Free Anubis Nights by Gary Jonas Page B

“I just want to go buy a nice breakfast somewhere.”
    The guard hesitated.
    “Joseph does need to see a doctor sometime today,” Brand said. “Or you could pull the tube out and let him die. Your call.”
    The guard sighed. “All right.” He pulled his ring of keys, fumbled through them, and inserted one into the lock. He swung the door open, and Brand stepped out of the cell.
    “Thanks,” Brand said and handed him the two hundred dollars. “You have a nice day.”
    “You too.”
    Brand strode down the corridor past rows and rows of cells, ignoring the prisoners inside. He hesitated at a juncture but figured if he went left, he’d eventually find an exit. The clomping of his boots echoed as he moved along the hallway. A few minutes later, he found the exit. There were offices and a guard at a station, but Brand simply tipped his hat to the guard as he passed, acting as if he belonged there, and stepped out onto the street into 1877 New York City.
    The smell outside was almost as foul as the smell inside. Brand shrugged. He’d smelled worse in his day. He tugged his jacket tighter against the cold wind and went in search of breakfast. While he was surprised he hadn’t seen Esther yet, he figured she’d appear soon. Regardless, he knew he’d spend the rest of the day getting ready to begin the hunt for Winslow. That meant buying a gun, getting a room, and buying a ticket to San Francisco before doing the legwork to find Winslow’s future mother. Brand shook his head. Whoever let Winslow read Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex should have been shot.
     
    KELLY CHAN
     
    From the moment we appeared in Egypt, I felt nauseated, but I knew better than to let Jonathan see that. I needed him to believe I was as strong and stalwart as ever, so I soldiered through, but by the time the wizard Aye showed us the bedroom, I was struggling to keep anything in my stomach. I didn’t know if it was the time travel or the shots, but either way, I felt terrible.
    As soon as Jonathan left the room, I rushed into the latrine and vomited.
    I dropped to my knees and tried to control my breathing.
    My head spun but I didn’t want to pass out in the bathroom. I struggled to my feet, felt my stomach flip again, and had to let go with another round of vomiting into the latrine. I tipped my head back, closed my eyes, drew a deep breath, and let it out slowly. When I opened my eyes, the room spun on me, and I put a hand out to brace myself against one of the privacy walls. I doubled over, breathing like a pregnant woman doing Lamaze thousands of years before it was developed. I wasn’t pregnant but I was sick.
    I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been sick. Probably when I was twelve, going through Sekutar training before they’d magically engineered our pain away. I’d failed in holding a stance for fifteen hours, so the instructor took away my food ration for a week. I got water but nothing else. After six days of intense physical training without any food and very little sleep, my body gave out on me and I collapsed. They were forced to feed me then, but that just meant they found more creative ways to punish me.
    Not that I cared about that these days. After all, the torture and the training and the suffering made me into the woman I am today, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
    The damage I’d suffered at the claws and teeth of a destroyer back in April seemed to be hanging on. The healers had done their best, but their best just wasn’t good enough, and now I wondered if my best would be good enough.
    When the world finally settled down, I staggered back to the bedroom, collapsed on the bed, and passed out.

     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    JONATHAN SHADE
     
    Kelly put on a good show, but I knew she was wiped out. I wanted to help somehow, but she prided herself on being strong, capable, and self-sufficient. One thing I’ve learned in my years of dealing with things that go bump in the night and the