The Amulet of Power Read Online Free

more.”
    She looked around. “Where are the bad guys?”
    “Probably hunting for us in Luxor by now. At least, I hope so.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “We’re in a village of sorts. I suppose it has a name, but it’s not on any map I’ve ever seen. Most of these small villages aren’t. The road began twisting and turning for a few miles, and once I was out of their line of sight I pulled in behind a couple of buildings. They went past and never gave us a look.”
    “What now?”
    “I’ve only got about two gallons of petrol, if that much. I can’t get us to Luxor and I can’t go back to Cairo—and I’ve been up and down this road often enough to know that there aren’t any petrol stations within fifty miles.”
    “Then I repeat: What now?”
    “A few of the locals stopped by to see who we were, and I’ve made an arrangement with them,” said Mason. “We’ll take a small dhow to Luxor and then hop one of the bigger cruise boats going south.”
    “That could take hours,” said Lara. “Why not drive toward Luxor until we’re out of petrol and
then
go the rest of the way on the Nile?”
    “You’re still not thinking clearly,” said Mason.
    “See how well
you
think after a temple falls down on you!”
    “Point taken,” said Mason. “I’m assuming our friends are searching for us in Luxor—but there’s always a chance they’ll figure out they passed us, and I’d prefer not to meet them head-on as they come back looking for us.”
    “Let’s get on with it before I start passing out again,” she said. “How far do we have to go?”
    “The river’s only about forty yards away, and the dhow’s right there. Do you think you can make it?”
    She was about to nod her head, but some instinct told her not to. Instead she merely grunted a “Yes,” climbed out of the Land Rover, and began walking, Mason at her side. Once they reached the river, he helped her into the boat, fixed the sail, pushed off from shore, and jumped in.
    “Nice dhow,” he said.
    “It’s called a
felluca
on the Nile,” she corrected him absently.
    “Whatever,” said Mason with a shrug. “The fellow who rented me the dhow—er,
felluca
—has a ham radio. He was able to find out what tour boats are in Luxor now.”
    “Is there one in particular that you want?”
    “The least popular, of course,” answered Mason. “There’s a grubby little boat, only twenty cabins, called the
Amenhotep
, privately owned, and it’s due to leave an hour after sunrise. The owner is the captain, and there’s no office. He picks up any passengers who happen to be handy and takes off, so if we can get there in time to board it, there’ll be no way to trace us.” He smiled. “If we don’t die of food poisoning, I think we’ll be safe.”
    “For how long?” asked Lara.
    “For as long as it takes.”
    She was getting tired of half-answers. “As long as
what
takes?” she demanded angrily—and the anger and tension sent bolts of pain shooting through her skull again.
    “Careful!” said Mason, reaching over and steadying her by the shoulder. “I know the Nile’s not very deep, but we don’t want you falling overboard anyway.”
    She tried to answer him, found she couldn’t speak, and lay back, allowing consciousness to float away on the warm Egyptian breeze.

4

    Lara was lying on a lumpy mattress with her head resting on a torn pillow. Mason was sitting on a wooden stool right next to her.
    “What happened?” she asked.
    He smiled. “You caught up on your sleep.”
    “How long this time?”
    “Damned near twenty-four hours,” said Mason. “How do you feel?”
    She ran a mental survey of her various aches and pains. “Better,” she said. “Much better.”
    “Good. I’m sorry I had to rush you out of hospital, but it really couldn’t be avoided.”
    Lara looked around the tiny, decrepit room. “Where are we?”
    “Aboard the
Amenhotep
,” answered Mason. “We made it before sunrise, and this is the kind