Darren Craske - The Eleventh Plague

'We have nine entry points detailed here, Sobek,' said Quaint to the bulky Scarab overshadowing the parchment map. 'These are where Nastasi's men will be depositing the poison. Now that he has complete control over all the nine clans, it'll be a simple feat for him to mobilise everyone into position, and now…' Quaint consulted his fob watch, '…we only have four hours to stop him!' He snapped his watch shut to reinforce the urgency. 'We'll need to split up, head our separate ways, and with any luck we'll reach the spots before Nastasi's men do any harm!'

'Some of these locations are a long way from here, Cornelius,' offered Sobek.

'Then we'd better pull our fingers out! Not one vial of poison can enter the Nile.' He gripped the large Scarab's shoulder tightly. 'Understand? Not a single one!'

Sobek nodded, and his dark eyes fell to the ground.

'Cornelius…at first, I thought the Aksak was wrong to aid you…to risk our clan's stability for an outlander…but I then discovered that it was me that was wrong. Now I understand what Faroud saw in you. I only wish that I knew where you get such faith, my friend…for with this task ahead of us, I am in dire need of some!'

Quaint smiled. 'Sobek, my friend, I have long been a believer that faith can be found wherever you seek it. If we are without faith in ourselves, what do we have left?'

A shadow fell on the two men and the map and they both looked up to see Madame Destine standing over them.

'Cornelius? A word, s'il vous plait?'

'You want to do what?' snapped Quaint.

'He is my friend!' snapped Destine in reply.

'Just like Aloysius Bedford was a friend, you mean?' stormed Quaint. 'What you've just told me is unbelievable! Godfrey Joyce was right! About Aloysius's diary, about you being in Egypt twenty years ago mixed up in that nasty business in Umkaza – and I knew nothing about any of it!'

'Do not blame me, my sweet. Neither did I.'

'You know how I despise coincidence, Madame, but the fact that our journeys mirrored each other…it's fantastic!' Quaint exclaimed. 'We were both following the exact same path…but from different sides! It's just too ridiculously coincidental to be believed!'

'I happen to think that it is all very Quaint, my sweet,' said Destine. 'Now, you shall misdirect my intentions no longer. Ahman is my friend, as Aloysius was, and I owe him just as much. He needs me. When we were attacked he was seriously wounded, but he is not dead!'

'Oh, and how can you be so sure?'

'My gifts have foreseen that he lives.'

Quaint scowled. 'They're back?'

'The ghosts of the past opened my eyes, my sweet.'

'That's marvellous news, Madame. Hang on – did you just say "Ahman"?' asked Quaint, with a determined point of his finger. Destine nodded. 'Your friend…you say he was hurt near Umkaza? A short little chap about so high?' Quaint held his hand halfway up his chest. 'Round face and tiny spectacles?'

'Oui? Pourquoi…?' asked Destine, a subtle smile on her lips.

'I know where he is!' exclaimed Quaint. 'We came across him lying in a ditch by the side of the road just yesterday!'

Destine's smile grew even wider, her blue eyes even brighter.

'You mean to say that he is your friend Ahman? So the woman that he was searching for…that was you?' asked Quaint. 'My word, Destine, the coincidences in this caper just keep stacking up!'

'I trust you are a believer now, my sweet,' said Destine.

Quaint rubbed his jaw. 'I didn't say that.'

'And so…? What of Ahman? Is he all right?'

'Well…he was injured quite severely. A deep wound to his shoulder. We sent him back to Bara Mephista for medical treatment in the care of a woman from our crew. She promised to make sure his wound was tended to.'

Destine grabbed at his shirt. 'Oui? Est-ce que c'est vrai?'

'Madame, I'm sure that he's been well cared for.'

'I must go to him! I must see for myself,' insisted Destine.

'Absolutely not!' Quaint spat. 'Nastasi has taken over Bara Mephista's camp for himself. That place is going to be swarming with Scarabs!'

'Nastasi? You mean Godfrey Joyce's accomplice?' Destine said.

Quaint took a step back. 'Stop that!'

'Stop what?'

'Stop knowing as much about this as I do!' said Quaint. 'If I can't show off now and again, what's the world coming to? Bara Mephista isn't on the cards, Destine. It's too dangerous!'

'Even more reason why I must go there!' Destine snapped. 'I shall travel there on my own if need be, but I must make sure he is safe.'

'Madame, you will do no such thing! Have you not heard a word I just said?'

'You do not understand, Cornelius! You may have walked your own path these past few days, but I have also walked mine. If not for Ahman I would not have been able to set forth on my journey. He held my head up and kept me travelling in the right direction. I will not abandon him when he needs me!'

Sobek interrupted: 'Cornelius, if I may? I could not help but overhear…I remember seeing this man you mentioned, if only briefly. He was resting in the tavern. Our medical man Bephotsi was tending his wounds.'

'And when Nastasi attacked did he know that Ahman was there?' asked Quaint.

'No, I do not think so,' said Sobek emphatically. 'He was too preoccupied with making his grand speech of conquest, and your friend was secreted within the rear of the tavern. Even if Nastasi had seen him, the old man's presence would certainly not have concerned him. He had visions of victory dancing before his eyes; he was quite blind to detail.'

'And Polly North? What of her?'

Sobek shook his head. 'Who?'

'The Professor! She was tending to Ahman. She was the one who brought him to the camp,' said Quaint. 'Surely you saw her at Bara Mephista.'

'Sorry, Cornelius, no. The old man was alone.'

'Well, Polly's the resilient type, I'm sure she's fine.' Quaint rubbed his hands down his face and looked over at Destine's rigid expression. His former governess could still teach him a thing or two about pig-headedness. 'So…what do we do?'

'I have a suggestion,' Sobek said. 'Let my men and me deal with the Nile and the poison. We still have enough of us to complete the task. You return to Bara Mephista with your lady here. She is worried for her companion's life. Would you not feel the same?'

'I can't go anywhere, Sobek. I have to see this through to the end,' said Quaint.

'You have done enough, my friend,' said Sobek, as his imposing bulk towered a few inches above Quaint. 'We are more grateful than you can possibly imagine for what you have done this day, Cornelius…but as our Aksak often spoke: we Clan Scarabs are shapers of our own destiny.' Sobek reached down and picked up the map from the sand. 'This is what we needed to defeat these devils…and it was you who gave it to us. For that, you will have our thanks for ever. Now it is time to care for your own.' He gestured with his eyes towards Destine. 'You have to heed the lady's request. That is what you need to do now.'

'But the battle is far from won!' protested Quaint.

'Cornelius…not all wars are won on the battlefield.'

'But I can't just-'

'Yes…you can,' insisted Sobek. 'We shall make Faroud proud of us. We shall shed light upon the shadow of the Hades Consortium and dispel it from Egypt's lands once and for all.'

Quaint shook Sobek's hand firmly. 'Looks to me like you just talked yourself into a job…Aksak,' he said with a grin.

Sobek frowned, as a barrage of cheers erupted behind him. He turned to face his men, who had all risen to their feet. He raised his arms to meet their cheers.

Quaint pulled himself up into his horse's saddle and looked at Destine, already mounted upon hers. 'Well…you got your own way again.'

'Was there ever any doubt?' Destine replied with a triumphant smile.