Flight of Souls

Chapter 19 - Continuing

Rick and Ardeth were up and in the saddle before the sun had completely cleared the horizon. Neither had slept much. "Our chances of catching them before they reach the river aren't good," Ardeth said. "We lost too much time."

Rick nodded. "They wouldn't have had to stop. You think they headed for the river?"

"Yes," the Medjai replied. "They would have turned north by now if they were not. No doubt they'll travel north by boat."

"To Cairo?"

"To Cairo."

"Would it be faster if we left the trail and turned north?" Rick asked.

"What if I'm wrong and they're not taking them to Cairo?"

"Ardeth," Rick looked at him seriously. "We're not going to beat them to the Nile. We'll be hopelessly behind if we continue following them this way. We need to turn north."

Ardeth was silent for a long moment. At last he nodded, and turned his horse's head.

Dawn found the two women dozing fitfully on the dirt floor of a small, empty shed. The radio that Malik had used had summoned a jeep that had been used to transport Tia and Evie to a small village near the Nile. Once there, they'd been shoved into the shed. From the smell of it, it was sometimes used to shelter donkeys. Tia had immediately fallen into an exhausted sleep. Now, however, the light peeking through gaps in the walls and muscles sore and cramped from lying on the ground combined to wake her. Her hands were still bound in front of her and her shoulder muscles were crying out.

Pushing herself into a sitting position, she looked around the small space. It was about fifteen feet square, with a low, slanted roof. Evie was lying a few feet away, still asleep. Tia shakily got to her feet and moved to the nearest wall. Peering out through one of the holes, she saw little more than a dusty street and a few houses.

"See anything?"

Tia turned to see Evie sitting up. "Not really." Tia moved to the back wall and peeked out. "Looks like our friends have posted a guard."

Evie got to her feet and came to look. "It appears they have."

"What do you think our chances are of getting out of here?"

Evie shook her head. "Not good. This," she tapped on the flimsy walls," is no problem. It wouldn't be hard to break out of here. The problem is the guards." She looked out each side of the shed. There were three guards, all armed. "Varne is going through a great deal of trouble to get you back."

The shabby looking inn seemed exactly the same. Had it really only been a few days since he'd been here? Ardeth dismounted wearily and removed the saddlebags and rifle from the horse's back. Rick slid to the ground and leaned against the gray mare for a moment, waiting for his muscles to be willing to stretch out again.

"Are you all right?" Ardeth asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"My knees are locked in one position," Rick said conversationally.

Ardeth smiled briefly and swung the saddlebags over his shoulder. The same adolescent boy came running out, and Ardeth handed him Midnight Song's reins. "Walk them until they are cool," he ordered in Arabic. "Come on," he said to Rick, switching to English. "Time to rest."

Author's note – Yes, I know, this is a pretty short chapter. Sorry! The next bit had to all be together, I couldn't figure out how to break it up so I didn't.

Thank you Satiana, tellergirl, Nakhti and lilylynn. You guys are good for my ego!