CHAPTER 9

A Trick

“Well, if you must know, I dreamed we were under attack,” General Wegaf said gruffly to Lady Satiah. “Warriors to the right of us! Warriors to the left! I grabbed my spear, of course. Started to lay into them. Made a bit of noise, I guess. Guards came running.”

“We thought he was dying,” Hormin explained with an annoyed snuffle. “And we couldn’t get the door open because he’d barricaded it.”

“Old soldier’s trick,” the General said, looking pleased with himself.

“It kept us busy for a while, my lady.” Qen rubbed his red nose. “So maybe that was when he got past us.”

“The crown prince, you mean?” Lady Satiah said.

“Yes,” Qen told her. “At least, we think that’s who left the footprints we saw out by the river, on the landing.”

“They were sandal prints, actually,” Hormin put in. “I saw them, too. About the size a twelve-year-old would make.”

“We spotted them earlier, when we were looking for the boy,” Qen told Lady Satiah. “The landing is swept clean every evening, so they must have been made overnight.”

“Why didn’t you report this before?” Lady Satiah demanded.

“We did, my lady,” Hormin said. “The Steward told us he would look into it, and he ordered us to search the south wing for the boy in the meantime.”

Seeing Lady Satiah’s frown of displeasure, the Steward said quickly, “My lady, I examined the landing myself, with great care. There were no other sandal prints, except for the ones the watchmen have told you about.”

“But how could the boy have gotten out to the landing?” Lady Satiah wanted to know. “You lock the gates at night, don’t you? And carry the keys with you?”

The Steward tugged at his white tunic. “You may remember, my lady, that I mentioned several months ago that one of the locks was not catching properly? I suggested it should be replaced.”

“And was it?” Lady Satiah said.

“You told me that it could wait, my lady,” the Steward said, “since we are rather short of funds right now, owing to the zoo.”

Lady Satiah pinched her lips even more tightly together. “And how many footprints were there?”

“Only two,” the Steward said. “But I also discovered that one of the boats is missing. A small skiff.”

“So the boy took it.” Lady Satiah looked peeved. “I suppose it’s some sort of prank.”

“I’m afraid you may be right, my lady,” the Steward said. “I spoke with Ahmose. He says he told the prince about the boats at dinner last night, and the prince boasted about his navigating skills.”

“That sounds fishy to me,” I whispered to Khepri. “Dedi’s got his faults, but he’s not a boaster.”

“He’s proud of how he can handle a boat, though,” Khepri pointed out. “Maybe that sounded like bragging to Ahmose.”

“Perhaps he decided to find his own way home,” General Wegaf said. “Not a wise move, with so many crocodiles hanging around, but boys will be boys.”

“Dedi wouldn’t do something that foolish,” I told Khepri.

“I hope not.” Khepri sounded worried. “But you remember what he said last night, don’t you? How he’d go home right now if he could? What if…?”

He trailed off, but I knew what he was thinking, because I was thinking it, too. My spirits plummeted.

Behind us, Kiya entered the great hall, Miu at her heels, both of them as quiet as shadows. They were just in time to hear Lady Satiah snap out new orders. “Steward, tell my oarsmen they are to find Ramses Dedumose and his boat. No doubt he is headed home, but they have more skill than he does. If they start immediately, they should catch up with him before he gets far. They are to escort him to his mother, with my compliments.”

As the Steward strode away, Lady Satiah turned to General Wegaf with a scowl. “How dare that boy play such a trick on me? Making his own way home, indeed—”

“No!” Like a little bull, Kiya charged at the General and Lady Satiah. “That’s impossible. My brother would never leave me. Not in this place. Never, never, never.”

“She’s right,” I whispered to Khepri. “Dedi wouldn’t leave her behind.” I relaxed my tail in relief. It had been awful thinking about Dedi meeting up with crocodiles.

But if he hadn’t left the palace, where was he?

Lady Satiah’s bracelets jangled as she stared at Kiya’s defiant face. “He would never leave you, you say? And yet he is gone. And the boat, too.”

The Painter rushed into the room, her tiny features stamped with panic. “My lady!” she squeaked. “The jewelry. It’s gone!”

“What jewelry?” Lady Satiah sat bolt upright. “What are you talking about?”

“The boy’s jewelry.” In tears, the Painter prostrated herself at Lady Satiah’s feet. “It wasn’t my fault, my lady. When the Steward brought the jewelry to your bedroom, I put it into two linen pouches, and I stowed them away for safekeeping. But now the pouch with the boy’s jewelry is gone.”

Spots of angry red appeared on Lady Satiah’s cheeks. “You mean the boy sneaked in while I was sleeping and took it? He robbed me?”

“My brother is not a thief.” Kiya’s cheeks went as red as Lady Satiah’s. “Even if he did take them, they’re his, not yours.”

“Oh, he took them, all right,” Lady Satiah said grimly. “It’s exactly the sort of trick he would play. On the last visit, he crept into my room and put a lizard in my bed.”

“But that was my idea,” Kiya said.

Lady Satiah glared at her. “Was it, indeed?”

“Dedi helped, though,” Kiya added with a sob. “He always helps with things like that. And now he’s gone. I just know he’s been kidnapped, and you won’t even send a message to Daddy—”

“Of course I will be sending a message to Pharaoh,” Lady Satiah snapped. “What do you take me for?”

“A kidnapper!” Kiya wailed.

Lady Satiah paled. “How dare you speak to me like that!”

Kiya didn’t stop. “You’ve done something to Dedi, I know you have. You don’t want him to be Pharaoh. You want Ahmose to take his place—”

“That’s enough!” Lady Satiah flew up from her chair in a fury. “Pharaoh’s Daughter, you cannot speak like that without consequences. I am sending you home.”