The Amulet of Power - Mike Resnick [8]
Lara ran her hands down her hips and realized that her holsters were missing. She sat up abruptly—there was some pain, but nothing like the day before—and then relaxed as she saw the holsters, pistols still in them, sitting on a crooked wooden table. She checked: The Black Demon .32s were loaded, ready to spit death at whoever was after her.
She stood up, expecting to experience horrible stabbing pains in her head and being pleasantly surprised when they didn’t occur, then entered the bathroom. There was a sour taste in her mouth, and she wanted to rinse it out. She turned on the tap and a very thin stream of brownish water trickled out. She decided to live with the taste.
She took a thorough inventory of her various wounds, bruises, and abrasions. She picked up the only towel, which was ragged and had three small holes in it, and wiped off the filthy mirror over the sink. The swelling was down on her left eye, still pretty big there on her right—and both eyes would stay black for at least a few more days.
She gently pulled the bloodstained wad of cotton out of her nostril and took a breath. No obstructions, and her nose didn’t look or feel broken, so she decided not to reinsert it.
Her lips were still cracked and dry. She toyed with rubbing some of the brown water on them, then decided against it. Whatever drink Mason brought her—juice, bottled water, tea, coffee—would serve the same purpose and probably wasn’t filled with dysentery germs and bilharzia mites.
She tried raising and lowering her left arm. No problem. Then she bent it—and winced. Whatever had pinned her back in the tomb had evidently fallen onto her elbow. It didn’t look swollen, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t broken, but it was still very sore.
Still, she could live with all the cuts and bruises, as long as the pain in her head subsided and she stopped losing her balance and passing out every fifteen minutes or so. She turned and took a few tentative steps around the tiny room, secure in the knowledge that if she did fall, she would almost certainly land on the bed. Her knees hurt, her ankles were stiff, and there was a momentary wave of dizziness, but it was so much better than she’d felt in the hospital or the car or the felluca that she mentally pronounced herself Ready and Able.
Now, as soon as Mason returned, she was determined to find out exactly what she was Ready and Able for.
He entered the room almost as the thought crossed her mind, and set a tray down at the foot of the bed.
“I’m afraid the food isn’t much better than the accommodations,” he apologized, and then pointed to the various things on the tray. “Mango juice, melon of some sort, tea. I tried to get some eggs, but they don’t have any. Ditto for coffee, in case you prefer it to tea.”
“This will be fine,” she said, taking a sip of the juice. It burned the cuts on her lips, but at least they didn’t feel quite so dry once she had finished. Mason walked to the wooden stool and seated himself, and she turned to him. “It’s time for answers, Kevin. Who are these people, and why are they trying to kill me?”
“What do you know about the Amulet of Mareish?” asked Mason.
“Just that it’s supposed to be about four thousand years old and that it was created by a Sudanese sorcerer named Mareish. It is said to give its possessor certain extraordinary powers, two of which are great physical strength and invulnerability, and a third is immortality. It is said that he who owns it will possess irresistible charisma and be an absolute ruler of men. Supposedly, once Mareish realized just how powerful it was, he didn’t trust his king or anyone else with it, and he took it with him to his grave. Most people think that it’s a myth.”
“And what do you think?”
“I have no opinion. Why?”
“Because it’s not a myth,” said Mason. “It is very real, and quite possibly the most powerful artifact in the world.”
Lara shook her head. “If it existed, and did all that the legends say, someone would be wearing it right now, ruling the world and living forever. Or are you going to tell me it