18

Philip sat on edge as they rolled out of the city. He couldn’t believe he’d managed to sleep at all while they waited for dawn. Leah still slept soundly, curled in the corner of the cart. Skye had laid her own head back, but she was obviously still awake.

He watched her in the dim light of the cart. She’d taken off her head covering at some point while he slept, and her hair was a mess. Her expensive-looking silk robes were a wrinkled pile of emerald material. And yet, she looked beautiful. She hadn’t fallen apart over the last twelve hours. Instead, she’d proven she was strong.

Again, beautiful. He didn’t need to think anything about Skye’s beauty. She’d feed him to Saul herself. He’d tried rekindling their friendship over the years, at least once or twice. She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested. He needed to deal with the fact that once they got home, things might go back to the way they’d been.

Until then, though, he’d keep working on showing her he cared. And while they were trapped in Sumer he would be stuck to her like glue. No crazy city leader would be sacrificing her under Philip’s watch.

His gaze moved back to her, and his throat tightened. She was so headstrong she’d always made for a great ally. A great confidante, and the perfect person to vent to about Dad, and how he’d dictated every move Philip made.

Want a new car? Jump through his hoops. Want to go to college? Pick the one he chose. Want to spend any time with me? Come along on a trip where he’d be working eighteen-hour days.

The cart hit a bump, and Philip flew up before landing with a hard thud.

Leah fell over with a cry. Then she scrambled to push herself back into a sitting position.

Skye helped her. “Are you OK?”

Leah glanced between them but didn’t speak. She hadn’t said a word since they’d left Saul’s.

Skye looked to him. Her eyes widened. “Do you think anyone heard that?”

He couldn’t help laughing at her. “No, I doubt it. Are you OK?”

She relaxed and then shrugged. “Sure. I was having a good dream though.”

He stretched his eyebrows up. “A good dream? Here?”

In the darkness, it looked as if she blushed, but he couldn’t be sure. “I dreamt we were back in London at that pub the other night.”

His throat tightened again. He swallowed hard, forcing his voice to sound normal. “That made for a good dream?”

She glanced at him, but then her gaze darted away. “Sure.”

He didn’t say anything else about it. No reason to embarrass her. “I’m sorry I got mad about that Seth guy. It surprised me, and I reacted badly.”

He had reacted badly, but he didn’t like the familiar way Seth had acted toward her—as though they were old friends. They didn’t even know him.

She took a second to say anything. “It’s OK. I got the feeling he had some sort of weird crush on me. He wanted to take me on a walk in the gardens, and he looked at me like some kind of lovesick puppy. But I’m pretty sure he’s harmless.”

Philip didn’t like hearing her confirm what he suspected. Add Seth to the growing list of people they hoped they could trust.

“Since Ezekiel already knows you’re not Hebat, I was thinking we should ask him about finding a way home.” Philip had no idea if it would pay off, but he was hoping.

The cart stopped before Skye could answer, and Philip tensed. Hopefully, they weren’t being stopped by guards.

A moment later, Ezekiel’s jolly laugh came from outside the canvas.

Philip relaxed.

“My little papaya!” Ezekiel said. “How I’ve missed you!”

“Papa!” a small voice said with a giggle. “You’ve only been gone one day.”

“But one day is far too long to be without my papaya.”

Skye smiled in the dim light, and Philip smiled at her smile.

Girls.

A few minutes passed, and Philip was beginning to think Ezekiel had forgotten about them. But then he lifted the flap of the canvas and pierced them with his gaze. “You will be left in the cart and taken to the stables. I will meet you there. You must stay hidden until I come.” He dropped the flap before anyone could reply, and dread crept into Philip’s mind.

“Wait for him?” Skye shook her head. “How long will he be?”

“I don’t know.” Philip didn’t like this. “We won’t wait forever, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Skye bit her bottom lip and nodded.

A few seconds passed when the cart jerked into motion. Philip stayed quiet. He had the feeling Ezekiel had gone inside with his family, and a servant was taking them to the stables.

The cart stopped and then jerked again as the servant unhitched the mule. The cart was rolled backward this time before coming to a bumpy stop against a wall.

Footsteps sounded as the servant left to care for the mule, and they could hear hee-hawing from a few stalls over.

“I think we’re alone,” Philip whispered. “Do you want me to check?”

Skye shrugged then turned to Leah. “Leah, does Ezekiel know who you are?”

“Yes.” Her voice was timid. “I grew up here. I am allowed to visit my mother once each year.”

