desert, about which they talked. These were the possessions of Sheikh Arshad.
It was already dark, and Kai could not see all the splendor that was the Sheikh's palace. But from the lights spread over a vast territory, Kai saw that the Sheikh's possessions were huge, and from the outlines of domes, walls, roofs, and buildings it was clear that this was an incredible miracle from the fairy tale "A Thousand and One Nights."
A large gate opened and the riders were allowed in. They drove along a wide road lined with low palms, fragrant bushes of exotic flowers, and illuminated by multi-colored lanterns. It was incredibly beautiful and unrealistic to see all this in the middle of the desert. Then their caravan split into parts.
The main group, led by Arshad and Maksud, drove on, and he was taken to the side under the protection and gaze of Gifar. Having driven into the courtyard, he was pulled off his horse and taken inside. From what Kai saw, it was one of the additional buildings to the palace. Inside there were corridors that diverged in different directions, he was led down the stairs, Kai guessed that this was a prison. Through several open and closed iron doors, he was led into another corridor, in which there were small iron doors with windows in the center to the right and left. Having brought him to one of these doors, he was pushed inside. The guard cut the ropes on his arms and closed the door.
The small room was dimly lit by a very faint light bulb. Looking around, Kai saw a wooden decking and a hole in the floor, from the smell it was clear that it was a toilet. That's all, there was nothing else in this room, not even a window. Although Kai assumed they were underground, then it was understandable why the window wasn't here. Wearily he made his way to the wooden decking and lay down on it. Taking a horizontal position, he quickly fell asleep. Now he didn't care that it was hard to sleep on the boards, that there was no pillow, and that he hadn't washed all this time, although he didn't stink in the dry and hot climate - that much made him happy. But none of this mattered. After everything that had happened to him, a dream came to him in this cool room.
He woke up from the clatter of locks on the door. A guard came in and brought in a tray of food and water. A second guard stood prudently at the door. Without saying anything, they closed the door and left.
The meal procedure was now taking place regularly. The food was good for a prison. At least not the slops. The food was freshly prepared, no-frills, everything you needed: some porridge and even meat, bean stews, always a small piece of flatbread, even stewed vegetables were on the food menu and invariably a jug of water. Kai even tried to wash his face a little, saving on drinking. But that only smeared the dirt all over his face. Therefore, he left this occupation and tried not to think about how much he had not washed. Of course, it was stupid to think about this when his life was in question, but the desire to find himself under the streams of water did not leave him.
He ate whatever was brought because he should recuperate to get out of here. Besides he could refuse food any time.
During all this time, no one came to him. Sometimes it seemed to Kai that they had completely forgotten about him, then panic came over him. To spend years of his life here and to die like that without seeing God's light! But he held on, whispered prayers - it gave strength.
He forced himself to be patient. The hardest thing was not to see the sun. Only a light bulb with its dim light and the arrival of a security guard with food gave at least some idea of the time.
By his calculations, a week had passed, maybe more. During this time, he recovered his strength and, in order not to go crazy, began to constantly engage in training, those that were available in a small room. He needed to put his muscles in order, restore flexibility and plasticity to the body, and calmness to his mind. Therefore, in addition to strength exercises, he meditated a lot, this returned the strength of the spirit and stabilized his inner peace.
***
One of the nights he woke up from the noise in the corridor, listened: first there was a stomp, then the roar of opening doors, he clearly discerned voices and, from separate thrown phrases of people running past his door, he realized that there was a coup in the palace, it was a conspiracy against Sheikh Arshad.
Then the doors in the corridor began to open, his door was also unlocked. Several people looked inside, they simultaneously shouted that he was free, that they would kill Arshad, and the great Ali would become their ruler.
Kai deliberately went deep into his dungeon so that he was hard to see. He changed his voice and answered with a hoarse voice in Arabic that he was glad of such an event - the coming to power of the great Ali.
The crowd moved on, revealing all the cameras. Kai guessed that there were political prisoners on this floor. It was good that in a panic no one began to figure out who he was.
He ran into the corridor, followed the sound of receding steps, realizing that there was a way out. On the way, he took the sword from the dead guard, then from another - a couple of daggers.
Soon he saw from a group of fighting people in one of the corridors that the rioters were dressed in black robes and trousers, in contrast to the Sheikh's guards, who were dressed in multi-colored, expensively embroidered robes and the same trousers tucked into low boots.
