Page 61 of The Death
“You saw him?” Joe asked eagerly. “Did he look okay?”
“As far as I could tell. He looked to be the right age, and he resembled you a little. He was the only white child I saw there. I only saw him for a few minutes. He was getting a pitcher of water from the well in front of the hut on the next street over, and one of the guards was practically on top of him for the entire time until he went back into the hut. I waited outside, but he didn’t come out again.”
“Which hut?” Celine asked. “What kind of guards? How many?”
“It was the seventh hut on the street,” Kontara said. “And it was almost adjoining the workroom where Zakira has special people come to do the jewel insets, ornaments, and fancy gold trim to decorate his throne room and special museum.”
“That makes sense,” Joe said. “It’s where he’d bring Eve to work on the death mask for the sarcophagus.” He paused. “So they’re probably both there. Maybe we could find a way to—”
“Stop right there,” Kontara said. “I wish I could say that we’d be able to bring Eve with us when we take your son, but it’s not going to happen. You asked about the guards, Celine. Caldwell has assigned five men to watch Eve and Michael. I watched them as they came on duty. Four of them were on the back side of the hut, and evidently they were assigned to patrol the entire village except when they took over to relieve the guard stationed at the well at dawn.” She made a face. “Who, by the way, was your old friend Jossland, and I don’t have to tell you what a vicious bastard he can be. But he’s also scared of Caldwell, and he won’t be careless if he’s guarding Michael. The only good thing is that he’s so arrogant, he won’t accept any help from any of those other guards. But those odds still aren’t good. I might be able to slip Michael out of the hut and over here to the maze, but if anyone sees Eve leave someone’s bound to raise an outcry and she might be hurt… or killed.”
“Then how are you going to manage to get Michael out?”
“Most of the work on Zakira’s museum items was done in a huge room in the basement so that the craftsmen wouldn’t disturb Zakira when he was playing his priestly dictator role for his loyal followers. Some worked cutting gems, one wasa specialist in melting and handling gold, another made fine furniture and weapons for his new museum. It was hot as hell down there and very hard to breathe, but Zakira didn’t give a damn.”
“How do you know?” Celine asked. Then she answered her own question. “You were down there because you were looking for a way out.”
Kontara nodded. “The craftsmen’s room wasn’t as guarded as the rest of the village. They were artists, and Zakira wasn’t worried about them trying to get away. They were terrified of him because they knew they were only going to be alive as long as they produced what he wanted. They were right. I spent a long time trying to dig a tunnel into the basement.” She made a face. “Really more like a hole I could hide with debris, so that I could use the trapdoor to get up to the museum from the craftsmen’s workroom in the basement. But it was slow going. Too slow. One day I saw the workmen being herded out of the basement and into the center of the village. Then Zakira came out of his throne room and gave the order. He announced that their work was now completed and they were no longer needed. Then his soldiers raised their rifles and shot every one of them.”
Celine shuddered. It was just another horrific episode that Kontara had been forced to go through that she had never known about. How many others had there been?
Kontara nodded as she saw Celine’s expression. “Yes, it was bad, terrible. But the only good thing is that after they killed those poor, innocent human beings, they immediately sealed off the basement, because Zakira decided he didn’t like the stench of sweat and honest labor drifting up to his preciousmuseum. I thought I might be able to get down into the basement, break the lock on the trapdoor, and get to the museum level when I had the opportunity.”
“But you didn’t get the opportunity?” Joe asked.
“No, because it had been raining, and I was afraid that my tunnel was flooded. There was all kinds of excitement going on in the village because Zakira had sent his men into the mountains searching for Folashade, the lost queen, and they had found her and were making preparations to bring her back to Shafira. I had to find a way to get out fast or I might not get another chance. It was risky, but I went over the falls instead.”
“I’d say that was risky,” Joe said dryly. “Michael’s a good swimmer, but I’d prefer not to take him that way.”
“We won’t have to,” Kontara said. “I checked out the tunnel I dug on the outside of the basement wall, and it’s still in place. It hasn’t rained in weeks, so flooding won’t be a problem. We’ll be able to enter there and then go up to the museum. It should be deserted, and we can wait until we see that the guards are distracted and then make a run for the maze.”
“You’re saying ‘we,’” Joe said. “But you’re still leaving me out of this.”
“You know it’s safer for all of us if I do. Once I deliver Michael to you, then you can take care of everyone to your heart’s content. In the meantime, just keep an eye on Celine while I do my job.”
But she wasn’t the one he wanted to keep an eye on, Celine thought. It must be agony to know Eve was so close and he couldn’t do anything to help her. But Joe wouldn’t appreciate anyone noticing what he was going through. She turned and spoke to Kontara instead. “I shouldn’t even dignify thatremark with an answer. I’ve behaved exactly as I promised I would, and I don’t need anyone to watch over me. However, if the occasion calls for it, you know I’m always ready to help.”
“That’s why I want him to keep an eye on you,” Kontara said. “You’ve always been a little too eager to help. Though it’s a quality I’ve been grateful for in the past…” She turned away. “And now I’m going to eat a sandwich and then take a nap. I want to be fresh when I go to get your Michael tonight, Joe. If you want something to do, Celine, you might stand guard yourself tonight. Make sure that you keep a bead on Jossland and make sure that he’s not drifting around too much while we’re smuggling Michael out of that museum. That should keep you busy…”
“I was planning on doing that,” Celine said as she positioned herself on the slope with her rifle. “By all means, get some rest. The last thing either of us wants is to have you so tired that you start making mistakes when you’re leading us back through that hellish maze after we’ve managed to free Michael. I would have been lost a dozen times on the way here if I hadn’t had you to follow.”
“I know just how you feel. Why do you think it took me so long to escape from here? That’s why Shafira has been so impregnable all these years. I had to teach myself not only how to escape from Zakira and Caldwell but all the tricks and turns of one of the most difficult landscapes I’ll probably ever have to face.” Kontara had finished her sandwich, and she closed her eyes. “But I think I’ve got it now. Though it’s every bit as difficult as that headlock you taught me. Maybe when this is all over, I’ll teach you all my secrets, Celine.”
“I can hardly wait,” Celine said gently. “Any of them exceptyour cooking. I’ve seen how long it takes you to make some of those gourmet meals. But for the time being, I’ll meekly follow in your footsteps until you get us out of here.”
“Meekly?” Kontara repeated. “You’ve never shown me meekness. I would have thought you were sick.” She yawned and then gave a weary sigh. “But maybe we’ll take this up later…”
Celine didn’t answer, but a few minutes later, she realized that Kontara was asleep.
SARCOPHAGUS WORKROOM
SHAFIRA
10:40 P.M.
Michael sat against the wall, watching Eve as she carefully worked with the delft clay, creating features where there had been only bland smoothness. She felt his gaze on her and turned her head to look at him. “I thought you were still asleep. You didn’t get to bed until the middle of the night.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” He was staring at the reconstruction. “Not since the last time I went out to the well to bring you more water to dampen that plaster. I kept thinking about how hard you were working on Folashade and how little I was able to help.”
