Disclaimer: see previous disclaimers.

Chapter Eight: Head Over Heels in Danger

I've never possessed remarkable mental abilities. For example: going out to search for a thief who was more than likely being hunted by his former employer who was certainly not hunting Talib down to ask him to tea. On top of this, I was still woozy from the snake bite, still in danger, and still quite clueless as to whodunit and why. But those were just the specifics. Everyone knows the specifics don't matter. Or so I hoped. Nevertheless, I was trotting down the street looking every bit a rich, English woman. Oh damn.

My first stop was the inn in which I had met Talib's friend. I glanced about, but did not see anyone familiar. Obviously something was up. My next stop was a shop run by a kindly old man who knew Talib. I never reached the shop.

Something sweet smelling was crushed over my nose and mouth. Against my better judgment, I took a deep whiff and knew nothing more.

I moaned softly as the effects of the sedative wore off. I felt as if someone had dropped a ton of bricks on me, it was a terribly unpleasant feeling. My mouth tasted wooly and my brain barely registered the voice that greeted me. "Sabaah il-kheer."

"Huh?"

"Yaa aanisa Sekhet O'Connell?"

My vision unclouded and I saw the strange green eyes of Cobra. He was smiling lightly. My brain finally registered his words and translated them. "What am I doing here, Cobra?"

The boy frowned for a moment. "Talib told me to."

"Told you to kidnap me?"

"They were hunting you."

"Who? The people who tried to kill me?"

"Yes."

Ho boy. This was turning out to be quite the day. Not one of the best days I've ever lived, mind you. "Take me to Talib."

Cobra shook his head a negative. "He will return."

Wonderful. Okay. Waiting. I could wait. The damned sedative was making me sleepy again. I glance helplessly up at Cobra, silently pleading him to wake me when Talib returned from where ever he was. The boy nodded. I closed my eyes and slept.

"Sekhet. My dear, sweet Sekhet. It is you I need. My eye. My love. Come to me. We shall accomplish that which has been set out before the world began. Oh Sekhet, my eye! Do not leave me."

A pyramid. The sun. A women dressed in gold and scarlet. And a face that seemed terribly familiar.

"Sekhet?' a calm voice washed over me and a hand gently shook me awake. "Sekhet?"

"Wha?"

My eyes felt gritty. I was still feeling the after-effects of the sedative. Slowly they opened to see a very worried Talib. "Oh hullo, Talib. I was looking for you."

"I know." the thief said as he rolled his eyes. "And you've done a bang-up job. They nearly found you, you know. They could have killed you."

I sat up with some assistance and leveled Talib with my gaze. "Well they didn't."

"Because Cobra rescued you. Must you forever be rescued?"

"Excuse me?" I hissed dangerously. "Rescue me? Ha! I can take care of myself."

Talib smiled lightly. "And begrudge me the honor of my manly duty?"

"Only heroes save the girl and you, sir, are no hero."

"And what, pray tell, is your definition of a hero?"

"Well, he must be noble, good-looking, dashing, brave, he has to love the heroine, be exceedingly rich…or have mysterious rich relatives that he doesn't find out about until the end of the story, and he must unwaveringly honest."

"And I am none of these things?"

"Well, you may be slightly dashing and brave, but noble…perhaps. Honest? Ha! You're a thief. I am more than sure you cannot even define the word 'honesty'. You obviously don't love the heroine, because there is none and as far as I know, you're as poor as dirt…or sand. Take your pick."

Talib's eyebrow raised. "You like to presume things, Ms. O'Connell."

When had he gone back to using my last name?

"But not everything can be so easily explained and defined. For now, though, I'll let you keep your definitions and whatnot. It seems to make you happy."

"Thank you." I sniffed airily, disregarding the fact that he was placating me. Mostly because I didn't want to ponder the why's of the situation. "I suppose," I began after a moment of thoughtless fury, "that my next question must be something along the line of, 'what do you know?'?"

"That might work." he agreed.

"So?"

"They want to kill you. It's as simple as that."

"Why? and Who is this infamous 'they'?"

"I can answer neither of those questions." he confessed with an odd tone in his voice. "They simply hired me to kidnap you upon your arrival."

Sekhet. My eye. My love.

I shook my head in hopes of mitigating the pounding feeling of confusion. It only served to give me a headache. "This is too much." I muttered.

"You need to return to Alex. He's more than likely worried about you."

"Oh damn what Alex thinks! He's as dishonest as you are. I don't trust the lot of you and I really just want a nice cup of tea." I exploded, sick of the games and lies and subsequent 'make-Sekhet-feel-like-a-fool' plot. "Besides all that, it's not safe for me anywhere. With Alex, with you, with Giles…I doubt even England is safe considering what lengths it seems these interlopers will go to in order to do away with me. I only wish I knew why."

Talib sighed suddenly. "And if I show you?'

"What?"

"If I show you why I think they're after you…what will that solve?"

"My headache. What do you know?" I outright pleaded and all but got down on my knees and begged.

He didn't respond. He only took my hand and tugged me to my feet. "This way." he said softly and led me out into the waning sunshine and dry heat of early evening.