Free The Horned Viper by Gill Harvey

sir?’ he asked.
    Hat-Neb waved his hand in Hopi’s direction. ‘I believe you are responsible for this.’
    The doctor appeared startled to see the viper. ‘A snake! Whatever do you mean?’
    Hopi looked dismayed. ‘You told me to bring it on board!’ he exclaimed.
    Tutmose gave a cracked laugh. ‘Absurd,’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen this creature before in my life.’ He made a show of looking closely at the snake from different angles, then turned back to Hat-Neb. ‘But I can tell you what it is. This is a horned viper. You will be pleased to hear that it is not as dangerous as a cobra, but it is a menace, all the same. Most irresponsible to bring such a thing on to the boat.’
    Hat-Neb leaned back on his cushions and turned to the other adults in the room. ‘I have no choice,’ he said, his voice regretful. ‘Tutmose is right: this is a danger, a danger to us all. The boy must be punished.’ He sighed, as though it were a great inconvenience.
    Isis felt herself go cold. She knew that Hopi had told the truth. Everyone waited, tense.
    Hat-Neb reflected for a moment. Then he gave a shrug. ‘Shut him in the hold,’ he instructed. ‘See if he enjoys having nothing but a snake for company.’
    Hopi’s face was still as he lowered the viper back into its basket. He didn’t look at anyone as he followed Nebo out of the cabin. All Isis could think of, as she watched the hatch being closed over him, was how it would feel to be alone, shut in the hold in the darkness.

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    CHAPTER SEVEN
    Hopi heard the hatch bang shut. He groped his way over to the stores of grain and flung himself down on the sacks. He was furious. Tutmose had betrayed him! After all that talk about the snake . . . Hopi couldn’t believe it. He thumped the sack of grain beneath him, reliving the look in the doctor’s eyes as he had lied outright. How could he! How could he?
    Eventually he calmed down. It was very dark, but slowly his eyes adjusted. He could hear the footsteps on the deck above, the lapping of the Nile waters and the creaking of the wooden planks. And he could hear voices, but they were too muffled to understand. He soon found that he didn’t mind his punishment too much. It was actually quite peaceful. The warm air in the hold made him drowsy, and he drifted off to sleep.
    When he woke, he was hungry. He could just about see, so he could tell that night had not yet fallen. He clambered over to the food caskets, opened one and felt inside. Dried figs! He stuffed one into his mouth before moving on to the next casket. That one was full of dates, and the next one packed with raisins. Hopi grinned. He wasn’t going to be hungry for long.
    His stomach full, he began to feel bored. He decided to explore the hold more thoroughly, for something to do. He felt his way along the food stores – sacks of emmer wheat and barley, dried lentils and beans, a sealed pot of honey, rich pastries. There were all the mats, stakes and linens for the camp shelters. Then came a row of statues, carved in both wood and stone . . . and at the end of the hold, animal skins, cured and made into hangings and rugs.
    The light was fading. His exploration complete, Hopi groped his way back along the sides of the hold, feeling the lining of thick grass that was supposed to soak up any leaks in the wooden planking. And then he stopped. His fingers touched something different. A leather pouch, buried in a thick tuft of grass. Hopi pulled it out. The pouch had a leather thong that tied it shut at the top. Fumbling in excitement, he undid the knot.
    Inside, there were two little bottles, three smaller pouches and a tiny box. Hopi brought them out, one by one, feeling every last detail in the gloom. He sniffed them. Strange, unfamiliar scents reached his nostrils. Carefully, he tucked the big pouch under his arm and opened the box. He sniffed again. A powerful, pungent odour knocked him back. With one finger, he felt to see what sort of substance it was.