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There was a girl who lived in Ecbatana in Media, beautiful and pious, and every man who saw her fell madly in love. And not just men, as her family learned to their cost. For on the night that she was married with all honour to the young man her father had chosen for her, a demon rose up in her bedchamber and slew her groom while she shrank back in fear against the wall.
"No man shall have thee," the demon said, its voice the crackle of flames, and it touched her long, unbound hair with one hesitant finger. "Thou art so beautiful, Daughter of Eve."
"My name," she said, angry to be treated so, "is Sarah."
The demon smiled and bowed to her as if she were a great lady.
"Thou art beautiful, Sarah," it said, and vanished.
It was not easy to live down the scandal of a dead bridegroom, but her father was powerful, and the funeral he paid for was lavish and soon the parents of her husband glumly nodded when her father spoke of how ill their son had been. No one listened to Sarah's story of the demon with the voice like fire, and as soon as it was respectable her father found her a new husband. By this time Sarah herself believed her first husband had been ill, and that anything she had seen that night was the product of her silly woman's mind. She was unprepared, therefore, when her husband was pulled from her embrace and the demon's hand tightened about his neck. The demon dropped his body upon the floor and strode to her bedside.
"Fear not," it said. "He hath not sullied thee."
"He was my husband," she said in horror. "His embrace was lawful."
"He was not," the demon said firmly. "Thou shalt have no human husband, Sarah. I have told thee this before." It glared down at her, then seemed to set its anger aside. "Come now," it said coaxingly. "Thou art confused. I have saved thee from ravishment, canst thou not see?"
"Can a husband ravish his own wife?" she said in fury.
"Innocent child," the demon said, laughing a hissing laugh. "I see the hearts of men. I have spared thee much pain." It reached for her, its fingers stopping short of her face. "So lovely, Sarah, my sister," it said, "so very lovely."
"You may not say such things to me," she said, and turned her face away. When she turned back, the demon was gone, and she screamed for her mother and father.
* * *
It took longer for her father to find her a third husband, but she was young and beautiful, and eventually a young man of suitable family was overcome with love for her, and begged his father to speak with Sarah's father. The demon broke him over its knee like kindling, and sat on the edge of Sarah's bed.
"Thy face is like a flower," it said.
Sarah pulled the sheet up over her head to deny it the sight of her face and hair. It pulled the sheet down again, smiling at her as if she teased it.
"Thine eyes are like shining jewels, thy lips red as rubies, thy neck--"
"Your taste in poetry is banal," she snapped, twitching the sheet from its hands.
The demon paused, and sat back frowning. "Is this not how men in love speak?" it asked.
"I would not know," Sarah said in annoyance. "I am a properly reared maiden, I do not speak to young men I am not related to."
"Dost thou not speak with me even now?"
"I see no man," Sarah said deliberately. "I see only a demon, accursed before Heaven and man."
"We shall speak on this again," the demon said shortly, and vanished.
* * *
The fourth husband her father found her was not so young, and more in love with Sarah's inheritance than with her. The demon stood upon his neck until he died, and smiled at Sarah with joy.
"I think of thee every day," it said.
"A pity you did more than think this day," she replied.
"This man had a mistress, he would never have accorded thee the respect due a wife," the demon said.
"I shall never know the truth of that," Sarah said. "As I was not given time to be his wife."
"I love thee," the demon said, sitting beside her. "I am not a poet, or acquainted with how I should speak with thee, but I do love thee."
Sarah slapped its hand away as it attempted to stroke her hair.
"Stop. I told you, I am not accustomed to speak with men to whom I am not related."
"Thou said also that I am not a man," the demon smiled, and caught up a handful of hair firmly. "I will not allow thee to lie with any man, Sarah. Stop marrying." It shifted closer, running the fingers of its other hand along the great vein in her neck.
"I can only do as my father says," she said in some worry. "And I don't even know your name."
"Call me thy beloved, Sarah, my sister," the demon said, pulling her into an embrace.
"That will not do," she said. "I must know your name. If you loved me, you would tell me."
The demon looked into her face, its eyes gleaming in the darkness of the bridal chamber. It stroked one hand down her back.
"Asmodeus," it said. "My name is Asmodeus."
"Asmodeus," she said angrily. "Take your hands from me. What do you know of love? Love does not try to take by force."
"No," Asmodeus said slowly, "it doth not. I mean thee no harm." It took its arms from about her and stood. "Thinkest thou that I would in truth force thee? Thou art a cruel woman, Sarah."
