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Isetnofret sweated in fear as the chariot
driven by the pale-skinned demon drove headlong toward the barren desert
hills. “No,” she protested,
“we can’t go this way.”
She had calmed down a bit when she realized that the woman called
Honey Cake was not really dead, but now her fear had returned in
earnest. They were headed directly
toward the
“Why not?’ Melissa
replied. She was not really very
interested in what the queen had to say, but thought she might as well
listen.
“No one goes to the
“Sounds interesting,” said Melissa
dryly. “Exactly where is
it?”
“We are headed directly toward
it. I implore you, Honey Cake;
do not go there.”
“Honey Cake is what the pharaoh called
me. You will call me
Mistress. If you don’t
I’ll drag you behind the chariot.”
Isetnofret
trembled. The steely determination
in Melissa’s dark eyes left no doubt that she would carry out the
threat. “Yes, Mistress,”
she replied, bowing her head.
“That feels good,” thought
Melissa. She was infused with
a cold anger toward the woman who had humiliated and tortured
her. It had been difficult in
the extreme not to simply cut her throat, but her civilized upbringing had
won out over her rage. She was
not however, above submitting her to a little humiliation of her
own. “Where is this
“Through that notch,” replied the
queen inclining her head toward a break in the hills they were headed
toward.
“Excellent,” said Melissa as she
twitched the reins, guiding the horses directly toward the spot Isetnofret
had indicated.
“No!” Isetnofret cried, her voice
rising. “That is the wrong
way we will be taken and killed and our souls will be
eaten.”
“Exactly what is in this valley
anyway?” Melissa asked enjoying the queen’s superstitious
fear.
“The demons of
Thoth. They will capture us and
steal our
ka.” Isetnofret was shaking with
fright.
Melissa grinned
maliciously. “Sounds like
someone I’d like to meet.”
Flicking the reins she urged the horses into a
trot.
Isetnofret burst into
tears. Melissa considered gagging
her as the Egyptian queen begged her to turn
back. She knew she shouldn’t
really be tormenting the queen the way she was, but the loss of her baby
had hardened her heart. She wanted
the queen to suffer the way she had.
But she knew that wasn’t
possible. She wasn’t capable
of killing a child even if she had been able to get at one of the queen’s
children. Ignoring her cries
she drove on.
The desert heat rose as she neared the line
of hills. A line of shimmering
heat haze partially obscured the
landscape. In a few hours it
was going to be like a furnace. She
flicked the reins urging the horses
forward. Perhaps the hills would
offer shelter from the sun. She
didn’t want to be caught out in the open during the hottest part of
the day.
The notch in the hills opened before her,
revealing a narrow gorge. Two
large statues of the ibis headed god Thoth flanked the
opening. Isetnofret
screamed. “Turn
back. The god warns of
death. We will be destroyed by
demons.”
Melissa had to admit the two statues were
rather disturbing. They were
brightly painted and their dark eyes seemed to follow her as she
approached. “Nonsense,”
she thought. “They’re
not alive, just a couple of pieces of stone carved to frighten
people.” She turned to the
shrieking queen. “Shut up
or I’ll stuff your mouth with sand.
We’re going in.”
Isetnofret’s protest subsided to low
moans as Melissa entered the steep-sided
gorge. Overhead the rock almost
came together. It was almost
like driving into a cave. Melissa
sighed as she entered the coolness of the
gorge. The temperature actually
dropped several degrees and she thought she could hear the tinkle of
water. The horses quickened their
pace. They too could smell water
and needed no urging. The gorge
wound on for about a mile and then suddenly opened out into a beautiful
valley. The sudden appearance
of greenery and water was starling after the barren wastes of the
desert. But it was the gigantic
statue of Thoth directly in front of her that was most
impressive.
It stood at least eighty feet high and unlike
any statue Egyptian Melissa had seen so far, stood with its legs slightly
apart across the canyon so that she was obliged to drive beneath it in order
to enter the valley. Isetnofret
wailed in terror, but ignoring her, Melissa clucked her tongue and urged
the horses into the valley. She
head straight for the trees. Water
and shade, a perfect combination.
Reaching the green of the oasis she stopped the chariot and dismounting
unhitched the horses. This seemed
like the perfect place to spend the
night. She was exhausted even
though she had not done much that day.
Her ordeal in the tomb had weakened her
severely. She needed food, water,
and above all rest.
