A hand grabbed her shirt and she squeaked in alarm before realising it was Marcus. He dragged her down behind a low pile of stone rubble.
“What is it?”
“People – coming out of the pyramid,” he hissed, peering around the stone. They had reached the northeastern corner of the pyramid, so he was looking at the northern face.
Jade doused her lights and waited for her eyes to adjust. She moved closer and followed suit. Sure enough, a dozen or more figures emerged from the side of the structure. Now that she was paying attention, she could hear rough, male voices in the distance. Her eyes widened as she caught a few words.
“It’s Latin. They’re Romans!” she gasped. “Roman soldiers, I think. Yes, one of them just said something about reporting to their centurion.”
“Reporting what?” Marcus eased himself up, squinting to see through the gathering dusk.
“Reporting....” Jade listened hard with the aid of the harken spell, trying to ignore his harsh breathing and the scrape of her own boots on stone and sand. She groaned. “That they’ve captured two of the four people they were sent to find and they are taking them to see the Roman Proconsul’s advisor in Memphis.”
“Can you see if it’s Phoenix and Brynn?” Marcus urged.
“Who else would they find in the pyramid?” she scoffed. At his steady look she peered around the corner again to check anyway. Briefly, the soldiers broke formation and she could see two dark shapes stumbling in the middle. One was tall, the other short but their heads were covered in some sort of black cloth. She quested along tendrils of the Binding Spell she had put on their little group so many days ago in England. Yes, she could sense both her friends.
Just as she was about to withdraw, another group emerged. The sight of them sent odd chills sleeting across her skin. Cloaked and hooded, they glided in eerie silence behind the soldiers. Narrowing her eyes, Jade could clearly see a pulsing, purple-blue aura of magic – especially around their leader. Whoever they were, they were not ordinary Roman soldiers.
Suddenly, the cloaked leader turned east and threw back his hood. She gasped at his blank, golden face and smooth head. Before she could put up mental shields, there was a faint push at the edges of her mind. She jerked back behind the dubious safety of the rock, heart pounding.
“We need to leave,” she grabbed Marcus’ arm.
“Why?” He twisted loose. “We’ve got to save Phoenix and Brynn.”
Jade sent a quick, scared look at the stone, imagining those cloaked figures coming closer. “Please, Marcus? It is Phoenix and Brynn but there’re some other men with them who are not just soldiers. They’re lead by a powerful sorcerer of some sort and I think he may have sensed me. We can’t take them on like this. There are too many and I’m not strong enough right now.”
Without further argument, Marcus stood and they began to retrace their steps. When they had made their way back to the cover of some ruins, Jade dared to light two small, dim witch-lights. Otherwise they were likely to trip and break something important. With every step the hairs on the back of her neck prickled in anticipation of discovery. Surely that gold-faced man had seen her; sensed her? Any second the soldiers would spring out of cover and surround them. She had expended too much energy on trying to stop the sandfall to be much use now. They had to get into hiding, regain strength and follow the soldiers back to Memphis from a distance.
It was their only chance to rescue Phoenix and Brynn.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Full night swept in across the dusty desert and with it the temperature plummeted. By the time they reached the horses, Jade shivered with cold and exhaustion. Inside the safety of the tomb, she dragged coats out of the Hyllion Bagia and they wrapped themselves gratefully in warm furs.
Marcus stood at the door, staring out into the star-strewn night. “We can’t stay here,” he finally said.
Jade agreed. “I know. The soldiers might find us. Besides, the horses need food and water and there’s nothing here. We’ll have to get to Memphis tonight and find somewhere to stay.” She shivered. Marcus stepped closer and put an extra fur around her.
“You need to rest and eat to replenish your strength. You’re no use to Phoenix and Brynn if you’re exhausted,” he ordered.
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I wasted too much energy trying to stop the sand but I’ll make it to Memphis. I’ll use some of my herbs for energy. Sleep can wait. I just hope they’re ok.”
“How will we find them, though?”
“I can do a ‘finna’ spell on them,” she assured him. “It’s a variant on the water-finding one I did but it works on living things. I got it from that spell book.”
