Alisha: A Desert Urchin Part II: Alharibin

The worst sand storm from time immemorial is rushing over the lands of Sultan Mejhem ibn El-Hashem’s territory. Within its murkiness and brutally assaulted by sand and dust trots a large caravan. It comes from the coastal city of Tyre and its mission is to bring the Byzantine ambassador to el-Hashem in Sakakah. The goal is to bring the two allies closer together in their fight against the barbarian tribes from the far north.
Meanwhile, Alisha, Zenobia and the Vandal Geisarix are still locked up in the dungeon. The girls had fallen from grace with the sultan and would from now on serve as sexual objects for his soldiers. But things turn out a little different than everyone thinks. The girls are unexpectedly released from their cells. They are brought back into the palace, where they are cleaned, handed new clothes and prepared to be served as sex slaves for special guests of the sultan.
As it turns out, this is a prime opportunity for Alisha and Zenobia to escape, but not before they are forced to perform an awful deed. They manage to free others from the dungeons too and make their way into the city, barely escaping recapture from roving patrols of soldiers.
Alisha safely guides the other escapees to a certain house in the city, whose owner she knows. They are safe there for the time being, but on the next day already they are once again forced to flee.
They make their way to Farid’s house. There they also find shelter and a hiding place and they even learn that Farid is the true emir of Sakakah. In addition, they get informed about other truths concerning the sultan and other persons.
But their prime concern is getting out of the city. This is made very difficult by the sultan’s significant search efforts to find them.
When they are informed that a delegation of Vandals is coming to town, it raises the hopes of Alisha, Zenobia and Geisarix, for they expect to get help from them to escape the sultan’s clutch. However, this still poses problems since the delegation is not a large force at all, but merely a small group of warriors.
The three fugitives are taken to another house in yet another part of the city. There, Geisarix and the girls enjoy a big surprise; another Vandal sits before them on a chair, bound and gagged. He is freed from the fetters, and then he and Geisarix make plans that will hopefully help them to escape.
But then they get informed that the sultan and the Vandals are no longer enemies and that the sultan and the Byzantines are no allies. What does this mean for the escapees? Is this news even true, or did the diabolical emir concoct a deception? If not, what will happen to the Vandal delegation? The sultan has no Geisarix to present them with, after all, and this was the main reason why the Vandal delegation had been summoned to Sakakah in the first place. Will there be a war now, or will the opposing parties find a consensus?
Indeed, will the men of the caravan make it through the dreadful dust storm? Or will they find death in it? The roving bandits and rebels are a scourge too. Will they put an end to their journey instead? If not, what will become of the relationship between the sultanate and the Eastern Roman Empire?
And what about the relationship between Alisha, Zenobia and Geisarix? Will Alisha remain devoted to Zenobia alone, or will she drift towards Geisarix? Can the three find common ground instead, and form a successful love triangle?