Page 97 of Tomb of the Sun King

Umm Waseem trotted over, comfortably settled on her own donkey. She had slung a black canvas satchel over the back of her saddle. Stopping beside them, she raised an expectant eyebrow.

Zeinab and her apprentice had already mounted, as had Sayyid—though he looked far from happy about it. Only Ellie and Adam remained standing, with a single horse waiting nearby.

“Go with Jemmahor,” Zeinab ordered, motioning Ellie sharply toward the tall apprentice midwife.

“She rides with me,” Adam shot back, fixing Zeinab with a glare.

Zeinab rolled her eyes. “Wear out the horse if you like—just do it quickly!”

“Get up, Princess.” Adam offered Ellie his hand.

Ellie let him boost her into the saddle, perching on it sideways and clinging to the horn for dear life. Adam hauled himself up behind her. Ellie heard him let out a hiss of discomfort at the movement.

His substantial weight slid into place at her back, landing her more or less on his lap. An iron arm clamped firmly around her waist. With his other hand, he reached around her for the reins. He urged the animal into motion, and the horse jolted beneath them as it followed the others.

They climbed a trail that looked like little more than an ancient, dusty runoff. It wended steeply up into the range of ragged hills and deep wadis that sprawled across the desert. Adam’s warm hold on Ellie took away some of the nervousness she would normally feel at riding. She let herself melt back against the solid wall of his chest with a wash of relief.

There was no sign of pursuit from Jacobs and his men. It seemed that the rescue party had managed to slip away before their enemies cut themselves loose.

They reached the top of the trail and rode out onto a narrow path that offered a sprawling view of the surrounding countryside. Ellie glanced down to her left, where the mountain fell away precipitously into a long, arid valley. A packed-earth road ran along the base. A scattering of dark, gated rectangles set into the walls of the cliffs sparked her recognition.

“That’s the Valley of the Kings!” Ellie burst out. “We’re riding right above theValley of the Kings!Adam, look!”

She leaned forward for a better view, heedless of how it compromised her balance in the saddle. The horse huffed in protest, and Adam hauled her back into place.

“I’d rather not, if it’s all the same,” he replied uncomfortably.

Ellie glanced back at him. He was looking a bit green, his knuckles white where they clutched the reins.

“Oh dear!” she exclaimed with sudden understanding. “We are just a tad high up, aren’t we?”

“Kinda trying not to think about that,” Adam noted. “I don’t want to fall out of the saddle.” He paused. “Or puke down your shirt.”

Ellie flashed him a sympathetic smile before leaning back against him once more, studying the wonders of the valley more sedately as they rode past.

“What do you think that was all about back in the temple?” she asked. “I can’t say I know Jacobs particularly well, but I’m not sure I would ever have thought him the sort to… well, hesitate at the use of violence to achieve his aims.”

“Maybe his bosses told him he can’t kill anybody this time around,” Adam offered. “He could be on some kind of probation for things going south back in British Honduras.”

“But being willing to kill people seems like precisely the reason one would hire a man like Jacobs in the first place,” Ellie pointed out. “What could he possibly offer on the hunt for a powerful arcanum if he’s forbidden from using violence?”

“I don’t know, Princess,” Adam replied with a frown she could hear in his voice. “The whole thing just seemed a little… weird.”

Even with Jacobs’ inexplicable reluctance to shoot them, they had still come far too close to disaster. The notion of just how bad things might have gone swept over Ellie and left her feeling a little shaky.

She soaked up the reassuring warmth of Adam’s presence, which was strong and steady despite his bruises.

“I still can’t quite believe that Neil gave us away,” she said after a little while.

“I can,” Adam replied.

Ellie twisted back to frown at him.

“Not like that,” Adam corrected. “I meant… Fairfax has always been a bit of a homebody. You can tempt him into the odd adventure, but he likes knowing he’s got someplace steady to go back to.” He paused as he guided the horse through a turn. “I think that dig was his steady place here in Egypt, and we kinda blew it up on him. It doesn’t surprise me that he’d scramble a bit to get it back.”

“But Itoldhim that Julian was involved,” Ellie countered, unable to keep the hurt from her tone.

“For a smart guy,” Adam replied, “your brother can be a real idiot sometimes.”

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