"What am I to think, when you come to me on my wedding nights and kill my husbands?" she said. "Are these the actions of a lover?"
"I come to see thee more often," Asmodeus said quietly, "though thou seest me not. I guard thee, Sarah, my sister."
"From what? From honourable marriage and from the getting of children!"
"From the too-quick fading of thy youth," Asmodeus said. "From the dangers of childbed. From the breaking of thy heart. These men were unknown to thee, thou must not grieve them, my sist--"
"Do not speak so familiarly to me," she said, and turned angrily away.
"I will court thee more assiduously hereafter," Asmodeus hissed, hot breath tickling her ear. "Do not think to compel me with my name. Have I not treated thee gently before ere thou knew it?"
Sarah looked back to see a fierce glare upon the demon's face.
"Look for me tomorrow night," Asmodeus said. "Good night, lady." It bowed and was gone.
* * *
No man could be found to marry Sarah for some months. Every night Asmodeus came and sat in her chambers, talking with her, its hands folded tight in its lap.
"What do you do during the day?" she asked, unwilling to sit silent while her unwelcome guest spoke on and on in its dry, hissing voice.
"I go to and fro in the world," Asmodeus said, "and stretch out my hand against the sons of men. The daughters of men," it added with a little smile, "have not been of interest to me until recently." It held out a hand to her, a single perfect peach balanced on the palm. "The days are hot, are they not, Sarah? Wouldst thou not like this fruit?"
"Those that eat the food of demons are fools," Sarah said.
"It is but a peach," Asmodeus said mildly, taking a bite and laughing as it wiped the juice from its chin.
"I will have to marry. I want to marry," she said, and felt satisfaction as Asmodeus swallowed the mouthful of fruit hurriedly.
"Do not! Willst thou see yet more husbands dead before thee?"
"If you truly loved me, you would let me be happy," she said.
"I would make thee happy, if thou wouldst but let me," Asmodeus said. It looked intently at her, saying, "I would give thee treasures from many lands. I would array thee in beauty like a queen."
"I am not a queen," Sarah said. "I want only to be a normal girl. There are plenty of beautiful Median and Persian girls. Go and court them."
"It is thee that I love," Asmodeus said. "How cruel thou art, my sister." It rose and prowled about her chamber, tapping its fingers on the cool tiles that lined the walls. "I could give thee a house like this," it said politely. "I would not lessen thy estate."
"I am my father's only child," she said. "I need no demon's wealth."
Asmodeus crossed the room and took her face in its hands.
"The men whom thou hast married," it said, agitated, "thought greatly on thy father's wealth. Thy beauty was but the seal on their longings. I care nothing for thy riches, I want only thee, why canst thou not see this?" Its hands on her cheeks were warm and dry.
"It is not fitting for you to treat a gently-born virgin so," she said, and Asmodeus stepped back.
"Your pardon," it said, smiling. "See, am I not agreeable to thy demands?"
As the months wore on, and the year turned to the chills of autumn and the cold of winter, Sarah lost her fear of the demon, who touched her now only when it was greatly moved, and quickly withdrew to a seat on the far side of the room. It sat, looking now at her, and now out of the window, and the draughts that crept about the door and window did not seem to pass it.
"Does this not smell sweet?" it asked, tipping handfuls of costly perfumed woods into the brazier.
"It is wasteful," Sarah said.
"Thy beauty," Asmodeus said, "deserves such extravagance." Its voice died away as if it were distracted, and it leaned out the window, looking down. "Thy father," it said, "bringeth some well-dressed man into the house." It slammed the shutters closed and stared angrily into the brazier. "No doubt such a man has a son of marriageable age."
"I don't want anyone else to die," Sarah said unhappily.
"Thou knowest how best to prevent that," Asmodeus said. "I will not let thee be taken by any man."
"I will be too old to marry, I will wither like an unplucked fruit," Sarah said, forlorn.
"Thou art young. Thou wilt always be beautiful to me," Asmodeus said gently. Then, more forcefully, "Swear to me thou wilt refuse this man's son."
Sarah thought in horror of the deaths of her previous husbands, and of how terrible it would be to be the cause of further deaths.
"I swear," she said.
Asmodeus smiled happily, kneeling before her, and touched the very tips of her fingers to its lips.
"We make progress, do we not?" it said.
