Heart of the Gods Read Online Free PDF Page A

fortunately, although with one or two students it had become awkward. Ky knew he was an attractive man. It wasn’t vanity. If he chose he rarely suffered for lack of female companionship but he was particular and so far there had always been something missing.
    He sighed.
    Those eyes looked over his shoulder.
    “You look like him,” she said, tilting her head toward the shelf behind him.
    He followed her gaze and nodded in understanding.
    Reaching for the figurine, he picked it up.
    “So I’ve been told. A souvenir from when I was a boy,” he said, smiling fondly at the figure of General Khai he’d picked up in the Museum gift shop.
    He kept it with him for luck. Next to statues of Nefertiti and King Tut, it had become one of the iconic images of Egypt, used in a thousand pamphlets and videos.
    Looking at it he supposed there was a slight resemblance, his heritage contained enough Middle Eastern blood to convey that―black hair, dark eyes, strong bone structure.
    “It’s probably the reason I got into archaeology,” he said, putting the figurine back. “So, what can we do for you?”
    “More accurately,” she said, with a smile he could only see by the light in her eyes and the way they crinkled, “perhaps I can help you. I understand you’re looking for an ancient language translator?”
    He looked at her. Egypt was one of the more progressive Arabic countries. It wasn’t unusual for women to be highly educated, but she didn’t have the accent. Even so, here in the hinterlands it was somewhat of a rarity, education was a more cosmopolitan thing.
    “Might I come in?” she asked.
    “Yes, of course,” Ky said, gesturing. “Please do.”
    Shutting the door behind her the girl reached up to unfasten the veil and push back the hood of the abaya to reveal a face that easily matched the eyes, fine-boned and fair-skinned. With one hand she freed an abundance of lush, gorgeous, wavy blonde hair, a sunny pale gold in color.
    Few Muslim women would have revealed their hair, much less of that color.
    “You’re not Muslim,” he said.
    Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Now I see why you have the title. Very good, Professor, what was it that gave me away?”
    So, she had a sense of humor. That was very promising.
    “Ohhhh, she’s got you there, boss,” Ryan commented, chuckling. “She’s quick. She’s gonna fit right in.”
    Those deep blue eyes looked at Ky, twinkling. They really were beautiful.
    He had a thing for eyes. Especially pretty blue ones.
    She smiled wryly.
    “I would suggest it’s probably best if you don’t ask where I come from and my skills…?” she continued, and then sighed. “Well, my last employer was not quite, um, legitimate. For that matter, neither am I. My credentials are questionable, although you’re not the first archaeologist I’ve worked for. I have references and recommendations from the others if you’d like to see them.”
    In other words her previous employer was an illegal antiquities dealer―a thief, a tomb raider. Highly illegal these days as the Egyptian government didn’t take well to their treasures being looted and sold to those outside of Egypt. Not that that stopped anyone. As a result there was a huge black market in antiquities, especially these days with religious passions on the rise in the Middle East and US. That made her a bit of a thief, too, if only by association and the knowledge of what they were doing. If she was here illegally then her status was very tenuous, especially as a non-Egyptian and a non-Muslim. She had to be some blend of European with that hair and those eyes, or at least of European descent.
    “What happened to your employer?” Ky asked.
    Her eyes met his, steadily and slightly wryly. “It’s not a trade made for a long life as you probably know. Like many thieves I’m afraid he met someone meaner that he was and he was quite an unpleasant man. They killed him. Quite thoroughly. Although it doesn’t seem to have