I let my breath out in a whoosh. "Excellent. I think we'll be going, then." I jumped forward and grabbed Gadji's arm.
"Seize them!" von Braggenschnott shouted.
Two men leaped forward and pulled me away from Gadji. "Wh-what is this? You said we would make a fair trade!" Two others closed in on Gadji, whose head whipped back and forth blindly within his hood as he wondered what was going on.
"I lied," von Braggenschnott said. "Surely that does not surprise you. Besides, you and I have old business to settle between us." He lifted up the empty glove of his left hand.
"I'm afraid it will have to wait." Major Grindle's voice rang out through the courtyard. At his disembodied voice, the Serpents of Chaos looked up, trying to locate him. I looked over at Gadji. "Be ready," I whispered.
"The curse-repelling device, Miss Throckmorton," Major Grindle reminded me. I reached down and adjusted the knob as he called out, "Then the fountain pen, when you're able."
No sooner had he stopped speaking than there was a whooshing noise as hundreds of small sparks rained down on the men on either side of me. They screamed and let go of my arms, slapping at the Rain of Fire's sparks. With both my hands free, I shouted, "Duck, Gadji!" then gave the fountain pen a violent twist.
The effect was instantaneous. A buzzing sound shot from the pen, followed by the screams and cries of the Serpents of Chaos. Something deadly and sharp came slicing through the dark. Von Braggenschnott gave a shout of pain as it embedded itself in his arm, the one that had been reaching into his jacket for a pistol.
"Run!" Grindle shouted as he leaped down from high above. But we were already halfway to the pylon. A man stepped out from behind the chapel—where had he come from?—and grabbed for me. Before he got a firm grip, however, a small, spitting shape hurled itself at his face.
Isis! As her sharp claws made contact with his face, he let go of me to protect himself.
That was all we needed. I dragged poor Gadji toward freedom, not even stopping long enough to remove his hood. I had a firm grip on him so he wouldn't fall.
There was a thud behind us and a ring of steel as a sword was drawn. When we reached the first pylon, I risked a quick look over my shoulder.
"Do not dawdle, Miss Throckmorton! Get to the horse!"
I turned back around, grabbed Gadji's hand, and ran pell-mell toward where the horse was waiting.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
An Unexpected Detour
WHEN WE FINALLY REACHED THE HORSE, I stopped long enough to grab Gadji's hood and yank it off his head.
But it wasn't Gadji! "Who are you?" I asked.
The terrified boy said something in Arabic. My best guess was he was some peasant child the Serpents of Chaos had snatched off the streets to fool us. I glanced at his scratched hand, appalled that they would injure him in order to maintain the deception.
Before I could decide what to do, two cloaked figures glided from the shadows at the base of the pylon to one of the criosphinxes on either side. "Come on," I told the boy, not caring who he was. We both needed to get to safety before those men saw us.
I grabbed hold of the saddle, got my foot into the stirrup, then hauled myself up. I took the reins from the boy and held my arm down to him. He grabbed hold and scampered up onto the saddle behind me.
Afraid the two men were closing in on us, I glanced up, surprised to see that they weren't paying us any attention. Instead, they had drawn instruments and were doing something to the criosphinxes. They each tapped a ram-headed sphinx on the forehead, the chest, its elbows and hands, then its ears.
The moment they touched the sphinxes' mouths, I knew. It was the Opening of the Mouth ceremony—very similar to the one I had performed on Tetley's mummy just a few months ago! Done in about three and a half seconds, I might add. But the ceremony was designed to reanimate the deceased. I couldn't imagine what possible use it might have on a statue.
No sooner had I formed that thought than the night air shifted and there was a mighty cracking sound, as if one of the temple pillars had fallen. But no. My eyes nearly popped out of my head as one of the ram-headed sphinxes pulled one of its great lion paws from the plinth on which he rested.
My heart began to race. Surely the men hadn't—
Behind me the boy squealed, the terror in his voice perfectly mirroring my own as the sphinx shook its mighty head. It looked directly at the man in front of it, who said something I couldn't hear and then pointed into the temple.