* * *
The man had no son of marriageable age, but had proposed himself as a husband for Sarah. She wept and begged her father not to agree, but he laughed at her childishness. Her mother stroked her hands and said Sarah must have someone to protect her when her parents had gone the way of all flesh, and, as the man was quiet and respectable, persuaded her husband that Sarah should meet him before the wedding to allay her fears. Sarah looked into the face of her new husband and cried, for he spoke to her kindly, saying his wife was long dead and his only son had died the winter past, and he no longer wished to be alone.
When the wedding feast was held and he politely entered her chamber, Asmodeus struck him over the heart so he died.
"Do not weep, Sarah, my sister," it said, stroking her unbound hair. "Do not weep, he wanted to die."
"He did not," she wept. "His wife and child were dead and he needed me."
"How little thou knowest of the hearts of men," Asmodeus said. "Yes, he needed thee." It fell silent, rocking her back and forth.
After the period of mourning was over Sarah was told her husband had left her all he possessed, asking only that she pay for the upkeep of his family's tomb. Her pleas to her parents that now she needed no husband to protect her in future years, but only a trustworthy steward to manage her wealth went unheeded, and her father began looking once more for a family that had not heard of his unlucky daughter.
* * *
Her sixth husband was simple, and his family had long despaired of finding him a wife. The marriage contract hedged Sarah and her inheritance round with protections, so that her father-in-law could not take her money. She made no objection, for she saw at last that there was no use. She would be married and Asmodeus would make her a widow once more. She wept when the demon slew the boy, but her tears soon stopped, and she sat, silent and tired, waiting for her mother to come and find the body.
"Wilt thou have wine?" Asmodeus asked, as if it had not just committed murder before her.
"No," Sarah said.
"It will warm you," Asmodeus said, its voice soft and coaxing. "Wouldst thou not be warm?"
"You cannot warm me," she said, and turned away.
"I would, if thou wouldst allow it," Asmodeus said. "Come, Sarah, my sister. Am I not more to you than any of these men you did not know?"
"You are nothing to me," she said. "A demon that will not leave me be. An annoyance. A murderer."
"Thou art mine," it said. "I have been forebearing with thee till now. I have not harmed thee, not pressed my suit overmuch. I have kept thee safe." It touched its lips to her forehead. They felt dry and very warm. "I want only the best for thee, why canst thou not see this?"
"Please," she said, as it kissed her face again and pulled her close. "Please, if you love me, don't force me."
"I will not," it whispered. "Have I not said so before? I am your husband, my sister, wilt thou not consent to my embrace?"
"I cannot," she said. "I must go through the period of mourning. And I cannot marry any but the one my father chooses for me."
"I should have spoken to him long before," it said in her ear. "He will not withhold thee from me."
"He thinks talk of demons is foolishness," Sarah said quickly.
"All the better," Asmodeus said with a smile. "Am I not merely a young man stricken with love for thee?"
"You must swear to me you won't kill him," Sarah said, frantically.
Asmodeus smiled, as if she had handed it the keys to her heart.
* * *
Before the demon could ever speak with her father, a seventh husband was found for her. Her father, thought he laughed at himself as he did so, found for Sarah a husband skilled in the driving out of demons. That night, after a battle in her chambers, Asmodeus kicked the magician's body in contempt and sat on the edge of Sarah's bed, a smile upon its face that she almost thought weary.
"Willst thou not give me wine?" it said. "I have battled monsters for thee." Without waiting for her answer, it held out a goblet of heavy silver to her. "A gift, my sister. Drink, the wine is good. It is from the islands in the Western Sea."
"I am not thirsty," she said, but her defiance was duller now than before, and she sipped the wine. It was very good, better than any she had had in the past. Asmodeus looked upon her approvingly, its eyes gleaming, and they drank turn and turn about.
* * *
Sarah's father spoke no more of finding a husband for her, and she dwelt quietly, a widow in her father's house. The period of mourning for her last husband being over, she felt as if life might be bearable, and filled her days with weaving and sewing with her mother. Her nights were filled with conversation, Asmodeus telling stories of its travels and adventures in the world.
"In the furthest north of the world," it said, "there are great white bears. Wouldst thou that I bring thee the skin of one?"
"What would I do with such a thing?" she asked. "Am I a Scythian, to dress in the skins of animals?"
"It is cold here in winter," Asmodeus said mildly. "Smaller furs, perhaps, to trim thy coats? A suitor should bring gifts, should he not?"
Sarah did not answer. Accepting gifts from demons seemed to her a foolhardy thing, and yet she knew she encouraged Asmodeus by eating and drinking the delicacies it brought to her chamber.
"Consent that I speak with thy father," it said, slipping its arm about her waist. "I entreat thee, my sister."
