It's astonishing how a place normally so excruciatingly warm during the day could be so incredibly freezing at night. The sand below one's feet felt more like snow, and you were in a lot of trouble if you had only packed clothes that were good for the daytime weather. With the clear skies above showing of the stars and the movement of the dunes, it sometimes felt like you were in ocean instead of the desert. Luckily, there was no need for her to be out there right now.

Shawna was moving slowly to the rhythm of the music. There was no need to hurry and the melody was soft and pleasant. Both her hips and her shoulders were making circle movements while her head swayed from side to side, making her hair swing gently across her back.

She liked it in here. It was nice and warm and she got to do one of the things she loved the most: to dance. The establishment was very fancy and only meant for the upper class, but lately it seemed they had been letting in anyone with money. The evidence of that was a small, skinny man sitting as close to the stage as he could get, watching her every motion. She was used to looks like that by now and simply ignored him.

The music began to pick up its pace. She moved faster, making her skirt flow as she spun and showed of her long legs to the crowd. Their howling was drowned out by the sound of the bells on her wrists and ankles, chiming as she moved faster and faster. The belt made out of golden coins that graced her hips were also jingling loudly. She could barely here the music anymore, but it didn't matter: she was making her own.

When the show was over she curtsied to the crowd of bawling men and headed back behind the stage. They were only there to see half naked women, but she didn't care. She was there to dance, to earn money and to receive news from the outside world.

She was just about to get undressed when there was a knock on her door. As far as she knew she wasn't expecting anybody. She opened it just a crack to find the pale man outside, the one who had been sitting so close to her in the crowd.

"Can I help you?" she asked in English. It wasn't her first language, but it was the one most people spoke in this place, so she didn't take any chances.

"Maybe." His voice was as thin as he himself was. "May I step inside for a moment so we can talk privately?"

She hesitated. Strange men had tried to get into her dressing room before, it was no uncommon thing in a place like this. Luckily none had succeeded.

"I can pay you," he said quickly when he saw her hesitation. He got out a small sack of coins and waved it in front of her face. It didn't look like much, but she wasn't one to pass on an opportunity. Besides, he looked like she could easily take him on.

"I hope you are not expecting another dance," she said when opened the door for him and snatched the bag of coins. "That ends when I get off the stage."

"I just want to talk," he assured. He was fidgeting with his hands, shifting from one foot to the other, eyes never staying on one spot. His nervous behaviour was making her slightly stressed.

"What is your name?" She spoke softly, trying to calm him down.

"Beni Gabor."

"Well, Beni Gabor, have a seat and tell me what I can do for you."

He sat on the edge of the one of the two chairs that were in the small room, while she took the other one. Even now he wouldn't be still, but he did seem a bit calmer. She nodded to him, indicating that he was allowed to speak.

"Are you who I think you are?" It was barely a whisper. "Are you one of the Akkadians?"

She sighted. Every now and then someone would find them, thinking themselves great adventurers for crossing the desert and finding a people who had lived there for thousands of years. People thought they would go down in history, but were always disappointed- especially when they found out that the Akkadians weren't isolated too just one place, but often wandered far away from their home. There were many of them in Cairo, where she also currently was. However, she was easier than the others to identify.

Beni just confirmed her suspicion that he knew who she was. "Are you the Sand Woman?"

There it was. The Akkadians were easy to recognize thanks to the tattoos that covered their bodies. Shawna had beautiful swirls going down her arms, and she also had religious signs across her back, but what set her apart was the colour of her hair and eyes. They were both the colour of sand.

She was born and raised in Egypt and so were her parents, and they both had black hair and dark brown eyes. There was a story behind how she got her name, a story that people had speculated about for many years. Some of the theories were actually true, while some were just plain ridicules. The truth about it was something she did not fancy sharing with a complete stranger. She didn't even like people knowing about her existence, or that of her people.

"I am her. What do you want?"

For the first time since he entered her room Beni smiled. "I have an offer to you. I'm leading an expedition to a certain place, but it is a very long time since I was there myself and I am ashamed to admit that I have forgotten the exact way. Your people know the desert better than anyone. If you could lead us there and keep us safe from any danger we might face you will be greatly rewarded."

She thought it foolish of him to lead an expedition to a place which he did not know the way to, but he looked like the type of person who'd do anything for money. She wasn't much better herself. The money the Akkadians made all went to buying supplies while they were in town; things that would be needed in their settlement. They lived many days away from any city, so they needed a lot of supplies of every kind. Depending on how much this mission gave, she might be able to provide for her people for a long time.

"How great is the reward exactly?" she asked curiously.

He leaned forward, as if worried that someone might hear them. "Immeasurable, for the place that we seek is Hamunaptra."

Shawna gasped, her eyes wide. Hamunaptra, the cursed city. Few who dared enter that place came back alive and if they did they were far from who they'd been when they left. Had this Beni been there? Most likely, going by how nervous he was about everything.

"Are you afraid, my lady"? he mocked. "And here I thought Akkadians were the bravest warriors in the world. But I suppose you can only expect so much from a dancing girl."

His laughter was caught in his throat when her hand shot up as quickly as a snake to grip it tightly. She made her hand heat up to pain him further, and it would no doubt leave a burn mark on his throat. "Do not insult me, little man. Akkadians fear nothing. You know what they call me, but do you know why?" He couldn't answer her- he could barely breathe- but he did his best to shake his head. "No you don't, do you? I'm not going to tell you. But I will say this: I have look death in the eye, I stared back at him and I spit in his face. I will lead you to Hamunaptra and I will have the reward, but know that my word is the law. You do what I say, or you die. Do you understand?"

When she let go of his neck he enthusiastically nodded his head at the same time as he was trying to get his breath back. She placed a pen and paper in his hand.

"You won't be able to speak for a while. Write down where we meet and when we leave, and get out."

He hastily did what she said and stumbled out of her dressing room.

She sighted deeply. She shouldn't have done that. Doing something out of anger is never good, especially not something as risky as this. But her people needed the money and that which it would give. The treasures of Hamunaptra could provide for them for several generations to come. It was a risk she would have to take.

Shawna was confident that her gods and protector wouldn't let any harm come to her. They never had before and they didn't have a reason to start now.