Reassuring the drover with a nod, Bak left the softer sand trampled by the animals and, reaching firmer sand off to the side, hurried down the wadi. The caravan was slowly ap proaching the gap between the ridge to the north and the limestone mound that had lain off to their right since their trek began. The once broad, dry watercourse had begun to narrow, its walls to steepen.
Too intent to notice Bak’s approach, Ani walked slowly along the base of the northern wall, studying limestone rocks and boulders that had broken away from the hillside or the harder stones that had washed down from the distant moun tain range. He was carrying what looked like a white bag, bulging and heavy.
As Bak approached, the short, stout man picked up a small stone, examined it, and dropped it, scooped up another and studied it. A third stone brought a smile to his lips.
“What are you doing way back here?” The question was rhetorical; Bak could see what the jeweler was doing. “You shouldn’t have allowed the caravan to get so far ahead. What if something happened to you?”
Ani looked up, startled. Recognizing Bak, he greeted him with a beaming smile. “Ah, Lieutenant. I thank the gods you’ve come. Look what I’ve found.” He held out a pinkish stone for Bak to see.
“You mustn’t walk so close to the wadi wall. A viper could be hiding among the rocks.”
Paying no heed, Ani glanced around. His eyes came to rest on a flattish limestone boulder. Glistening white patches marked places where the weathered exterior had broken away when it had tumbled from above. He set what Bak had thought was a bag, actually a large, sweat-stained square of linen, on top of the boulder and spread the corners wide, re vealing dozens of rocks, none larger than a duck’s egg.
“If you have another square of linen… You do, don’t you?” Allowing Bak no time to answer, Ani bubbled on,
“You can carry these while I look for more.”
Bak gave him a stern look. “You can’t be serious.”
Ani blinked, taken aback. “I came into the desert to seek rare and beautiful stones for my workshop. Now you’re try ing to tell me I can’t take them with me?” He stiffened his spine, standing as tall as he could. “I can and I will.”
“Who’s going to carry them?”
“We’ve brought along plenty of donkeys.”
“Those donkeys are carrying water and supplies, Ani.”
The craftsman stood quite still, his face revealing one emotion after another: realization, dismay, and a reluctant acceptance. “Can I not collect a few?” he asked in a meek voice.
Bak eyed the bits of rock displayed on the linen. Most looked to his untrained eye like the granite User had showed him. “Are any of these stones exceptional?”
“They’re wonderful specimens, but…” Looking pained,
Ani shook his head. “Other than one or two, no.”
“If you’ll pick out those two, we can be on our way. We must catch up with the caravan.”
Faced with the inevitable, Ani wasted no time. With an ex pert eye, he searched through the rocks until he found three he deemed worthy of saving. Openly saddened by the sacri fice, he pulled the square of linen from beneath the rest and left them lying on the boulder. An offering to the lord Set, god of chaos and the desert.
Bak strode up the wadi at a good fast pace, grateful that
Ani had accepted reality so quickly. The much shorter man practically ran along beside him. They were a hundred or so paces behind the donkeys when Bak noticed Ani’s labored breathing and how red his face had become. He stopped, handed over his waterbag. “You should never stray far from the caravan, but lest you forget and wander away, you must always carry water with you.”
Smiling sheepishly, the jeweler drank, allowed the water to settle in his stomach, drank a second time. Bak reclaimed the bag, pulled free the dusty square of linen tucked beneath Ani’s belt, dropped the rocks into the jeweler’s hand, and trickled water on the fabric. “Wipe your face and neck.”
With a grateful smile, Ani obeyed, smearing dirt across his cheek. “I wasn’t thinking, Lieutenant. About the rocks, I mean. Minnakht assured me that there were many stones in the Eastern Desert that would enhance the jewelry I make.
He said nothing about the practicalities of transporting them.”
Bak took a drink of the tepid water. “When did you last speak with him?”
“I talked to him only the once. Eight months ago? Ten?
I’ve no concept of time.” Ani ran the damp cloth around the back of his neck. “He showed me a stone, an amazingly clear crystal. It came, he said, from this desert. It was lovely, per fection itself. He also showed me a chunk of turquoise a no mad had given him in trade. I told him I dreamed of traveling across the Eastern Sea to the mountain of turquoise, and he said that he, too, wished to see those mines.”
“Did he offer to take you with him on one of his expedi tions?”
“Not in so many words, but when I told him I dreamed of seeing the stones in their natural state, of picking and choos ing myself rather than depending upon someone else’s judg ment as to which is the best and most beautiful, he said he thought we’d make a good team. Between his understanding of this desert and my knowledge of fine jewelry and stones, we’d surely find things overlooked by other men.”
Noting that Ani’s breathing had slowed and his color had almost returned to normal, Bak signaled that they move on.
“Did he show you any stones other than the turquoise and the crystal?”
“Carnelian, jasper, milky quartz. Attractive pieces, but of less value.”
“According to his father, he left Kemet to explore this desert about nine months ago, returned in three months, and went off two months later never to return. Why didn’t you travel with him on one of those journeys?”
“I was afraid.” Ani gave Bak a sheepish look. “Yes, afraid. A thing I’m not proud of, but true.” He looked down at himself.
“Look at me. Do I have the appearance of a man accustomed to hardships? Do I have the demeanor of a brave and hardy soul?”
Bak grinned. He liked a man with no illusions about him self. “What finally brought you here?”
“Desire overcame fear.”
After Wensu’s blustering, Ani’s modest admissions were refreshing. “You must’ve been disappointed when you heard that Minnakht never returned from his latest expedition.”
“I can’t tell you how disturbed I was.” Ani looked up the wadi toward the caravan. “We can walk a bit faster if you like. I feel better now.” As if he had not interrupted the thought, he went on, “I’d spent months convincing myself I could do this, and convincing my overseer that I should.
What did I find when I reached Kaine? The man who’d urged me to come had vanished!”
“You must’ve heard the rumor that he’d found gold.”
“I’m not a man who believes all I hear, Lieutenant, but when I heard that tale, my blood ran cold.”
“You feared his life was at risk?”
“I toil in a workshop well-supplied with precious metals and stones. Even I am not immune to their value. I know from experience how quickly men’s hearts can become in flamed by dreams of wealth.”
Bak understood. True or not, the rumor had put Min nakht’s life in jeopardy. “Did you and Wensu approach User together, or did you individually propose to travel with him?”
“We were in a house of pleasure, each of us alone, trying to decide what to do. We overheard a man speak of User, calling him witless for entering the desert after Minnakht had so recently failed to return. Foolhardy they called him, to travel alone with a single nomad to keep him company-as
Minnakht had. Wensu asked where User could be found, and
I inquired as to his appearance. We realized we were both af ter the same thing: a reliable man to take us into the desert.”
Bak recalled Senna saying that User was not entirely to be trusted. “Did you inquire about his reputation?”
“Several men-merchants, drovers, men selling don keys-vouched for his integrity and his knowledge of the desert.” Ani looked at Bak, frowned. “Have you heard any thing to his discredit, Lieutenant?”
Bak shook his head. He saw no reason to worry the jew eler. User might be the untrustworthy man Senna thought him. Or Senna might be as unreliable as User believed. Then again, both could be right-or wrong. As for Ani
