CHAPTER 3

Danger, Ahoy!

Have you ever cruised down the Nile? If not, I’ll let you in on a secret—a royal barge is the way to go. Pharaoh has several at his disposal. Built of pricy cedar from Lebanon, they’re fitted out with top-grade quarters for the family (and for Pharaoh’s Cat).

We set off at noon, and I claimed my usual nook near the bow, where I could enjoy the cool river breezes.

“Wow,” Khepri said from the top of my head. “Look at that view!”

As we slipped away from Thebes, the great temple shone like polished ivory in the noonday sun. A light breeze made the water sparkle like jewels. Perfect napping conditions!

Miu trotted over to me. “Dedi is talking with the captain, but I think you’d better keep an eye on Kiya, Ra. She’s checking out every inch of this ship. The sailors aren’t happy about it.”

“Oh, let her explore,” I said airily. “If the sailors are unhappy, that’s their problem.”

Miu wasn’t looking too happy herself. “But—”

“Look!” I meowed in delight. “Here come the snacks!”

Sure enough, the cook was headed our way. He set a platter in front of me and headed back to the kitchen.

“Oxtail!” I licked my chops in approval. “Miu, there’s some for you, too.”

“There’s no dung,” Khepri said sadly.

“I smelled something stinky on a sailor’s sandals,” Miu told him.

Khepri brightened. “Thanks!” He scuttled off happily.

Normally, snack time is my favorite time of the day. I love that it comes around so often. But as I chomped on my oxtail, Kiya crept past a knot of sailors so she could watch me. It made me nervous.

After I lapped up the last trace of sauce, I said to Miu, “You know what? It’s been a long day already, and I could use a nap. I think I’ll go lie down for a while.”

“No napping, Ra,” Miu said sternly. “You’ve got to look after the children. Kiya especially.”

“I thought maybe you could do that, Miu. You’re so good with kids.”

Miu didn’t budge. “Ra, these are Pharaoh’s kids, and you’re Pharaoh’s Cat. It’s your duty to look after them.”

“But think how nice you’d look in a head scarf,” I pleaded.

I was still pleading when Kiya pounced. “Ra-baby! Time to play dress-up! Here we go.” She whipped out a piece of linen and tugged it over my head. “That’s your tunic. Now let’s wrap you up.”

I was too startled to meow, but I heard a tiny giggle and looked up. Khepri was watching, with Miu right behind him, a tiny cat grin on her face.

“You look quite fetching, Ra,” she purred.

“Actually, he looks like a mummy,” Khepri said. “Only with more fur.”

I looked down. I did look like a mummy. I twisted, trying to free myself. And when Kiya draped me in yet more linen, I showed my teeth.

“Ra!” Miu sounded shocked. “Calm down. She’s being quite gentle, for a six-year-old. And it’s not the end of the world to play dress-up.”

“It isn’t for us, anyway,” Khepri put in. “It’s fun to watch.”

Miu gave him a cat wink. “So it is.”

“Sweet Ra-baby.” Kiya smooched the top of my head. “Now be a good kitty and let me put on your loincloth.”

A loincloth?

“Okay. That’s it. I’m done!” With a thrust of my powerful paws, I broke free. Darting past Dedi, who was striding toward Kiya, I climbed straight up the mast, shedding linen as I went.

“Ra-baby, come back!” Kiya wailed.

“Never!” I cried.

“You don’t have to be a pharaoh, Ra-baby.” Kiya waggled a tiny veil in the breeze. “You can be a high priestess instead.”

I didn’t dignify that with a response.

“I’ll give you seconds of stewed oxtail,” Kiya wheedled. “And all my snacks.”

I was tempted, but only for a second. There are some sacrifices I’m not prepared to make, not even for snacks.

“I’m coming after you!” Kiya lunged for the mast.

I scrambled up a little higher, but there was no need. Dedi pried his sister away. “Kiya, stop it. If you want to be friends with Ra, that’s not the way. Leave him alone for a while, and come and play Twenty Squares with me.”

Kiya pouted, but the promise of a board game with her brother won her over. After that, I lost track of time. For hours, I hung out on the mast, curled tight against a rolled-up sail. I heard fishermen shouting as they paddled out of our way, and flocks of geese honking as they rose from the reedy shore. But mostly it was quiet. Lulled by the bobbing of the ship, I lounged in blissful, uninterrupted peace.

After a long while, I heard a familiar click by my ear.

“I can’t believe you’re up here.” Khepri clambered onto the mast, breathless from climbing so high. “You’re supposed to be guarding Pharaoh’s kids.”

“I can guard them from here,” I told him. “In fact, this is the perfect place to do it. Up here, I can see everything.”

It was true. From my lofty perch, I could look down at Kiya and Dedi and the entire barge. And my view didn’t end there. Gazing out to the horizon, I could see the Nile coiling through the desert like a long, swollen snake. Thanks to Pharaoh’s expertly performed rites, the gods had blessed Egypt with the best floods in living memory. The river was growing wider almost by the hour.

“See the small figure down on the front deck?” I said to Khepri. “The one bouncing up and down? That’s Kiya, bugging her brother—”

“Why do people say bug when they mean annoy?” Khepri wanted to know. “Bugs are nice!”

“It’s just an expression,” I said.

“It’s not a very good one,” he said as he climbed onto my paw.