There was another mighty crack, one that shook the very ground, as the second sphinx leaped off the plinth, twitched its long lion tail, lowered its horns, then charged into the Court of Nectanebo.
The boy tugged on my sleeve and I felt his raw panic, but I was loath to leave such a spectacular bit of magic. However, I suspected that even at this distance, we weren't truly safe. Besides, who knew how much control over those creatures the magicians actually had? After all the major had done to save us, it would be wrong to repay him with stupidity.
As I wheeled the horse around, I peered frantically into the shadows, trying to locate Isis and Sefu, but they were nowhere to be seen. They were small, I reminded myself over the thudding of my heart. They could easily get away and hide in small places where those sphinxes couldn't reach them. The boy began slapping at me, wanting me to move. Knowing he was right, I put my heels to the horse.
It bolted forward and I felt the boy tighten his arms around my waist. I bent my head down low over the horse's neck and held on for dear life. The sounds of chaos and fighting receded into the distance. Even so, I kept riding, not slowing down until we reached the Temple of Mut.
As we passed the sacred lake, the horse shied at a shadow in front of us. It checked itself and changed directions, veering left toward the temple.
Two more shadows stepped out in front of us, this time causing the horse to rear up and nearly pitch us out of our seat. "Hang on!" I shouted, praying we wouldn't fall and break our necks. Or be trampled by flailing hooves.
But one of the shadowed figures darted forward and grabbed the horse's bridle. As he quieted the horse, the others closed in on us. With a sinking feeling, I recognized the black robes of the wedjadeen.
***
A dozen more men mounted on horseback poured out of the darkness, encircling us. With a wedjadeen on either side of my horse, they began leading us toward the Temple of Mut.
My mind was a jumble of panic and potential explanations.
As soon as we reached the temple, they pulled the horse behind one of the remaining walls so it wouldn't be seen from the road. Bother. There went my hope of Major Grindle's spotting us on his way back to Luxor.
But wait—he had the detecting device from Dr. Quillings! He would be able to find me.
Comforted by that thought, I looked down at my wrist and switched the knob to the correct position.
After that realization, my spirits rallied and I slipped my hand into my pocket for the Babel stone. I would learn all I could from the wedjadeen before Major Grindle arrived.
One of the men reached up, gently lifted me from the saddle, and placed me on the ground. I recognized Khalfani from our meeting at the Luxor Temple.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"There is great magic afoot tonight."
"And you thought of me?" I was flattered in spite of the events of the evening.
"We thought of our pharaoh," he corrected. "Of his safety."
I should have thought more, weighed the true implications of my next words, but I was overset. "He's been taken," I blurted out.
Khalfani stared back up at the boy on the horse. "Who is this?" he asked.
"Their decoy," I said. "They used him to trick us."
"And who is this they?"
"The Serpents of Chaos."
He frowned at the name, then turned and spoke to the other men in Arabic, before looking back at me. "Who are these serpents?"
"Honestly, what do you do all day? You've never heard of
them?"
He glared at me. "I would watch my tongue if I were you."
"Sorry. They are followers of Seth, very interested in getting all the powerful artifacts they can lay their hands on in order to bring chaos fully into the world, then seize power."
He nodded. "The followers of Set, I know." He turned to the boy. "You are tired," he said. "Very sleepy. All that you have experienced, all that you have heard and seen tonight, is but a very bad dream." Then he made a snatching sign at the boy's forehead and snapped his fingers. The boy blinked, then turned and ran.
"See that he gets home safely," Khalfani told one of the others. "You!" he said to the wedjadeen still mounted. "Go back to the temple. Pick up the trail of Set and collect our pharaoh!"
As one, the men wheeled their horses around and galloped back the way we'd come.
Khalfani turned back to me. "And how did they learn of our pharaoh?" His voice was low, almost a purr, but the purr of a panther rather than a cat.
