15
FENELLA
Fenella pressed her face to the SUV's window, watching the chaotic Cairo traffic. The city blurred past in a kaleidoscope of colors, honking horns, and more people on the streets than she had seen anywhere else. After the serenity of the village and then the long flight, the sensory assault was overwhelming.
Watching a motorcycle weave between cars with three people balanced precariously on its seat, she asked, "Is it always like this?"
"This is actually light traffic," Kalugal said from the front passenger seat. "Wait until you see rush hour. It's like watching a choreographed disaster that somehow never quite happens."
His driver, a stern-faced man named Ahmed, navigated the chaos with the calm of someone who'd long ago made peace with Cairo's anarchic traffic laws. They were in a convoy of three black SUVs, Kalugal's security detail split between the vehicles.
"How large is this city?" Fenella asked. "I mean people-wise?"
"The Greater Cairo metropolitan area has a population of approximately twenty-two million." Jacki lifted a stuffed toy Darius had dropped and offered it back to him. "But the city proper is home to about eight million."
That was a lot of people, and it seemed like they were all out on the streets.
"How far to your estate?" Din asked.
"Another twenty minutes, assuming no accidents block the roads." Kalugal turned to face them. "You'll love the house. It's an old Ottoman-era mansion I've spent a lot of money restoring."
The city gradually gave way to more affluent neighborhoods, the buildings growing larger and more ornate.
When they finally turned through a set of massive iron gates, Fenella felt like she'd entered another world. The estate was surrounded by high walls topped with decorative ironwork that concealed some very non-decorative security measures.
The house itself took her breath away.
Three stories of honey-colored stone and graceful arches, with intricate wooden balconies and windows screened by latticework. Gardens surrounded it, an oasis of green and serenity in the dusty, noisy city.
As their convoy pulled up to the main entrance, staff emerged from the house like a well-orchestrated welcoming committee. At their head stood a young man in his late twenties, slim and neat in pressed khakis and a white shirt, his smile bright and full of straight white teeth against olive skin.
"Professor Gunter!" He bounded down the steps. "Everything is prepared as you requested. The rooms are aired, and the meal is almost ready to be served, and I have gathered the items you asked us to locate."
It took Fenella a moment to recall that Kalugal used the pseudonym Professor Gunter when traveling, and she wondered if he was also shrouding his appearance to resemble his chosen avatar.
"Excellent work as always, Joseph." Kalugal clapped the young man on the shoulder. "Everyone, this is Joseph, who keeps this place running. Joseph, our guests."
Joseph dipped his head. "Welcome to Cairo. If you need anything during your visit, I am at your service. No request is too small or too strange. The professor has trained me well in anticipating the unexpected."
His English was accented but clear, and his grammar was correct.
When they were ushered inside, Fenella tried not to gape like a tourist. The entrance hall soared three stories high, with a fountain in the center and staircases curving up on either side. The walls were covered in geometric tile patterns that seemed to shift and dance in the light filtering through stained glass windows.
"The bedrooms are on the second floor," Joseph said as other staff took their luggage. "The entire east wing has been prepared for your exclusive use."
Kalugal grinned. "What he means is that he's quarantined you away from my archaeological specimens and reference library.He lives in fear that guests will accidentally break something priceless."
"It happened once," Joseph said. "And the vase was already cracked."
"It was also three thousand years old," Kalugal countered.
Joseph shrugged as if to say it hadn't been his fault that Professor Gunter's guests were clumsy. It made Fenella like him immediately.
As they were shown to their room—a spacious suite with high ceilings and doors opening onto a shared balcony overlooking the gardens, Fenella set her bag on the bed. Annani's figurine was inside, and she was acutely aware of how precious it was and how carefully she needed to handle it.
"Dinner will be served in one hour," Joseph said from the doorway. "I hope it will give you enough time to freshen up." He dipped his head again and closed the door behind him.
Fenella sank onto the bed, suddenly feeling exhausted. The flight, the time difference, and the sensory overload of Cairo hit her all at once.