“Khepri, my point is that if you look down, you’ll see—”

“I can’t.” Khepri closed his eyes and nestled closer to me.

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

“I’m scared of heights,” Khepri admitted. “Especially on boats. I get seasick.”

“Then what are you doing up here?” I asked.

“I was worried about you.”

You know, bugs actually are nice. Khepri is, anyway. “I’m fine,” I told him. “But thanks for the concern, my friend. Want to hop on my back?”

“Er…you won’t make any sudden moves, will you?”

“I’ll be steady as a rock,” I promised.

After Khepri got himself settled, he added, “I’m also worried about what kept Pharaoh in Thebes. He just said something has come up.”

“Oh, stuff is always coming up for Pharaoh.” I yawned. “Some priest probably wants to drone on about next year’s festival plans. Or maybe a vizier has another dull report to make. People are always boring the sandals off Pharaoh.” Not for the first time, I thought how much better it was to be Pharaoh’s Cat.

“It’s strange that he didn’t say what was wrong,” Khepri persisted.

“Who says anything’s wrong?”

“Don’t you remember? Pharaoh said he didn’t think Thebes was the best place for the children to be right now.”

“Probably because they would interrupt him,” I said.

“Or maybe he thought Thebes wasn’t safe,” Khepri suggested. “He seemed awfully worried about them not coming to harm.”

I felt a twitch of uneasiness but refused to give in to it. “You’re letting your imagination run away with you.”

“But Great Detectives need imagination,” Khepri argued. “It’s how we solve mysteries. Like this one.”

“There is no mystery,” I told him. “Pharaoh is fine. If anyone’s in danger today, it’s me—from Kiya.” I turned my head into the wind and added happily, “Though not while I’m up here.”

“You won’t be for much longer,” Khepri said. “Miu said to warn you we’ll be arriving at Lady Satiah’s soon.”

“Why didn’t Miu come up here to tell me herself?” I asked. “She’s not afraid of heights.” Miu isn’t afraid of much.

“She says somebody has to look after the children.” Khepri paused. “To be honest, Ra, she’s not too pleased with you right now. You left Kiya and Dedi to fend for themselves.”

“I’m still guarding them,” I huffed. “Just…from a distance.”

“A really long distance,” Khepri said.

There are plenty of servants around to look after them,” I pointed out. “And anyway, Miu ought to understand that everyone needs some time to unwind. Especially me. It’s not like I’m cut out for this role. I’m Ra the Mighty, Pharaoh’s Cat, Lord of the Powerful Paw. I’m not Ra the Mighty, Royal Babysitter.”

“It was funny watching Kiya dress you up.” On my back, Khepri giggled. “I loved the mummy look.”

“It’s not so great from the inside,” I told him.

Below us, at the captain’s command, the crew bent to their oars. I looked downriver. Green shores hugged the river close, then yielded to the vast, bleached sands of the desert, glowing in the late afternoon sun. At the next bend in the river, you could see the palace, so close to the Nile that it seemed to be floating. Behind high walls and a moat, its smooth, whitewashed buildings gleamed like pearls.

Connected to the palace by a bridge, an immense stone landing jutted out into the Nile, with piers extending from it like teeth. Boats of all sizes were tied up and anchored there.

“I guess that’s where we’re meant to dock,” Khepri said. “But why are there so many loose logs in the water?”

“Maybe a pier fell apart in the floodwaters,” I said.

“Meeeeeeeoooooooooooooow!” Miu was climbing toward us, a head scarf tied around her neck. “Ra! Khepri! Where are you? We’re almost at the palace docks, and there are crocodiles everywhere.”

Alarmed, I took another look at those logs floating near the palace. Now that we were closer, I could see they had scaly skin. And tails. And teeth.

“Crocodiles!” Khepri gulped. “Dozens and dozens of them!”

“Now, don’t get worried,” I told him. “Crocodiles may look fierce, but they’re animals just like us.”

“Only with more teeth,” Khepri said.

“Er…yes. I wonder if those rumors about their blood sacrifices are true?”

“Blood sacrifices?” Khepri said in a tiny voice.

“Nobody knows the details because nobody wants to ask. But you know what they call their god Sobek, don’t you? Pointed of Teeth.”

“Ra, this isn’t making me feel better,” Khepri said.

“I told you, there’s no need to worry,” I reassured him. “This is as close as you’ll ever get to them. Once we’re inside the palace, they can’t touch us.”

“You two need to come down,” Miu called up to us. “I can’t look after both children at once, and if Kiya falls in—”

Yikes! What would Pharaoh say if Kiya became crocodile food?

“We’re coming!” I shouted. “Hang on tight, Khepri.”

Pharaoh’s Cat is an ace at climbing things, but getting down? Well, that’s trickier, even for a cat with powerful paws. Going straight down the mast didn’t appeal to me, so I used the ropes instead. I was nearly back on deck when my forepaw skidded forward.

“Watch your step!” Miu called up to me.

I was about to tell her that Pharaoh’s Cat doesn’t need to watch his step—he’s naturally graceful—when my other forepaw slipped. My head went swinging over the water, with Khepri clinging to my ear.

A rumple-backed crocodile leaped for us, rising almost straight out of the river.

“Nooooooooooo!” Khepri and I shrieked.

How could a reptile jump so high? Its mouth snapped open, revealing a full set of white choppers.

Pointed of Teeth, I thought dizzily.

It was crocodile snack time. And we were on the menu.