Guardian of the Horizon - Elizabeth Peters [75]
He nodded at Newbold, who was edging up to the fire. He had let himself go rather badly. None of us was fit for polite society, since bathing was impossible, but we had made the best use of the small amounts of water we allowed ourselves for washing, and Ramses had shaved every day, without having to be reminded more than three times. I had also reminded Emerson, who chose to take my remarks as suggestions which he felt free to disregard. His beard was now luxuriant, but at least he kept it clean and trimmed, which Newbold did not.
“Am I to be allowed a cup of tea?” the hunter asked. “Or am I still persona non grata?”
“You have had the same comforts we have had, so don’t whine,” I replied, handing him a cup.
I had planned to have a little chat with Nefret, but she had retired with Daria into their tent, and when I approached it I saw the flap was closed. I understood how she must be feeling; all these long weeks she had worried about the little boy, Tarek’s heir, and whether or not she would be in time to help him and his father. In a few hours she would find out, and the suspense was terrible. It was obvious that she preferred to be alone, so I did not force my company upon her.
The moon was on the wane and the air was icy cold. Shivering, I retreated to my tent. I knew I would not sleep a wink…
I was rudely awakened by a loud shout. Removing Emerson’s arm from my person, I snatched up my parasol, crawled over him to the flap of the tent, and emerged into the chilly predawn light.
The camp was ringed round by motionless forms, black against the paling sky. They were taller than any human could possibly be, their heads were oddly deformed, and each carried a long lance.
“Friends?” said Selim to me. He had waked early in order to start a fire, and his shout had aroused the sleepers. I could hardly blame him for crying out in alarm, though as the light strengthened I realized that the seemingly abnormal height of the newcomers was caused by the fact that they were mounted on camels and that their heads were covered by helmetlike caps crowned with feathers. The spears were very long, and the quivers slung over their shoulders bristled with arrows.
Emerson was among the last to appear, rubbing his eyes and cursing, but the sight brought him awake in a hurry. “Friends, yes,” he said.
“They do not look friendly,” said Selim dubiously.
Emerson turned in a circle, examining the riders. None of them had moved. “They are unquestionably from the Holy Mountain,” he said, stroking his beard. “The headgear is unfamiliar—Tarek must have changed his guards’ uniforms—but the shields are the same, and the bows.”
“If they are friends,” said Daoud, who had been thinking it over, “why do they not greet you?”
“Hmmm, well, I’m not sure,” Emerson admitted. “Hold your fire, you damned fools,” he added. “Ramses, will you—”
A loud explosion interrupted him. Zerwali and the other Bedouin had crowded round, their weapons in their hands. It was Zerwali who had fired. Before the echoes of the shot died, he screamed and fell, clutching at his throat. An arrow had gone straight through it.
“They are the demons of whom we told you,” one of the Bedouin cried.
“Are you men or children?” Emerson demanded. “Put down your weapons. They are human beings, like yourselves, and Zerwali was a fool who deserved his fate. Is he dead, Nefret?”
“Yes.” A single look had been enough. Nefret straightened. “Let me talk to them.”
Emerson frowned at her. “Go inside the tent and dress yourself,” he said. “Ramses, come with me.”
He seldom used such a brusque tone with her. When he did she knew better than to disobey, but her face was mutinous.
“My dear, it is a man’s world,” I said with somewhat forced cheerfulness. The immobile forms were beginning to get on my nerves. “Leave it to Emerson and Ramses. Ramses’s Meroitic is not as good as yours, but it should be adequate.”
With his customary (when he is fully awake) acuity, Emerson had identified the leader of the troop. The man had more feathers on his hat and a medallion or pectoral