Lauren Haney - Path of Shadows

They set out right away, planning to retrace the caravan’s path all the way to the large wadi up which men and ani mals-and Bak a few hours ahead of them-had traveled from the west. He had scant hope of tracking Dedu or the stranger, but they had to try. The caravan had followed the same path the nomads used when bringing their flocks to wa ter. The donkeys and the goats before them had churned up the sand, making it too soft to hold definite shapes. An ideal path for a man hoping to travel undetected.

“I’m very concerned about Dedu,” Bak said. He, Kaha, and the drover had returned to the campsite hot, tired, and discour aged. They had found no sign of the guide, nor had they seen any prints of the man who had passed among them in the night.

“It’s not like him to go away without a word.” Frowning,

User tore a leg from a bird browned to perfection. “At the very least, he’d tell the drovers where he meant to go.”

“He isn’t a large man, but neither is he small. No man could’ve carried him for any great distance. He had to have walked on his own two feet.”

“I’d guess he spotted the watching man and followed him.

He’ll probably show up in a day or two.”

Bak did not like the lack of conviction he heard in the ex plorer’s voice. “I don’t know where else we could look with out remaining here and searching the nearby wadis and mountains.”

“As much as I’d like to stay, we can’t. These pools are fragile, and we’ve too many donkeys to feed and water.” User took a bite from the bird’s leg, barely chewed the succulent flesh, and swallowed. “The nomads count on them to water their flocks, yet none have come since you arrived two days ago. Their animals will be needing a drink.”

For a man reputed to have no love for the nomads, User was very aware of their needs. Not only did he bring as trade items necessities unavailable in the desert, but he valued their water supply and the plants their animals needed to sur vive. Bak had to respect his decision. “I know you don’t trust

Senna-and I’m not sure I do-but with Dedu gone, we’ve no other man to guide us to the Eastern Sea.”

User scowled, unhappy with the thought. “On this side of the mountains, all the wadis drain into the sea. I’ve explored a few and heard men talk of others. If he tries to lead us down an untrodden path, I’ll know.”

“When I asked where we should travel from here, he spoke of two wells, one to the north and the other to the east, each about a day’s march away.” Bak took a sip of water from the metal bowl Nefertem had given him. The grouse looked and tasted like the food of the gods, but he had already eaten so much that not even the rich odor of well-cooked meat could tempt him. “He recommended we go east, water our animals, and travel from the well to the sea. Do you think his plan good?”

Amonmose, standing a few paces away, helping

Nebenkemet pack up the birds that had been cooked and set aside for the following day, abandoned his task to join them.

Lowering his bulk to the ground, he said, “The men who fish in my fleet know the coast well. They say there’s no fresh wa ter anywhere along this section of shoreline.”

“So I’ve been told.” User tore away a wing and nibbled the flesh from the bones. “We’d be better off traveling north. To morrow we’ll reach a gorge with pools, similar to this one, and I’ve heard of a well three days beyond. It’s near the sea, so they say.” He threw the tiny bones onto the embers dying within the makeshift hearth. “Dedu thought to travel that way and will expect us to. He’ll probably intercept us somewhere along the route.”

Bak prayed to the lord Amon that such would be the case.

“If I’m not mistaken, the well you mentioned is where my fishing camp is located,” Amonmose said. “We could go there, yes, but must we travel so far between sources of water?”

User stared at nothing, thinking. “I suppose we could go straight down the wadi from the pools. The nomads take that path and camp on the shore while they fish and dry their catch.” He focused on the trader and shook his head. “No.

That’s a single night’s march, and we’d still have three nights’ march up a waterless coast.”

“My men have told me of those nomads.” Amonmose picked up a dried twig and prodded the embers, which flick ered to life each time the breeze touched them. “A couple of islands lie offshore, and around them the fish have a tendency to school. A few boats in my fleet usually toil in the area. If such is the case, we should be able to signal them. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to leave this vile desert, and that might be the way to do it.”

User glanced at Bak. “Well, Lieutenant? Do you agree?”

“We can’t abandon the donkeys on a coast barren of water, and I doubt the nomads can care for so many animals for long. If we find any nomads there.”

A short silence ensued, broken by Amonmose. “Our sov ereign’s ships sail those waters throughout the months when the mines are being worked on the far side of the Eastern Sea.

I could send a boat to intercept one of them. Ofttimes the decks of the cargo ships have empty space, and I’ve found their captains to be an obliging lot.”

“If we must wait more than a couple of days for transport, a few of us will have to return the donkeys to the pools for water.” User flung the last of the bones onto the fire. “To travel both ways will take two nights.”

“If ships arrive while you’re gone, they’ll wait,” Amon mose assured him.

Bak prayed to all the gods in the ennead that User’s knowl edge of the desert and the merchant’s confidence in his fel low men would prove to be accurate. He preferred not to die a slow and lingering death from thirst and hunger on the bar ren coast of the Eastern Sea.

The caravan left the pools and retraced its path to the main wadi, where it turned in a northeasterly direction. Ahead, the red mountain rose into the sky, catching small puffy clouds tinted orange by the sun dropping toward the horizon. Nebre and Rona met them not far beyond the intersection.

“We walked the heights paralleling the wadi all the way from the pools,” Nebre said. “If Dedu came this way, he took care to hide his footprints. We found no sign of him.”

“I’m certain something’s happened to him.” Bak glanced down the broad dry watercourse toward the west, where long fiery fingers of light reached into the sky. “User’s trying to convince himself that he’s not worried, but he’s as concerned as I am.”

The trio fell in beside the string of donkeys twenty or so paces behind Senna. With Dedu gone, Minnakht’s guide walked once again at the head of the caravan. He should have been happy that he had regained his position, but he was sulking instead. He resented the fact that Bak had allowed

User and Amonmose to choose the route they would take to the next well, and took every opportunity to remind him that he was the sole man among them who had earned his daily bread by guiding other men through this barren desert.

Bak had had to bite his tongue to keep from reminding him that he had been Minnakht’s guide when the young explorer had vanished.

“Did you happen to spot the watching man?” Bak asked.

“No,” Nebre said. “Nor did we see another print like the one Kaha found in the gorge.”

“Do you think…” Rona looked at Bak and Nebre. He had no need to finish the question. The glum look on their faces made it clear that they feared the watching man had lured

Dedu out of the gorge and had slain him somewhere in this vast wasteland.

Dusk was falling when three large birds, their calls loud and jarring, drew Bak’s attention. The ravens dropped out of the sky to perch on the tallest of the many craggy boulders that formed a shoulder of rock nudging the south side of the wadi. They cocked their heads, watching the men below and the world around them. Their brownish black neck feathers shone iridescent in the setting sun. Another harsh call sounded at a distance. As if summoned by the lord Set him self, they bounded into the air and streaked up the wadi to swerve into an intersecting watercourse a couple of hundred paces ahead.