Theodosia and the Last Pharoah by R. L. Lafevers Read Free Book Online

him, do you think?"
    Gadji gave me an incredulous look. "No, miss. Donkey is being much too fast."
    "You don't understand," I told him. "I have to at least try. There is something very important in my reticule."
    "Is effendi miss forgetting the crowd?"
    Er, yes. In my panic over the orb, I actually had.
    "It is not safe for effendi miss to travel now."
    But it was even less safe for the orb to fall into the wrong hands. "Very well. Do you think you could fetch my reticule and return it to me? I'm staying at the Shepheard Hotel. I'll be there until tomorrow morning, when we'll be catching the nine o'clock train to Luxor."
    Gadji shook his head. "Gadji is not going back to stables, miss."
    I nearly stomped my foot in frustration. "Why not?"
    "He would receive beating for abandoning his donkey."
    I gawped at him. Saving me had cost him his job? "Why did you risk so very much for me?"
    Gadji rose to his full height, an almost imperious look coming over his face. "I am miss's guide. I am taking my duties most seriously."
    "And so do I," I muttered. I simply had to retrieve the orb. "Tell me how to get to the stable and I'll go and speak to the stable owner myself. I'll explain everything to him and get my purse back."
    Gadji burst out in great big guffaws, slapping at his knee. "Miss is making a funny joke."
    "I'm not joking. I am quite serious."
    Gadji stopped laughing and shook his head. "Any moneys in that purse now belong to donkey master."
    "But it is mine!" I protested.
    Gadji shrugged. "It is how you say: find it, keep it."
    "Finders, keepers, you mean."
    "That's it," he said, repeating it to himself for good measure. "But do not look so sad, miss. Gadji is still saving you."
    "No, you don't understand. I must get the purse back! It doesn't just contain money, but something very valuable. I'll be in loads of trouble if I lose it." I reached out and grabbed his thin shoulders. "You have to tell me where this stable is."
    Gadji shrugged. "It is in the old quarter, the seventh street, behind the carpet seller. But miss will not be finding it unless I am with you."
    "Then you must come with me," I said.
    "Very well. But I am only taking you there, not talking to stable owner. I am not wanting a beating."
    "No, of course not," I assured him. But his words made me uneasy. What chance would I have of reasoning with the stable master?
    We left our hiding place and retraced our steps to the main street. My pulse was still racing and I could feel panic nipping at my heels, urging me to hurry. The crowd was much thinner now, which gave me hope that we might catch up to the donkey, or at least reach the stables before he did. Gadji paused and put a hand out to stop me. A man riding a donkey was heading our way. I wondered briefly if I could talk him into letting me borrow his mount, then noticed his long limbs nearly sweeping the street beneath his feet.
    "It's Mr. Bing!" My initial relief at no longer being lost quickly evaporated when I realized I'd just lost my chance to go after the orb. I thought briefly about stepping back into the alley, but it was too late. Mr. Bing had seen me.
    He sat up in his saddle and waved. He urged his donkey to a bone-jarring trot that made my teeth ache to watch. I quickly turned to Gadji. "Say nothing about losing my purse." He gave me a startled look, and then Bing's donkey rattled to a stop in front of us. Mr. Bing lowered his legs to the ground and stepped off. "Miss Theodosia! I am so glad to have found you! Your mother is quite frantic with worry. As was I."
    The donkey boy stepped forward and tapped himself on the chest. "Gadji is keeping miss safe. Not let anything happen to her."
    Mr. Bing looked down his nose. "Who are you, precisely?"
    "He is the donkey boy," I reminded him. "He used his donkey as a decoy to keep the mob from finding me. I owe him my safety."
    "Oh. Very well done, then," Bing said, nodding awkwardly at Gadji.
    "I, er, promised him a tip," I said, feeling awkward. Now that he