The Wadjet Eye by Jill Rubalcaba Read Free Book Online

cleaved through the water until it was near, then turned into the wind. The sail luffed, snapping rope and wood. Two men threw a ladder over the side.

    Damon and Artemas paddled their plank to the ship. Shadows flitted beneath them. The closer they got to the hull, the faster they paddled. Damon dreaded dipping his hands in the water, expecting a shark to take his hand with each pull. He tried not to think. He focused on the bottom rung of the rope ladder ahead, tipping his chin upward so he couldn't see the movement in the water below. But he knew they were waiting. He could feel it.
    When the plank thudded, wood on wood, against the ship, Damon felt the vibration through his whole body.
    Artemas climbed the ladder with ease, one hand over the other. But all Damon could do was cling to it while the sailors hauled him up. The cold, the exhaustion, the relief—all seemed to come over him at once, and he wasn't sure he could even hold on, he felt so weak. When he neared the rail, several hands grabbed him and pulled him over. He fell in a heap at the sailors' feet.

    Someone wrapped a scratchy wool blanket around his shoulders. Nothing had ever felt so good.
    They were all speaking at once. Damon just looked up at them, watching Artemas explain, when he realized they were speaking Egyptian.
Egyptian.
He sat up.
    Cups of water were offered by hands stretched forward. There were so many bodies surrounding them that Damon couldn't tell whose hands he took his cup from. "Thank you."
    Damon warned Artemas, "Don't drink too quickly. It will bring on cramps. Try to sip it." He fought his own impulse to gulp. He closed his eyes and let the water surround his tongue. He held it in his mouth even though his throat ached for it. He swallowed. His throat cooled.
    When he opened his eyes, the sailors had dispersed. The captain stood over him, talking to Artemas. Damon heard them speaking of sharks.
    A sailor came forward with warm soup. He slipped away before Damon could thank him. Damon put his face over the bowl and breathed deeply. He couldn't smell the broth. The smell of lavender overpowered everything.

    "If's in the sails," the captain said, as if reading his mind. "She soaks her sails in it."
    "She?" Damon's voice was stronger now.
    "Why, the Great One, Cleopatra. You didn't see her standard?"
    Damon looked up at the flags fluttering at the bow of the ship. The image of Isis, Cleopatra's patron goddess, flapped in the breeze.
    The crew had not gone far, Damon noticed. They kept busy nearby, tying and retying knots that needed no adjustment, keeping an eye on Artemas and Damon, listening. Damon heard the captain mention pirates and watched Artemas shake his head. Did they think pirates had sunk their ship? The Roman navy had swept the sea of the vermin years ago. Damon had heard that a few pirate ships remained. Like cockroaches, they had scurried away before the navy could stamp them out.
    Damon's teeth still clattered. He huddled in the blanket, trying not to spill his broth, though it sloshed over the rim from the shake in his hands.
    "What became of your ship?" the captain asked Artemas.
    "A vortex caught her in a whirling trap. I tried to warn them. We barely made it ourselves."

    "Did any others survive?"
    Damon knew that Artemas was thinking about the boy, but Artemas shook his head.
    The captain nodded. "There are many currents off the coast of Sicily. It is best to keep careful watch."
    "So we are near Sicily?"
    Damon pulled on his earlobe. His ears crackled from the water inside.
    "About three days' sail."
    Damon watched the crew. They had forgotten to look busy and were listening openly to Artemas and the captain.
    "Where were you headed?"
    "Spain and Caesar." Artemas straightened as if the very act of traveling toward Caesar deserved honor.
    "When you are ready, the Pharaoh will want to speak with you. To hear it all, even the sharks, no doubt. The Great One is curious about everything."
    The captain shouted to one of