The Wadjet Eye by Jill Rubalcaba Read Free Book Online Page A

his men to trim the sail and strode off to see that his orders were carried out properly. The crew sprang up, heading off in different directions to their duties.
    You would never know Artemas had been in the water,
Damon thought.
Look how he throws off his blanket!
How he paces the deck!
Damon still didn't trust his legs. They quivered beneath his blanket.

    Artemas crouched and whispered to Damon, "Be sure to mention your studies with the Pharaoh's physician, Olympus. I understand he and Cleopatra are close. Imagine! The Pharaoh herself."
    Damon leaned his head to one side and thumped the top of his head, trying to drain the water from his ear.
    "And be sure to say you're a physician. Cleopatra admires the sciences."
    "Calm yourself, Artemas. I think you're more nervous now than you were with the sharks."
    With mention of the sharks, both of them thought of the boy and grew silent. They sipped their broth.

FIFTEEN
    She's not as beautiful as they say,
Damon thought. Her hair was not silken black, as he had expected, but brown with a curl to it. And her eyes were large for her small face. Only her mouth was as he had pictured it. Her lips were hill and perfectly formed, as if chiseled from stone.

    "Sit, relax. Your journey has been hampered by the gods. Let it take a turn for the better now." Cleopatra welcomed them as if they were nobility, indicating piles of Persian rugs on which to recline.
    Damon felt like nobility in the tunic Cleopatra's servants had provided. He'd never touched anything so soft. Could this really be happening? Lounging with a Pharaoh? He'd heard rumors that Cleopatra sometimes stole into the Museum disguised, attending lectures with the students, joining their discussions as if she were one of them. He'd never believed it. Could it be?

    Or maybe he was dead. Maybe he had drowned, and this was the otherworld, where commoners and gods mingled.
    Cleopatra settled onto a couch supported by four carved lions, tucking her bare feet under her. She seemed so at ease, as if every day she sat with two lowly subjects. Damon casually slid his hand under his leg and pinched it. Not dreaming.
    "It is lucky for you that I found it necessary to escape the weariness of Rome for a few days, refreshing myself on the open sea."
    "It is indeed our good fortune. We owe you our lives." Artemas swept an arm across his waist and bowed over it. No,
it's real,
Damon thought.
In the otherworld Artemas wouldn't act like such an ass.
    Artemas's brow furrowed. "Is Rome so dull you need escape?"
    Cleopatra laughed. The music of it delighted Damon. She sounded like the wind chimes in his mother's garden. "My weariness comes not from boredom, but from having to be on guard against my enemies. It grows tedious."
    "Your enemies are my enemies." Artemas bowed his head this time. Damon rolled his eyes.
    "Then we had best find you a sharp sword. You will be defending me on all sides. To the Romans I am a pagan temptress, casting spells on their beloved Caesar."

    Damon had heard the Roman slander. Imagine—Caesar, who stole the wives and even the daughters of his own friends, beguiled by the innocent Cleopatra! It was she who should be careful. But Damon held his tongue.
    Cleopatra rose and trimmed the wick of a wax incense cone, then lit it with the flame from another candle. "Winter is not long past. What brings you from Egypt so early in the season?"
    "How did you know we sailed from Egypt?" Damon asked.
    Cleopatra merely smiled, clapped her hands, and spoke in Nubian to a servant nearby. She must have requested refreshment, for the girl returned shortly bearing a tray with three cups.
    Cleopatra reclined, her cup in hand, and switched from Greek to Egyptian to speak to Damon. "You must tell me news from home."
    When Cleopatra mentioned home, Damon could think of nothing but the loss of his mother. He knew Cleopatra must want news of her country. The fate of one old woman could not be of interest, but he found himself telling her