Returning to the chariot she looked at the
weeping queen. Isetnofret looked
harmless enough, but Melissa was not sure she wanted to untie
her. The Egyptian queen had shown
herself to be cruel and treacherous in the
extreme. In her weakened state,
Melissa did not want her running around
loose. It would take only a few
seconds for the queen to slip a knife into her ribs while she
slept. Melissa decided not to
completely release her. Instead
she removed most of the ropes but kept her arms tied from elbow to
elbow. She arranged the knots
so that it was impossible for Isetnofret to reach
them. Then securing Isetnofret
to the chariot wheel, Melissa prepared a
meal.
It wasn’t
much. Just some bread and
fruit. But she also found some
ripe figs among the trees around the
oasis. It made for a small but
satisfying meal. Even Isetnofret
stopping whining long enough to force some food into herself, all the time
complaining about the dangers of being in the valley and then about the quality
of the meal. Melissa ignored
her. Moving as far from the queen
as she thought was safe she lay down near the cool waters of the oasis, using
a few palm fronds as a bed and a robe to cover
herself. Almost as soon as she
was on the ground exhaustion won out over her and she
slept.
She was awakened by the sound of
Isetnofret’s startlingly loud
shriek. Instantly she was on
her feet, but she froze when she saw what had terrified the bronze-skinned
queen. Arranged around her was
a semicircle of ibis-headed warriors.
For a second Melissa blinked in confusion, and then she saw that it
was actually a circle of brown-skinned men wearing elaborate
headdresses. More to the point
though each of the strange warriors was armed with a needle-tipped spear,
the points of which were directed toward her.
There was nowhere to run, and Melissa was
still too weak to fight. Even
if she had been in tiptop condition it was unlikely that she could have defeated
so many well armed men. One of
the men stepped toward her.
“Why have you entered the
“As a matter of fact I didn’t,”
thought Melissa. “Perhaps
I should have taken Isetnofret more
seriously.” The queen was
wailing horribly. Melissa felt
like strangling her, but was more concerned about the bizarre ibis-headed
soldiers that threatened her. She
tried to think of a quick reply, knowing that whatever she said would be
critical. Remembering the way
she had bluffed the Egyptians and she decided on a bold
front.
“I am an emissary of the gods,”
she said. Pointing to Isetnofret
she continued. “Do you not
see that I have taken the pharaoh’s favourite
prisoner? Harm me at your own
risk. Ra himself will intercede
on my behalf.”
The man who had spoken took a half step back,
clearly impressed by her audacious
assertion. But then he lowered
his spear again. “How is
it that you sleep on the ground if you are so favoured?” he
challenged.
“I sleep where I choose,” Melissa
answered. She did not want to
get into a long discussion. Her
command of the Egyptian language was not comprehensive
enough. “Take me to your
superior. I choose not to speak
with an underling.”
“You shall have your wish,” replied
the ibis-headed warrior.
“Take them and bind them,” he ordered his
men. “We take them to the
high priest.”
“Oops,” Melissa
thought. “Must have said
something wrong.”
Melissa felt the familiar fear well up inside
her as her arms were tied behind her
back. Once again she was at the
mercy of strange men. The usual
frightening ideas swept through her mind.
This sort of thing was becoming too much a part of her way of
life. It was also highly irritating
to hear Isetnofret’s shrill wail.
The noise apparently irritated the ibis-headed commander of the group
of warriors as well. “Put
something in her mouth before she deafens all of us,” he
ordered. Isetnofret’s cries
subsided to terrified grunts as she and Melissa were loaded onto the
chariot. One of the warriors
took the reins and urged the horses forward.
“At least we don’t have to walk,”
thought Melissa. What she wanted
more than anything else was to rest and being taken prisoner once again
didn’t promise much of that.
At least they hadn’t been raped, although how long they would
be spared that horror she couldn’t
say. Surprisingly, the men who
had taken them prisoner did not even seem particularly interested in
them. She hoped that situation
would hold, but she had little hope that it
would. For one so young, Melissa
had suffered more than her share of sexual
degradation. Bracing herself
against the swaying of the chariot, she rode in
silence. Soon she would know
her fate. She hoped that it turned
out better than the last time she was taken prisoner.
Larra awoke with a
start. She was bathed in perspiration
and shaking like a leaf. Nearby
one of the young girls who had befriended her looked on with
concern. The girl reached out
a hand and gently brushed Larra’s
face. “It is alright White
Hibiscus,” she said, “you were just having a bad
dream.”
Larra sat up breathing
heavily. Her white skin had earned
her the beautiful name the girl had given
her. “Thank you
Sithenen, she replied.
“I am alright now.”
