Anubis Nights by Gary Jonas Page B

drink here?”
    “We have beer and wine.”
    “Beer sounds good.”
    “As you wish.” They left to get me some beer.
    I poured the water out into a shrub.
    Sadek brought me a cup of beer. I tasted it. Wow, it was kinda nasty. The beer was definitely going to be an acquired taste, but it was still better and safer than the water. It didn’t taste overly strong, but I paced myself with it because I didn’t want to catch a buzz before dinner.
    Sadek and Tuya left me alone and went inside to do whatever they were there to do. I figured they were cleaning . . . and keeping an eye on us. It made sense. If I were in Aye’s position, looking after the pharaoh, I’d want to make sure I had spies keeping tabs on any strangers in town. It didn’t bother me. After all, I planned to leave in the morning, as long as Kelly felt up to traveling.
    The sun began its slow descent, painting the clouds a brilliant orange. It was beautiful but I kept worrying about Kelly. I must have checked on her fifteen times an hour. I hoped sleep would help her get over the fever.
    It occurred to me at that point that if she died, I’d be stuck in ancient Egypt.
    She would be all right. She had to be all right.
    ***
    An hour later, Kelly was still sleeping. Sadek showed up to tell me it was time for the evening meal.
    “Will you require assistance getting ready?” she asked.
    “No thanks. I think we can handle it.”
    “I shall wait at the colonnade.”
    I entered the bedroom. Kelly looked peaceful. I watched the steady rise and fall of her chest, and I hated to wake her. She clearly needed the extra sleep.
    “Kelly,” I said softly.
    No response.
    That was strange. Normally she’d wake up if someone walked into the room. I’d never spoken to her before without waking her up.
    “Kelly,” I said, louder.
    Nada.
    It could be dangerous to wake her by shaking her. With her reaction time, if she took it as an attack, she could kill me before I could pull my hand away. I took a deep breath and risked life and limb by placing my hand on her shoulder and gently rocking her. “Kelly, it’s dinnertime.”
    Her eyes opened and she looked up at me in confusion. “Huh?”
    “We need to meet King Tut and Ankhesejetson or whatever her name is for dinner. I suspect Aye and Horemheb will be there too. Can you handle it?”
    “Of course I can. And it’s Ankhesenamun.”
    “What you said.”
    “If you address her, don’t get her name wrong.”
    “Can I just call her Queen or Ankh?”
    “Do you want to be executed or sent off to work in the mines?”
    “Mining isn’t on my list of things to try.”
    “Repeat after me,” she said as she sat up. “Ankhesenamun.”
    “Ankhesemoron?”
    “You’re not funny.”
    “Ankhesenamun,” I said. “Better?”
    “Insert that name into your long-term memory, Jonathan.”
    “Your wish is my command. How are you feeling?”
    She glared at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “You look exhausted.”
    Kelly stood. “I feel fine.”
    She drew a deep breath, held it, then released it. She repeated this several times, and each time, more color returned to her cheeks. Finally she looked almost normal.
    “If you get tired, just let me know. I’ll make excuses and we can come back here so you can rest.”
    “I’m not tired, Jonathan.”
    “You’re not yourself,” I said. “Maybe some food will help.”
    “If I can keep it down,” she said under her breath.
    I wasn’t sure I’d heard her correctly. “What was that?”
    “Nothing,” she said.
    “Kelly, if you’re not up to this, I can handle it alone. It’s just a dinner. I can bring back some bread and water. Well, maybe beer. The water tastes funny. The beer does too, actually. And it’s stronger than the beer back home.”
    “I can handle the dinner.”
    “There’s no shame in getting sick, Kelly. It happens to everyone.”
    She spun toward me. “Not to me it doesn’t.”
    I placed my hands on her shoulders. “I need you to be