"I don't know," I whispered. "I certainly didn't tell them. They are my sworn enemy."
He studied me a moment longer. "And my enemy's enemy is my friend, yes? You are in luck, young miss. Our high priest wishes to see you. We will save the harder questioning for him."
"Just so you know, I have to be back before morning. My mother has no idea I'm gone."
Khalfani gave me an unreadable look.
"I won't be back before morning, will I?" I asked in a small voice.
"No, young miss. I do not know when you will come back here." He motioned with his arm, and a phalanx of wedjadeen drew in around me and my horse, boxing me in on all sides.
"My mother is not going to be happy about this," I said. "You've no idea how big a fuss she can raise."
Khalfani ignored my threats and offered a few of his own. "If you try to scream or attempt to escape in any way, we will have to tie you up and silence you. We would prefer not to do this, but we will need your word that you will not hinder our progress."
The stark image of Awi Bubu's assistant and his missing tongue filled my head. "I give my word," I said.
A surge of power bumped up against me, probing to see if I was telling the truth. "I gave my word," I said, annoyed.
Khalfani shrugged. "You cannot blame me for needing to test the strength of that word, young miss. Now come. Hashim will control your horse for you."
"Major Grindle will come for me, you know." I said it as much to reassure myself as to warn them.
Hashim exchanged a weighted glance with Khalfani. "The man with you back at the temple?"
"Yes."
Khalfani shook his head, and a sense of deep foreboding filled me. "No, young miss, your major will not be coming for you. By the time the criosphinxes we have awakened are done, there will be nothing left in the temple."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Qerert Ihy
WE PLODDED ON THROUGH THE NIGHT, the taste of failure bitter on my tongue. I was tired and heart weary and wondered if I would ever see Gadji or Mother or Isis again.
Just when I was certain I would tumble off my horse with fatigue, the wedjadeen turned off the road and headed to a small Roman ruin, just barely visible in the faint light from the setting moon. Khalfani helped me dismount and steered me to a clear spot on the floor. "Wait here," he said.
That was the last thing I remembered before tumbling headlong into an exhausted sleep.
***
It seemed like only seconds later that voices were calling at me to wake up. I yawned and stretched, wincing at the soreness in my legs. I noticed that someone had put something soft underneath my head and covered me with a blanket of some sort. Touched by this kindness, I blinked the sleep from my eyes and sat up.
"Good morning."
The surprise of hearing Major Grindle's deep voice brought me full awake. "You're not dead!"
"No," he said dryly. "I'm not."
I glanced quickly around, wondering if the others had seen him. "Are you here to save me?" I whispered.
"I'm afraid not." His tone was even drier, and he jerked his arms, which I saw were tied behind him. "Although that was my original plan. But these men are devilishly hard to sneak up on."
"Oh." My heart sank as dreams of being rescued quickly evaporated. "Well, I'm sorry they captured you, but I'm awfully glad you're not dead."
"And I you," he said. He turned his gaze to where the wedjadeen were breaking camp, his eyes hard. "Have they harmed you?"
"No, not really. Aside from a saddle sore or two."
He looked almost disappointed, as if he had been hoping for a bone to pick with them. Although I supposed being kidnapped was bone enough. I scooted closer. "How did you survive the criosphinxes?" I asked.
His head whipped back around to me, his eyes alight with a strange fire. "Saw that, did you?"
"I did! As best I could tell, they used an Opening of the Mouth ceremony, sir, to bring the statue to life. What happened once they got into the temple?"
The major shook his head in amazement. "They acted just like a couple of mousers cleaning out a nest in a barn. They plowed through the Serpents of Chaos in minutes, wreaking havoc and destruction. only three of those men escaped with their lives, and they were badly mauled."
"Did you see any sign of Gadji, sir?"
"So that wasn't him?" He sighed. "I was afraid it wouldn't be when I saw that hood. Ah, look sharp, Miss Throckmorton. Here come our captors now." He lowered his voice. "Don't let them know I can speak Arabic."