"You used to say that you preserved me from marriage," she said. "That you kept me safe from ravishment and the dangers of childbearing."
"I will give thee no child," whispered Asmodeus. "Do not fear. And never would I harm thee or cause thee grief in the marriage bed. I would live with thee even as a brother - but Sarah, I love thee. Why canst thou not believe this?"
"You are a murderer," she said. "Can such as you love?"
"No thing can be other than as it is made," Asmodeus said, the crackle in its voice like a fire dying down. "But together we might be something new." It knelt by her chair, and laid its head in her lap. "Thy beauty hath pierced my heart," it sighed. "And thy spirit draws me back. If thou wouldst be rid of me thou must needs be a different woman. But thou too art as thou wert made."
She made to push its head from her, but gently. Its dark hair was soft, as if freshly washed, and her lap felt cold when it sat back, looking at her from glowing eyes. When it took her hand between its dry, warm palms she let it rest for a moment before pulling away.
* * *
As spring turned to summer once more Sarah called for the lighter cloth she had woven, thinking to make for herself a thin gown for the summer heat. She was very angry to see the maids had not stored it properly, and that it had been quite spoiled by moth. In anger she struck one maid, who leapt back, anger in her own face.
"Don't hit me, you witch!" the maid cried. "Is it not enough for you that you strangle your husbands?"
"How dare you!" Sarah said.
"The whole city says so," the other maid said insolently. "Your father says he has given in to your request to remain a withered old virgin, but all know that no man would willingly take you, for fear of death."
Sarah ran from them, her heart consumed with shame, for all this time she had thought herself the subject of private tragedies, not public gossip. In her chamber she pulled off her belt, and flung it over a beam, meaning to hang herself. Then she fell to the ground, weeping, for she had not the courage to kill herself, and instead prayed that the shame be lifted from her and her family.
As the days passed she thought more and more on how Asmodeus had treated her gently, how it loved her and promised her a well-kept life. She would be far from the habitations of men, she thought, as a demon's wife. She would not have to listen to the insolence of her father's maidservants, nor would she have to face the women of other families and know they thought her a murderess and a witch. She asked Asmodeus for stories, and watched its face brighten. She invited it to sit, and watched it smile. She held out a hand and was not repulsed when it kissed her palm softly and reverentially.
"Speak to my father," she said. "I will be your wife."
"Beloved!" Asmodeus cried, and seized her hands, kissing them over and over. "I will go to him at once!"
"Wait!" Sarah said. "It is night time, no respectable suitor would call at such an hour. And you must wait a little while. I will ask to be married as soon as possible after you have spoken to him, and --"
"Why wait?" Asmodeus said, laughter in its voice. "We might be wed upon the morrow, my sister!"
"I will not have it said by my own parents that we have shameful reason for haste," Sarah said firmly, and as Asmodeus looked upon her in puzzlement, she blushed and said, "My courses will begin in two or three days. My mother and father would be shamed if I were with child before my wedding."
Asmodeus laughed, its voice crackling. "Whatever pleaseth thee, Sarah, my sister."
"And we must wait through the days I'm unclean until I can be purified," she said firmly.
"Yes, yes. Am I not thy devoted slave? What marriage gift wouldst thou that I give thee?"
She took its hand and saw it was paying her its whole attention, its eyes glowing, its teeth white and smiling.
"You will take me away from Ecbatana," she said, "and we will never return here."
"Yes," Asmodeus said. "We will live wheresoever thou wishest, and I promise thee, thou wilt live like a queen."
"Then I am content," she said. "I am very tired, Asmodeus. Please go for tonight, I want to sleep."
It kept a hold on her hand, its face suddenly shy. "Sarah," it said, "might I kiss thee? As thy betrothed?"
"Why not?" Sarah said wearily.
It sat beside her, putting its arms about her, and touching its lips to hers hesitantly. The kiss was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, and when Asmodeus held her tighter and laughed softly into her hair, she still felt unmoved, as if an entirely different girl had just kissed a demon in her bedchamber. When Asmodeus had left she lay in her bed, and thought of how good it would be to live somewhere where no one knew her, and how she must school herself to be a good wife though she was so used to treating Asmodeus coldly. At last she slept, and did not dream.
* * *
Some days later a young man, exhausted from travel, came to her father saying he was Tobias, the son of her father's cousin. Seeing at once the family resemblance, Sarah's father welcomed him and also the young man who had travelled with him, calling for his wife and for Sarah to greet his kinsman. Sarah and her mother washed Tobias' feet and brought him food, watching him struggle to eat it politely rather than wolf it down like a starving man. At her mother's urging, Sarah handed food also to the young man who had come with her cousin, whose name was Azarias.
