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CHAPTER ONE

TALLYheard the guttural shouts seconds before the gunfire Dropping to her stoled to protect her head

“Soussi al-Kebir,” her guide screamed as he ran from her

Soussi al-Kebir?Tally pressed her forear to make sense of the words with the little Arabic she knew

Soussi were Berbers from the south, those that lived close to the desert And al-Kebir was big or great ButSoussi al-Kebir?

More gunfire rang in the sunfire and the hard clattering of horses’ hooves

Was this an ambush? Robbery? What?

Heart racing, Tally hugged the cobblestones closer, her cahtly in the crook of her ar bullet would hit her

Not far froround, the heavy thud of body against stone Moments later red liquid ran toward her, inches fro her head to avoid the blood

It was then a shadow stretched long above her, the shadow enor the intense Barakan sun

Fear melted Tally’s heart She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut but fear wouldn’t let her She wanted to be brave and bold, but fear wouldn’t let her Instead she huddled there, eyes riveted to the shadow and the foot frighteningly close to her head

The foot was big and covered in pale suede The soft leather boot the type desert tribesmen wore, they were made of the softest, most supple leather to protect fro in the soft surface easier White fabric brushed the top of his boot It was the hem of his robe

Soussi, she thought, putting it together The huge shadow The suede bootSoussi al-Kebir Chief of the Desert

Hands encircled Tally’s upper arms and she was hauled to her feet The sah fabric jerked down over her head, turning day to night

Tally screa went black, but it wasn’t the dark fabric that upset her It was the loss of her ca were her world, her livelihood, her identity Without her camera and film, she had no way to pay her bills No way to survive

“Give me back my camera!” she demanded, voice muffled by the coarse fabric

“Quiet!” A harsh male voice commanded

Suddenly she was lifted, tossed high onto the back of a horse and so the reins Heels kicked at the horse’s flanks and they were off, galloping away from the town’s medina, down the narrow cobbled street into the desert beyond

Panicked, Tally struggled in the saddle, battling to pull the fabric off her head but it’d been pulled low and it was tied somehow, anchored around her shoulders