Karim saw Babu staring at the red stain on his hand. It wasn’t Djet’s blood, but what was he supposed to say? That it came from underneath a statue? Babu would never believe it. Karim swallowed, taking a step back as the reality of the situation began to dawn on him.
Babu’s expression shifted from irritation to distrust the longer it took Karim to reply.
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Babu demanded.
Karim put his hands out in front of him. “Yes—but I can explain.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can,” Babu said, closing the distance between them. “You found something in that valley. Something so good, you wanted to keep it all to yourself. So you killed the boy, and now you come here to trick us, to lead us into a trap so you can kill us too. You may think you’re smart, Karim-sen, but your act doesn’t fool me.”
“It’s not an act! There’s a monster down there, and it killed Djet. I know you don’t trust me, but I’m telling you the truth!”
Babu barked a laugh. “A monster! All right, sen, here’s what you’re going to do,” the big man said, reaching for the dagger at his belt. “First, you’re going to hand over that pack. Then you’re going to lead us to the tomb. And after that, if you do exactly as I say, I promise to kill you quickly.”
Karim backed away, his heart racing. “You’re making a mistake,” he said, his eyes flicking to Hager, who’d pulled the spear from the sand and was advancing toward them, cutting off Karim’s escape. Babu loomed over him like a monolith, casting a long shadow across the sand. “I swear to you! The Khetaran curses, they’re real! You need to help me reseal the tomb, before that creature gets out and kills us all!”
Babu scoffed. “Seal it? What, with the treasure still inside? How stupid do you think I am? Now, either you give me that pack or I cut you down and take it. Hager and I can follow your tracks and find the tomb ourselves. It’s really up to you, sen. Whether you die now or later makes no difference to me.”
Karim’s set his jaw, his hand tightening on the pack’s strap.
Babu shrugged. “As you wish.” He unsheathed the knife.
For such a large man, Babu moved incredibly fast.
He lunged with a guttural cry, slashing out with the dagger. Karim scurried backward, but it was like trying to evade a hippopotamus at close range. The first attack bit through the fabric of his robe, but the second found the flesh beneath, cutting a deepfurrow across Karim’s chest. He doubled over, hissing with pain as blood began to seep from the wound. But he had no time to worry about that. A moment later, Babu kicked him in the gut, and Karim dropped to the ground like a stone.
He lay there writhing, his wound forgotten in the struggle to breathe. He rolled onto his back, gasping, his mind working furiously. The pain, like the blazing sun, was nearly blinding. He tried to speak, to stall for time, but all that came out was a shuddering moan. Karim dug his fingers deep into the sand.
Babu stood over him and sheathed his knife. “Not so clever now, are you?” the big man said with a sneer and kicked him again.
Karim cried out as stars exploded before his eyes. He tried to curl his body into a ball to protect himself from the blows, but Babu put his foot on Karim’s chest, pinning him in place. He felt his ribs buckle under the weight.
Babu chuckled. “Always lording it over us with your talent for sniffing out treasure. Well, we don’t need you anymore, do we? This haul of yours should keep us comfortable for quite a while.”
Removing his foot, he knelt beside Karim, groping for the pack that was half-trapped underneath Karim’s limp body.
“Knee-deep in woman flesh too.” Babu’s breath was hot and sour on Karim’s face. “Perhaps I’ll snap up one of your little sisters, hey? They’re nearly ripe for the picking.”
At that, Karim forgot his pain. With a cry of fury, he threw a fistful of sand into Babu’s face.
Babu shrieked in surprise, clambering to his feet to wipe the stinging sand from his eyes.
“I’ll kill you, you—!”
Karim sat up and buried the blade of his own knife into Babu’s thigh, straight up to the hilt.
The unfinished curse transformed into a scream. Karim jerked the knife out again, and the big man crashed to the ground,clutching at his leg and its growing red stain. Karim got up, one arm wrapped protectively around his bruised ribs. The sudden movement sharpened the pain—but the will to stay alive had sharpened his mind.
With Babu out of commission, Hager advanced with the spear, aiming it directly at Karim’s heart.
“Drop the knife or I’ll run you through where you stand!” he shouted, his voice barely audible over Babu’s howls of agony. “Don’t think I won’t!”
Karim licked his lips. Hager was a coward, and if he was going to murder him, he’d probably have done it by now. Still, Karim wasn’t eager to test him. He dropped his bloody knife.
“Now give me your pack!” Hager demanded.
“Kill him, you fool!” Babu roared from where he lay, spit flying from his lips. “What are you waiting for?”
Karim’s gaze flicked from Babu’s bloody leg to the glittering spearhead hovering a handsbreadth away. It was trembling, just slightly.
