The Amulet of Power - Mike Resnick [43]
“And hope he doesn’t lead our enemies directly to us,” added Gaafar.
“We will see to it that he doesn’t,” replied Omar.
They rode a little farther, and then Lara turned back to Omar.
“I have a question,” she said.
“I will answer it if I can.”
“You tell me there may be more than a million Mahdists,” she began.
“That is correct,” said Omar. “What is your question?”
“They constitute quite an impressive force, with or without the Amulet,” said Lara. “So my question is: Why has no one heard of them?”
“I have heard of them,” said Omar. “You have heard of them. Your friend Mason has heard of them.”
“Spare me your catalog,” said Lara, holding up a hand. “What I mean is why has almost no one beyond the immediate area of the Sudan heard of them? A movement like this should be worldwide news.”
“Can one in ten Americans or Englishmen even find the Sudan on a map? Can one in twenty tell you what country Khartoum is in?” Omar smiled bitterly. “We have no oil. We are not white by the standards of white nations. We are not Christians. We cannot militarily threaten Europe or the United States.” He paused. “What happens within our borders is simply not news to the rest of the world. Everyone here knows of the Mahdists—but until word came to us of the possibility that the Amulet might be in the Temple of Horus, there was no Mahdist activity beyond our borders. Why should they fight and die to gain ascendancy now, when it cannot be denied them if they possess the Amulet?”
“Furthermore, it is our sworn duty to stop the Sudan from becoming news,” added Gaafar. “For if the Amulet should fall into the hands of the wrong man, of a new Mahdi, then indeed will the world learn who the Mahdists are and where we are.”
“Well, you have one thing in your favor,” said Lara.
“And what is that?”
“The Mahdists have been searching for it for more than a century. If they had any legitimate leads to go on, they’d have found it by now. If it’s a race between us and them, I’d put my money on us. I may not know much about the Amulet, but I know an awful lot about finding lost and hidden artifacts. I think that gives me an advantage over people who may know far more about the Amulet, but who have proven over more than a century that they’re not very good at finding things.” She paused. “I still don’t understand why, if the Amulet is so powerful, the Mahdi wasn’t ruling the whole world within a year of possessing it.”
“He didn’t understand its full power or how to unleash it,” said Omar. “Yet even in his ignorance, he controlled a million square miles as a relatively young man. Since that time the Mahdists have studied his writings and his teachings, have learned the history and secrets of the Amulet—and believe me when I tell you that they will know how to make maximum use of it.”
Lara had seen enough inexplicable things in her adventures that she was willing to suspend judgment as to the magical qualities of the Amulet until it was actually found and examined. Just for a moment, she found herself wishing that Von Croy was here to exchange ideas and observations and help her sort things out. She was going to have quite a story to tell her mentor when they saw each other again. If I survive that long, she thought grimly.
A sudden wind blew across the bleak, barren landscape. It became stronger and stronger, and Omar climbed down from his camel. Gaafar and Hassam followed suit, and they signaled Lara to do the same.
“The wind comes from the west,” said Omar. “Make your camel kneel and position yourself beyond him, so that he protects you from the sand.”
“Kneel, Nasrullah,” she commanded. The camel stood perfectly still, and she realized she had spoken to him in English and he only understood half a dozen words, all Arabic. She changed languages, the camel knelt, and Lara lay up against him as the sand swirled around them.
And then, suddenly, the sand seemed to coalesce and take shape. She found herself looking at a towering, humanlike but totally inhuman creature about ten