“All right, easy, easy,” he said. He allowed the strap of his pack to slip from his shoulder, and took the heavy bundle in his hands. Babu watched him suspiciously, hate burning in his eyes. Hager nodded, urging him to hand it over.
“Catch.” Karim threw the pack at Hager. Startled, the thin man dropped the spear to pluck it from the air. In the same instant, Karim sprung forward, bringing his fist around in an arc and connecting with Hager’s left temple.
He crumpled like a pile of sticks.
Karim was running before Hager hit the ground, grabbing up his pack and knife and stumbling through the sand as quickly as his injured body would allow. Babu screamed curses at his back, calling him every bad name Karim had ever heard—and some he hadn’t. The big man was so mad that he managed to get to his feetand give chase for a short distance, which was impressive given the amount of blood pouring out of his leg.
“You can never come back!” Babu shouted, his voice growing more and more distant. “I will tell everyone what you’ve done. You step foot into any tribe,anywhere, and I will know it! And when I find you, and I will slit your throat from ear to ear like the dog you are!”
Karim kept running.
“You are a dead man, do you hear me?” Babu yelled, barely audible. “You are nothing and no one!”
The next time Karim chanced a look back, Babu was nowhere to be seen.
When Karim could no longer run, he walked. And when he couldn’t walk, he continued anyway. If he didn’t keep going, there was still a chance that the others could catch up to him. From the position of the sun, he knew he was moving toward the river and the outskirts of the Khetaran kingdom. He wasn’t welcome there either, but finding some kind of sanctuary was his only chance of survival.
The evening fell quiet after that. The desert rolled in great, unbroken waves in every direction, and although Karim had lived his entire life in the Red Lands, without the comfort of his people close by, it quickly became a forbidding place.
The pain in his ribs was bad, and the heat was worse, but neither compared to the torment of his shame. Karim shifted his pack, the weight of its treasures reminding him of what they’d cost.
What will you do with your share of the riches?
As Karim walked, he imagined the Jackals making their way back to camp, where a girl would be waiting for Djet. He imagined Babu telling her that the boy she cared for was never coming home. Djet would never bring her a bottle of jasmine oil or alovely new dress. And as he imagined the girl’s grief, Karim felt the weight of the riches in his pack become heavier with every step.
***
Keeping the setting sun at his back, Karim walked east toward the Khetaran border. Babu had made it clear that going back to camp wasn’t an option, so his only choice was to find someone willing to take him in. He thought of his mother and his siblings. What would the Jackals say about him to the rest of the Anen?
They’ll say that I betrayed them.
That I abandoned my family.
That I’m a murderer.
His mother wouldn’t believe them, but what would it matter? Not only would his family be forced to live in disgrace, but they will have suffered another loss.
He thought of his brother’s anger, his sisters’ sorrow, his mother’s stoic fortitude.She’s endured so much already, now she’ll have to endure this too.
Thoughts of Djet haunted him as well. There were moments,as he trudged up one side of a sand dune and half fell down the other, when he felt that the boy still walked at his side. It was comforting, until he remembered Djet wasn’t really there.
But the worst thoughts were of that distant cliffside and the door, left open just enough to allow whatever lurked within to get out.
It had all gone so wrong, so quickly.
A gust of sand blew into his face and he coughed. The pain was searing.
He used his head covering to shield his face from the elements, leaving only his eyes to bear the stinging wind. His body felt like a bag of loose bones, and he was certain he had at least one broken rib. The knife wound had stopped bleeding, but the fabric of his robes stuck to it. At some point, he’d have to pull it free to bind the wound. The thought made him swoon, forcing him to stop a moment to rest.
The truth was, he had no idea how far it might be to the nearest village. It could be one hour, or it could be seven. The first would mean his salvation. The second…
If anyone can do it—you can!
It was almost as if Djet were right there, whispering into his ear.
“Are you sure about that?” Karim croaked in reply. “Because right now, things don’t look so good, sen.” He had no food, no water, and very, very little hope.
More time passed, and the sun dropped to the horizon, melting into a mirage that stretched across the landscape. Karim licked his dry, cracked lips. The illusion reminded him of a glittering riverbank. But he’d lived in the Red Lands long enough to know it was a cruel trick the desert played on dying men.
