Prince Incognito (6 page)

“It’s too dark. Everything is in shadows under the lip of the cliff.” He paused. “I don’t want to rush you, but your uncle’s men could catch up to us at any moment. We need to get moving.”

“What if we run right into them?”

“We’re south of his stronghold now. They’d be most likely to begin their search
there.” The soldier peered into the night along the direction they’d come. Suddenly his body tensed.

“What?” Lily turned in the direction he was looking.

Light appeared on level with the sea from beyond where they’d crashed the chaise. Between the spray and the distance, Lillian couldn’t be sure, but it looked as though a boat had set out from somewhere to the north.

“Are they
looking for us?”

“I doubt it’s anyone on a pleasure cruise in the middle of the night. Not with the partially submerged rocks in this area.”

“They’ll have to stay back from the shore.”

“That won’t stop them from spotting us.”

As he spoke, a distant section of the cliff was illuminated with a bright searchlight, the beam cutting through the darkness, highlighting every jagged
crag. It wouldn’t be long before the boat crept closer, and the search party shone the light upon them.

“Okay.” Lily held tight to the soldier as she scrambled in front of him on the miniscule footpath. “Swing me around.”

His strong hand continued to grasp her wrist, and she gripped his arm for all she was worth.

“Ready?”

She nodded, and practically leapt around the corner,
scrabbling with her free hand for a hold on the cliff, the soles of her sneakers scraping rock until her right foot slid to a solid spot.

The path! Not only did it reappear on the other side of the promontory, but it widened considerably as it went along.

“It’s safe. There’s a path,” she called out, not daring to raise her voice high enough to be heard by the search party. Fortunately
the crashing waves drowned out her words.

“Stay back. I’m coming around.”

Lily shuffled back to make room for the soldier. He leapt around, hugging the cliff, and nearly missed the path altogether before Lily reached for him, tugging on his T-shirt to carry him around.

She stumbled backward, trying to haul him onto the spit as he clambered after her. A moment later they each
had both feet on the stretch of sand, and she steadied herself against his solid torso as she caught her breath.

“You gave me a scare there.”

“There’s no time to be frightened. We need to hurry.” He held her hand and pulled her along as they darted single file along the sand spit.

The pathway weaved and dipped as it followed the craggy coastline, in some places almost disappearing
where the surf had washed away the sand. But the soldier kept tight hold of her hand and fear pushed her to move quickly. After rounding several less-prominent corners, they came to a beach a couple of meters wide tucked under the cliffs, and paused to catch their breath.

“Any sign of the search boat?” she asked, gulping air after their frantic run.

“Not since we rounded that first
promontory. I hope they decided to thoroughly search the area around the chaise before proceeding along the coast. That would buy us some time.”

“And I hope—” she straightened, finally able to breathe without a stitch pinching her side “—they don’t have more than one search boat.”

The soldier squeezed her hand as though he agreed with her. “We should keep moving.”

She nodded.
“After you.”

They plodded forward for what felt like miles, though Lily wondered if the darkness only made it seem longer. Her feet squished inside her sodden shoes, so when the beach cut back and the cliffs fell away to a small, rock-strewn canyon, she sat down on a boulder and grabbed a sneaker, intending to pull it off.

“Not here.” The soldier tugged her up. “They might yet decide
to refuel the helicopter and come looking for us. We’d be easy to spot from the sky.”

She stood, but her legs shook from exhaustion. “I’m tired and thirsty, and the skin on my feet is blistering and rubbing off.”

Already the blackness of the eastern sky had given way to a gray-green predawn hue, casting just enough illumination for them to see what lay up the canyon. “This way. There’s
an overhang that should camouflage us from the sky. We can lay low there for a while.” He led her inland up the canyon to the spot where an oblong boulder provided enough of a bench for both of them to sit.

Lily all but collapsed onto the rock and tugged at her right shoe, but between the swollen canvas and her slippery-wet hands, she struggled to get it off.

“Allow me.” The soldier
crouched in front of her and removed both shoes before easing off her sodden socks.

“Thank you.” Lily squeezed the excess water from the socks.

“Those will dry quickly once the sun comes out.”

“Are we staying put that long?”

