Page 31 of Over the Emerald Valley
While Solon waited for the servant to return, his mind wandered back to Temaj. What did his quarters look like, and were they as richly decorated as the common areas? Did he have his own room?
“This way, General,” said the servant with a sweep of his hand toward the exit. “Khu awaits with his apologies. He’d simply been indisposed earlier.”
“Thank you for your help. I’m sorry to have troubled half the house with this.”
“It’s no trouble, sir.”
Solon followed the lad out of the hall to an interior courtyard, open to the blue sky and the scorching sun. They passed along a path with benches on either side. Behind them, the terrain looked as if it should be a garden, but plants grew sparsely in this region, so it was mostly fancily groomed dirt and rock.
Back inside the palace, in a wing he’d yet to enter, they came upon a set of roomy alcoves. Khu stood as they entered.
“General Solon.” He bent his head ever so slightly. “What can I do for you today?”
Solon dismissed the servant with his thanks and addressed the twitchy accountant. “Inventory, Khu. It’s time I had a look at the product.”
Khu visibly balked, his thin face a picture of reluctance. “But, General, the location of the emeralds is off-limits to all but Abasi, myself, and the esteemed guards selected to protect it.”
Solon stood taller and raised his voice a fraction. “And I am sent by Horemheb, pharaoh of Egypt and rightful master of this land, the palace, and those stones. I insist you show me at once.”
Beady eyes focused somewhere past Solon’s right shoulder. “You’ll have to wait. Viceroy Abasi is the master here, and without his permission, I can show you nothing.”
“Then wake him. Why does he keep such odd hours anyway?”
“Oh, erm, Abasi suffers a terrible condition. The sun’s rays burn his skin even in the shadows. He doesn’t like to speak about it and mustn’t be disturbed during daylight. Those are my orders.”
Solon flexed his fingers as frustration mounted. “Then get me your records. All of them. What you’ve shown me isn’t nearly enough to account for an operation of this scope.”
“I can’t do that either.” Khu at least did him the courtesy of looking flustered.
“Let me guess, Abasi’s orders. You do understand the pharaoh’s orders supersede anything your master says, do you not?”
Khu shuffled a step back. “In theory, yes. But Abasi is here, and the pharaoh is not. And just as you do, I have my own master to obey.”
The headache Temaj had done such a good job of alleviating flared back to life. Solon had a choice. Continue to insist to the point of employing force, or simply wait until dusk. With an irritated sigh, he chose the latter. Force would always be an option, but it was hardly ever the best one.
“All right, Khu. We shall wait for your master to awake, if that’s what you insist upon. In the meantime, take me on a tour of what parts of the palace your master will allow you to show me, the kitchens, servants’ quarters, staff wing, etcetera. This place is a maze, and my report to the pharaoh must be thorough.”
To this, Khu couldn’t say no, but the man was clearly reluctant to say yes. “Shall I fetch a servant, General? Surely that would be more appropriate.”
“No, you shall not. I’d like you to guide me. You know your way around, yes?”
Khu nodded limply. “Where would you like to begin?”
Temptation to start with the harem’s quarters rose. Solon quenched it immediately. “Whatever is closest. Then we’ll spiral out from there. Lead on.”
Khu did, leaving the alcoves with Solon at his side. Though he wouldn’t be taken to the jewels, at least he could rule out where they were not while acquiring a reasonable lay of the land.
And if heaccidentallyran into Temaj, well, all the better.
CHAPTER10
Temaj
Stretched out on his back,ankles crossed, head and shoulders on a soft pile of pillows wedged to prop him up, Temaj watched the wisps of white clouds float through the sky.
Seli and Met had joined him on the patio to listen to his latest update on the general, but they’d since gone quiet. Temaj didn’t mind. He liked to gaze at the sky and imagine things. It was as good of a pastime as any. Well, maybe notany. He could think of a few things he’d rather be doing with a certain rugged soldier and his glorious battle staff.
He fiddled absently with the dead skin around his fingernails, a bad habit he couldn’t seem to shake. What was Solon doing? Was he with the other army men who’d journeyed with him? Was he inspecting the mines? Or maybe writing to the pharaoh himself. Solon actually knew the man. The king. Worked with him. Fought alongside him.
