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“Over there!” Amelia said. “Look!”
After giving up on figuring out how to use the sundial, they had continued walking towards the sea, hoping to find someone who could help them. Soon they could make out the sails of three ships as well as a trail of men unloading things from them.
The kids crouched down to get a better look. They could see the men unloading spears, swords, and armor as well as large bags of food and tents.
“It looks like they really are invaders,” Dave said. “But why is everything they’re using so old?”
“Hold on,” Luther said, pointing. “There’s some folks coming.”
There were three men making their way up the beach towards them. They approached quickly, two smaller men with armor and spears, carrying a few bulky things, leading the way in front of a much larger man in white robes.
“Let’s find a place to hide,” Luther said, tugging on Amelia’s sleeve. “I don’t want to talk with anyone who has a spear if I can help it, not until I know they’re friendly.”
“We should at least try to get close enough to hear what they’re saying,” Dave replied as the men stopped. He pointed nearby to a short, fat palm tree with hundreds of yellow cherry-looking things hanging from its branches. The kids made their way through the grass, creeping up and ducking behind the palm. They peered out at the three men, watching the smaller two unroll a carpet.
One man was about as old as Amelia and Dave’s dad and had a turban and a scar on one cheek. The other was thin and a little older, with hair that was grey and a narrow, pointed beard that hung around a baggy tunic.
But it was the man behind them, that was the most interesting. He was large and wore a crown of gold. His face was round and he had a tilted-up nose that reminded Amelia of a pig.
The man with the crown sighed. “I am so glad to be away from those awful stinking sailors. And the ships. You saw the ghosts on the water when we entered the harbor, didn’t you? The same as when we were in the middle of the sea. They’ve been following us, trying to curse us. Well, they won’t come on land.”
“No, of course they won’t,” the younger man said as he traded a look with the older man that made Amelia think that they didn’t believe a word that was being said.
“And start the fire,” the man with the crown continued, blowing into his hands. “It’s going to be a cold night.”
“Yes, King Pygmalion,” said the older of the two men.
The smaller men began to gather some branches that had fallen from the palm tree. For a moment Amelia thought they would start pulling old branches straight off the tree and find them, but they stopped after they had enough to get a fire started.
Soon it burned bright and the three men gathered close around it. Amelia couldn’t blame them, it really was getting cold.
As the men settled down, Pygmalion began to speak. “Heth, Hadad, you both helped my father who was king before me. Now that we’re here, how should we get the gold my sister stole from us? Heth, what do you think?”
The older man stroked his pointed beard. “King Pygmalion, when our spies returned, they reported that the king in this land hasn’t welcomed your sister, Elissa, but the local people may help her if they think she can protect them.”
Amelia leaned forward to hear better. The girl had mentioned something about Elissa as well. Amelia wanted to know who this woman was.
Pygmalion snorted. “She’s got so much of my gold, she could have already paid those people to help her. Our men will move out at dawn and find her.”
The look that passed between Heth and Hadad reminded Amelia of how her parents looked at each other when Dave was doing something foolish.
“Lord Pygmalion,” Hadad said. “We don’t know where your sister is.”
“Don’t know? What did I bring you for?” Pygmalion said, holding up a fist.
“We tried to find out while the ships were sailing here, but we couldn’t,” Heth said. “We had more spies who were supposed to meet us along the way, but they never arrived.”
Pygmalion pulled out a mean-looking dagger that he wore at his side. “When I find my sister...Oh! She’ll wish she’d never betrayed us. We’ll do to her like we did to her husband. And if anyone tries to stop us, well, let’s just say they will regret it.”
Heth and Hadad traded looks again, this time sad and serious. Hadad gave a little shake of his head and both looked away, lost in their own thoughts.
“You’re sure you don’t know where she and the others are?” Pygmalion asked, putting the dagger back.
“Somewhere in the hills above the harbor we landed in,” Hadad replied. “But it’s a large area.”
“I don’t care if it’s from here to Egypt,” Pygmalion said, raising his voice. “We need to find her right away. If she learns we’re here, she’ll prepare for a battle, even if we have her outnumbered ten to one. If she hasn’t already, she’ll try even harder to convince the local people and the king to help her. She’s always been good at things like that. We need to move out at dawn and surprise her. And if she tries to fight, well, we know how to handle that.”
Now Pygmalion pulled out an iron sword, pointing it at the fire as he looked down the blade, hatred twisting his large face. It tied Amelia’s stomach in knots as she wondered how Pygmalion could actually think about hurting his own sister. She wanted to be away from there as quickly as possible.
“It will be hard for us to prepare the men by dawn,” Heth said with a sigh. “They’re already tired from coming across the sea.”
Pygmalion grunted. “I don’t care. She’s in the hills? Which hill? Do we know?”
“Not really,” Heth said. “But I would imagine there.”
He pointed right at Dave.
Dave froze, but his eyes were so wide, Amelia thought they would pop out of his face the way they did in cartoons. She saw him turn, ready to run. As he did, a branch from the tree broke.
The three men sat up straighter.
“What was that?” Pygmalion asked, worried.
No one moved for a long time.
Amelia glared at Dave and knew Luther was glaring at him too. If these three came after them because Dave had panicked, Amelia would never let him live it down until the day they died. She just hoped that day wouldn’t be today.
Heth sighed, waving a hand in the general direction of the kids. “It came from somewhere over there.”
“It was a ghoul,” Pygmalion replied with a little squeal. “I know it. I don’t want to be in this cursed land any longer than I need.”
Amelia sighed in relief.
“Your Majesty, please,” Hadad pleaded. “Do not gather your men right before the night. They will not be ready. If there is trouble in the morning, they may decide to flee.”
Pygmalion shook his head. “No. This land is haunted. You both heard something move out there. The men will be in the hills at first light to find and capture Elissa and take care of anyone else who gets in our way.”