Page 64

It wastoostrong. Canvas flapped against the stiff breeze. An empty water barrel tipped over and rolled across the ground.

Beyond the sprawl of tents stood a diminutive figure that did not belong there.

The woman was not Egyptian. Her rich black hair contrasted sharply with her simple white dress. Even at a distance, Ellie could see that the copper skin of her cheek was marked by the vivid lightning bolt of a scar.

Despite the wind whipping at the intruder’s skirts and hair, she remained straight and still as she gazed across the sprawl of trenches to Ellie.

A worker tugged at Ellie’s sleeve, pulling her attention away from the immovable woman as he pointed to the west.

Ellie turned to see a black cloud devouring the horizon.

It was a storm—a wind that would pierce like a thousand needles, burying all that she had worked for.

A voice slithered to her through the rising rasp of sand on stone.

Want, it hissed.

The maelstrom flooded across the sky, cloaking the sun. The golden light shifted to a red like blood.

Soon, the dust whispered.

?

Ellie’s stepmother Florence was making a racket again.

The sharp, invasive chatter tore painfully through her veil of sleep. Ellie winced, squeezing her eyes shut in protest. She reached for her blanket to pull it over her head… and grasped the front of her shirt.

Her hands moved lower and found trousers.

Ellie sat up, opening her eyes. The sudden movement toppled her from the hammock.

She landed on the deck of theMary Lee.

“Drat,” she muttered, wincing against the impact.

Ellie glanced up at the other hammock and was relieved to find it empty. She could only imagine the look on Bates’s face if he had witnessed her throwing herself to the ground.

She climbed to her feet, aching from both her impact on the deck and the unaccustomed angles of sleeping in a canvas sling.

A chorus of parrots squawked at her from the branches overhead. Ellie shot them a rueful look as she deduced where the noise that had awoken her had originated.

“A little more sleep might have been nice,” she commented aloud.

The parrots answered with a whistle and fluttered from the tree to swing up the river.

She had been dreaming of something wonderful… and awful. Ellie shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The last remaining wisps of the dream slipped away from her, leaving behind only a vague unease.

TheMary Leewas empty. Bates was nowhere to be seen. As there were no immediate signs of a jaguar attack, Ellie deduced that he must have gone ashore to forage for something to augment their breakfast.

Her shirt was filthy. Dust and grime smeared the sleeves. Her trousers were a bit better off, but Ellie doubted that she was in any fine fettle, herself. She hadn’t so much as splashed water on her face in two days, and the last time she’d had a proper bath was…

Well—a good while before the moment when Adam Bates had kicked through the door to the washroom.

It had been long enough, anyway.

The water of the river looked cool and inviting, especially as the heat of the day was already beginning to rise.

Ellie wondered just how far away her traveling companion had gone.