“The sun will be rising soon.” He looked up and down the canyon before settling down beside her on the boulder and tugging off his boots. “I don’t
know where we are or where we might find a town around here. Once the sun gets up in the sky, it’s going to be too hot to keep going, never mind that we haven’t had anything to drink in ten hours.”

“So, you’re saying we don’t have a choice.”

He shook his head glumly and pulled off his socks.

“How safe are we here?”

“From our enemies, or from the threats of the North African
wilderness?”

“Both.”

He shrugged. “Your uncle seemed pretty determined to get his hands on me, and from what I could tell, he has plenty of resources at his disposal. I wouldn’t underestimate him. This area looks like the best place to hide. We can take turns resting and keeping watch.”

Lily agreed with his assessment. “And the wilderness?”

“We’re going to need to find
water.”

“This canyon looks like it was formed by a stream, but I don’t see any sign of water now.”

“It’s a wadi—a gully that fills with runoff whenever the rains come. But we don’t want it to fill with water while we’re here. A flash flood could fill this basin, and we’d have no way to escape.”

“So, where are we going to find water?”

“I’ll come up with something. Why don’t
you lie down close to the cliff there and rest? You’ve been up all night and you look beat. I’ll keep watch, walk the perimeter, and see if I can’t find us some water.”

“Rest,” Lily repeated. “That sounds fabulous.” She rose to her feet and picked her way across the rocky sand toward the deepest part of the shade.

“Lillian?” He ran up behind her, and she felt a flush of awareness at
the sound of the concern in his voice.

“Yes?”

“Be sure to check for snakes and scorpions before you lie down.”

“Oh.” She nodded sharply, and hoped the darkness was still deep enough to cover the blush that rose to her cheeks. She cleared her throat, erasing any sound of disappointment from her voice. “Snakes and scorpions. Got it.”

FIVE

H
e waited until Lily had settled in to rest before padding barefoot up the wadi. He wouldn’t go far. A pale predawn glow already colored the eastern sky, and once the sun hit the sand, the temperature would quickly soar. The scorching sand would burn his bare feet. But he still had time before the sun rose that high, and for now, he’d rather walk barefoot than wear soggy boots
any longer.

Though he hadn’t wanted to give her cause to worry, the threat of poisonous snakes and scorpions was too great for him to let Lily settle in without checking for the dangerous creatures first, especially with daylight chasing the animals back under cover. Neither of them could afford a venomous encounter at this point. But even an eight-inch scorpion couldn’t scare him as much
as their far more pressing concern.

They didn’t have any water. They wouldn’t make it a day without something to drink—preferably three gallons each in this heat, five if they intended to do any walking. They had no way of carrying water with them, and other than the undrinkable seawater that crashed against the shore, they weren’t likely to find a reliable source.

But after walking
through much of the night, he was willing to settle for any source of drinking water. They’d have to quench their thirst soon, or the desert sun would bake them dry and they wouldn’t live to see another evening.

As if to remind him of how quickly the heat was approaching, the sun rose above the horizon, bathing the wadi in its first pink glow. The light might help him find water, but the
dangerous summer rays would soon roast the wadi like a stone-walled oven.

He scoured the sand for any sign of animal tracks. This close to the shore the Sahara wasn’t such a desolate, sand-washed wasteland. There were scrubby bushes and even a few scattered, spindly trees. Compared to the desert farther south, it was lush. But there still wasn’t any sign of drinking water.

Somewhere
along the coast there was bound to be a town, however small it might be. But given the size of David Bardici’s compound and the forces he employed there, it stood to reason that he would be well-known, and likely influential in the area. No, they couldn’t risk visiting a town. Word of their arrival would surely get back to David quickly, more quickly than they’d be able to rent a car or find a bus.
He’d come too far to risk recapture now.

He studied the ground as the sun rose. When he saw tiny paw prints etching the salty surface of the rocky ground, he followed them. A mammal had passed that way, something small, maybe a jerboa or fennec fox—the hard earth didn’t permit enough of a print to identify the animal, but its path was still traceable as it scratched its way along the floor
of the wadi.

As he’d hoped, other tracks soon crossed the path. Animals had been congregating here. There was water nearby.

But where?

The ground looked dry, but the tracks soon dispersed again. He retraced his steps to the point where the etchings on the ground converged. In the light of the rising sun, shadows colored the ground—the shadows of rocks, of bushes and the occasional
low, scrubby tree.

