Anubis Nights (11 page)

KELLY CHAN

I woke up with one hand on Jonathan’s stomach, the other at my side, and my head lying on his chest. My stomach was still a bit queasy, and my head was foggy. My fever seemed to be worse, and that really concerned me. I looked up at Jonathan’s face, and he looked at peace as he slept. Lying in his arms felt better than I wanted to admit. I’d never really felt this way with Brand. Sure, it was fun most of the time, but while I knew Brand cared for me, I didn’t think he knew the real me.

Jonathan knew the real me. He had been my best and only friend, and while I sometimes wondered what it would be like to make love with him, I didn’t want to risk our friendship. I knew he saw me more as an older sister. I was born six months before him, so while I was technically older, the difference wasn’t enough to talk about. When he first saved me from the wizards at DGI, I felt I owed him, but he didn’t see it that way. He understood more about what I’d been through as a Sekutar than I realized, and he gave me the time I needed to adjust to the new life he offered. At first, I thought that life would mean we’d be living and sleeping together, but instead, he helped me get my own place.

I pulled away from him, sat on the edge of the bed, and just watched him sleep. He never expected anything from me after he saved me, but I insisted that he let me at least train him to fight better. That led to us becoming friends but never lovers.

I stood and felt light-headed. That wasn’t good. I closed my eyes and focused my energy. The vertigo went away.

I heard footsteps and opened my eyes to see a servant girl in the doorway.

She started to say something, but I shook my head and put a finger to my lips. I walked over to her. “My husband is sleeping,” I whispered.

“I am Tuya,” she said. “I’m supposed to make sure you’re ready. You’re part of a demonstration today.”

“That’s right.”

“I should bathe you so you’re presentable.”

“My husband and I can bathe ourselves. You can take the morning off.”

“I do not understand.”

“We aren’t local,” I said. “We have our own customs. We bathe ourselves. It’s a religious thing. Our gods insist on it.”

“What should I do?”

“What would you be doing if we weren’t here?”

“I’d be helping to tend to Queen Ankhesenamun.”

“Then do that.”

“Very well.”

She left.

I took another look at Jonathan and decided to let him sleep. I grabbed my clothes and entered the restroom. I managed to bathe myself, and I felt a little better once I was clean. I toweled myself off with linens and dressed for the day. I wished I were back to full strength.

JONATHAN SHADE

Kelly sat on the edge of the bed when I woke up. She was already dressed, and her hair was wet. When I looked in her eyes, I thought she looked tired.

She stood and looked down at me. “You should go bathe.”

“Does that mean a trip to the Nile?” I asked as I sat up.

“They have a tub in the bathroom and water with small buckets. Normally a servant would wait on a master, but our servants aren’t here right now.”

“Okay. How long have you been awake?”

“Not long.”

“How are you feeling, or is that subject off limits?”

Kelly hesitated. “I feel fine.”

“I know you threw up yesterday.”

She stared at me, and I wondered what she was thinking.

“Be honest,” I said. “We’re going to be in a rough spot today.”

“I think it was the time travel.”

I nodded. “And how do you feel now?”

“Better.”

“Are you nauseous?”

“I’m fine.”

“Come here,” I said.

She squinted at me for a moment but approached. I stood and placed a hand on her forehead. She felt a little hot, but not as bad as yesterday.

“I’m good to go,” she said. “Satisfied?”

I frowned. “I guess. So how does the bath thing work?”

“It’s more like a shower. You just pour water over yourself and scrub yourself clean with natron and some scented oils.”

“Maybe I should wait for one of those cute servant girls to come back,” I said.

“You want me to wash you?” Kelly asked.

For a moment, I thought she might be serious. Then I realized she was just messing with me. “I’ve got it under control.”

I went to get cleaned up, but my mind kept drifting back to Kelly. She was still running a bit of a fever. Was it a side effect from the time travel? I felt fine, but maybe it affected people differently. I hoped the demonstration would just be wizards trying to blast me with magic and that Kelly could take it easy. Somehow that didn’t seem likely.

BRAND EASTON

After securing a room in a Victorian hotel, Brand went to work. First, he had to map out how he’d get from New York to California by railroad. It was going to be a long trip getting to the Pennsylvania Railroad, then to the Union Pacific, and finally the Central Pacific, which would take him all the way to San Francisco. He purchased a ticket for the first leg of the trip, set to leave the next day.

