I. Akeifa Osiris Itemri
Jade Aiten laughed out loud, the wind whipping her long ponytail around her face, the pounding of her horse's hooves almost eliminating any other sound. Oh, what fun! she thought, smirking and urging her horse to go faster. Although, Anubis never did enjoy the thrill of the chase-and he's the one doing the chasing!
"I will get you, Aiten!" the captain of the Royal guards, Anubis, yelled, halting his men and horses at the edge of the Egyptian town of Thebes, shaking his fist at the woman. The way he said her last name, you would think that she was some kind of deadly disease.
Deadly disease, no. The best thief/tomb robbress in all of Egypt, yes.
Still snickering, Jade turned her faithful mount, Sultan, in a wide circle, looping back around and entering Thebes again. This'll get under Anubis's skin!
She trotted down a side-ally and up a street or two, nodding to all the vagabonds and fellow thieves she past, until a dirty street-boy stood in her path. Pulling Sultan up sharp, Jade kept her quick temper in check as she said, "Move, boy."
"No," he replied, holding his arms out. "You're the one they're looking for. You're Jade Aiten."
"Oh, so you've heard of me!"
"Who hasn't? Your wanted posters are up all over the city!"
Jade grinned wolfishly and answered, "You're a thief, too. And by the looks of it"-here she looked him up and down a few times, her eyes lingering on his chest-"not a very good one, either."
His purple eyes widened and he tightened his kilt, which was slipping down his hips, back around his waist. Not even he could deny that. The kid was skinny, unnaturally so. "So? What's it to you?" he demanded, eyes flashing defiantly.
Sitting back on her haunches, the girl looked him over once more. Hmm... Could I use him? If not for an apprentice, certainly for pleasure-wait, I thought I said I'd never think that way again? Not after-don't think about it, girl!
"Aiten entered the city again, sir!" She'd been spotted.
Weighing her options quickly, Jade snapped, "Get on, boy."
"Wha?"
"You heard me. Get on the horse. Now." When he still hesitated, she added, "I can take you to a place where one is not judged by one's past. A place where food's plenty. A place where you'll make friends."
He swung up behind her. "I'm coming." Lightly holding onto her slender, well-toned waist, the white-haired boy yelped as Sultan broke from a standstill to a full gallop.
Over the roar of the wind, Jade yelled, "What's your name?"
"Akeifa, Akeifa Osiris Itemri," he panted, ducking quickly as they dashed beneath an overhanging tapestry. "Where are we going?"
She grinned over her shoulder. "The Thieves Guild of Thebes! Hang on!" Spinning round in a tight circle, Sultan leaped up on top of a vender's table and galloped down the length of it, then bounded onto the next one.
"Your horse is really well trained!"
"Thank you. He learned from the best! Faster, Sultan! They're catching up!"
The pounding of Sultan's hooves increased ten-fold. Akeifa and Jade both leaned down for speed, and the wind rushed over their bodies. The sharp, sand-carrying wind stung Akeifa's eyes, so he bent his head, and hid his face in Jade's back.
Smirking, she urged Sultan to go even faster. "Sultan, quicker! They're still gaining!"
Clearing his nose of mucus, the horse snorted and stretched his body out so that he was more aerodynamic. His hooves pounded on the empty vendor's tables.
Akeifa risked a glance back over his shoulder, and yelped.
General Anubis and his most trusted officers were close behind. Anubis yelled, "I'll get you, Aiten! Just you wait!"
"Jade!" Akeifa whimpered, hiding his face in her hair again, and tightening his grip on her waist.
Putting her mouth close to Sultan's ear, Jade said encouraging things to the horse, telling him they were almost there. Sultan jumped down off of the table and ran on the dirt streets instead, listening to Jade all the while. Suddenly, she jerked the right rein and the Arabian skidded into a side-ally, barely slowing down.
"Good boy!" she praised, pressing her heels to his sides. "Go to Osiris, Anubis!"
There was a light between the two rows of buildings. They were almost out of the city. They were almost free. Sultan could sense that the chase was almost over, and he put on an extra burst of speed, whinnying his excitement to the heavens. Even Akeifa was relieved to see flashes of the Sahara desert between the buildings.
Sultan was panting hard, foamy sweat lathering his blue-black flanks. Jaw clenched, he firmly held the bit between his teeth as his hooves made a rhythmic pounding on the sand-spackled dirt road.
As they galloped past a band of thieves and rogues, Jade reached into a pouch on her golden waistband. The thieves noticed and ran after the trio, yelling, "Thief Queen! Need some help?"
She flashed them a dashing smile. "Hold 'em off, will ya?" Tossing the small group a handful of rubies and other precious jewels, she grinned again, leaning back over Sultan's neck.
"Certainly, Queen!" the leader of the bunch called after her. The fifteen or so men all drew their short broadswords, and moved so that they blocked Anubis's way.
Wow, Akeifa thought, watching them wait for Anubis to arrive. They're really loyal to her! He felt Sultan's haunches bunch and then, without a second warning, they were leaping through the air. Akeifa made a mad grab for Jade's waist, and almost unseated the thief girl.
She didn't mind, though. They were free; galloping upon the desert sands. When they were a safe enough distance away from the city, Jade pulled Sultan down to a trot, then a jog, then a slow, ambling walk. Grin spanning the width of her face, she patted the horse's powerful neck and told him how wonderful he was.
"That was a close one," she said, smiling back at Akeifa. "We won, though!" Her exultation was apparent on her slender face.
The young man looked around at the surrounding sand and sand dunes. "Uhh... Where's the Thieves Guild?" This place did not look like a guild of any sort.
"Gimme a minute." She jumped from Sultan's back and crouched on the sand, balancing on her toes and fingertips. Glancing around, Jade sniffed the air, then began to scrape sand from the ground, like a large dog looking for a bone.
"There you are!" she exclaimed after about tem minutes, fishing a small golden box from the sand and standing up. Pocketing the box, she climbed back on the horse, dusting her hands off.
Curiously peering at her pocket, Akeifa asked, "What's that?"
"Ask no questions, and I'll tell no lies," she replied quickly, green eyes flashing back at him. Hand protectively going to her pocket, she added, "Besides, we're almost there, okay? Hold on!"
And they were off again, cantering across the desert, heading in the direction of the small village on the outskirts of Thebes. It seemed as if Sultan was laboring under the weight of two persons, so Jade pulled him back down to a trot.
Jade winced suddenly, and squirmed a little in her saddle. "Osiris!" she muttered. "My butt hurts..."
Akeifa flushed scarlet. She's a different one, he thought uncomfortably as she listed all the reasons why her rear could hurt-some of them not very lady-like. "Are we almost there?"
"Yeah. Just a little longer and you should be able to see it."
After that, he was straining his eyes, looking for an enormous, glamorous building on the horizon. What he saw was a large, shabby building. There was a wooden awning over the door, but it was rotting and termite-ridden. The walls looked rather sturdy, made of white bricks, with only a few fallen out or cracked.
Jade pulled back on the reins and Sultan halted in front of the building. Akeifa's eyes grew wide. "This is it!"
"This, Akeifa, my boy, is the Thieves Guild of Thebes!"