For bushes and trees to grow there had to be an underground water source.

A shadow caught his eye—a dark patch that had no rock or tree to block the sun’s light. He grabbed a flat rock and started to dig.

The earth was damp, but shifted freely. He wasn’t the first creature to pierce the soil in hopes of quenching his thirst. Like the others, he would cover
the spring with sand again to protect its priceless liquid from relentless evaporation.

Finally, as his arms began to ache from digging, he pulled back enough sand to expose a tiny pool of water. Sand swirled where he’d disturbed it, but slowly settled out, leaving a clear pool deep enough for him to dip his hand into it.

Water.

He scratched back enough sand to create a salad
bowl-size puddle, then scooped with his cupped palm, drinking mere drops at a time, patiently, until his thirst was quenched. And then, with the sun hauling its unwelcome heat higher into the morning sky, he hurried back to find Lillian.

Though he didn’t want to wake her, he had no choice. She’d have to have water before they could strike out again. Their enemies might discover them at any
time, and they wouldn’t have time for her to quench her thirst if they had to run for their lives.

“Lillian?” He whispered her name, reluctant to disturb her when she looked so peaceful.

Her eyes popped open, but the fear on her startled face receded when she saw him. “Is everything okay?” She sat up slowly.

“I found water.”

He didn’t have to say anything more. She hopped
up and grabbed her socks, which had crusted dry.

His shoes had also dried in the desert heat. He pulled them on, leading her toward the spring, demonstrating how to scoop the water one handful at a time.

“I wish we had a way to carry water with us. I was fortunate to find this spot. Once we leave the wadi, our chances of finding a spring will be even smaller.”

Lily looked up
from scooping water to her mouth. “When are we leaving the wadi?”

“Not until this evening—unless we’re spotted before then.”

“Which way will we go?”

“I haven’t decided yet. We could head inland, but we can’t travel more than one night’s walk without a water source. Our other choice is to keep following the coast.” He frowned.

“What’s wrong with that idea?” She went back
to scooping water.

“That’s where your uncle David is most likely to be looking for us. And there’s hardly any cover along the coastline. We’d be easier to spot and have nowhere to hide.”

Lillian drank quietly for several more minutes, scooping the water by patient handfuls to her lips. Finally she sat back and regarded him. “I think we should rest near this spring today. When the sun
starts to go down, we can drink as much as we can hold, and then start up the wadi. If we haven’t found a road or town or another water source by morning, we can always come back here. We’re not in any hurry, are we?”

“Other than escaping from your uncle, I’ve got nowhere I know of that I need to be.” He smiled, knowing there was a good chance that, whoever he was, someone expected him somewhere.
But until his memory returned, he didn’t know where that might be. “What about you?”

“I was on the run before my uncle entered the picture.” She moved back from the spring.

“What were you running from?”

“Reality.”

He paused middrink and looked up at her, trying to gauge how serious she was. Her expression was drawn, and he considered for the first time that the fear behind
her eyes might have its roots before he’d entered the picture. Full of water, he began to cover the spring with clean sand. “Which reality is that?”

“I’m still trying to sort it out.” She shuffled farther back as he scraped the sand over the spring with the flat digging rock.

Finally, satisfied that their water source was amply protected, he shuffled over and joined her in the shade
of a few scrubby trees that marked the location of the spring. Since she hadn’t spoken again, he offered, “You don’t have to tell me about it unless you want to.” But at the same time, he couldn’t help but be curious.

“Thanks for understanding,” she said quietly. After a moment, she stood. “Why don’t you rest now? I can keep watch.”

“Do you know what you’re watching for?”

“Bad
guys? Scorpions and snakes?”

He stretched out in the shade. “Keep an eye out for any sign of civilization or water.”

“I’ll do that.”

Lillian slowly expanded her circle as she wandered from one shady spot to the next, exploring the area surrounding where the soldier rested near the spring. He’d warned her that the real desert began in earnest farther south, but she still thought
their surroundings were plenty desolate, a never-ending stretch of rocky sand pockmarked by stiff bushes and patches of brittle grass.

Hoping to find some sign of the civilization or water she’d been told to look for, Lily made her way up the side of the ravine to the plateau above. From there, she could see far out to sea, but there were no boats in the area. She squinted northward, expecting
to spot some sign of her uncle’s fortress, but the craggy bluffs mounted higher in the distance, blocking any sign of the stronghold from which they’d escaped in the night. They’d traveled farther than she’d realized.

