Danaus arched one eyebrow at me in mocking question, but I imagined that was all he could manage. We were both exhausted. I ignored the expression and pushed on.
“When you get back to the hotel, settle up our rooms. If Charlotte can’t get the plane here in the next few hours, tell the hotel manager that we need to rent or buy a truck. We have to drive to Luxor tonight and be on a plane before sunrise.”
“That may be difficult.”
“I know, but I can’t travel without my box,” I said. While my jet was specially designed for me and could afford me some protection, I couldn’t be sure the other places I might be forced to stay would be enough protection. “Money is no object. At the foot inside the box is a leather case. There’s cash inside. It won’t take long to find someone who can help.”
“And you trust me not to double-cross you?” he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Not really.” I shrugged, taking a step closer. “But if you steal the cash, my phone, and dispose of my box, that won’t destroy me, just slow me down. And before I come after you for that betrayal, I will hunt down those men that attacked me tonight and hurt Michael. Help me now and I’ll forget about that attack and even get you out of Egypt alive. I think that’s a pretty fair trade considering the attack made by your little Themis friends. Agreed?”
Danaus stared at me in silence for a full minute before he finally spoke. “Agreed.” And even then, the word escaped him in a low grumble.
I smiled. I still had an even better bargaining chip in my pocket, but I was saving that one for a rainy night.
“And speaking of your friends,” I started, strolling even closer to him. “I want you to call Themis. I want a meeting.” While I was more than willing to hand the naturi problem over to Jabari and the Coven, I wanted to know more about this little group that had made a hobby of hunting nightwalkers.
His eyes snapped back up to my face. “They won’t do it.”
“I don’t care what you have to say to arrange it. Before the sun rises, I want a promise that I will meet with a member of your little group,” I said, unable to stop myself from clenching my teeth. My anger was building, which was good because it was giving me a little burst of energy. “I still have to meet with Jabari and I haven’t a clue as to what I’m going to tell him. I want to know what the hell is going on. I want a meeting or you’re not getting any more information out of me. I am tired of my ass being the only one in the fire.”
Frowning, I swept past him and stalked toward the entrance of the graveyard. Yet, I stopped only a few yards away from Danaus. It galled me to ask, but I was exhausted and unarmed. “How many naturi are left in the city?”
Silence stretched between us for a few seconds, but I refused to look back at him. It would do him no good to get me killed now after he had expended so much energy to save me earlier in the night.
“There are two more near the river, heading north.” His voice was quiet and low, like distant thunder.
If I were lucky, I would have enough time to get to Jabari and return with my angels before I ran into Rowe and his companion. “How far did you search?”
“All of Aswan, from the High Dam to the Tomb of the Nobles.”
“Can…can you sense Jabari?” My insides clenched and twisted as I waited for his response.
“No.”
I nodded once, a part of me relieved. I didn’t want him to be able to sense the Elder when I could not. “I should be back inside of an hour.”
Thirteen
Rock crunching under my boots, I headed out of the cemetery to the northwest and the heart of the city. Pain swept through every movement, as my body attempted to heal the array of wounds and poisons left behind from the naturi blade. After only a few blocks I was weaving through the crowds on the street. I expended just enough of my powers to make myself invisible to the people passing by, but Jabari would be able to sense my approach. I could feel Gabriel and Michael across the river on Elephantine Island. They would be at the home the Ancient kept there.
It was relatively early in the evening, and the local souq was still open and would remain so into the late evening hours. Colorful fabrics danced in the spice-rich breeze. A knot of eight boys ran by me with a burst of excited chatter. The leader of the pack carried a scuffed and worn soccer ball under his right arm. Just one quick game in the fading evening light. I briefly walked through the souq, noting the pyramids of fruits carefully stacked in brown baskets and arranged according to color. Colorful signs were written in Arabic, drawing the eyes of the evening shoppers. There were a few women in the souq, but they were either accompanied by a man or traveled in tight knots of three or four women to a group. It was a different world from the one I had inhabited in the States or even in Europe during the past centuries.
Some of the tension eased from my shoulders as I watched the early night life of these people go on. The air was filled with their animated chatter, and someone softly picked out a melancholy tune on a stringed instrument, a counterpoint to the harder murmur of noise created by cars. Here, at this point, the naturi had not touched humanity yet and my kind was just a silly myth no one actually believed anymore.
Slipping down to the Corniche el-Nil, I directed the felucca captain to take me across the river to Elephantine Island. The poor man never even saw me. I slipped into his mind before even stepping onto the small white boat with matching white sail. Sinking down in a seat at the bow, I closed my eyes, listening to the creak of the wooden boat and the splash of the water as we cut across the Nile. The wind dropped to kiss the water before rising again to sweep past me, carrying with it secrets from the Nubian kingdom from the south and other stories from deep in the heart of Africa. I listened to the wind and water, wishing I could understand them, wishing they had the answers to this dilemma.
Stepping off the dock, I instructed the captain to wash off the smear of blood I had left on the white paint of his boat before heading toward the southern tip of the island and the village of Koti, near the Ruins of Abu. The path was compacted dirt, and trees and broad-leafed plants crowded the lane. I stared into the darkness that filled in the open areas, wondering if the naturi had followed me across the Nile to the island.
I relaxed slightly as I walked past the seven-foot rock wall that surrounded the village of Koti. The naturi could still follow me into the village, but I was closer to Jabari. At least, I hoped the Ancient was in the village, but I still could not sense my old mentor.
At the end of a narrow alley flanked by two tall buildings that rose up like yellow tulips was a two-story square building painted bright blue. All the homes in the Nubian village were painted bright, cheerful colors—sunny yellows, cool blues, and sweet pinks dotted the landscape like stone flowers in an enormous garden for the gods. As I approached, the ornate door opened and Omari stood in the doorway. He couldn’t see me, but I suspected that Jabari had alerted him to my approach. I removed the invisibility when I was still a couple yards from the door, startling Omari, who then moved out of the doorway and motioned for me to enter.
The main chamber was bathed in the warm glow of candlelight, a hint of burning incense in the air. Jabari looked up when I entered, his gaze hardening when he took in my appearance. I sensed Michael and Gabriel also jumped to their feet from where they lounged on a pile of cushions on the floor to my right.
“Naturi!” I shouted, the word exploding from my chest.
“Here?” Jabari demanded. He leapt smoothly to his feet, his face furious, white robes swaying around him.
“No, they attacked me at Fatimid Cemetery. Seven of them. None appeared here?” I thought going after me had merely been a pit stop on the way to Jabari. The Ancient had to be their main target. He was the strongest of the remaining members of the triad.