Anubis Nights by Gary Jonas Page A

so named because my father wanted to call me John, but my mother thought that was too boring.”
    He looked uncomfortable. “Will that be all?”
    I saw Aye and a muscular man staring at me from the entrance of the audience hall.
    “Yes,” I said. “Thanks for the information.”
    I moved up the ramp, but Aye and the big man met me halfway.
    “You should be in your room, resting,” Aye said.
    “I’m not tired.” I looked at the bigger man, who struck me as dangerous from the moment I saw him. He carried himself differently. I gave him a nod. “Who are you?” I asked.
    He gave me a slight nod. “I am Horemheb, commander of the royal army.”
    “I’ve heard of you,” I said.
    “I cannot say the same for you.”
    “This is my first visit to your impressive country.”
    “May your visit be short,” Horemheb said.
    That was no way to talk to a god, but I was pretty sure Egyptians chose which gods they wanted to worship. Evidently I was not on Horemheb’s approved god list. “I suspect it will be short. My reason for coming to Egypt isn’t in Thebes, so I’m just passing through.”
    While I stood taller than Horemheb by several inches, he looked solid and confident. “See that it is so,” he said.
    I didn’t want to mouth off to a general, especially since I suspected Horemheb could kick my ass up and down the compound without breaking a sweat.
    “Please return to your residence,” Aye said to me. “I have assigned servants to you for the duration of your visit. They will report to you soon.”
    “Thanks, Aye.” I nodded to Horemheb. “Nice to meet you.”
    He stared at me with dead eyes. “Perhaps later you can demonstrate your power in battle. You hold yourself as if you are capable.”
    Dangerous men tend to recognize one another on sight. “I’m not here for that. I’m just looking for a man named Winslow.”
    “That name means nothing to me,” Aye said.
    “That doesn’t surprise me. He’s not from around here.”
    I gave them each another nod before I turned to head back to the residence. As I walked away, I heard Horemheb say, “Are the preparations complete?”
    “Nearly,” Aye said. “It won’t be long now.”
    I didn’t hear anything more. It was probably an innocuous exchange about dinner or the transfer of soldiers to different quarters, but it stuck in my head. I returned to the residence and found Kelly sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her, so I went outside and sat down on a wooden stool in the shade of the portico.
    I pulled out my cell phone. Needless to say, there wasn’t any reception, but the battery was fully charged. It didn’t display the time as it had no cell towers from which to update. I switched it off to conserve energy.
    Later, I checked on Kelly, but she was still sleeping. It seemed like a good idea to let her rest, but I took a chance and placed my hand on her forehead. Normally that would be enough to wake her up and would potentially end up with me on the floor in an arm bar. She didn’t open her eyes. She felt hot to the touch.
    In all the years I’d known her, I’d never seen her get sick.
    This wasn’t good.
    An hour later, two servants dropped by to check on us. Both were young and female and appeared to have led rough lives. When I asked their names, they shook their heads in unison and told me they weren’t important.
    “Everyone is important,” I said. “Please tell me what to call you.”
    “I am Sadek,” the first girl said. “This is Tuya.”
    “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”
    They shook their heads and stared at the ground.
    “Is there anything to drink around here?” I asked. “Maybe some water?”
    “We will bring some.” They left together and a few minutes later, they brought water for me. Sadek poured some into a ceramic cup and handed it to me.
    “Thank you.” I took a sip. The water tasted a bit strange, and as I didn’t want to spend the night in the latrine, I said, “Do you have anything else to