“But how will it find Phoenix and Brynn, not just any person?” Marcus seemed determined to iron out all the kinks before going into Memphis.
Jade frowned. “If I use it together with the Binding Spell I should be able to find Phoenix or Brynn fairly easily. I can sense them now but they’re travelling away from us and the connection is weakening.”
“Can you ride?”
“I’ll have to.” She tried to show a confidence she was far from feeling. “Let me just get something to eat as we go.” She fished out dried meat and handed some to Marcus. Next they tied the horses in a caravan and lead them out of the tomb.
As he mounted, Marcus looked over his shoulder at the step pyramid.
“One thing I don’t understand,” he murmured, “is how they found us – how they even knew to look for us here?”
Jade stared at him for a moment, horrible comprehension dawning. Feeling lightheaded, she clung to the saddle and gripped a fistful of her mare’s mane. Marcus kneed his mount closer, grabbing her arm as she swayed. She gasped as Thor’s iron gloves burned her fair, elven skin. He snatched his hands away with an oath. Stripping off one glove, he renewed his grip as she swayed again.
“Marcus,” she groaned, “it’s my fault.”
“How?” his grasp tightened on her wrist.
“When we were in Asgard, on trial in Gladsheim, we saw Zhudai there, remember?”
“Of course,” he nodded, “but he escaped when Phoenix was fighting Loki.”
“But Zhudai saw us, too,” Jade pointed out. “Once he’d seen us, he could find us by Far-seeing. Remember? He knew you as the son of Governor Agricola in Engl...Albion but I put a protective spell on you when we were there so he couldn’t use his Farsight. I just didn’t think to put one on the rest of us after Asgard.”
Marcus gazed at her for a second before relaxing his fingers. The hard look on his handsome face softened and he smiled slightly. Letting go, he tucked the iron glove into his belt and regathered his reins.
“You’re doing it again,” he shook his head. She stared at him in confusion until he continued. “You’re taking all the blame on yourself. We all knew what Zhudai could do once he’d seen us. None of us thought of it.”
“But if I had done it and if I hadn’t let Brynn talk me into exploring the tomb..” she began.
“But nothing,” he gathered a fistful of her shirt and hauled her upright on her horse. “Stop getting stuck in self-blame and let’s fix this. Short of tying him up, none of us could stop Brynn if he didn’t want to be stopped. At least now we know how the Romans found us and you can put a stop to that.”
He paused, frowning again. “You can put the spell on yourself, can’t you?”
Jade nodded, wondering if she had the strength left at the moment. Closing her eyes, she spoke the spell but the surge of magic that accompanied it was weak at best. She slumped in the saddle, feeling Marcus prop her up again. Pressing her lips together, she kept her eyes closed and shook her head. “I can’t. I’m just too tired.”
“You can. You have to, Jade,” he commanded.
“I can’t,” she hissed through gritted teeth, glaring at him. Tears started in her dust-filled eyes. He laid a hand on her arm again. She shook it off and turned away. “I’m just not strong enough. I’m not good enough. I.
. I just can’t.” A salty drop ran down to her chin. She brushed it off impatiently.
There was a pause then Marcus’ hand dropped onto her shoulder and squeezed. “Phoenix and Brynn are relying on us. If Zhudai sends his men after us and we are captured then we are all lost. You must protect yourself. You can do this. I have faith in you, Jade. For all our sakes, you will find the strength.”
She clenched her teeth and swallowed hard, wanting to believe him; afraid to. He was right, though. She couldn’t let Phoenix down now. There had to be a way. She’d let Phoenix and the others down once, in Svealand. She’d sworn she wouldn’t let it happen again. Perhaps, it was time to borrow some strength.
Her hands shook as she fumbled in her pack. She drew out her herb-bag and pulled out a dried leaf of wolfsbane. It was a powerful plant she would normally hesitate to use but she was desperate.
Marcus’ hand gripped her arm as she moved to touch it to her tongue. His eyes were grave.
“What is it?”
“Wolfsbane,” she said defensively. “Aconite.”