"Thank you, lady," Azarias said quietly, and took some of his food to put before the little dog that had trotted at the travellers' heels. It ate cheerfully, its tail wagging back and forth as Azarias petted its head.
Sarah looked distrustfully at this man who would touch a dog before eating, and Azarias smiled up at her.
"He is the Most High's creature, is he not, lady?"
Sarah withdrew with dignity behind her mother rather than engage her cousin's companion in conversation, and drew her veil across her face. Her parents smiled at her shyness and urged her to see the young men as family and after a little she allowed herself to be persuaded to unveil her face once more. But she remained silent, and would not look directly at Azarias, nor speak to him.
She had heard the flames beneath his voice.
* * *
When Tobias asked for her in marriage, Sarah hid in her room and wept. Her mother assured her that it was a good match, that Tobias was right to say she should not be withheld from him. It was proper to marry a kinsman, and this marriage would be the one in which Sarah found happiness at last. Worse was to come, with the setting of the sun. Asmodeus strode across the room and seized her by the hair, its face dark with fury.
"What is this?" it cried. "This seducer come to steal thee? Hast thou not sworn thyself to me? By thine own laws art thou a whore and adulteress, Sarah!"
"Please!" she begged, "I could not help it, speak with my father, tell him of my vow!"
"Foolish child," Asmodeus said, but it let her go. "I should not have heeded thy request for delays. Well, no matter. I forgive thee, my sister, come, do not cry. I am sorry to have hurt thee." It put an arm about her, sitting on her bed. "I will never hurt thee more. Thy courses have started, have they not?"
"Yes," she whispered, shamed to say such a thing to any but her mother.
"He will not marry thee yet then. Dry thine eyes, my sister. Let this fool think he shall have thee. What is one more dead fool?"
"Don't," Sarah whispered. "He is his father's only child, as I am mine."
"Then let him return to his father," Asmodeus said. "Now, let us speak of more pleasant matters. Here, my sister, I have brought rings of gold for thine arms." It placed heavy bracelets of yellow and red gold upon her wrists, drawing attention to the strange designs of large-headed snakes, their mouths open, against a background of clouds. "I brought them from the east of the world, beside the great ocean," it said. "No other girl in Ecbatana has such jewels."
"Thank you," Sarah said in a voice hardly above a breath, then, seeing how Asmodeus restrained itself and kept the anger still clear in its eyes from its speech, said, "Thank you, husband."
Asmodeus smiled, its face clearing, and kissed her face gently. Only when it pressed her back against the pillows, kissing her mouth did she resist, and it sat back at once.
"They have silks in that land also," it said. "Thou shalt wear nothing less all the days of thy life."
"The young man who came with my kinsman," Sarah said, wishing not to speak of her marriage, "Azarias. He - is he a demon also?"
Asmodeus looked at her, the smallest of smiles playing about its mouth, as if at a private jest. "He is not," it said. "He hath no power to interfere with us, Sarah, do not fear. Such as he need not concern thee." It would not speak of matters of import for the rest of the night, telling her stories of the world's most distant places, and the strange sights it had seen. Sarah fell asleep at last to the sound of its quiet voice.
* * *
Once she had been purified from her uncleanness, Sarah was married to Tobias her cousin. She did not eat any of the food at her wedding feast, and did not look into her new husband's face even once, though he kept trying to catch her eye, and smiled whenever he looked her way. Azarias his companion picked at the food laid before him, slipping treats to the little dog and watching her sidelong.
"Do not fear, lady," he said when her parents and husband were talking amongst themselves. "All will be well, do not fear."
"You must not talk to me," Sarah said, and did not look his way again.
She sat in terror in her bedroom once her mother had left. To see another husband dead, and this one her own kin, seemed more terrible than she could bear.
"I have had an idea, my sister," Asmodeus said.
She looked up, and saw it sitting on the window sill. It looked excited, and very pleased with its own cleverness.
"We can be gone from here soon," it said. "We shall not have to wait for the tiresomeness of funerals and times of uncleanness to be over. I will let thy parents see me as this fool that hath married thee, and we will be gone. What sayest thou, my sister? We will be far away, as thou wishest."
The thought of no one knowing her as a further cause of shame seemed very wonderful to Sarah, and she nodded gratefully to Asmodeus. She frowned all of a sudden.
