He Shall Thunder in the Sky - Elizabeth Peters [198]
“Kill him, then,” the Turk said. “Unless the blood tie holds your hand. Shall I cut his throat for you?”
“Don’t trouble yourself on my account,” Ramses said. He was pleased to find that his voice was steady.
The Turk laughed appreciatively. “It was well played, young one. I regret we will not match wits again.”
Keep talking, Ramses thought. Keep them arguing and debating and delaying. It wouldn’t delay the Turk for long, he was an old hand at this. There was still a chance, though, so long as David was alive—and he must be—the alternative was unthinkable. Ironically, his only hope of surviving for more than sixty seconds depended on Percy.
“Oh, no,” Percy said. “I’ve looked forward to killing him for years. I’m looking forward to it even more now. Take him downstairs.”
“Take him yourself. You don’t give orders to me.” The Turk released his grip, and Ramses sagged to his knees. Good old Percy, he thought insanely. Always predictable.
“Go then, damn you,” Percy shouted. “Both of you. All of you. I can handle him by myself.”
“I doubt that,” the Turk said with a sneer. “So. Rather than take the chance, I will make certain he is securely bound and helpless before I go. That is how you want him, isn’t it?”
The contempt in his voice didn’t even touch Percy. “Yes,” he said eagerly. “Good. You needn’t bother to carry him, just—”
“He will walk to his death,” the Turk said flatly. “As a man should. Help him up, Sayyid Ahmad.”
Ramses appreciated the implied compliment, but as they pulled him to his feet he wished the Turk’s notions of honor were not so painful. Swaying in the grasp of his captors, he said, “I wouldn’t at all object to being carried. This sort of thing is somewhat tiring.”
The Turk let out a bark of laughter. Percy reddened. “You wouldn’t be so cocky if you knew what’s in store for you.”
“I have a fairly good idea. Whatever would Lord Edward say? ‘Torture’s caddish, you know.’ ”
So they had to carry him after all. Percy got in two hard blows across the face before the Turk’s blistering comments stopped him. Ramses was only vaguely aware of being lifted by his feet and shoulders and, after a time, of being lowered onto a hard surface. When they cut the ropes that bound his hands he reacted automatically, striking out with feet and knees and the stiffened muscles of his arms. It gained him a few precious seconds, but there were four of them and it didn’t take them long to put him out.
There was water dripping off his chin when he came to his senses. He passed his dry tongue over the traces of moisture on his lips and tried to focus his eyes. He was where he had expected to be, in the foul little room in the cellar, stripped to the waist, his hands tied to a hook high on the wall. The lantern was burning brightly. Naturally. Percy would want to see what he was doing.
His cousin put the water jug on the table, caught hold of Ramses’s jaw, and twisted his head painfully around so their faces were only inches apart. “How did you find out about this place?” he demanded hoarsely.
“What?”
“Did she tell you? Was that why she . . . Answer me!”
At first he couldn’t imagine what Percy meant. “She” couldn’t be el-Gharbi; that variety of insult was far too subtle for Percy. Then it came to him, and with it a flood of emotion so strong he almost forgot his aching body. He had told himself she wouldn’t be taken in by Percy ever again; he had believed it—but there had always been that ugly doubt, born of jealousy and frustration. The last rotten core was gone now, washed away by the realization of what she had risked for him. He got his feet under him, relieving the strain on his arms and wrists, and met Percy’s eyes squarely.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. My informant was a man.”
“You’d say that, wouldn’t you? You’d lie to keep her out of it. Damn the little bitch! I’ll get even with her, I’ll—”
He went on with a string of vile epithets and promises to which Ramses listened with a detachment that surprised even him. Chivalry demanded that he defend his lady, verbally if not otherwise