Sting of the Scorpion Read Online Free PDF Page A

them, they walked in a straight line over them. It was easier than having to decide which valley to follow. Ramose stopped. Up ahead he saw something glint in the sunlight. It was a reflection of the blue sky.
    “The devil’s mirror,” said Ramose hoarsely, pointing to the reflection.
    Karoya looked to where he was pointing. She nodded. Her knees collapsed beneath her, as if the effort of nodding had taken all the energy she had. She slumped to the ground. Hapu collapsed next to her. Ramose kept his eyes on the bright glint of reflected light. This mirage was more detailed than the ones he’d seen before. He could actually see faint images of palm fronds. Ramose thought it must be the effects of lack of water. He stumbled a few more steps. The reflection disappeared, but the image of the palm tree grew clearer.
    “I must be close to death,” he whispered, though the words couldn’t get out of his parched mouth. “I’m seeing things.”
    He shuffled up the gentle slope of the next sand dune, but his legs crumpled beneath him. He crawled on his hands and knees, as the palm fronds in front of him multiplied and tamarisks appeared as well. Suddenly, the sand beneath him sprouted tufts of dry grass. He crawled to the top of the dune. A green valley stretched before him. A forest of date palms, tamarisks and acacia trees sprung from the ground. In the middle of the trees was a pool of water, perfectly reflecting the sky. Ramose stared.
    He croaked out a call to his friends. They struggled to their feet and made their way very slowly to the top of the shallow dune. They blinked as they stared at the brilliant vision of green and blue—colours they hadn’t seen for days and days.
    “Is it real?” Hapu’s voice was a hoarse whisper. “Or have we passed into the underworld?”
    Ramose stood up and took a few steps towards the trees and the pool. They didn’t edge further away as he approached, as the heat haze had. Instead they grew closer. He could see that the palms were laden with dates. Ramose found a last reserve of energy and ran towards the pool. He splashed into the water and then fell full length. The coolness of the water took his breath away. He gulped in mouthfuls of it.
    “It’s real,” he spluttered.

4
ORACLE OF THE OASIS
    Karoya and Hapu approached the pool more cautiously. Karoya dipped her fingers into the water and scooped up a handful. She drank it and then sank to her knees to drink more. Hapu stood ankle-deep in the water and cried.
    “I don’t understand how there can be a pool of water in the middle of the desert,” Hapu said, after they had drunk their fill. The water had a bitter, salty taste, but no one was complaining. They were sitting in the shade of a tamarisk tree chewing on the dried-up dates that had fallen on the ground. No one had the strength yet to climb one of the palms for the fresher fruit.
    “It’s an oasis,” said Ramose.
    “Without them nomads wouldn’t be able to survive,” said Karoya.
    “But where does the water come from?” asked Hapu, still puzzled.
    “It comes up from the great invisible river that runs beneath the earth,” replied Karoya.
    Hapu shook his head in disbelief. “It’s like magic.”
    Ramose didn’t want to spoil his friends’ good mood, but he was already thinking of what lay ahead of them.
    “The Nile is still many, many cubits away and we only have one small waterskin and nothing but dates to eat.”
    “We can live here for a long time,” said Karoya. “There will be snakes, birds, frogs. We can find things to eat.”
    “And stay here until we grow old?” Hapu didn’t like the idea.
    “No,” replied Karoya. “We will wait until the next nomads arrive.”
    “That could be ages.”
    “It might be months, yes. Do you have a better idea?”
    Hapu didn’t.
    The sun was low in the sky.
    “It will be getting cold soon,” said Karoya. “We need to collect fuel to make a fire.”
    The three friends walked around the oasis