Close Up the Sky (34 page)

Matt had never
seen a more beautiful and fascinating country. The fertile belts along the
banks of the Nile were in direct contrast to the burning waste of the desert. Trees,
green brush, and fields of golden grain grew in profusion on both sides of the
river. The shore was thick with bulrushes, and crocodiles lay dozing in the sun
on the muddy banks. Occasionally, a flock of white birds would take flight in a
thunderous flapping of wings as their boat passed. He recognized their species
from their white coloring and large curved beaks as the sacred ibis of the
pharaohs. Sometimes the river would be so wide that he could barely make out
people and animals on the shores, but at other times they would glide through
narrow channels that had broken away from the main river only to rejoin it a
mile or two further along. Once or twice during those times he caught a glimpse
of someone running along the shore just beyond the tree line. He thought there
was something familiar about the darting figure, but whatever it was eluded
him.

He and Tarel
talked frequently during the trip. From him he learned that three strangers had
previously entered the village and chartered a boat to take them to Thebes. One
of them had been a woman. Tarel had not seen them personally, but many of the
villagers told him of the woman's great beauty and believed she may have been a
goddess in human form. Matt's heart quickened when he heard the report. It left
no doubt in his mind that Taylor and the rest of his team were less than a day
ahead of him.

He knew they
intended to make their headquarters with an Egyptian named Sut, from whose
voice he had learned much of the language during his training at Apache Point. Once
he reached Thebes it should be a simple matter of asking questions until he
found someone who knew the location of Sut's house. With any luck he should be
able to rejoin his team in a matter of hours. From there they would branch out
in search of Edward, hoping that by finding him they would also find the
missing stellarite. Locating his brother would also answer many puzzling
questions about the dead time travel agents. Then there was Taylor. The thought
of holding her again gave him an airy feeling, and he could almost smell the
sweetness of her hair and skin. He settled back and continued his conversation
with Tarel as he watched the scenery drift by.

It was late
afternoon when they spotted the city. Matt watched it grow larger as they
progressed along the river. The sunlight cast a yellow sheen over the buildings
and made them glow the color of fresh butter. It made him think of a story he
had once read about a hidden valley in the wilds of Arizona that boasted cliffs
of pure gold. Many had searched for it, but if anyone had ever found it they
never returned to reveal its location. He knew that a similar fate might befall
him, but whatever awaited him in the golden city of Thebes, he would never
forget this magical vista.

Within a half hour
they reached the quays. Tarel steered out of the main channel and guided the
boat alongside one of the wooden jetties where he dropped the sail and tied up
to a piling. Once out of the boat, he extended his hand and helped Matt out. A
large number of other boats were docked there, and dozens of men worked around
them loading and unloading cargo. The city itself was enormous compared to the
villages they had passed along the way. Brown brick buildings started near the
docks and stretched away into the distance as far as Matt could see. Many were
one-story structures, but others had as many as three or four levels. Walls
over thirty feet high ran along the river in both directions, and a massive
portal marked the entrance to the city. Egyptian artists had painted humans
with ibis heads on its stonework, and two colossal statues of a seated Ramses
flanked its sides. The benevolent stone faces of the twin kings looked down on
all who passed into Thebes through the gates. Egyptian soldiers armed with
spears stood guard near the entrance, watching the merchants and sailors who
moved about the quays.

Tarel reached out
and laid his hand on Matt’s shoulder. In the other hand he held the basket he
had brought with them from his village. He offered it to Matt. "I know you
are a stranger here," he said. "Take the rest of the food. Sometimes
it is difficult to find a friend in such a large city."

The simple gesture
touched Matt. "But you will have nothing for the return trip," he
objected. Tarel was the first person to show him friendship since his arrival
in Egypt, and he hated to see him leave.

Tarel smiled and
nodded toward the river. "I am a fisherman," he replied. "The
Nile is my food basket."

Matt took the gift
and gripped Tarel's arm. "Thank you, my friend. If I had something to
offer in return, I would gladly give it."

