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“Only because of Abdullah,” he said. “He’s the scholar among the team.”
Kareem led me away from the railing so we could work. I scrubbed the deck, my head lowered, ears straining for any sign of Tío Ricardo or Mr. Hayes. His other companion, Mr. Fincastle, didn’t look twice at me, so I didn’t bother keeping track of his movements. Around noon, we stopped so the cook and Kareem could go out on land to use one of the public ovens in order to make bread. The main meal, I learned, consisted of a toasted flatbread soaked in olive oil and flavored with salt and pepper, with lentilsstirred in until the whole thing turned into a kind of thick soup. For dessert, we munched on dates, and some of the crew enjoyed tobacco and coffee.
After lunch, I continued scrubbing until I reached the very back of the ship, working my way to the mast. My fingers were cramped from curling them around the bristled brush, and my back ached from having spent the majority of the day bent and on my knees. I pushed through the discomfort, liking the immediate improvement to the deck. One good swipe, and the dirt cleared to reveal the handsome wooden planks.
Someone shouted, indiscernible words carried off by the sudden furious wind. I looked up, my hair pulling free in a riot of tangles from out of my hat. Sheets of paper danced across my vision and I jerked back to avoid getting smacked in the face.
“No!” the reis hollered. “Grab them, you fool!”
The captain looked wildly around, pointing in every direction, clearly desperate.
The scene unfolded in a mad rush as several crew members raced around the deck, snatching the loose papers fluttering like wayward snowflakes. I jumped to my feet and pulled two as they rippled over the boards. Another caught my eye, whipping up and over the railing—
I lurched forward, one arm outstretched, fingertips spread wide. The dahabeeyah rocked, the water rippling roughly. My mistake became all too clear. I had no purchase and I’d leaned out too far, and when the boat dipped, I flew forward and flipped down into the river.
No time to scream for help.
Warm water engulfed me, smacking my palms hard. Bubbles erupted in a dizzying dance around me. I blinked, and righted myself, kicking hard. I burst through the surface sputtering.
“Man overboard! We lost one!” someone yelled from above.
I coughed up more water and fought hard to keep myself from going back under. The current pulled, a powerful force, determined to win. Something drifted past my ankle and I let out a horrified shriek. I’d never swum in a river before, and the deep water fueled my imagination to terrifying heights. What lurked below the surface? The water was too dark to see anything clearly and it curled around me in a frightening fist. I tipped myhead backward and looked up and met the amused blue gaze of Mr. Hayes. He folded his arms on the railing and his handsome features twisted in laughter, auburn hair gleaming like polished amber in the sunlight. “Did you swim all the way here, Olivera?”
“Hilarious.”
“It’s a pretty day for it, isn’t it?”
“Mr. Hayes,” I said, spitting water, “I would greatly appreciate your assistance.”
He examined his fingernails. “I don’t know. What’s in it for me?”
“I thought you had scruples.”
Without skipping a beat, he said dryly, “I only know how to spell the word.”
That would have made me smile if I weren’t splashing loudly, trying to keep my nose above the water. “I’m not a strong swimmer,” I said, unable to keep the panic out of my voice.
In an instant, his genial expression turned murderous. “What did you say?”
“I wasn’tplanningon getting in the river.”
“Bloody hell.” He turned away for an instant and then returned, carrying a long coil of rope. He threw one end down and it spooled a few yards away from me. I hadn’t realized the river had taken me outward.
“Can you reach it?”
I struggled forward, slowly but surely propelling myself back to theElephantine. But the current swept me backward; with a muttered curse, I kicked wildly and managed to draw closer to the rope.
“I think I can manage on my own.”
“We are going to have words,” Mr. Hayes said in a grim voice, preparing to launch himself over the railing. “Several of them.”
“Looking forward to it,” I said and then spat out more of the river.
“Shit.” His eyes widened as he looked at something behind me. “Inez!”
I half turned my head to find an obsidian ridge cutting through the surface, a large shadow moving like a bullet under the water line. Horror seized my body and I stopped swimming, paralyzed.
A Nile crocodile. Ten yards away and gaining ground.