“That is poison! What will it do to you?” He didn’t release her.
“Just increases my heartrate and energy levels temporarily.” He didn’t say anything, so she added. “It’s not dangerous to me in small doses. I won’t take much. I’m just so tired.”
“You don’t need it. You’re strong enough without it,” Marcus said levelly, his fingers still firmly restraining her.
“No,” she argued. “I’m not. I need these herbs for my magic. You can’t tell me to find the strength then stop me when I try. Let me go, Marcus. I know what I’m doing.” Wrenching her arm free, she just touched the leaf to her tongue. Immediately, her heartrate increased, thumping irregularly against her ribs. Sweat beaded on her skin. She closed her eyes again and stilled her mind, blocking out everything except the need for the strength to perform this difficult spell. With the other hand she held the yin-yang amulet at her throat.
Deliberately summoning up her doubts and fears, she sought within herself to find what was weakening her. It couldn’t just be a matter of missing the forests. Surely she wasn’t that pathetic? Sinking into her own mind, she searched for the source of her uncertainties and confronted it. Could it be just her own fear of failure; her fear of not being good enough? Were those worries holding her back, making her scared to try because she was afraid to fail; afraid to hear people she loved say she really was useless; not as smart as they thought she was? If so then she had to face the real Truth. Her fear could cause the only real failure – the worst one of all: the failure of not trying.
As if triggered by the realisation, a new strength and power flooded through her fingers from the amulet. Like a purple-blue flame it leapt, lighting her up inside like a torch. Opening her eyes, she uttered the incantation that would shield her from Zhudai’s Sight. Comforting warmth and the bitter taste of wolfsbane surrounded and filled her whole body.
“Jade,” Marcus sounded shocked. He stared at her. “Your...your eyes were purple.”
The bitter taste subsided; leaving an inner heat that Jade hoped would never completely vanish. She smiled, feeling at peace with herself.
“I’m fine now.” She assured him. “I’ve got all the power I need for now. We can go to Memphis and get the others tonight.”
“But...” he protested.
“I can and I have to,” she gave his words back to him. Without further discussion, she kicked her horse into motion and set off northeast, toward Memphis.
****
“Brynn? You ok?” Phoenix twisted around, struggling to pull his feet through his bound hands. He swore, angry that he hadn’t anticipated the capture; angry that he hadn’t been strong enough or quick enough to put up a good fight; angry that they’d been captured so easily. Most of all, he was angry that Blódbál had been taken. The sword had become an integral part of him. He felt lost and weakened without it.
It had been a long, rough trip. After the soldiers captured them, they had been force-marched through any number of twists and turns and up an endless flight of stairs into the open air. Then they had been dumped onto the back of a cart and hauled into what sounded like a large town. Phoenix assumed it was Memphis. He’d heard a couple of the soldiers planning a meeting with their centurion and with the Proconsul of Egypt’s advisor in Memphis in the morning. After arriving, the bags were removed and their hands tied behind their backs. Thrown unceremoniously into a stone room, they were left lying on the floor.
The room was unlit but enough moonlight shone through a high, narrow window for Phoenix to see. Brynn lay on his side a few feet away, groaning – which probably meant he was alright. The boy had put up a decent fight every step of the way and got kicked several times for his troubles.
Phoenix finally managed to get his hands in front of his body and scrambled over to his friends’ side. “You alright?”
He flipped Brynn onto his back and flinched at the sight of bruises and a black eye. The boy spat blood and struggled into a sitting position.
“I’m fine – mostly.” With a grunt of pain, he folded himself up and jerked his feet through his arms so his hands were in front of him. Wiping his bloody nose and mouth on his sleeve, he squinted up at Phoenix. “Where are we?”
“Somewhere in Memphis, I think. I heard one of the soldiers mention the Temple of Set, so that’s probably where we are. We’re supposed to be brought before the Proconsul’s advisor in the morning.” Phoenix wrapped his bound wrists around his knees with a sigh. How the heck were they supposed to escape now? Where were Jade and Marcus? Had they been taken, too? So much for Jade’s theory on taking opportunities. This one had sure backfired. Depression and fatigue seized him and he dropped his head onto his knees.
