You left him to die.
He leaned against the sunbaked rock face, the heavy pack slipping off his shoulder. He hugged it to his chest, panting, the guilt like a blade in his gut.
I had no choice, he told himself.The kid was going to die either way.
Still, he’d left him to die down there in the dark. Alone.
He shivered.
No, not alone.
Karim had heard rumors about Khetaran magic, of curses that protected their dead from thieves. But he’d never given them asecond thought. The Khetarans were an arrogant people, but they weren’t stupid. What better way to prevent the plunder of their tombs than with stories of torment and damnation?
It was a ruse.
Or at least, that’s what Karim had believed.
After what he’d seen in that tomb, he wasn’t so sure. Something had wakened down there. Something… evil. And none of it would have happened if they’d gone home when the other Jackals wanted to. But Karim had felt the tug, had sniffed treasure on the breeze, and like a dog with a bone, he couldn’t let it go. Worse still, he’d brought Djet down with him.
He stared at the stone door, his dread returning in full force. If the thing had strength enough to kill, surely it could escape the tomb. Which meant Karim was still in danger—and so was everyone else.
What have I done?
He threw his shoulder against the door, desperate to shove it back into place. If he could seal the entrance again, the thing would be trapped inside and couldn’t hurt anyone else.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, the door wouldn’t budge. Opening it with levers—and Djet’s help—was one thing, but closing it again proved impossible.
I need to get the others.
Karim stumbled down the cliffside, sending a shower of small stones with him, and ran as fast as he could toward where he’d left the other Jackals.
Babu and Hager were lounging about, eating dried dates and taking long swallows from their waterskins. Their packs lay in a pile, Babu’s spear stuck into the sand nearby. When they heard Karim approaching, they stood, consternation clear on their faces.
“Where were you?” Babu grunted in annoyance. “The sun nearly sets! You want to be food for the lions? We have to hurryback if we’re going to get home in time for supper.”
“Please, Babu,” Karim said, panting. “Just listen.”
“No,youlisten, you son of a dog. You’d better have something to show for wasting my time or I’ll—”
“Shut up, Babu!” Karim snarled. “I found something.”
Babu’s cruel, sharp eyes darted to Karim’s bulging pack, to the glint of gold peeking through the mouth of the fabric.
“Found what exactly?” he asked, his interest clearly piqued.
Given the space to speak, Karim hardly knew where to start. “I found a tomb unlike any other I’ve seen. And… there was something down there.”
“If you found a tomb,” Babu broke in, his eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you come for us sooner?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, urgently. “I’ll show you where it is. You have to help me, please.”
“Hey,” Hager said. “Where’s Djet?”
Karim swallowed his next words. A falcon cackled somewhere in the distance.
“Yes,” Babu said, low and dangerous. “Where is Djet, eh, Karim-sen?”
Karim’s pulse quickened.Those eyes. That scream.He started to answer, then faltered. How could he possibly explain?