Sliding off the bed she emerged herself in the cool waters of the
bath. She had to get away from
the palace. The pharaoh had left
her alone for the last day or so and she was somewhat recovered from
Ramses’ brutal
‘lovemaking.’ As a
result some of her strength had returned; aided by the natural resilience
she had due to her splendid physical
conditioning. As her body cooled
in the water of the bath she tried to think of some way out of her
predicament.
The problem was she was continually watched,
either by one of the eunuch guards or one of more of the women or servants
in the harem. As single shout
would bring a dozen armed men in just a few seconds and she was still chained
at the elbows and ankles. Her
first challenge was to find a way out of her
chains. Then she might have a
chance.
She settled into the bath, allowing the water
to come up to her chin. She had
done this before without success.
No matter how she worked at the chains they refused to slip
off. Somehow she had to get hold
of some sort of tool to help her out, but the harem women were not even allowed
eating utensils. They ate everything
with their fingers. She narrowed
her eyes, scanning the room. There
must be something she could do.
The large windows enticed her, but she had
already checked them out. They
opened onto a courtyard and there was a sheer seventy-five foot drop to a
stone pavement. If her ankles
and elbows had not been chained she would have chanced the climb, but unless
she could get rid of the shackles there was no way
out. It always came back to the
same thing. Somehow she had to
get rid of the restraints.
A servant walked up to the
bath. “The Son of Ra wants
you,” the girl said. Behind
her were two of the huge eunuch guards.
Larra was filled with
dread. She had not been given
long enough to recover. Every
time she moved she was reminded of the way the pharaoh had brutalized
her. With great reluctance she
stood up and moved to the edge of the
bath. Immediately her body was
swathed with towels by the servant girls who always hovered
nearby. Taking her arms they
pulled her over to a chair and sat her
down. For the next few minutes
they buzzed about her, anointing her body with sweet-smelling oils and combing
out her hair. Then she was gently
prodded toward the waiting guards.
The collar was placed about her neck and one
of the guards led her out of the room on the leash, the other guard falling
in behind. “Only two guards
this time,” Larra thought.
Evidently her abject submission
to Ramses had convinced the pharaoh that she was his willing
slave. However, two guards were
more than enough in her present
condition. She had little chance
of defeating either of them.
Obediently, she trotted along on her leash until they reached the
pharaoh’s rooms. Ramses
awaited her on his divan. Meekly
she went to her knees on entering the
room. She wasn’t up to the
punishment for defying the God-king.
Ramses nodded his
approval. He waved his hand,
dismissing his guards. He was,
of course still attended by the four slave girls who cooled him with their
fans.
“Thy servant attends thee, oh Son of
Ra,” Larra said, from her position on the
floor.
“Do thy duty, White Hibiscus,” Ramses
replied, stripping off his kilt.
“Ready me for our coupling.”
Larra didn’t
hesitate. The fear of punishment
drove her to do what was necessary for her
survival. Approaching Ramses
on her knees, she lowered her head to his flaccid member and took him in
her mouth. It was a most degrading
action, but she dared not risk another
beating. She was not yet fully
recovered from her last session and if she was to escape she needed to be
as strong as possible.
Ramses organ at first refused to
respond. The heavy smell of mead
told Larra why. The pharaoh was
drunk, and he must have consumed quite a bit to be so
unresponsive. Gradually, however,
his organ began to stiffen, but his slow response gave Larra an
idea.
“My lord,” she
asked. “Couldst thou not
remove the chains from my arms that I might better quicken thy
staff? My hands cannot reach
thee when I am confined thus.”
Ramses burped
loudly. For a minute there was
no reply and Larra went back to her oral
stimulation. Then Ramses grunted
and said something to one of the girls who was fanning
him. She scampered from the room
and returned a few seconds later with one of the eunuch
guards. The big man saluted as
he entered the room and Ramses issued him an
order. “Remove her
restraints. I wish her hands
freed.”
The eunuch did not reply, but a few seconds
later Larra felt the chains connecting her elbows being snapped
loose. She was almost
free. Only her ankles remained
chained. “Go now,”
the pharaoh ordered. As the eunuch
left the room Larra took Ramses’ penis in her hands.
She was strongly tempted to crush his testicles,
but now was not the time. She
needed a more intimate moment and she knew she would get her chance very
soon.