Before I could ask him to explain, Hashim was upon us. He gave us each a stale piece of flatbread to munch on for breakfast, and then five minutes later they had us up in our saddles, ready to move on.
They bound and gagged the major, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, except for the faint bit of whiskery stubble on his cheeks, he looked to be in high spirits.
We continued southward. The sun was merciless and the wedjadeen impervious to it. I felt like a wilted piece of lettuce. Where were they taking us? And would I be cooked to a delicate crunch before we arrived there? Thoughts of Mother filled my head. She would be frantic with worry. Had she sent word to Father that I was missing? Did Wigmere know? And what had happened to Gadji? Surely the Serpents of Chaos would do nothing to such a valuable hostage.
***
On the evening of the second day, the wedjadeen struck out toward the west, heading into the rocky desert. I soon lost all sense of direction. The sand and cliffs of the desert all looked alike to me. I tried to force myself to think of it as an adventure but failed miserably.
Just as dawn began to peek over the horizon, our horses stumbled into a Bedouin camp. Even as exhausted as I was, I recognized what a brilliant cover this was. The wedjadeen could move around at will, come and go as they pleased, and no one would question them.
Men came forward to take our horses and I tumbled from the saddle. Khalfani was there to steady me, which I thought very kind of him since I was more or less his prisoner. Major Grindle, I noticed, was not treated as gently, although he needed it far less, seeming almost to thrive on the hard ride and rustic provisioning. Never had I been more aware of what a true soldier he was, down to his core.
We were herded to a small black tent and bundled inside. "Sleep," was all Khalfani would say, which was just what I wanted to do anyway, so it worked out perfectly. I flopped onto one of the blankets on the ground and felt every portion of my body aching with fatigue. Never had I missed the soft, furry comfort of Isis more. Which is why I was so surprised that I fell asleep the second I closed my eyes.
***
I was awoken sometime later when the tent flap opened, letting in the blinding glare of the sun. I blinked awake and squinted at the figure outlined against the bright light.
"Greetings," she said softly, then came fully inside and let the flap close behind her. once I stopped squinting, I could see she was a girl, slightly older than I was. She wore the less-restrictive dress of the Bedouin, which did not include a veil
or burqa, so I could see her face plainly. When she glanced shyly at Major Grindle, there was something familiar in her gaze but I couldn't think what. Then she returned her gaze to me. "I bring you food for your stomachs and water to wash the dust from your faces."
"Thank you," I said. "I'm famished."
Major Grindle's response was much more formal. "We appreciate your hospitality."
The girl ducked her head and began setting out our meal. She lingered as we ate, studying us curiously. Or me, more precisely. Finally, she seemed to get up her courage. "They say that you are the one who found our lost pharaoh and brought him to Luxor. Is this true?"
"Ye-es," I said warily. Was this a good sign, that they were telling people I was responsible for getting him as far as Luxor? "I found him working as a donkey boy in the streets of Cairo. He was quite brave and helped me out of an awkward situation. In return, I offered him a place to stay."
She glanced down at her hands. "And how did you find him? He was well?"
And then it hit me, why she looked familiar. "Are you Safiya?" I asked.
Her head jerked up, her eyes wide with wonder. "How do you know my name?"
"Gadji spoke of you," I told her.
Her eyes misted over. "He did? He has not forgotten me?"
"No," I said. "He spent days and days trying to find you when he got to Luxor, hoping to be reunited with you. Unfortunately, there was no hint of where you had gone."
"That is good and that is bad. Bad that he could not find me, but good that no one recalls what has happened to me." Then she returned to her original question. "He is well?"
"Yes, he is. A bit on the thin side, but he is in good spirits. Very kind, very brave, and most loyal."
She clasped her hands together. "Thank you, my lady, for having brought my brother closer."
"He's not home yet," I pointed out.
"No, but he will be. The warriors of Horus will find him."
Major Grindle cleared his throat. "Speaking of that, what are the men doing out there? Have they organized any search parties? Sent out any scouts?"