Kai safely skirted the group of fighting people, then slipped past some more, then more. This was not his war, he had a goal to escape from here. So, using the dark niches in the corridor passages at night, he went to the main palace.
A wounded man was lying in the corner - it was a man from the Sheikh's guard, Kai saw it by his clothes. He ran to the guard, shook it slightly, and asked where the helicopter pad was. The guard at first was silent, but after another kick, he decided not to play a hero out of himself. He showed the right direction. Kai understood that the platform was on one of the roofs of these buildings, but how to get there and not get lost in these corridors was much more difficult. Having found out the approximate landmarks in the course of his movement, he quickly went in the indicated direction. As he traveled, he saw, even at night, in the dim lighting of lamps and the moon penetrating the open roads, that the palace was huge and luxurious. Kai constantly forced himself to walk, and not freeze in front of the next, opening to his gaze, a luxurious room.
From the corpses lying on the floor, Kai saw that the rebels had already been here - they were probably looking for the Sheikh himself.
Then he heard the noise of a struggle, the clink of metal, screams and, running past the next hall, he saw that about twenty people had surrounded Arshad and were attacking him from all sides. That this was Arshad, Kai recognized him at once, as he got a good look at him then when the Sheikh had been on a horse - tall, his face framed by a thin line of beard and mustache, the glowing gaze of almond-shaped eyes. Now, Kai did not see the fear in them, only anger and determination, although his strength was leaving him - there were too many opponents.
Kai stopped, and then, grabbing the second sword from the dead warrior lying around at his feet, rushed into the midst of the fighting. The thought that he would regret his deed flashed and disappeared, now there was no time to think, it was necessary to save his life and the life of Arshad if he decided to stand up for him.
The attackers, out of surprise, missed several of his punches, thanks to which he was able to penetrate the thick of the battle. He slashed the belly of the rebel, who had raised the sword at him and unleashed a hail of blows to three more, pushing them away from Arshad, thereby giving him a moment of respite.
Arshad's eyes widened, at first, he did not recognize him. It was evident that the Sheikh had long forgotten about the guy's existence, then their gazes met, and Arshad remembered a scallywag near the plane by the glint of the green emeralds of the eyes.
When Kai once again threw two attackers away from Arshad, the Sheikh saw his intentions, and now they fought together, shoulder to shoulder, covering each other and deflecting blows. In terms of combat technique, and terms of freshness of strength, Kai prevailed. Arshad was already tired, although he held on without showing it. But Kai saw this and was constantly near at the right moment, repulsing blows aimed at the Sheikh.
Then help came to them, it was clear from the expensive clothes of the soldiers who ran in and from Gifar, who was running ahead of them.
Gifar instantly appreciated what was happening here, seeing Kai and Arshad fighting in the center, and around them - the attacking rebels.
Gifar began to fight his way towards them. During the battle, Kai saw that the rebels kept coming and coming, and instead of one killed or wounded by them two or three new ones were coming. With this arrangement, they would not last long. Therefore, the arrival of Gifar, who made his way to Arshad and Kai and stood next to them, was very useful. Now there were three of them, and they held the defense in a circle. Gifar, like Kai, constantly covered Arshad from blows. Gifar saw how Kai was fighting and saw his constant attempts to remove opponents from Arshad. Gifar and Kai's eyes met, Kai read the surprise in them, but then the men switched to the attackers.
Kai, seeing that Arshad was already barely holding on, began to press on several opponents, displacing them further and further. Guifar understood his plan. Then more Gifar's warriors came running, and after a short battle and a clear superiority in strength on the side of Arshad, the enemy surrendered. Those who were still alive dropped their swords.
Kai, chopping at the next attacker, saw that there was no one else, and turned around. Behind him stood Arshad, surrounded by his guards, next to him there was Maksud - when he arrived, Kai did not see. To the right, Gifar stood. Kai had two bloody swords in his hands. Everyone froze. Kai unclenched his fingers, swords slipping from his hands to the floor. He had no more weapons with him; he had used daggers long ago.
Arshad said something to Maksud, who, waving his hand to his servants, approached Kai.
"Come with me," he said in a friendly tone.