His next purchase was a Colt Peacemaker and a holster. Then he went shopping for some clothing, toiletries, and a suitcase. As he walked back to the hotel, carrying the suitcase filled with his purchases, Esther finally faded into view in front of him. Normally she popped in, but this was a gradual appearance.

There were too many people in the street to start talking out loud to someone nobody else could see, so Brand whispered, “Good to see you. We’ll talk at the hotel.”

“I can talk now,” Esther said.

Brand nodded and dodged an older couple on the sidewalk.

“That Chronos bird said things would feel instant to me, but this method of travel seemed to take forever and a day.”

Brand slipped into an alley and set the suitcase down. “I doubt anyone will be listening here,” he said. “I’m going to be on a long, boring ride across country, so I’m glad you’re here. It will be great to have someone to talk to.”

He was glad he could still see her. When he lost his standing as a Sekutar, he thought he might not be able to see her anymore even with one of her typewriter keys on him, but evidently enough magic remained in his veins. He was glad about that. He wasn’t kidding about the long, boring trip. After all, what could happen on a slow train ride across the entire country?

JONATHAN SHADE

Sadek led us out of town into the desert. When we arrived, a large crowd of people clad in kilts and sheath dresses stood in front of a wide-open area. On one end I saw a line of chariots with a variety of weapons lined up—spears, composite bows, and strange-looking swords shaped like sickles.

“What kind of blades are those?” I asked Kelly as I pointed to them.

“Those are khopesh swords. They’re sharp on the outer curve, and you use the hook to pull an enemy’s shield aside so you can kill him.”

“So you’ve used one before?”

“Of course.”

General Horemheb stood next to Aye behind the row of chariots. King Tut and Ankhesenamun sat beside them on golden chairs. Tut wore a short, colored kilt and looked ready to do battle. Ankhesenamun radiated beauty and calmness. This was just a morning of leisure entertainment for her.

A row of warriors stood on the other side of Horemheb. Most were Egyptian, but a few were Nubians. They each had a thousand-yard stare, and I could tell from the way they held themselves they were experienced soldiers.

In addition, there were fan bearers, sedan carriers stationed by the sedan in which the king and queen had no doubt arrived, standard bearers, bodyguards, and various court officials.

Sadek looked at me for a moment then cast her eyes toward the sand.

“Something you want to tell me?” I asked.

Sadek hesitated but finally shook her head.

“You were going to say something, Sadek. Please tell me.”

“It is not my place.”

“We’re entering into a demonstration that looks more like an execution to me.”

“The vizier thinks your magic is weak.”

“The vizier took his best shot at me.”

“Horemheb told the vizier it was mere trickery. I overheard them talking.”

I sighed and looked at Kelly. “It’s never easy, is it?”

“If it were easy, it wouldn’t be as much fun.”

We continued toward the group, so I spoke quietly in case our voices carried. “Right. How are you doing today physically?”

“I can handle the warriors.”

“That trick you pulled with the Marshall Clan a few months ago where you let one of them stab you. Are you up for something like that?”

Kelly didn’t speak; she simply stared at me.

“Kelly, I know you’re nowhere near a hundred percent, so just be honest. Is that an option here?”

She bit her lip then glanced at the desert sand and shook her head. “I don’t know. I can defeat every last one of them, though. They’re just men.”

“It’s all right. That destroyer nearly killed you. Magic aside, it’s been only two months. You need more time. I understand that and I know you’re still a bit under the weather, so we’ll just play this how it lays.”

She didn’t speak and she refused to meet my eyes.

I touched her shoulder. “Kelly?”

“I can let them stab me. I’ll be fine. I can protect you. I would gladly die to save you.”

“Whoa, let’s not go there.”

“That’s right. If I die, you’re stuck here.”

“That’s not what I meant. We’re a team.”

I knew Sadek had been listening to us, and I suspected she would eventually report everything we said to Aye and Horemheb. I decided to play that to our advantage. “When it comes to magic, I’ll handle it all. If they try to kill us, I’ll just kill them all. I’m not going to get into a pissing match with inferiors.”

Kelly nodded and I could see in her eyes she knew what I was doing. “You’ll probably need to kill only one to make your point.”