Ramses leered at the subservient woman he
had conquered. The haughty female
who had once refused to bow to him was now his obedient
slave. He could tell it from
her demeanor. The defiant look
was gone from her brilliant violet eyes, replaced by one of absolute
submission. As she stroked his
mighty spear he arched his back a little, allowing her better
access. He held out his hand
so that the fan girl could place his chalice of mead in it and took another
sip. He was a little
drunk. It was a pleasant sensation
and one that he had experienced often.
Fortunately it did not affect him mentally or
sexually. If anything mead seemed
to make him even more virile. He
could feel his loins stirring as the exotic white goddess stroked him to
full arousal.
“My lord,” White Hibiscus
murmured. “Should we not
retire to a more private place?”
Even with the stripes of her flogging still
evident the white-skinned beauty was
breath-takingly. As his organ
stirred under her tender ministrations his breath
quickened. Rolling unsteadily
to his feet, he waved the serving girls
away. “Come slave,”
he said. “We will seek my
bedchamber.”
Larra held her breath, hoping that the
pharaoh’s clouded judgment would last long enough for her to get him
alone. Meekly she bowed her head
and followed him to the bedchamber.
Fortunately the serving girls were not used to questioning the
pharaoh’s commands. They
left without a word. For the
first time since her captivity Larra was alone with the pharaoh with her
hands unchained.
Smugly, Ramses turned as he entered the
bedchamber. He could hardly wait
to have his way with the white goddess, and then his eyes widened in surprise
and confusion. A startling change
had come over the previously docile
female. She now faced him with
head held high, her eyes burning with a deadly intensity that would have
had him shaking had he not been so befuddled from several hours of
drinking. He was alert enough,
however, to realize that he was in some
danger. He opened his mouth to
call for the guards.
That was as far as he
got. To his astonishment the
she-demon struck him full in the mouth, shattering his front teeth and knocking
him head over heels across the bed.
He was unconscious before he hit the floor.
Larra shook her hand, ruefully noting the
cuts on her knuckles inflicted by Ramses’
teeth. She should have known
better that to hit him there bare-knuckled, but it had been so
gratifying. However, she was
not finished with him yet. She
needed a way out of the palace and she intended that the pharaoh be her
passport. First, however, she
needed to remove the shackles from her
ankles. Shuffling over to the
pharaoh’s divan she picked up an ornamental spear that hung on the
wall. It was not intended for
military use, but it was strong enough to act as a pry
bar. Inserting one end into the
links she twisted it. With a
slight chinking sound the soft metal
snapped. She then removed the
other end of the chain allowing her freedom of
movement. She still wore the
metal shackles, but now the chain no longer connected
them.
Returning to the pharaoh, she turned him over
and twisted his arms behind his back.
Ramses groaned as consciousness slowly began to
return. Quickly Larra bound his
wrists and ankles, using strips of cloth torn from the
bed. She finished by gagging
him. She did not want him calling
out to the guards. She had something
to explain to him first.
Ramses mouth
hurt. He felt as if he had been
run over by a chariot. As he
regained consciousness the she demon approached
him. She had covered her breasts
and loins with a few strips of cloth she had cut from the
bedclothes. She was amazingly
strong. Without apparent effort
she dragged him to his feet and sat him on the
bed.
“Listen well, oh mighty Son of Ra,”
the demoness said, her violet eyes flashing
dangerously. Her voice was tinged
with sarcasm and Ramses realized that he had badly underestimated
her. He had believed her beaten,
but she had merely been lulling him into a false sense of
security. Suddenly understanding
his danger, he listened attentively while she
spoke. “Thou art my prisoner
now. And I will kill thee at
the slightest hint of treachery.”
To emphasize her point she held the blade of his jeweled ceremonial
dagger to his throat and pressed it against his skin hard enough to break
the skin.
Ramses eyes widened in
fear. He realized now that he
should have had the mysterious white woman burned as a
witch. He would not make the
same mistake again. Once he regained
his freedom he would have her killed in the most painful and brutal manner
he could devise.
“Mmpph!” He gave a muffled cry as the knife was drawn across
his throat.
“Thou art not listening, mighty
pharaoh. Dost thou understand
thy danger?”
Ramses nodded rapidly, his throat dripping
blood. The demon bitch would
cut his throat!
“Good,” she
smiled. “Now listen
carefully. We are going to leave
the palace and thou art going to order thy guards not to hinder
us.”
Ramses continued to
nod. The blade of the knife was
still pressed against his flesh. He
had no choice but to cooperate.
The white demon removed
the gag from his mouth and allowed him to
stand. “Call for thy
servants,” she ordered.