Skye nodded and leaned back against the cart. She watched Philip in the dark.

He began to squirm. “What?” he finally asked.

“Nothing. I just don’t know how to feel about any of this. We’re so lost.”

He was working on that. Giving a half smile, he shrugged. “Not so lost, just finding a way.”

She returned his smile. “Whatever.”

He lifted the flap to the canvas and peeked out. They were in a large stall with two other carts. The floor was packed dirt, and the air reeked like mules. “It’s clear.” He ducked back inside the cart. “I think we should just get out. My legs hurt.”

She grimaced. “Yeah, mine too. Should we take turns? Keep watch?”

“No, let’s do it together. Then, if we have to run, at least we’ll be together.” He reached out a hand to her, and she didn’t hesitate.

The weird throat-tightening thing happened again as soon as she placed her hand in his. He liked Skye. Liked the way she looked, even in her black skinny jeans and lacey tops. Liked the way her long, blonde hair blew in the wind when she walked to school every morning. Why was it getting so easy to admit it to himself?

She climbed out of the cart behind him and then groaned softly as she stretched the kinks from her legs. Then, she helped Leah out. They glanced around, and she frowned. “This place is disgusting.”

It was. The back wall was stone, which he assumed meant they were against some type of rock wall or cave, but the stall walls were built from rickety wood. Animal noises drifted from the other stalls. He picked out the sound of pigs, donkeys, and maybe ducks or geese. Probably others, he just couldn’t differentiate between them all.

“So you think Ezekiel’s as rich as Saul?”

He shrugged. “Probably, but in different ways.”

She nodded, taking in the large stall. Saul helped run the city; Ezekiel helped provide for the city.

“Hopefully, Ezekiel knows the way out of here. Saul has to have figured out we’re gone by now,” he said. “He’ll be looking. The sooner we catch a wormhole out of here, the better.”

Her face tightened with fear. “How on earth did we fall through time?” she whispered.

He’d hardly ever seen her afraid. Never, actually, unless he counted the day she’d told him her dad had left her mom. He hadn’t been able to deal with it then. He wouldn’t fail her this time.

He took her hand, gently at first, but then tightly. “It’ll be fine.” He had no idea if that was true, but her shoulders relaxed, and it seemed to ease her mind.

She paused and looked around as if making sure they were alone. “So, you think Ezekiel will know how to get us home?”

“I have no idea, but we have to ask someone for help. Why not him?” Besides, Ezekiel had known without a doubt that Skye wasn’t Hebat. He had to know they weren’t from Sumer.

“Why didn’t we ask Saul for help?”

“Because he was bent on keeping you hidden and then throwing festivals in your honor. He obviously didn’t want to help you get anywhere.”

She smiled. “Right.”

He sighed and moved back to the cart, lifting a flap. “We better get back in before someone finds us.”

The soft, relieved face that Skye had worn for the last few minutes dropped. “I’ll get in there for a while, but I’m not staying much longer. He can’t keep us caged up in a stable.”

Philip turned to Leah. “Are you OK to get back in?”

She moved toward the cart without hesitation, and Skye climbed in behind her. Philip crawled in last. He didn’t like it either, but he couldn’t deny he liked being stuck in a small, dim space with Skye.

He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. He couldn’t treat her like he’d treated Mari and his other girlfriends. Not that Skye was his girlfriend, but she was a girl, and he did want her to be his friend. He’d have to be careful to give her the respect she deserved. He needed to work on giving everyone the respect they deserved. It would be part of his resolve to not be like Dad.

Once they’d situated themselves in the cart, he leaned back and waited.

They sat in the dark for long moments. The temperature slowly rose, and sweat beads popped up on his forehead. He tried stretching out his legs, but they were stopped by the barrels lining the cart.

“He can’t keep us here,” Skye whined. “It’s inhumane.”

“I don’t think they know that word,” he said, trying to smile. But seriously, he had to get out of this cramped space. Sweat dripped into his eyes, and his vision had blurred.

“Should we just go?” Skye whispered. “We could probably make it by ourselves in the city.”

She would think that, being Skye, but he wasn’t too sure. “Let’s give him another few minutes.”

As he finished the sentence, heavy footsteps pounded across the dirt floor outside the cart. Philip grabbed Skye’s hand. “We may have to run!” he whispered.

Skye clasped Leah’s hand and nodded, her eyes wide.

The footsteps drew closer, and a moment later, the canvas was thrown back. Light blinded Philip for a moment, but then his eyes adjusted.

Ezekiel stood before them.