Even though the flies didn’t plague her, Kai found it difficult to run through the swarms on her way.
The sun was beginning to set, and Kai wondered how long it would take to get Lily out. Kai might have to wait, and she mentally geared herself up for a night of rough sleep on a hard floor inside the Halls building. Running with the dagger made her feel stronger with each step. There was a bigger reason for her being here, and sleeping comfortably had nothing to do with it.
Kai hurried on through the dusty village streets, still amazed that the flies somehow left her alone. The tiny creatures were buzzing and swarming around and over everything in sight. The villagers were shouting and screaming their complaints about this insane insect invasion.
Kai kept her eyes peeled for any soldiers eager to bring her back to Horus. So far, so good. Everyone she passed was preoccupied with trying to rid themselves of the flies.
As she came up to the towering statue, Kai looked around and found the building she needed. She didn’t want to go running into the main entrance and not give herself a chance of reaching Lily. Betrest didn’t mention any other entrances, so Kai started on the right side and began to look for one. She walked all the way around the building without finding an alternative way in. There was only the main entrance.
Lord, be with me!
Kai lifted the dagger in front of her and entered slowly through the huge doorway. She kept expecting soldiers to jump out at her, but they didn’t. No one approached her as she slipped further into the darkness of the temple. It would have been helpful to know exactly where inside the building Lily was being kept.
The swarming flies were so numerous and their movements so erratic, they extinguished all the wall torches inside the temple, leaving Kai to wade through the dim interior.
Kai decided to go right, making sure she kept her back to the outside wall and the dagger pointed out in front. One of the first things she noticed was that this building also had pillars like the temple. But here they weren’t as tall.
A noise stopped her in her tracks. Kai could make out voices. They were coming from inside the Halls. Men. And they were close by. Kai couldn’t understand what they were saying, but it didn’t sound like they were wishing each other a good day. Kai crept closer. In the faint light that remained, she could make out two men, one who was dressed like Horus and the other like the guard who had walked her to the fields. Just past the men was a smaller alcove and a door.
Kai guessed that Lily had to be close by.
After another round of loud talking, the man dressed like Horus left and walked out of the building.
Kai propped her body against one of the stone pillars so she had a clear view of the entrance door and also the alcove where she felt certain Lily was being held. If the lone guard left his post, Kai would be ready to move. She didn’t want to risk falling asleep and then being found, but sleep was coming for her and she couldn’t resist.
When she opened her eyes, it took a second to remember where she was. Kai had lost track of time but guessed she had been asleep for a while. The guard was still at his post even though the flies were still swarming around him.
As she sat and stared at the guard, an unexpected thing happened. In the time it took Kai to blink, the flies dropped to the ground. Not one left to buzz around. All of them fell to the floor like one big black tarp had dropped from the ceiling.
At first she thought she was dreaming, but she tapped the end of the dagger and felt its sharp point pinch her skin. She was awake, and when she blinked a second time, all of the flies that had blanketed the ground disappeared.
Terrified, the guard took off running toward the entrance.
This was her chance. Kai sprinted across the middle of the building and reached the alcove unseen. She looked back and didn’t see the guard. She saw the door and pushed on it, but it wouldn’t budge. There was no knob on it like the doors back home. She knew the guard could be back any second. Kai knocked and waited. She looked back and still no guard.
Come on.
Kai wanted to call Lily’s name but didn’t want the guard to hear if he was close by.
The door swung open. Lily stood there looking at Kai.
“Lily!”
The little girl smiled and jumped into Kai’s arms. Kai held her in a big bear hug then looked over the girl’s shoulder and counted eleven other children.
“We have to hurry. Is there another way out?” Kai wanted to ask what on earth Pharaoh needed with twelve kids but knew that it wasn’t the right time.
“Yes,” Lily said. “Back there, but they have a guard there too.”
Kai was ready to take a chance. She knew that the guard on this side was coming back because he had left his post. Maybe there wasn’t a guard on the other side. And if there was, maybe the massive fly death moved him to run and tell somebody too. She’d go out first and find out.
She had Lily and the other kids hurry over to the back door. Then Kai closed the near door. Hopefully when the guard came back, he wouldn’t have a desire to check on the twelve prisoners.
The room was small and took only ten strides to cross. Kai quickly found the door. She took a deep breath and gripped the dagger. She opted for the element of surprise and kicked the door open.
No one there. She was looking at an empty hallway. Quickly, she ushered the children out of the room and then shut the door behind her.
Kai led them carefully in the direction of the main entrance, keeping the dagger ready and her eyes peeled for any signs of the enemy.
“Are you Kai?”
Kai froze. She couldn’t see the owner of the deep voice. She had been so careful, only to be caught by a phantom.
“Kai, is that you?”
She didn’t answer. The children had stopped too, waiting for their rescuer.
“Kai, Betrest sent me.”
Kai squinted and saw the man standing by a far pillar off to her right. A guard would have snuck up and captured her without warning. She had to decide quickly….
“Yes, can you get us out?”
“Follow me.”
Kai motioned for the children to follow her as she walked through the dark shadows in the path that the man took. After a few twists and turns down narrow stone hallways, the whole group stepped out into the Egyptian city. There were no signs of guards or anyone else.
The sun was starting to rise over the horizon, painting the sky in many shades of red and orange.
I must have been asleep a lot longer than I thought.
“There is a secret tunnel that cuts through the back side of the fields. I will show you where. You and the children will take that. It will drop you by the lake. Go left and you will eventually reach the camp.”
Kai followed the man, making sure all the children were accounted for. Just as they were reaching the fields, Kai looked back and saw an Egyptian official on horseback galloping up the path. The man was wearing a primitive uniform that consisted of only a linen kilt around his waist and leather sandals on his feet.
“Hurry!” The man led them to the edge of the fields where large rectangular stones had been piled on top of each other. It reminded Kai of that Jenga game where you made a tower out of wooden blocks and tried to keep it from tipping over. “Back here.”
Kai knew they weren’t going to make it. The official had closed the distance between them. And then as if things couldn’t get any more bizarre, Kai stared in disbelief as the horse collapsed in midstride, sending the rider flying.
“Come on!”
Kai ran behind the boulders and saw a large opening in the ground. She followed the last child down steps that disappeared into the cold, wet earth.