"You have
given enough," the old man replied. "May the gods favor you in your
quest." He got into his boat and pushed off. Matt watched him steer into
the current and raise the sail. A gentle land breeze filled it and pulled the
boat further into the river. He continued to watch it until it was only a speck
on the water.

At last he turned
his attention to the basket. It contained
a pone
of
dark bread and several dried fish. Near the bottom was a polished copper knife
that Tarel had carried in his waistband. Matt knew the old man had not left it
in the basket by mistake. It was his simple way of telling Matt that he wished
him a safe journey. He removed the knife, raised one side of his robe, and
slipped it into a pocket of the L-suit. He smiled and glanced once more at the
river, but Tarel and his boat were gone. He let out a long breath, then turned
and began walking toward the city gate.

Wagons and carts
pulled by oxen carried freight through the great portal in both directions. Drivers
flicked their whips in the air and called out commands to the straining beasts.
Stinging insects and flies swarmed around them in profusion, biting the men as
well as the animals. Matt took up a position near one of the carts and walked
along beside it. He tried to look as inconspicuous as possible, but as they
neared the gate he saw the soldiers eyeing him with suspicion. One of them
stepped out and shouted to him.

“You!”

Matt kept walking,
pretending not to hear, but the ploy failed to work. He had not even entered
the city and already there was trouble. Two more soldiers joined the first one,
and now all three were coming at him.

“I said
you
!” A burly hand reached out and
grabbed the sleeve of his robe. The soldier jerked him around so that they
stood face-to-face. Matt saw that the man was powerfully muscled and wore a
menacing expression. He pulled loose from his grip, but kept his composure. The
soldier snatched the basket from his hand, rummaged through it, and tossed it
to the ground. The other two brought their spears into thrusting position,
their dark eyes intense, alert for any sign of treachery. “I saw you slip something
under your robe,” the first one said. “Who are you and what's that strange
black clothing you have on under there?” He had apparently seen the leg of the
L-suit.

Matt straightened
his garment and smoothed the wrinkles where the soldier had grabbed it. He put
an insulted expression on his face and gazed coolly at them. Though he gave no
outward sign of nervousness his brain was working like a computer, trying to
think of an acceptable answer. He decided to stall for time by confusing them. “I’m
a time traveler you uncouth lout,” he said in English, “and if you screw around
with me I might blow your balls off. Only right now I don’t have anything to
blow them off with, so I guess I’ll have to think of some smart answer to give
you so you’ll go back to picking your nose and let me go about my business.”

The soldiers’
mouths fell open. They looked at each other then back at Matt. “What was that?”
one of them asked. "What language are you speaking?"

A plan suddenly
struck him. “Forgive me, sir,” he said in Egyptian. His cool expression changed
into a more humble one. “I am a merchant from Troy. I was robbed yesterday and
all my possessions were stolen except for the basket of food, which was given
to me by the boatman who brought me down the river to find my friend, Sut. He
lives here in Thebes. If I do not find him soon I will have to spend the night
in the streets. Could you direct me to his house?” He was getting into the act
now. He placed his hand over his heart and let out an exhausted breath.

“I never heard of
anyone named Sut,” the soldier spat. “And for that matter, how do we know
you’re a merchant? I never heard any language like you used before. What was
it?”

“It was American,
sir. America is a small province near the northern border of Oz, which is near
Kansas. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Almost everyone has. That is, people of
refinement have heard of it. I knew you were men of distinction as soon as I
saw you. Naturally I assumed you would understand the American language. I'm
sorry if I offended you.” He shrugged and held his arms out, palms up.

The soldiers
looked nonplussed. They glanced at each other as though uncertain about what to
do. Finally, the one who seemed to be in charge said, “Of course we’ve heard of
the place. But we don’t have time to talk about that now. What kind of garment
is that I saw underneath your robe?"

