“Time now to blow out the lamp,” he said.
“But…”
“Are you not weary and longing for rest?”
I shook my head. “I’ll never be able to sleep tonight.”
“No worry,” said the Crocodile. “I shall give you a sleeping draft, made from herbs that grow in the marshes of the Nile. You will sleep like a child, I promise.”
I finally got to my feet. My legs were stiff. My head ached. I touched my nearly empty coin purse. “I’m not sure I have enough money to-”
“Oh, never mind that! Always hungry for coins I may be, but I can be generous, as well. You shall have a fine room tonight, and a fine bed, at no charge.”
I sighed, confused by his kindness. Or perhaps it was not so confusing, after all. For keeping a wealthy customer amused all evening, my room and board were a small concession. The Nabataean would go to bed happy and probably leave his host a generous tip when he departed.
I was unsteady on my feet. The Crocodile helped me up the stairs, across the dim vestibule, and down a short hallway, where he showed me to my room. He helped me into my bed, and then produced the sleeping draft he had promised, uncorking a small glass vial to reveal a strange-smelling green concoction within.
After a moment’s hesitation, I drank it down, hoping it would bring forgetfulness, for a few hours at least, of the sorry mess I had made of things.
I sank into oblivion.
At some point in the night, I heard a shrill cry. Was it some nocturnal bird-or was it a boy, crying out in terror, or pain? Was it Djet?
Or did I only dream it? Agitated as I was by the scream, the draft had so stupefied me that I never fully woke, but seemed to hover in the darkness of my little room, semi-conscious, unable to move, with that boyish shriek echoing around me, growing quieter and quieter, until Somnus pulled me back into oblivion.
XII
“Wake up! Wake up!”
Someone was whispering loudly in my ear, and shaking my shoulder.
“Wake up, you half-witted Roman!”
My eyelids seemed to be pasted shut. With a great effort I managed to open them, then saw, by the faint light of a flickering lamp, the face that had been haunting my uneasy dreams. Did I still dream, or was I awake? Was it an apparition I saw, or the boy himself?
“Djet?” I said.
“Shhh! Lower your voice!”
“Is it really you?”
He narrowed his eyes and glowered at me, as if vexed by the sheer stupidity of such a question.
“But … what are you doing here?” I said.
“Waking you up, so that we can get away as quickly as possible. Out of bed, now, if you want to save your neck!”
Despite my growing alarm, I could not seem to fully waken. It was the sleeping draft, I thought, stuffing my head with cobwebs and filling my limbs with lead. I managed to roll from the bed, practically falling on the floor, then staggered to my feet.
Djet did his best to steady me. “You’re as heavy as a hippopotamus,” he complained, “but not nearly as graceful! Now, come!”
“Come where?”
“Anywhere, as long as it’s far from here. Pick up that sack and bring it with you. It’s too heavy for me. I’ve carried it as far as I can.”
He referred to a cloth sack roughly the size of his head, tied at the top with a bit of hempen rope. I picked it up. The weight was substantial, but not too heavy for a grown man to carry, slung over his shoulder. From within the bulging bag I heard the slithering, clanking sounds of metal sliding against metal. “What’s inside?”
“What do you think?”
“Coins?”
“Yes. All that you lost, and more. Now, come!”
I dropped the sack onto the bed. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. Slowly, fitfully, my senses were returning to me. “Djet! It’s one thing to abscond with you in the middle of the night. I should never have used you for a wager. I should never have allowed that man to take you from the room! What was I thinking? If you’ve managed to escape him, good for you! I’ll do whatever I can to get you away from here. But if you’ve robbed him-”
“The coins are yours!”
“No, Djet. I lost them in the game. Fool that I was-”
“Are you coming, or not?”
I stared at the sack. “Perhaps … if I take only some of the coins, and leave the rest. We must have money to feed ourselves.…”
“Whatever you do, do it quickly!”
I tried to undo the knot and open the sack, but the rope was tightly tied. My head was still groggy from the sleeping draft, and my clumsy fingers refused to obey me. I grunted with frustration and gave up trying to untie the knot.
“What hour is it, Djet?”
“Nearly dawn, I think.”
I sighed. “If I’m to run off like a thief, taking you and the money, it would have been better to do so in the middle of the night, to give ourselves a head start. What if the Nabataean rises with the sun? He’ll see that you and the money are gone, and send his bodyguards after us.”
“No he won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’re all dead.”
For a long moment I simply stared at him. “Who is dead?”
“The Nabataean and his bodyguards. And the boy, as well.”
My blood ran cold. “Djet! What in the name of all the gods have you done?”
Again he gave me a look to show his vexation at such a stupid question. “It wasn’t I who killed them, you half-wit! Look at me. Do you think a little fellow like me could overpower two bodyguards and a grown man? The long-haired boy I could have taken in a fight, perhaps-”
“Then, who…?” I left the question unfinished, for the answer was obvious.
“The Crocodile and his sons,” said Djet. “Don’t ask me how they killed the bodyguards. I didn’t see. I was in the room with Obodas and the boy, and the bodyguards were outside somewhere. But I knew they must be dead when the two sons crept into the room, followed by the Crocodile, because I could see they all carried daggers, and there was already blood on those daggers.”
“You saw the Crocodile and his sons enter the room?” I whispered.
“Because I was the only one awake.”
“Obodas?”
“Fast asleep. So was the boy. Obodas didn’t even wake up when they slit his throat. It must have been that green stuff the Crocodile gave him before we went to bed.”
“Green stuff?”
“The Crocodile said it was a love tonic. When he heard that, Obodas couldn’t drink it fast enough, but instead of making him randy, it put him right to sleep. He never even took off his headdress.”
“The sleeping draft,” I said. “The Crocodile gave me a dose of the same concoction.”
“But the boy did wake up. He was awake when they…” Djet shivered. “Did you not hear him cry out?”
I drew a sharp breath. “The scream in the night! Yes, I heard it. But I thought it must be … you. How is it that you’re still alive, Djet?”
“They were about to kill me, but the Crocodile said they should question me first, to find out more about you-where you came from, what you’re up to, and so on. While the Crocodile stripped the jewels off Obodas and tucked away the valuables, the two sons gagged me and tied me up. Then they left me there, lying on the floor, while they dragged the bodies out of the room. And that’s the last I saw of them.”
“But how did you get away?”
“They did a poor job of tying me up. I managed to wriggle free.”
“And you brought that sack with you…”
“Exactly. And the Crocodile and his sons are likely to come back at any moment. They’ll see that I’m gone, and that the sack is gone, and they’ll come for you. Do you finally understand, you half-wit Roman? We need to go, at once!”
At last I was fully awake. My heart pounded in my chest. I picked up the sack and slung it over my shoulder.
“Show me the way, Djet.”
Holding the lamp before him, he led me from the room and down the hallway. In the vestibule, he blew out the lamp. I quietly opened the door. The world outside was dimly lit by the first faint promise of dawn.