Secrets.
Rae was reminded of the last time she saw Asim, when he taught her the code phrases used to identify other members of the rebellion.
The falcon sails across the sky.
We shall meet him on the horizon.
“Speak of this to no one outside the circle,” Asim had told her. “Not your father, not your friends—no one.”
Rae blinked, bringing her focus back to the present.
“Yes,” she said to the Red Land tribesman. “We all have our secrets.”
“I’m glad we understand each other,” he said, and held out his open palms to her. They held at least a dozen pieces of fine jewelry: beaded necklaces, a golden ring, a bracelet inlaid with lapis and decorated with lotus flowers. “Choose. Any one you like. They would all fetch a tidy sum at market, if you decide to trade.”
Rae ran her fingers along each of the items, picking up one, then another. She’d never touched anything so beautiful in her life. It was nearly impossible to choose. In the end, though, she went with her gut.
“I’ll take this one,” she said, picking up a red jasper amulet ona simple black cord.
“That?” the man said, confused. “But that’s nothing. A little carved lion. Can’t be worth more than a couple loaves of bread.”
“Then it’s an even trade,” Rae said, looping the amulet over her head. “Trying to trade one of those other items might raise suspicions at the market here, and I don’t need more trouble than I’ve already got. Besides, I don’t want to sell it, I want to wear it. It’s a Sekhmet amulet—it provides protection from the goddess. And I could use some.”
“Sekhmet,” the man repeated. “Where have I heard that name before?” After a moment of consideration, he shrugged. “You may take the amulet, Raetawy-sena, but please let me offer you something of real value, for your kindness. Keep it for yourself, if you like, or give it to someone you love.”
When Rae nodded in assent, the man studied the remaining objects in his hand for a long moment before selecting the gold ring. Slipping it on her finger, Rae was surprised to find that it actually fit. It was a simple, unique piece featuring a swiveling gold cube with an engraved symbol on each of its four faces. A cobra, a feather of Maat, an Eye of Ra, and a scarab beetle. She’d have to hide it at home, of course—its obvious value would attract too much unwanted attention on the streets of Sakesh. That was too bad, because it felt good on her finger. She spun the cube playfully, pausing on the face with the Eye of Ra. “It’s like my father’s dagger,” she said.
“Is it?” the man said with interest. “Then I think it was indeed meant for you.”
Deep in thought, the man walked back to the riverbank, the dog prancing at his heels. Rae followed. They stood together in companionable silence, watching the trading ships pass by on the Iteru. The man reached out to grab the prow of the little skiff, steadying it so the dog could leap aboard.
“I expect you’ve traveled by boat before, hey?”
“Only on short trips,” Rae admitted. “Never as far as Thonis.”
The man nodded. “This is my first time,” he said. “It’s so strange, because the river, it just takes you. The current pulls you along as it wishes, like it has a mind of its own. I can use my oars, of course—I can direct the boat this way or that way. I can pause on my journey, as I have done to see you, sena. But when I am back on this boat, as soon as I release my hold on land, the river resumes carrying me along its path. I can stall, I can stop… but I think the river will get its way, in the end.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Do you get my meaning, Raetawy? Or do I sound like a fool?”
It was odd. Rae felt comfortable with the man, as if she were talking to an old friend, rather than a stranger she’d only just met. His question made her think of the night in the Garden of the Dead.
“You don’t sound like a fool,” she answered. “I got in this fight a few days ago—a fight I knew I couldn’t win—and I felt like that. Like there was this current pulling me to do something I knew I probably shouldn’t.”
“So did you?” he asked. “Let the current take you, I mean.”
Rae nodded. “I did. Maybe I was wrong and we’re both fools, probably being carried off to be eaten by crocodiles.”
The man laughed, his seriousness melting away. “I like you, sena. You are truly the greatest Khetaran I’ve ever met.”
Rae snorted. “Given your opinion of us, that isn’t saying much.”
“Well, I wish you much good fortune,” the man said. He leaped nimbly onto the skiff, and dropped his heavy pack onto the deck. “Maybe the river will bring us together again someday.”
“Maybe so,” Rae said, grasping the lion amulet in her hand.
The man shoved off to join the other boats floating downriver,and Rae raised a hand in farewell.
“Thank you again!” he shouted, touching a knuckle to his nose. The dog barked. “What, you’d rather stay with her, Behkai? Because that’s good for me, you know. One less mouth to feed!”
Behkai sat on his haunches and whined.
