The Sacred Scarab by Gill Harvey Read Free Book Online Page B

should have known that a guard would want better reasons than that.
    ‘She’ll be looked after all right here.’ The guard cast an eye at the scars on Hopi’s leg. ‘Don’t look like you’re much use to her, anyway.’
    ‘How dare –’ began Hopi.
    ‘Hush.’ Nefert silenced him with a glance. ‘Very well. I shall accompany Isis inside.’ She turned to Hopi. ‘I’m sorry, Hopi, but I’ll see that no harm comes to her. You may as well go home.’
    The guard opened the gate wider to allow Nefert and Isis inside. He grinned at Hopi. ‘Sorry, brother . Better luck next time,’ he said, and banged the gate shut.
    Hopi was furious. He thumped the gate with his fist. Then he turned and leaned against it, thinking fast. He wasn’t going to leave now, whatever the guard might say.
    The road was deserted. Hopi began to walk along the boundary wall, examining it closely. It was made of mud brick smoothed over with plaster. Here and there, the plaster had broken off to reveal the brickwork beneath. In the moonlight, he hunted for a piece of stone, then found a section where acacia bushes grew close to the wall. He began work, chipping through the plaster to make footholds. He looked up. The wall wasn’t so very high. As long as the guards didn’t patrol the wall too often, he should be all right.
    Hitching his bag over his shoulder, he began to climb. He peered over the top into the grounds and saw that the house was hidden behind trees. There were no signs of any guards. Feeling more courageous, he hooked one leg up over the top of the wall and dropped down on the other side. Thinking ahead, he found another stone and began making footholds for his escape. He was much more exposed now, conscious of every little scrape and tap.
    Voices.
    Hopi flattened himself against the wall, and froze. There was nowhere to hide.
    Two men were walking through the grounds, deep in discussion. They hadn’t seen Hopi. He dived behind a tree, listening.
    ‘. . . can’t get back any faster,’ one man was saying.
    ‘You could if you . . .’ Hopi missed the end of the sentence.
    ‘But then I’d lose the contract.’ The first man seemed frustrated and angry.
    ‘Yes. Well, maybe. But that’s why I’ve brought you here. I want you to see what a big shipment you’d be losing if you refuse,’ said the second man.
    They moved down the pathway, and Hopi could hear no more. But they were walking away from the mansion, not towards it. Hopi’s curiosity got the better of him. What shipment was the man talking about? And where were they going? Slipping from tree to tree, he began to follow.
    Beyond the gardens, there was a dense grove of fig trees that seemed to stretch right to the edge of the grounds. But as he made his way through it, Hopi could see that it ended sooner than he’d thought. There was an open area up ahead with a building positioned at the centre. Hopi was just in time to spot the two men disappearing into it.
    Hopi waited in the shadows of the fig trees for the men to return. They soon reappeared, and he managed to catch a glimpse of their faces in the moonlight as they passed, walking back towards the house. They were silent now, preoccupied. When all was quiet, Hopi crept towards the building, circling it until he saw an entrance. It certainly wasn’t a house – it had no windows and only one door. Hopi pushed it, then pulled it. It was shut fast. He put his eye up to chinks in the planks, but he couldn’t see anything in the darkness.
    Then he noticed. On the ground leading up to the entrance, there were clues. Hopi bent down and scooped up half a handful of something that lay scattered around. He fingered and sniffed it. It was grain.
    As Hopi gazed up at the building, his heart filled with anger. This store was enormous – enough to feed half the town. It wasn’t difficult to work out what the tax collector was up to. This wasn’t a government granary, but Abana’s stolen grain. The man must be exposed,