"You can make people see you as another man? How do I know I see you as you are? Is this how you really are, Asmodeus?"
"Near enough, Sarah, my sister," Asmodeus said idly. "I am not monstrous, I believe." It stood and paced about the room. "I should have considered this ere this moment," it said. "Why, we could have been wed the very first time thou wert married. Do not worry, Sarah, this fool is thy kinsman. I will slay him swiftly and he shall not suffer."
Sarah looked at the ground, telling herself that a wife had no right to reprove her husband. She sprang up as the door opened, and Tobias came in, a determined look upon his face. His eyes widened as Asmodeus stepped forwards, a wide smile upon its face.
"Greetings, kinsman of my wife," Asmodeus said and leapt forward.
Tobias jumped aside, dodging as Asmodeus reached for him. The second time he was not so lucky, Asmodeus seizing his arm and dragging him closer, though Tobias fought to get free. He whimpered in pain as Asmodeus pulled his arm up behind his back.
"Fool," Asmodeus said, joyful anger on its face. "She is mine, she hath consented to be my wife, not thine. Think on that ere I slay thee." It forced Tobias closer to the bed, and down onto his knees. "I will give thee this much mercy - bid thy kinswoman farewell," it said.
Tobias was silent, gritting his teeth. As Asmodeus laughed, and closed its hands about his neck, Tobias fell to the side and cast what had been in his hand onto the brazier by the bed. At once a foul smoke began to rise up and fill the room, forming a barrier between him and Asmodeus, who stood as if fixed to the spot, having thrown an arm up over its face. Tobias crawled forward, seized Sarah and pulled her behind the plume of smoke.
"Sarah!" Asmodeus cried, and started forward again, but slowly, coughing as if the smoke caused it hurt.
The door to her chamber had not opened again, but Tobias' companion Azarias stood there, though it seemed to Sarah that only she and Asmodeus saw him.
"She is not for thee," Azarias said.
"Are we all to be plagued by our kin this night?" Asmodeus said bitterly as Azarias came at it. It backed away, still coughing, its eyes streaming from the smoke. "For shame! That thou shouldst give this man the means to abjure me, for he got it not through his own strength! Art thou not too great to meddle in the lives of the sons of men?"
"Art not thou?" Azarias said, and struck out at it.
For a brief moment they struggled together, each seeking to throw down the other, paying no attention to either Sarah or Tobias. Azarias struck Asmodeus hard, the demon falling back and crouching as if it were in great pain. It looked about the room, growing fear in its eyes, then turned and ran for the window, springing up upon the sill and flinging open the shutters. It glanced a moment across the room, and Sarah thought it said her name. Then it threw itself out the window, followed close behind by Azarias. Sarah heard what sounded like birds flying past, and then noises as of hawks screaming. The sounds died away, and the night was silent.
Tobias smiled at her, and closed the shutters, wincing as he tried to use his injured arm.
"You are very beautiful, my sister," he said.
* * *
The days of Tobias' business in Ecbatana drew quickly to a close, and he made preparations to travel back to his father's house in Nineveh. Sarah's parents wept, but blessed both Tobias and Sarah and prayed that they would have a long life together and many sons. Sarah's father charged her to be a good wife, and her mother begged Tobias to take good care of her daughter.
They set out together, Tobias and Sarah, with Azarias accompanying them and the little dog trotting at their heels. Sarah said nothing to Azarias, noting how her husband had not seen him in the chamber the night of their wedding, and how he had appeared all at once the next morning. They walked for day after day, the men talking peaceably, Sarah silently. When they reached Nineveh at last Tobias ran ahead to tell his parents of their return.
"They are kind people," Azarias said. "They will love you."
Sarah drew her veil tight about her.
Azarias smiled sadly. "You will dwell far from Ecbatana. Was that not your wish?"
She looked down at the ground as she walked, not wishing to speak to one such as he.
"Lady," Azarias said. "I was sent to save thee. Wouldst thou that I did not?"
"Gently born women do not speak with strange men," Sarah said. "It is a custom of the sons and daughters of men. You would do well to learn it." She walked faster after her husband, ignoring the short disbelieving laugh behind her. She would speak no more with demons and their kin, she thought. She was a married woman with a married woman's concerns and no longer a child. She would be the best wife she could for Tobias. She did not let herself think about the heavy golden bracelets hidden in the bottom of her pack, that would more than pay for travel back to Ecbatana. She hoped she would never need the money they would fetch.
They would be a fine marriage-gift for her own daughter she thought. No one need ever know where she had got them.
* * * * * * * * * *