He shrugged. “More or less.”
“Then, I’m sorry.” Asha gazed into his eyes. “I saw you go through my bag last night. And then when I saw that blade, I assumed you were like the others. We’ve seen another man with a sword like that.”
“In a green robe or a brown one?”
“Green. Why? What does that mean?”
Gideon shrugged at her. “Just that he came from the west, and not the east. You met an Osirian, one of the Sons of Osiris. Every few hundred years I burn down their temple, but they just keep coming back. It’s a little frustrating, actually.”
6
Two hours later they had loaded all of the supplies that Kahina wanted onto the airship. The pilot thanked Asha again and stepped aboard to start the engine. Gideon stood in the grass, gazing east at the cedar forest. “Are you two going to be all right? Eran can be a dangerous place.”
“We’ve heard that before,” Priya said. “I think we’ll manage.” She rubbed the head of the mongoose on her shoulder.
“And you.” Asha gave him a serious look. “Watch your back. Just because you’re immortal doesn’t mean you can’t be hurt, or buried in a cave, or sunk to the bottom of the sea. Take care.”
He smiled. “You too. That ear of yours-”
Asha jerked away to stare at the cedar forest. A deep thrum rose from the quiet voices of the trees, and it grew steadily louder. “Something’s coming.”
Gideon frowned and strode out onto the road facing the forest. His left hand strayed to the release lever on his gauntlet.
A figure emerged from the woods onto the road, the black shape of a horse and rider. They raced out of the trees and up the road, striking out quickly through the fields and orchards, snaking up toward the village on the hill. When he left the shadows for the sunlight, the rider’s cloak fluttered behind him. It was green.
“It’s Sebek,” Asha said. “The man with the burning sword, the one we met in the east.”
Gideon nodded. His white-hot blade shot down from his gauntlet and clicked into place. The air around it sizzled and rippled like boiling water. “I’ll take care of him.”
Asha took Priya inside the airship cabin, told Kahina what was happening, and then closed the door as she stepped back outside.
“You may not want to see this,” Gideon said. “It’s not like killing a man with a normal sword.”
“I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen this man Sebek use his sword.”
“I understand. But my blade is different. It’s much older. It’s, well, worse.”
“I’m fine,” Asha said. “You might even need my help.”
Gideon grinned. “It must be hard for you to believe I’m two thousand years old, or that I can’t be killed.”
“It’s hard for me to believe you’re twenty years old. And you wouldn’t be the first boy to think he was immortal.” Asha stood beside him in the road and pulled a single glass needle from her bag. A thin vein of red liquid rested in the slender reservoir. “But I’ve seen some strange and terrible things in this world, and I do believe your story, for what it’s worth.”
“Thanks. I don’t tell it very often.”
“I believe that too.”
As the horse and rider thundered up the last stretch of the road, Asha said, “I’m glad it’s him, actually. I was beginning to worry about the sound I was hearing. I thought that maybe your demon bull was really out there, following me.”
Gideon shook his head. “Nah, I killed that bull centuries ago. Now, please step back.” He raised his weapon.
“I said I can help.” Asha raised her needle.
Gideon glared, his handsome young face twisted and lined. “I said get back!”
Asha saw the furious iron in the man’s eyes, and she stepped aside out of the road, but kept her needle at the ready.
Sebek galloped up to Gideon and reined his horse in, but the animal kept dancing and snorting as the rider yanked his short sword from its scabbard. The blade gleamed with a pale golden hue. “I’ve come for the woman!” Sebek pointed his sword at Asha. “Stand aside!”
“No.” Gideon drew down in a low stance with his shining white blade extended behind him. “Throw down your sword and surrender.”
“Idiot!” Sebek kicked his mount into a fresh gallop, thundering toward the man standing in the middle of the road.
Gideon leapt aside and swung his blade up as the rider swung his sword down. The white gauntlet shattered the yellow sword and plunged on into the rider’s belly. From the instant of contact, a wave of white fire spread from Gideon’s blade, burning outward in a ring of flames that consumed Sebek’s green robes, and then a hideous roar drowned out the terrified cries of the horse as a red inferno swept over the man’s flesh. The rider screamed as the fire engulfed him.
Asha watched the horse slow to a trot, shivering and twitching, shaking its long brown head. In the saddle, a blackened skeleton was collapsing in upon itself, the arms and legs tumbling to the ground, the empty skull crashing down through the charred spine and ribs. The burnt bones smashed down into the road and shattered into dust.
Slowly, she let her gaze travel back along the road, past the melted gray remains of the once-golden sword, and up to Gideon. He stood with his back to her, his white blade still hissing and roaring in the empty air. And as she watched him, she thought she saw his shoulders shake and his left hand went up to his face.
But a moment later he pushed the lever and his blade vanished into the device on his arm. He turned, blinking, and smiled at her. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Are you?”
He nodded and cleared his throat loudly. He pointed at the riderless animal behind her. “Can I interest you in a free horse?”
A trickle of ash fell from the saddle.
Asha winced.
7
They cleaned the saddle and put Priya up on it. The horse was still sweating and snorting from its long run through the cedar forest, but the nun was small and light, and Asha could see and hear that the animal was more than strong enough to go on.
“Well, good-bye, and good luck,” she said to Gideon.
“Asha.” He gestured toward her face. “Can I see your ear? Please?”
“It’s nothing. It’s fine.” Asha ran her hand over her hair to ensure it covered the flesh in question.
“It’s not fine. There’s something in it, isn’t there?” He stepped closer. “A soul, or a bit of one, I think.”
Asha nodded. “I was bitten when I was a girl. But it’s fine. It even helps me in my work. And I do check it regularly. It hasn’t changed, not ever. It never gets any worse. I’m fine. Really.”
Gideon frowned. “If you say so. But if you ever want any help with it, there are people who know about these things.”
“You mean your courtesan in Damascus?”
He grimaced. “Yes, but I was thinking of Bashir’s Aegyptian friends. I’ve met them a few times. Strange people, but decent and helpful. If you ever want help with that ear, go to Alexandria. They’re hard to find, but with that ear you shouldn’t have much trouble tracking them down.”
She nodded. “Good to know.”
He hesitated, a pained squint in his eyes, but then it passed and he smiled. “All right then. Take care of yourselves, ladies.” He waved and stepped inside the airship. The pilot waved as well. Then the engine roared and the propellers droned, and the great silvery machine rose gracefully into the sky and swept off into the eastern clouds.
Asha took the reins of the horse and began walking up the road. She sighed. “Well, at least all of that is behind us.”
“Oh?” Priya smiled. “It sounds like there’s more of it ahead of us, assuming we’re still going west. Damascus. Alexandria. Immortals. Flaming swords.”
“Not flaming,” Asha said. “More like shining or glowing.”
“Ah.”
“No, I just meant I was glad to have that business with Sebek behind us. I’ve been hearing a strange soul-sound ever since we left Herat, and now we know it was that sword of his. I’m glad I won’t have to hear it anymore.”