“Yes, when they hear my thunder, they will know they are like ants before us.” I placed a hand on the butt of my Glock. “We will tolerate a minor demonstration because we are visitors, but they are not our mission.”

“Our mission lies in Lower Egypt.”

“North,” I said.

She whispered, “That is Lower Egypt. The Nile flows north because higher ground is in the south.”

Like I was supposed to know that.

I placed a hand on Sadek’s shoulder and turned her to face me. “Sadek, we are visitors here. What is expected of us in this contest?”

“I do not know.”

“They look to have their best warriors here.”

“Yes, but I do not know what they have planned exactly, just that the vizier wants to prove that you are mortal.”

I sighed. “I grow weary of killing people.”

Kelly elbowed me. “Don’t lay it on so thick,” she whispered.

The horses stamped their feet in the sand. They wore harnesses connected to the chariots. Kelly and I walked past them, moving right up to the vizier and the general.

“Good morning, Aye,” I said giving him a nod. I glanced at Horemheb. “I see you’ve brought a few boys out to play.”

“You would do well not to insult us,” Horemheb said.

“You would do well to kneel down and kiss my ass,” I said. “The boys you have over there are not warriors. My wife can defeat them in hand-to-hand combat without breaking a sweat.”

Horemheb laughed. He spit on the ground. “Your wife couldn’t handle one of my men. My men are trained to kill.”

Kelly smiled. She pointed to the largest of the men, a bald Egyptian who looked as if he could bench-press a tank. Then she pointed to two Nubians. She hesitated a moment, then pointed to three more men. “Oh, what the hell,” she said and pointed to the other four men. “Come on out here. Let’s see how well trained you are.”

“Ten men against one woman,” I said. “How’s that for fair?”

Horemheb shook his head. “I can’t tell if you’re brave or stupid.”

I wasn’t sure either. I walked over to Kelly. “All ten?” I whispered.

“They’re regular men. I’ll take them down fast. Don’t worry.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

She gave me a wink.

I sighed and turned back to Horemheb. “You shoot an arrow into the sky, and before it drops to the sand, Kelly will have all ten of your men on the ground.”

“Perhaps I should shoot an arrow into you,” Horemheb said.

I smiled and lowered my voice so only he could hear me. “You can try but if you aim that weapon at me, I’ll kill you before you can even nock an arrow.”

“Mere threats do not impress me.”

“Perhaps you need to learn the difference between a threat and a fact.”

Horemheb grinned and I could see he wasn’t afraid. He grabbed a composite bow and fitted an arrow to the string. “Men, when I fire this arrow, you will all attack the woman.”

Kelly looked small standing before the men, but if they thought she was a pushover, they didn’t show it. They assumed fighting stances. Kelly didn’t bother. She just stood there as if she were waiting for a bus to arrive to take her downtown. I took a deep breath to try to calm my nerves.

Horemheb aimed up and out toward the south. “Prepare for battle,” he said.

The men were ready.

I glanced over at Aye. “You might want to have a scribe take down the battle so you can put it on a wall someday.”

“Your wife will be dead before the arrow strikes the sand.”

“My wife is going to kick ass and take names.”

“There are no donkeys here, and where would she take names to? You speak nonsense.”

I laughed and turned to watch. I hoped Kelly was well enough to handle this. I knew she was going to her fighting zone, but I wasn’t sure whether she could physically handle all ten men. She’d been so out of it lately. I bit the inside of my lip and held my breath.

Horemheb fired the arrow into the morning sky.

The men attacked.

Kelly blocked, kicked, punched, rolled, twisted. Everything was silent except for the sound of fists and feet striking flesh, and the grunts of the men she smacked around like little bitches.

The arrow began its descent.

Kelly flipped a Nubian into an Egyptian. She dropped, swept her right foot out in a low arc, and took another Egyptian to the ground. She punched one man in the stomach while grabbing his wrist. She pulled him down, rolled over his back, and kicked another man, then slammed her elbow into the bent man’s ear. She moved like a whirlwind, dropping each manbefore any of them could touch her. She punched the last man standing in the face then drove forward, her knee striking his groin. She rode him to the ground, driving the wind from his lungs. The arrow struck the desert floor. Kelly did a quick shoulder roll to her feet and walked over to us.