Ramses did as he was
told. Keeping the servants at
bay by threatening his life, the white demon marched him from the room and
out of the palace. His guards
and servants were kept at a distance by the threat to the pharaoh’s
life and the demon was careful not to expose herself in any way so that an
archer might be able to put an arrow into
her. Ramses began to fear that
she might actually escape and take him with
her. Desperately he sought to
wheedle himself out of the situation.
“White Hibiscus,” he said plaintively,
“I give thee thy freedom. Thou
hast my word thou wilt not be hindered when thou
leavest.”
“You have given me quite enough already
mighty Ramses,” Larra replied, dropping the formal language of the
court. She no longer cared to
play that game. “I will
determine my own destiny and hold your life hostage to make sure I get what
I want.”
“I give thee my word as pharaoh thou
will be allowed thy freedom.”
“I would sooner trust a
hyena. A man who preys on helpless
women is not worthy of my trust.
You will do as you are told or I cut your
throat.”
Ramses continued to protest, but Larra cut
him short.
“Enough. I am tired
of your craven yapping. Annoy
me any further and I’ll slit your
nose.” She emphasized her
statement by inserting the point of the knife in his nostril and applying
a bit of pressure.
Ramses fell
silent. He would bide his
time. Sooner or later the demon
would relax her guard and then he would order her
killed. He knew that his archers
were moving into position. It
was only a matter of time before one of them got a clear shot at
her.
Larra marched the cringing pharaoh into the
lower part of the palace. She
had a good idea of where she wanted to
go. During her stay in the harem
she had managed to learn a little about the lost civilization she had stumbled
into. She knew that somewhere
near the city was a mysterious valley that was considered
taboo. It was just the sort of
place that might provide her with
protection. But she would need
proper supplies. Arriving at
the ground floor of the palace she ordered a chariot and enough supplies
to carry her some distance into the
desert. Then she and the reluctant
monarch boarded the chariot and headed out into the
desert.
They were not followed, at least not while
Larra was watching. Ramses’
soldiers seemed to understand that the life of their pharaoh depended on
keeping their distance. Ramses
himself created the strongest opposition, attempting to throw himself off
the speeding chariot as soon as he realized where they were
going. Unfortunately for the
frightened pharaoh Larra had tied him to the chariot and he succeeded only
in painfully wrenching his arms.
“Please White Hibiscus,” he pleaded.
“Don’t go this
way. It is cursed by the
gods. We will both be
destroyed.”
Larra ignored
him. The
Larra reined in the horses as they approached
the entrance to the valley. It
was actually more like a tunnel than a canyon and she was seized with a sense
of uneasiness. She had already
blundered into one trap by being too casual and she decided not to take any
chances. Stopping in the shade
of the narrow canyon, she stepped off the chariot and moved to the rock
face.
“What are you doing?” Ramses screamed
at her in blind panic. “We
can’t stop here. We will
be destroyed!”
Larra returned to the quaking pharaoh, her
face dark with anger. She was
trying to be stealthy and this idiot was giving away her position to anyone
within earshot. Drawing her dagger
she held it to his throat.
“One more outburst and I will leave you here to
die. Now tell me what exactly
is dangerous about this place?”
Ramses
paled. Swallowing he
explained. “The valley is
the sacred resting place of the
Eye
of Thoth. It is guarded
by his priesthood. No one may
enter the valley except as a sacrifice to the god.”
“So if I were to leave you here and you
were discovered you would be
sacrificed?”
Ramses' brown face turned even more
pale. It had suddenly occurred
to him that Larra might abandon him in this place of terrible
danger. “Please White
Hibiscus. Do not leave me
here. I will give you half my
kingdom if you let me go.”
“Hmmm,” replied
Larra. “I’m sure that
is a promise that can be relied upon.
The thought of offering you as a sacrifice victim is very tempting;
almost poetic justice.”
Ramses face showed that he did not understand
Larra’s reference, but he did understand her threat to abandon him at
the entrance to the
Taking out her knife she cut him
loose. “I’m going to
give you a chance, your majesty. It
is more than you did for me. You
can walk home or you can follow me.
It is only a three or four hour trek across the desert, provided you
do not lose your way.”
“If I am forced to go on foot I will
die,” protested Ramses.
“No one can cross the desert without water or transport and
survive.”
“In that case, follow
me. But I warn
you. If you make any more noise
I will cut your throat.”
The determination in Larra’s voice made
Ramses step back. “I will
follow you White Hibiscus,” he said
meekly.
“Good.
You can carry the water.”
