The Amulet of Power - Mike Resnick [92]
He looked out the window. It seemed like the ocean was racing up to meet them—and then, at 300 feet, the engines caught again, and this time they purred to life.
The plane leveled out, then slowly began climbing.
“Crisis over,” announced Lara.
“I’ve had a few more crises than I bargained for,” said Oliver. “Do you mind if I move up to the front with you?”
“Not at all.”
He carefully maneuvered himself to the empty seat. “I didn’t know you could fly a plane,” he said.
“You never asked me.”
“Do you know how to get to the Seychelles?”
“He’s got maps here, and we’ll be in radio contact with the Mahé airport in another hour or so.”
“Should we report what happened to Jacobi?”
“Who’s Jacobi?” she asked innocently. “We rented this plane in Mombasa. We’ll return it to your friend when we’re done with it.”
Oliver smiled and shook his head in wonderment. “You seem to make a habit of saving all the people who thought they were supposed to protect you,” he said ironically.
“Not quite all,” she replied. “I owe my life to Kevin Mason a few times over.”
“Tell me more about this second-generation scholar who rescued you from that collapsed tomb,” said Oliver. “We’ve been so busy just trying to stay alive that I haven’t had a chance to ask you about him.”
“He’s spent most of his adult life searching for the Amulet,” she replied. “He’s bright, he seems well-read, and he’s surprisingly good with his fists.”
“You did mention something about that.”
“Then what else do you want to know about him?” she asked. “He’s the son of one of the world’s foremost archaeologists, he’s very personable, and he seems to be totally without fear. At least, he was more than willing to risk his life to save mine.”
“He sounds like quite a man,” said Oliver.
“I suppose he is.”
“And handsome?” he asked.
“Why should you think so?”
“Just a hunch.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “Handsome, too.”
“Anything else?”
“Just that he hates what he calls hugger-mugger—but it doesn’t stop him from doing whatever has to be done.”
Oliver smiled.
“What’s so funny?” asked Lara.
“He sounds like a male version of you,” he said. “At least he does if he’s rich. Do you miss him much?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“That much?” he said, amused. “If you’re right about the Amulet, we should conclude our business here in a day or two and then you can see him again.”
“I’m right about it,” she said with certainty.
“Well, if you’re wrong, you can always become a ballet dancer, or maybe a broken-field runner in American football,” said Oliver. “You dodged that rhino like you were born to it. Most people lose their nerve the first time—and of course if they do, there usually isn’t a second time.”
“It’s an amazing piece of information,” she said. “I’d never heard that about rhinos before.”
“Nobody hunts them anymore,” said Oliver. “But they’re about as foul-tempered an animal as you’ll ever find. These days poachers just spray them with AK-47s, but back in the old days, when it was still a sport, you’d just wait for a rhino to charge, then step aside and stick a bullet in his ear as he ran past.” He shrugged. “I know it looks terrifying to the uninitiated, but actually it’s quite routine.”
“Shut up, Malcolm,” said Lara. “I’m trying to compliment you.”
“It’s not necessary,” he replied. “There are a lot of things I don’t know. I’m totally ignorant about art and music and most of literature. I flunked math in school. I haven’t seen a movie in thirty years, or a play in even longer. But if there’s one thing I do know, it’s my own business.”
“I’m impressed anyway.”
“No need to be,” said Oliver. “What kind of guide would I be if I got lost in the bush or didn’t know my animals?”
“Okay, you win,” she said with a smile. “I was wrong. You’re nothing special after all.”
And suddenly, there was an almost audible click inside her head as the final piece of the puzzle, the one that had troubled her on the flight from Khartoum to Nairobi, suddenly fell into place.
PART IV
SEYCHELLES
31
They touched down and coasted to