Kai followed, and now what could he do? Instead of his escape, he began to rescue, and here is the result - time was lost, he no longer could escape. After such an active fight and adrenaline rush, he felt that he was tired, he was shaken and he just wanted to lie down. Now it was no longer important for him what his future fate was. One thing pleased him that he was not being led back to the cell, judging by the other direction of their movement. After passing several corridors and stairs, they entered a room quite spacious, with carpets and interior of the modest luxury of the Orient.
"Rest, our mysterious friend, tomorrow I will come for you," Maksud bowed politely and left. The door closed behind him and the bolt clicked. Kai glanced at the windows, which had a beautiful wrought-iron grill. He walked around his new quarters, saw that another door led to a bath with clean towels hung on hooks. But now there was no strength to wash. He went to the bed and lay down on the bedspread. After all this time, it was a real bed, not a folded parachute on the floor of the plain or wooden planks in the form of decking in his cell - it was exactly a bed: soft, clean and fragrant. Feeling it with his whole body, he instantly fell asleep.
He woke up late, judging by the rays of the sun and the clock on the wall showing one o'clock, looked around. Yes, these were clearly not the chambers of Arshad, which he had seen yesterday, passing through the palace, where luxury and abundance amazed the eye, but, on the whole, it was a richly furnished room in oriental style. On the armchair, he saw clothes: light-colored wide trousers and the same light-colored robe made of expensive fabric. Kai remembered the soul he had seen yesterday. Now he could not think of anything else. He did not care about his unclear fate and, in general, everything that happened. He had one desire - to stand under a stream of warm water and wash everything off himself. He grabbed his clothes, realizing that afterward, he would not be able to put on his own, soaked in sweat, dirt, and blood of yesterday's enemies. Kai went into the bath. Feeling the water on his body, he realized what happiness was.
He must have been taking the shower for an hour. There were plenty of jars of gels and shampoos, which he poured over himself and then rubbed himself with a washcloth. It seemed that such a layer of dirt was impossible to wash off. Finally, with an effort of will, he closed the water and wrapped himself in a huge soft towel.
***
When Maksud went to his mysterious prisoner, as he began to call him for himself, he froze in the doorway. A slim and slender young man plastically and softly turned to him, he was already dressed in wide trousers and a robe and was now standing in the middle of the room. If not for the sparkle of his eyes, Maksud would not have believed that it was he - that ragamuffin by the plane! Although no, even then, under a layer of dirt and fatigue, he made out it, but now ...
While still wet, the hair on his head that had grown during this time curled into large curls and glistened with moisture on them. Kai made an involuntary movement, brushing the fallen curls from his eyes, and looked at Maksud who entered.
Maksud approached.
"Hello. Did you sleep well? Food will be brought to you now. What's your name?"
"It doesn't matter what my name is," Kai now wanted to hear what would happen to him now. After all, in general, he had escaped from the cell of his confinement and it was not a fact that now they would remember his military achievements.
Maksud missed the unfriendly tone of the prisoner. And it's understandable: when your fate is not known to you, you will not be particularly friendly.
"Great Sheikh Arshad conveys through me gratitude for his salvation and asks to be his guest. He's gone now. Unfortunately, yesterday's event made adjustments to his plans, and he had to hastily leave the palace. He really wants to personally express his gratitude to you for his salvation and for how bravely you fought. Therefore, he asked to wait for him and entrusted all the worries about you to me."
"To wait, as if I have other options" Kai looked at Maksud, realizing that he was not afraid of this person, there was something in him.
Meanwhile, Maksud began to go around Kai in a circle, examining him.
Then Maksud clapped his hands, and several servants entered the room. He gave the name of the one he asked to come. A minute later, a breathless man ran into their room.
"This is a tailor," Maksud pointed to a short, plump man who was trying to catch his breath. "You need clothes," Maksud smiled mysteriously, "let him take your measurements."
Kai shrugged vaguely.
"Can I take off your robe?"
Maksud approached him, Kai looked warily into his eyes. Maksud smiled again.
"You don't know yet - I'm a eunuch. Nothing threatens you from my side."
Kai's eyes widened, he, of course, understood who the eunuch was, but to see it live ...
This tall, broad-shouldered man with bright oriental features, wearing eyeliner and a complete lack of facial hair did not look like eunuchs in Kai's point of view. He was not feminine, on the contrary, although, knowing now about Maksud, perhaps a little softer movements, a slightly more gentle voice were present. He was about thirty-five, maybe a little over.
While Kai was at a loss to comprehend all this, Maksud gently removed hands from the robe and, having untied the guy's belt, took it off.
