Her sword whispered as she drew it from its sheath, holding it down and to the side as she crept up on the hospital.Adela froze as she neared the hosp...tal’s entrance. Standing in the shadow formed by the corners of the building was a slender pole, roughly shoulder high, on which someone had mounted four skulls, each of which faced one of the cardinal directions. She had seen similar stakes before. Known as potkoli, they were set by goblin tribes at the edge of their camps to ward off evil. And Selim was its Pasha. Realisticallythough, most of this empire paid little heed to the Sublime Porte. TheIslamic emirates of the Southern Mediterranean coast gave only the merest lip-serviceto Istambul . The Mughal emperors of India had not paid homage in almosttwo hundred years. Egypt, Greece and Persia were getting restless underTurkish rule. About the only provinces that the Pasha could regard asloyal were Anatolia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and the Balkans. Still thisis not an. He had used the nickname 'TheChameleon' for years as a cover to hide his true identity as it hadreflected his style of operations perfectly. He could be anyone he wantedwithin reason given a similar body shape and some study. Indeed the manwho was Joanne's grandfather who answered the door to her had beenanother one of his disguises up until recently when he had lost the oldman's job as barman at the Pink Pussycat Club."Ah, Joanne, come in dear and I'll pop the kettle on," Arthur Crabtreetold. ‘I will.’ ‘Come.’ she took his hand, leading him through the entrance and deep inside the cave. When the light from outside was almost gone, she stopped beside a ledge, searching in her carrysac for a lantern which she filled with oil, then somehow lit. She made sure the man could not tell how she made the fire. One moment they were in darkness and the next the lantern filled the cave with a warm glow. She found another lamp, lit it and gave it to him, suggesting he explore further while.