16
CLOAKS AND DAGGERS
Jake blocked the plunging dagger with his forearm, crossing wrists with Dogo. The tip of the blade hovered over his face and sank slowly toward his open eye. The man was too strong for Jake to hold him back. Matching gazes with the dungeon master, he read the glow of victory in the other’s eyes.
Staring up, Jake spoke the only words that could save him.
“I love broccoli.”
It was a lie. Jake hated broccoli with a passion.
The witch’s slug, still stuck on his cheek, ignited with acidic fire. Jake’s free hand ripped the beast off his skin, burning his fingertips, and flicked it up into Dogo’s open eye. The dungeon master howled as the flaming slug latched on to his eyeball and brow. He rolled away, digging at his face in agony.
Jake scrambled up, grabbed a wooden mallet from the tool table, and clocked Dogo hard on the side of his head. The man fell, going limp. This time he’d not be waking up anytime soon.
But Jake wasn’t taking any chances. He hurried to the cell door and freed his friends. They rushed out. Marika caught him in a fierce hug. Pindor pounded him on the back. Bach’uuk took some limestone scraped from the walls and made a paste for Jake’s inflamed cheek. It immediately took the sting from his burns.
Kady just looked irritated. “You gave that guy my cell phone!”
“What did you want me to do? I couldn’t give him Dad’s watch. It’s our only hope of getting out of this desert.”
Kady frowned, still upset. As she and Bach’uuk used the remaining keys to free the other prisoners, Jake quickly shoved his feet into his socks and boots. His raw ankles kept him hobbling.
They all gathered at the door. Jake found a pile of their gear stacked there, including his backpack. Kady discovered her sword and happily retrieved it.
The other prisoners collected weapons from among the torture tools. They were men and women, young and old, even a pair of red-headed twins who looked a couple of years younger than Jake. Twelve in all.
Even the laughing maniac was set free from his isolated cell. He was a scarecrow of a man with a hooked nose and a gray beard that had grown so thick that it covered most of his face. His left arm ended in a soiled bandage. The hand was missing. His right knee was locked stiff, forcing him to swing his leg wide with each step. Madness still danced in his bright eyes, but he gave Jake a sly wink when no one was looking.
A middle-aged woman stood a few steps ahead, hugging the twins—clearly their mother. From the way her clothes hung on her, she was once portly. But no longer. Even her slave collar seemed too large.
“Thank you, Outlander,” she said. “But what you’ve done will put you in great danger. There will be no place in Ka-Tor, no place in all the lands of Deshret, where you will be safe. The Blood of Ka will never stop looking for you.”
Another man stepped forward. He was Egyptian and wore no collar. A bandage over his left eye marred his rugged features. From under it ran a jagged scar, poorly healed. Fire lit his words.
“There are those who will help you. Those who resist the Blood of Ka. We must get you to them. They will help keep you hidden.”
Pindor brightened. “Anywhere but here sounds good.”
“Follow me,” the man said. He cracked open the door, made sure the way was clear, and waved them all through. He glanced back to Jake before leading the way. “My name is Djer.”
As the woman headed out with her boys, she touched Jake’s shoulder. Her words were full of sorrow. “Djer is Kree’s cousin. He dared speak against the Blood of Ka. Protested the resurgence of the Blood Games.”
Shock made Jake look upon the man with new eyes. If this is how Kree treated his own family …
As a group, they spread into a thin, scared line and wound their way toward the surface. For the moment, the spiraling ramp was empty of guards.
“They must think no one could ever escape this place,” Pindor whispered.
A soft cackle came from behind them. “No one does. Once you go down, you never come up.”
Pindor’s eyes widened.
The madman clapped Pindor on the shoulder in a reassuring manner. “That is, unless they feed you to the teeth in the pit.”
Again that crazed laughter.
Pindor’s face paled.
The woman heard the exchange. “He speaks of the Blood Games.”
Jake moved closer. “What sort of games are they?”
A hiss rose from the front of the line, from Djer. They’d reached the top of the ramp. Sunlight glowed from the arched gate of the pyramid. The man waved an arm to get them to hurry forward.
As he joined Djer, Jake heard a great murmuring, accompanied by singing. A crowd was gathering in the square in front of the pyramid. It was a mix of all the people of Ka-Tor. Many held flowers. One name was repeated many times: Neferhotep.
Djer leaned back against the wall. “Word of the pharaoh’s wakening must have spread.” A brightness shone in his one eye. “The shadow fell over Deshret following his long slumber. But with his waking, the people again have hope.”
“What can we do?” the woman asked.
Djer pointed the mallet he’d taken from the dungeon toward the trio of guards. They were standing at the entrance, watching the square. It would be easy to catch them by surprise.
“Once the way is open, we run into the crowd, scatter among them, and get lost.” He turned to Jake. “At sunset, meet me at the Crooked Nail Inn near the western gate. I will bring trusted friends who will spirit you out of Ka-Tor and over to one of the distant villages, where you will be harder to find.”
Pindor was nodding vigorously. But Bach’uuk stood with his arms crossed, his face stern, matching Jake’s mood. Running would get them nowhere. In a land sealed by a storm, they’d eventually be recaptured.
Jake reached to his neck and tugged the gold watch from beneath his shirt. He used a thumbnail to crack open the case. Once again the second hand swept around and around.
Marika and Kady flanked him on either side.
“It’s working!” Kady said.
She reached for the watch, but Jake stepped away. He slowly turned in a circle. The tiny hand whipped around wildly—but only when he faced in one direction. He tested it three times to be sure.
Marika faced the same direction. “That’s the way we have to go, isn’t it?”
The watch pointed toward the heart of the pyramid.
“Looks like we’re not leaving yet,” Jake said.
Pindor groaned. “Can’t we come back later? When it’s safer. Maybe when that king is fully awake or something.”