Matt feigned
surprise. His eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. "Why, it's an L-suit.
I thought everyone knew about the garments my people wear." He pulled up
the robe and let them look at it. "You probably saw some of my friends
wearing the same thing pass through here a short time ago, possibly this
morning?"

One of the
soldiers reached out to touch the L-suit, but Matt dropped the robe before he
could do it. "How do we know you're from Troy?" he demanded. "We're
posted here to watch for spies, and you look and talk suspiciously."

"I told you I
was robbed. If you don't believe me you'll just have to help me find my
friends. They can vouch for me." Sweat was beginning to form on his
forehead.

It was fortuitous
for Matt that at that moment a comely girl arrived with food for the soldiers. She
carried a large basket and a drinking skin. The men quickly lost interest in
Matt. One of them took the skin, lifted it above his head, and spurted some of
the liquid into his mouth. Matt knew it was wine from the smell. "Save
some for me!" the second soldier demanded while the third one began
rummaging through the food basket.

Matt decided to
gamble. If he could irritate them, they might send him on his way just to get
rid of him. "What about me?" he pleaded. "If you’re not going to
help me find my friends the least you could do is share some of your wine with
me."

The apparent
leader of the three took a step toward him, a menacing look on his face. "We
don't have to help you do anything! Get moving and don’t cause any more trouble
or things will go hard for you. Next time we won't be so lenient.”

"I apologize
for all my faults," Matt replied in a contrite voice. He bowed slightly
and turned away. He passed through the portal and was soon out of sight of the
soldiers. The narrow street inside the city was crowded with people. He walked
slowly, with no idea about where he was going. As he walked he busied himself
by browsing through some of the booths the merchants had set up along the sides
of the street. Frequent attempts to ascertain the location of Sut's home by
questioning the merchants failed miserably. No one seemed to have heard of the
man. He stayed alert for any sign of his team, but as yet he had developed no
real plan that might aid in finding them. So far his only course of action had
been to wander around hoping to spot something that would give him a clue as to
their whereabouts. He knew the odds against spotting them at random were
enormous, and decided that if he was to find them he would have to do something
to attract
their
attention. And it had to be something very visible. He
was unaware that at that very moment a highly visible incident involving him
was about to occur.

A sudden turmoil erupted in the crowd somewhere behind him. He turned to
look and saw people milling about and shouting, but he could not discern the
cause of the commotion. A noise like a table of clay jars crashing to the
ground reached his ears over the din. He could hear men shouting, "Get out
of the way! Move!" At that moment the crowd parted and he saw the reason
for the uproar. The soldiers from the gate were running toward him, pushing and
knocking people out of the way as they came. He started to run, then froze as
he saw something that made his hackles rise. Following on the heels of the
soldiers and urging them on was Nessif Eguic Famaed!

"I'm going to
the palace and try to see the queen," Taylor said to Summerhour and
Williams. "If Ramses's soldiers had anything to do with removing the
stellarite from the excavation, she'll know about it." She had removed the
L-suit and changed into Egyptian clothing soon after they arrived at the house
they had rented from Sut. She now wore a lightweight, sleeveless shift with a
yellow sash tied beneath her breasts. The garment was white with scarlet edging
around the neck. Tiny pleats adorned it from hips to sandals, and a long split
ran up the front exposing her legs to mid-thigh. Her dark hair hung down to her
shoulders and a thin golden band encircled her head like a crown. She had also
applied a light coating of pale red lipstick to accentuate the whiteness of her
teeth. Brown contact lenses now effectively masked the emerald eyes.

Williams shook his
head and gave a low whistle. "Holy cow, woman. You can't go out alone
looking like that!"

Summerhour stood
peering out one of the small front windows of the house. The narrow streets
were teeming with people, carts, and animals. It was late afternoon and the
summer heat had reached its peak. A little breeze drifted through the window
bringing a few flies with it. He swatted them away from his face and turned to
Taylor. "How do you know the pharaoh and the queen are even here? What if
they're in their home palace at Pi-Ramses?"