Lawhead, Stephen - Bright Empires 02 - The Bone House by Lawhead Stephen

Author:Lawhead, Stephen [Lawhead, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2011-07-26T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

In Which a Three-Cup Problem Is Expounded

Kit woke from the first deep and restful sleep he had known in weeks. He lay for a while listening to the sound of water slapping gently against the hull of the dahabiya—such a serenely peaceful sound. Rousing himself, he sat up and realised that the boat was moving. Wearing the nightshirt the doctor had given him, he crept from his room and up the companion way to the deck above. It was almost dawn, and the captain was taking the boat upriver. Luxor was behind them already, and ahead, only the green banks of the Nile with date palms and fields of flowering sesame on either side.

“Good morning, my friend!” called a voice from the raised quarterdeck at the stern of the boat. “Fancy a drop of tea?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Kit answered. Moving to the steps leading to the higher deck, he saw Thomas, in a silk dressing gown, enthroned in a large rattan chair with a gently steaming mug between his hands. On a low table beside his chair was Wilhelmina’s letter. Kit joined him, drawing up another of the rattan chairs from its place at the rail.

“I do my best thinking this time of day,” Thomas told him. “Cooler, more conducive to clear thoughts.” He removed the cosy from a painted ceramic pot, poured another mug, and passed it to Kit. “Whenever I am faced with an intractable problem, I find tea helps concentrate my mind.”

“Nothing like the first cup in the morning,” agreed Kit. “Is there milk?”

“In the jug. Please, help yourself.” As Kit poured, he added, “It’s camel milk, by the way.”

Kit took an exploratory sip—sweet and mildly nutty, he decided, but wholly acceptable. The two men drank in silence for a moment, watching the riverbank slowly slide by beneath a sky the colour of rose petals. After a while the doctor said, “I have been awake half the night thinking about your problem.”

Mehmet the steward came with a fresh pot of tea and took away the old one. The doctor refreshed their cups, settled back in his chair, and said, “What are you prepared to tell me about this artefact we hope to find in the tomb?”

Kit thought for a moment. “You know about ley travel—as described by Wilhelmina.”

“Interdimensional transportation, yes.” Young became keen. His steel glasses flashed in the early-morning light. “That is an area I intend delving into in far greater depth, but for purposes of this present discussion we will consider it amply demonstrated.” He took a sip of tea. “Continue.”

“Well, the phenomenon was discovered, or at least actively pursued, by a man named Arthur Flinders-Petrie, who roamed around exploring the various ley connections and their destinations. He recorded his findings on a map.”

“A very prudent fellow,” approved the doctor. “I like him already.”

“In order to preserve the map and, I suppose, have it ready in any circumstance, he had it tattooed on his body.” Kit ran a hand over his chest and torso.

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