SECRET OF THE EGYPTIAN CURSE: Kids of Ancient Mythology by Peters Scott

Author:Peters, Scott [Peters, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Best Day Books For Young Readers
Published: 2012-04-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Three

Hebony told Ramses about how the girl led her across the noisy boat landing. Ramses could just picture the crowded water-steps. The city’s streets overflowed with people going this way and that, and vendors selling everything one could imagine.

Apparently the girl dragged her down alleys, through maze after maze of streets.

"By the time she pulled me through a crumbling temple door," Hebony said, "I was completely lost. She ordered me to kneel before a blind old beggar. I did as she told me. The man touched my cheek, and asked my name. Then he blessed me and put these two packages into my hands."

"He was happy to find a buyer," Ramses said.

"Yes, that's what I thought. But then he refused my six pieces of deben."

"You’re sure it wasn’t a misunderstanding?" Sobek asked.

Hebony frowned, as if going it over again in her mind. "I don’t know. Anyway, I left the coins on the ground. I wanted to pay the girl but she’d disappeared." Hebony laughed. "I would’ve paid well to get back out. It took forever!"

A gust of wind sent the door slamming open. All three of them glanced outside. Hebony quickly resealed the supplies beneath the stone.

"The workers," Ramses said. "I left them alone in the field!"

"Is everything all right out there?" Sobek said.

"Yes—except I need a favor." Ramses explained the situation.

The farm manager grinned and cracked his knuckles. "I’d be happy to."

"Could I catch up?" Ramses said. "Sepi invited me to meet his tutor."

At the mention of Weris, Hebony wrinkled her nose.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

She gestured at the enormous pile of laundry. "See that? The man has changed his clothes five times since yesterday. Five times! And he wants fresh bed linens every evening. My skin’s going to dissolve if he keeps this up."

"Maybe he doesn’t know the trouble he’s making. Maybe he has a lot of servants back home?"

"Not even Pharaoh, may he live forever, has that many servants," Sobek joked. He was grinning as if the prospect of an errand to visit the field crew was the best thing that had happened in days. "See you out there."

Hot sunlight burst into the room and disappeared again as the door banged shut.

"I’m off, too," Ramses said.

A moment later, he stood alone in the dark, silent hall.

The air outside Sepi’s door was stifling. For a moment, he wished he could forget meeting the famous tutor. His chest felt tight; he took a deep breath.

It was stupid to be nervous. Right now, he was the luckiest boy in Egypt. He was about to meet a highly skilled artist who knew exactly how to win the apprenticeship.

Quietly, he nudged open the door. Inside, the curtains were half drawn. Sepi sat at the desk. In one hand he held a brush, in the other, a pottery shard. He was trying hard to paint something on it. The tip of his tongue jutted from the corner of his mouth and his pale cheeks were flushed and damp.

Weris sat at his elbow, murmuring encouragement in a low, cultured voice.

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