Page 36 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
Zahra pushed the thought away. She couldn’t think of the consequences of Omar’s actions now. She had to find proof of something—anything. She refused to believe he was stealing for selfish reasons.
Zahra turned her attention to Omar’s hammock, which bore the blanket she had made for him years ago. Beneath the blanket stuck out the corner of a papyrus. Zahra plucked it from its hiding place and opened it. She paled. Upon the papyrus were scribbles and drawings depicting the Thoth. The writing was in the Badari language, and the papyrus itself appeared to beas ancient as the scrolls from the hidden library. There were newer papyri folded with it, detailing the rotations of themedjaywithin the temple.
Her hands trembled. Why would her father have these?
The realization hit her, and she stumbled back into one of the walls. It had always been Omar’s plan to take the Thoth.But why? She knew his debt with Darius was substantial, but she did not think he would steal the most valued artifact of the kingdom to escape it. Omar was a good man—Zahra knew that. Yet, reality insisted otherwise.
“Get out of my home.” Kamil stood in the doorway, his arms filled with sweets and his brow lowered in anger.
Zahra spun toward him and waved the papyrus. “What are these? Where did you get them?”
Kamil stepped forward. “You have no right to question me, girl. Leave!”
“Omar is my father,” she shouted, “and these were placed in his things. Tell me, where did you get these?”
“I have never seen them before.” He stepped to the side. “Now, leave!”
Zahra gritted her teeth. She folded the papyrus, keeping it close to her side as she passed by the grumpy priest. Though she wanted to believe otherwise, she couldn’t help but feel he was telling the truth. Kamil had not placed them there. Were they truly her father’s?
Zahra sat outside the temple housing for some time. The more she mulled over this new information, the more it made sense. Angry tears sat in her eyes as the obelisk chimed four times, and she made her way to the stable house. Omar was there when she arrived. He raised his knife and stalked toward her.
Zahra hesitated in the doorway. “Patér, it’s me.”
He lowered his blade, pausing some feet from her. “Poulaki-mou? I thought you had left.”
“Of course not.” She closed the door behind her and held up the papyri in the moonlight. “What are these, Patér? Why were they in your hammock?”
His hood fell back as he took them from her. “These were in my hammock?”
“Yes.” She walked past Omar, opening one of the horse stalls.
Omar turned and lunged for her. “No!”
The Thoth fell out of the bag onto a pile of hay. Once again, a low hum filled the space. Zahra stepped away from it, her chest tightening as she remembered when she had touched it the night before. She pointed at it, turning to Omar. “Do you know what you have done, Patér? They will kill you. They will kill us both!”
Desperation filled his features. “I took it to protect you.”
“Lies!” She pointed to the papyri in his hands. “You have been planning to leave me and your debt with Darius. You abandoned me, telling me to go into the desert to face unknown dangers so that you could be free!”
“I would never leave you.” He glanced between her and the papyri. “Yes, I took it, but I have never seen these before.”
Zahra hissed through her teeth. “What?”
Omar shuffled the papyri in his hands. “I have studied this language, but I don’t understand most of these glyphs. I don’t know what this artifact does, but it reeks of an unknown magic.” He brought themedjayrotations to the top of the pile. “And these—I know the rotations of themedjayfrom working at the temple for years. I have no need for them.”
Zahra stepped back, her mind foggy. “Youstoleit.”
Omar’s gaze dropped to the floor.
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Why?”
Omar met her gaze, struggling for words. “I had to.”
“Why? Is someone making you do this? Are you being threatened?”
There was a spark in his eye, and he opened his mouth. “I…”
The sound of horses sounded from up the hill. Omar cursed and stepped back. “They’re here.”
