“Do you really believe all this will come to pass?” he asked Pa. “That Khetara could be destroyed?”
“The oracle only foretells the beginning of the story,” Pa replied gravely. “It’s up to us to decide how it ends.”
***
Karim spent the rest of the morning helping Pa with his chores and listening to him make grand plans about his future—and Karim’s too.
“I’ll leave for Thonis first thing in the morning,” Pa said as they pulled the day’s water up from the well. “After we finish this, I’ll go tell my friend in the village that I need him to watch over the temple while I’m gone.”
“Wait a minute,” Karim said. “I thought you were too old to travel. You said so yourself.”
Pa batted the words away. “I’ve changed my mind. After hearing what you’ve had to say, I can see this is too important to ignore. Besides, until you brought me that amulet, I never had the full name of the king engraved on the temple wall. It was incomplete, you see. Now, we know the name of Setnakht. Weneed to visit the Great Temple of Amun for answers about him, and at least try to get another audience with the king. If he won’t see me, perhaps one of his children will. Perhaps the princess herself, since she’s clearly involved in the oracle somehow.” He spoke quickly, more to himself than to Karim.
“Did you say ‘we?’” Karim retorted. “What makes you think I’m going with you on this expedition, hey?”
Pa turned on him. “Have you not listened to a word I’ve said? This oracle foretells disaster on a grand scale! Perhaps you care nothing for Khetara, but how about your own people? Do you really think the coming war and bloodshed will leave your fellow tribesmen unscathed? Is that a risk you’re willing to take? Spreading Khnum’s word is my life’s work, thief, and if you care at all about the future of this land, you’ll accept that it’s yours now too.”
Karim rubbed his temples. He wanted an excuse to get out of this obligation but found that he had none. Although he worried for his family and would have loved to raise a small army to go back and slaughter Babu, he knew that returning home wasn’t an option. Not yet, at least. So why not go north? Even if the priest’s mission failed, Karim could probably make a small fortune trading the rest of his treasures at the Thonis market, which he knew was the largest in the land.
“I’ll come with you to Thonis,” he said, “But that’s all. If you don’t find the answers that you’re looking for, we part ways.”
Pa looked relieved. “Good.” He dried his wet hands on his tunic. “Perhaps if we’re lucky, Khnum will place the other two people from the oracle in our path. Each of you have a role to play, you see.”
Karim shrugged. “Whatever you say, sen. How are we getting there, anyway? Isn’t Thonis far north of here?”
“I have a fishing skiff moored by the river. We’ll bring suppliesto eat on the way, so we don’t have to stop to trade. Of course, you’ll have to share yours with the dog.”
Karim glanced over to Behkai, who was watching him from the steps of the temple. “You put me on the same level as the dog?”
“Oh, you are below the dog, my friend,” Pa replied. “The dogbegs, but he does not steal.”
They worked until the sun set. Karim was so exhausted he barely tasted his dinner.Who knew that a priest’s work was so hard?As soon as it was finished, he lay on his mat and was asleep. The next day promised to be a long one.
***
The dog woke him.
Karim sat up with a gasp. It was still full dark, the desert lit only by moonlight. Behkai was barking. Karim looked around, but he couldn’t see the dog or the priest anywhere. Perhaps Pa had gone to make water, as old men often have to do in the night, and Behkai had gone to guard him from predators. But as Karim turned over to go back to sleep, the barking continued, transforming from a guttural alarm to a shrill, yelping cry. Dog or not, Karim knew that sound.
Behkai was afraid.
A terrible thought struck him.What if Babu and Hager tracked me here? Have they been lying in wait to attack?
Scrambling to his feet, Karim ignored the aches and pains in his body and ran toward the sound, the blue amulet heavy against his leg.
“Pa!” he shouted into the murk.
The temple glowed white in the moonlight. Karim dashed along its western wall, listening for the old man’s response.
Nothing.
“Pasenhor!”
Behkai’s cries became more frantic.
Perhaps if he’d had time to think, or if he hadn’t still been half asleep, Karim would have been more cautious. Perhaps he wouldn’t have announced himself. Instead, he ran straight toward the front of the building, right out into the open path leading to the temple steps.
Behkai, blacker than the night itself, stood guard there, his back arched, tail tucked between his legs, his teeth bared as he barked at something Karim couldn’t see. Beside him, lying in a pool of moonlight, was Pa.