Only thin trousers remained on Kai, which were obviously too big for him and, despite the ties at the belt, slipped and hung on his narrow hips.
Maksud again stepped back from him and slowly walked around in a circle. Then he smiled, looking into his eyes.
"Mysterious prisoner, will you trust me? You need to recover from your time in the desert. The desert takes the beauty away, but not from everyone ..."
Kai didn't quite understand the meaning of his speech. Maksud continued:
"I understand your distrust, but it was your own fault, there, in the desert, you shouldn't have behaved so impudently with Arshad. He is quick-tempered but quickly moves away. If you remember, I tried to do everything to facilitate your fate there as a prisoner."
Yes, Kai remembered his concern in the form of water, food, and warm clothes at night.
"When we arrived here, I also wanted to help you, but, unfortunately, the threat of a coup, a conspiracy against Arshad - all this did not give the opportunity and time to switch his attention to you. The only thing I could do was send you good food and wait for the threat of a conspiracy to pass. Unfortunately, their plan succeeded. But Allah sent you to us - you've saved the life of the great Sheikh. Arshad will never forget this and will thank you. Now, while he is gone, trust me. Okay?"
Kai again did not quite understand what Maqsood was talking about but did not resist when the tailor took measurements from him.
Maksud gave him a robe and helped him put it on.
Servants brought in food on several trays and set the table. After looking at the abundance and variety of food, Kai decided it was for ten people.
"Now you need to eat and sleep. I think we'll postpone everything until tomorrow. Just rest."
Maksud once again looked at him and, having politely bowed, left. All his entourage came out.
Kai thought that it was not entirely clear to him what status he was arriving here now. His door was bolted and, judging by the voices behind it, he guessed that there was a guard there.
But, in general, life was getting better, at least, he was not in the cell, and the sun was peeping through the window. Going to the window, he saw a wonderful garden, as in a fairy tale: beautiful paths, small fountains, rose bushes, and peacocks on the green grass. After admiring this living zoo, he went to eat and then to sleep. The most valuable food brought was wine. He did not drink it for a long time, and his nerves were not iron, and now, having drunk amazingly tasting red wine, he fell asleep.
In the evening they woke him up, again set the table in the same insane abundance. He ate a little and drank the whole decanter of wine again, and then a healthy child's sleep came.
In the morning, the picture repeated itself, only one glass of wine was brought. Kai decided that Maksud wanted to see him not only asleep.
***
Coming out of Kai, Maksud took a deep breath. He hadn't expected this. It was incredible. How many boys he had found for Arshad's harem, but this - he was well versed in beauty and was a connoisseur of it, but here it was just a gift from heaven. It's amazing what can fall into the desert!
But this was no ordinary boy. Maksud saw how he fought, saw his willpower as he dragged behind the horse. Yes, this guy wasn't like these young men he had found for the harem, this was a warrior. He fought best of all, it was then Gifar said in front of everyone, admiring him. And Arshad also admired how he fought, but Arshad had not yet seen him ...
Maksud laughed. Here he would surprise the Sheikh! And what a surprise! Nobody expected this. Even now he was still under the impression of the prisoner he had seen: he was fragile, graceful with a thin waist, narrow hips, feline grace in every gesture, and the face, cheekbones, lips - everything was perfect, and no femininity - the ideal beauty of a young man. And the eyes were emeralds.
Yes, of course, the desert made itself felt, but it did not take away his beauty. Maksud built the whole scheme of his restoration, and then, by the arrival of the Sheikh, this emerald would sparkle in all its natural beauty. And only then Arshad himself would decide what he would do with him.
Maksud treated this young man very well from the very moment they met, probably for his audacity, for the fact that he, sitting in the desert for a month, did not break down. Then, seeing him fighting, he realized that he was not mistaken in him, in his spiritual qualities - such a person would always come to the rescue, never leave anybody in trouble. Unfortunately, in the modern world, these qualities cannot be found in people. This hooked Maksud. And when he finally saw what their prisoner looked like, he decided that he would do everything for him. He would show Arshad him in a way that Arshad did not expect to see him.
Arshad would not harm him, Maksud was sure of that. Despite the permissiveness, the Sheikh, although he was formidable, quick-tempered, and cruel, but he was fair. Therefore, it was better to let Arshad see what his prisoner really was, and only then make a decision about his fate.