Brynn was silent awhile, rotating his neck and prodding himself apparently in search of more injuries.
“Sixth.” His cryptic utterance broke the silence.
Phoenix stared at him, bewildered.
“This is the fourth time I’ve been imprisoned and the sixth time for you,” the boy elaborated, his grin widening as he ticked them off on his fingers. “You were in the prison-tent in Agricola’s camp and the cell in Gladsheim; we were both inside the Hyllion Bagia in the Dryad realm; in the hut in Olshammar; underneath the Step-pyramid and now this. Six.”
Phoenix blinked in surprise, unable to stop the slow smile that crept across his mouth. The kid was irrepressible. He shook his head, chuckling.
“I’m not sure you can count the Bag as prison, since we were in there voluntarily - sort of; so we’ll call it five-three.”
“And we’ve got out each time, haven’t we?”
“So far,” Phoenix agreed.
“And we’ll do it again, this time,” Brynn shrugged, sounding confident.
“If you do,” a plaintive voice interrupted, “would you kindly take me with you?”
Phoenix and Brynn gasped and twisted awkwardly toward the sound.
“Who’s there?” Phoenix demanded.
Out of the shadows limped an elderly man, smiling at them in a tired, sad kind of way. His white hair and beard were matted and he wore a filthy Roman tunic and toga that might once have been white. His aged face showed traces of past happiness and blue eyes sparkled with keen intelligence from beneath bushy white brows.
“I am Heron,” he bowed. “I come from Alexandria and I’d much rather be there than here.” He waved a hand about. “Unfortunately I had a misunderstanding with the High-Priest of Set and he tossed me in here two weeks ago. At least, I think it was about two weeks ago. One loses track of time so easily in a dungeon, doesn’t one? Hmmm. That gives me an idea...” Pulling a small piece of white stone out of a hidden pocket, the old man sat down in a patch of moonlight and began to draw complex diagrams on the stone floor, muttering to himself from time to time.
The boys exchanged bemused looks. Brynn mouthed the word ‘mad’ to Phoenix, who smothered a laugh and nodded. Scrambling over, they peered at the draw
ings. Phoenix started as he recognised some of the images.
“That’s a clock!” He blurted, pointing to a clear image of a clock-face, accompanied by some complicated sketches of a water-powered cog-and-gear wheel arrangement.
“A what, my boy?” Heron asked vaguely, continuing to draw.
“It’s for telling time, isn’t it?”
Heron looked up, surprise and disappointment on his face. “Why yes, have you seen one already then? Bother, I thought I’d come up with something new. Oh well.” With a sigh of regret, he used a grubby corner of his robe to erase the images, leaving a white smear on the dark stone.
Phoenix winced, feeling sorry for the old guy. He probably had just invented something new to this world but Phoenix had ruined it by recognising it from his own. Regretting his outburst, he sat down cross-legged next to the older man.
“So what was your misunderstanding with the High Priest about?” He asked, more to be polite than out of interest.
Heron dusted off his fingers. “I merely showed him plans for my new machine for dispensing holy-water to Christians and the man took mighty offence to it. It seems he dislikes Romans, Christians and machines of any sort. So he threw me in here for a month. Quite frankly, though, I’ve had enough of the food here and I’d like to go home to Alexandria now.”
Phoenix suppressed a smile. It was hard not to like the guy, mad or not. “What were you doing in Memphis, anyway?”
Heron turned to him eagerly, rubbing chalky hands together. “Ah, that’s a fascinating tale. I was here to investigate rumours that the Phoenix is about to arrive.”
“What?” “The what?” Brynn and Phoenix both spoke at the same time.
Heron didn’t seem to think their astonishment at all unusual. He merely nodded and smiled in apparent delight. “Yes, yes. Wonderful news isn’t it? Let me tell you how I discovered it, but first let me get you out of those ropes.”
The old man drew a broken stone out from under his robe, talking as he proceeded to saw through their bonds, oblivious to their dumbfounded gazes.
The Tekhen of Anuket Page 7