Larra unhitched the
horses. She suspected that if
there was water in the canyon they would find
it. In the meantime, since she
did not know how long she would be away it was best to let them
loose. Then, slinging her array
of weapons on her body she began to work her way up the canyon
wall.
Khaemhet
sighed. He was glad to see the
last of the trio of strange women, but regretted the lost
profits. They would have fetched
a king’s ransom, but the pharaoh’s word was
law. With a final look at their
shapely figures he turned away and headed back toward the
city.
“Well,” said Amy, “what
now? Looks like we were too hot
to hold.”
“At least he left us some food and water,”
said Jia Li. “We won’t
die of thirst. At least not right
away.”
“I think there was some reason for placing
us in this particular part of the desert,” commented
Katie. “The slaver could
have brought us anywhere, but he dropped us
here. In any case, I think we
should find someplace cool. It
has been an exhausting march.”
The other two women
nodded. A short distance away
was a narrow cleft in the rocks. It
promised some relief from the scorching
sun. Early that morning
Khaemhet had ordered them from the cell where they had been
imprisoned. Then they had been
roped together and marched from the Egyptian
city. It had been an arduous
trek. Even though they had left
in the cool of the morning the desert heat had reached oppressive levels
by the time Khaemhet had released them.
It was all very confusing.
First they had been captured by the Arab slaver and ravished
repeatedly. Then they had been
sold to Khaemhet; and finally they had been marched into the desert and
abandoned. Still, it was too
far to get back to the Egyptian city that day and Khaemhet had made it very
clear that they were not welcome there
anyway. They had little choice
but to find someway out of their predicament by
themselves.
“I think this canyon goes someplace,”
said Jia Li, who had gone off to do some
exploring. Katie and Amy looked
at her. “I followed it for
a few hundred feet and it seems to be part of some sort of
trail. Perhaps after we are rested
we should see where it goes.”
They ate a little food and drank some of the
water. After their experience
in the slave caravan they were careful not to use it
all. There was no guarantee they
would find more quickly.
Then they headed off down
the canyon.
One benefit of traveling through the canyon was
the fact that they were shaded by its steep
walls. An obvious drawback, however,
was that if they were to run into anything or anyone who might be dangerous
they had very little room to maneuver.
As a result they moved fairly carefully.
The canyon wound around quite a bit, but it was
obvious from the path engraved into its rocky bottom that it had been traveled
before. What concerned the three
women was who had traveled
it before. All of them had had
quite enough of being raped and tortured and they were not looking forward
to running into anyone who might have designs on their
bodies.
An hour of trekking brought them to a section
of the canyon where subtle changes became
noticeable. Where before they
had been walking through an area devoid of vegetation signs of life began
to emerge. It first took the
form of small patches of tough grass, but as they moved deeper into the canyon,
small shrubs began to appear.
“Water,” said Jia Li.
“There has to be water close by.”
They went even more slowly
now. Where there was water there
were likely to be people and they did not want to repeat the mistake of being
captured once more. A few minutes
of creeping noiselessly forward brought a faint sound to their
ears.
“What is that?” queried
Amy. “It’s a sort of
roaring sound.”
All three women
grouped. “Let’s go,”
said Katie. Leading the way the
heavy-breasted blonde moved up the canyon.
The dull roaring sound increased as they crept
forward. Another minute and it
was unmistakable. “A
waterfall,” said Katie.
“But here in the desert?”
The trio rounded a rock outcrop and stopped in
wonder. Thundering across the
canyon was a solid sheet of water.
“Incredible,” said Amy.
“But where does the water go?”
The three women stared at the
cataract. Astonishingly it seemed
to disappear into the ground.
Cautiously they approached the roaring waterfall, not caring that
their robes were soaked by the pounding
spray. After an hour of walking
in the desert heat the cooling mist came as a relief.
Venturing to the edge of the falling waters the
three women saw that the falls entered a giant cavern and disappeared into
the depths of the earth. It appeared
to be the end of the trail.
“How are we going to get around this?” asked
Amy.
“I think we have to go down,” replied
Jia Li. She pointed to where
the trail they had been following descended into the
cavern.
“Can we go down there?” Amy
asked.
“Someone did,” Katie
said. “I can see a crude
handrail along the path.”
“Our only other choice is to go back,”
pointed out Jia Li. “I
don’t think we have a choice.”
The other two women nodded. Neither favoured going back into the desert. They pulled back from the plunging water and ate the rest of their food. Since it was mostly a form of bread it would not survive getting wet. Then, with some misgivings, but believing they had little choice, the trio of beautiful women moved into the cavern.
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