To the southwest, the rocky promontory tapered off, and in the distance the sea met the shore with wide sandy beaches gleaming white in the sun. She turned her gaze farther
south—inland, where the Sahara seemed to stretch on forever.

Heat simmered up from the desert in waves, distorting the sand and sky into a blur that stung her eyes. And yet, as she strained to see, a dull cloud rolled across the southern horizon, churning up the sand in dusty billows.

Was someone traveling across the distant desert? Where were they headed? Was it her uncle, searching
for her?

She watched as the cloud billowed on toward the east. Recalling what little she knew of North African geography, she figured herself to be somewhere west of Egypt.

Did the cloud of sand mark the progress of a caravan headed toward Egypt? If they could reach the travelers beyond them, would they be able to find help and supplies? Lily thought of the wad of bills the soldier
carried in his pocket. Assuming he hadn’t lost them during their adventures the night before, would they be able to buy water with the money he carried? Lily wished she’d had a chance to grab her purse before leaving the boat, but her uncle had barely allowed her to put on her shoes. She’d have to depend on the soldier’s generosity, and promise to pay him back if they ever reached safety.

The thought prodded her conscience. Would she have any way to pay the soldier back? It occurred to her that, before she asked him to do anything more for her, she ought to confess just how desperately poor she currently was. Her life had been through one tumultuous upheaval after another for the past several weeks.

The rising sun seared her uncovered head, its relentless heat a reminder
of the danger of the desert. Lily watched the distant dust cloud fade, and realized there was no point waking the soldier to have him look at it. They wouldn’t get anywhere until nightfall. And even then, without a source of water, she wasn’t sure they could reach the spot where the dust cloud traveled—even if it didn’t move far beyond them by the time they reached the place where it now passed.

Clambering back down the side of the canyon, Lily found the shade near the spring where the soldier rested, and lowered herself down to the relative cool in the shadow of a scraggly clump of trees. The soldier lay on his back, the injured side of his face toward her, uncovered since he’d removed the sodden bandages. At least his injuries appeared to be healing, disinfected by their saline
bath the night before.

Uncomfortable at the idea of watching him while he slept, Lily closed her eyes, still pondering who the mysterious man might be. He was certainly handsome, and the uninjured side of his face looked almost familiar, though she couldn’t begin to place where she might have seen him. During her week in Lydia, she’d seen many soldiers. Perhaps they’d crossed paths then.

The biggest clue to the mysterious man’s identity, besides the uniform he’d worn and the money in his pocket, was her uncle’s determination to capture and interrogate the man. David Bardici had gone to great lengths to get his hands on this soldier. But why? What knowledge did he have that her uncle was so desperate to get?

* * *

The distant rumble of a motor nudged him from sleep.
He could tell from the smell of baking sand that he was still in North Africa. But wasn’t he supposed to have left? Yes, he was supposed to go home. But why? An event. He’d be getting his next assignment. It was important that he be there.

But who was he?

He sat up and looked around, and immediately recalled all that had happened as far back as the thick blanket that covered his memory.
That’s right. He was on the run from General David Bardici of the Lydian Army.

And what was that distant rumbling that had awakened him? It sounded as though it came from the direction of the sea, just out of sight around the crags of the canyon.

He glanced around. Lily had said she was going to keep watch, but he spotted her leaning against a tree, her eyes closed. From the angle
of her lolling head, he guessed she was asleep.

The sight made him smile. Poor thing was tuckered out. For a moment, he reflected on the mystery of the woman who’d endangered herself to care for him. Why had she done that? He was grateful for her help, but at the same time, he wondered at the events that had taken place on the Bardicis’ yacht before his arrival. There was more to the lovely
woman than she’d told him. He wanted to learn all he could about her. But now was not the time.

He had to find the source of the rumbling, which grew louder, as though approaching their bivouac. Jumping up, he kept close to the wall of the canyon, poking one eye around the crag to spot the sea.

There. A boat moved past slowly, the men onboard scouring the shoreline, wary of the rocks,
but equally intent on their search. Though he didn’t see David Bardici among them, these were likely his men. They carried the same weapons as the men the night before.