Oracles of Delphi Keep (44 page)

He was just about to point it out to the others, but whatever had caught his eye disappeared behind a large rock, not to reappear. Ian watched the spot where the figure should have come out, but as their boat traveled farther upstream, the rock became small and any hope of spotting the form was lost.

“What are you looking at?” Carl asked, interrupting Ian’s concentration.

“I thought I saw someone walking just onshore,” he said, sitting up to squint into the bright sunlight.

“A man?” asked Perry, turning to give Ian his full attention.

Ian nodded. “Yes, sir, I think so. Just over there,” he said, pointing to the rock in the distance.

Perry looked around at the terrain they were passing. Much of it was rocky and dry with bits of scrub lining the river. “It would be very odd for someone to walk along these shores,” he said. “There’s not even a path to make it easy for foot traffic.” Turning to Jaaved, Perry said something in French. Jaaved replied, shaking his head.

“What’d you ask him?” Ian said.

“I asked if there was a road along the river. He said there
wasn’t, that the terrain was too difficult to navigate by horse or camel.”

“Probably just your eyes playing tricks on you,” said Carl, patting Ian’s shoulder.

Ian frowned. His insides still felt uneasy.

T
he day dragged. There was almost no traffic on the river, and the shoreline became one long repetitive picture of scrub, rock, and bare earth. Ian tried to doze, knowing he’d need his wits about him when they landed.

Finally, toward late afternoon, Jaaved pointed ahead and announced, “Lixus!”

Everyone turned to look and Ian felt his heart sink. The ancient city was nothing more than a cluster of steep hills with a few crumbling ruins that were barely recognizable as anything man-made. The lost city was hardly worth all the fuss that the professor seemed to make of it.

But Ian’s disappointment was in stark contrast with the professor’s enthusiasm as the boat drew nearer and nearer. “Would you look at that?” he whispered next to Ian. “What a wonderful sight for these old, sore eyes!”

“Doesn’t look like much to me,” Carl said.

“Of course not,” said the professor. “To your untrained eye it hardly looks like anything is left after all this time, correct?”

“That’s because there
is
hardly anything left,” Carl insisted. “I mean, look at it, sir. Just a few crumbling rocks. What’s there to get excited about?”

The professor smiled patiently. “Carl, what you don’t see is what’s under the surface. This was once a thriving city, with people from all over the known world coming here to trade and experience the wonder of Moroccan culture, textiles, and spices.”

Carl glanced back at the site, his face registering doubt. “Still looks like a pile of rubble to me.”

The professor chuckled softly, and then he said something that struck Ian as a very important thing to keep in mind. “What you must remember, lad, is that to find a bit of treasure, you must first locate the ruins.”

Ian thought that was a rather genius perspective, and he studied what was left of Lixus with renewed interest before asking, “Whatever happened to it? The city, I mean. Why did people stop living there?”

The professor squinted into the distance of the hills. “Several reasons,” he answered. “Lixus suffered some significant changes of power between the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians, then the Romans, who made it a military outpost. It saw a small revival under the Roman emperor Claudius the First, but sadly, as that particular empire faded from the landscape, so did this city. It became increasingly hard to defend and eventually its inhabitants abandoned it.”

“What happened to all the people?” asked Theo, and Ian smiled, because it was just like her to worry about other people.

“Most of them relocated downriver to Larache. Others became nomadic shepherds who staked out territories near the river.”

“And no one lives there now?” asked Carl.

“Not to my knowledge,” said the professor; then he eyed Jaaved, who was bouncing with enthusiasm as they crisscrossed the river ever closer to the ruins. “Of course, according to our pilot here, there is one resident in the form of his grandfather.”

“We should get ready to go ashore, then,” said Thatcher, and he made his way from the stern to the middle of the boat and took a seat next to the mast, where he unpacked the two large backpacks and Jaaved’s smaller knapsack. Placing their contents carefully onto the bottom of the boat, he began organizing them into three piles. Curious about what his schoolmaster was doing, Ian scooted next to Thatcher and asked, “Do you need some help?”

Thatcher glanced at him. “Yes, thank you, Ian,” he said. “I think we should take to shore only those items we’ll truly need for our excavations, like this shovel and one of the tents and perhaps one of those torches.”

“Won’t we need the rest of the supplies?” Ian asked, looking at the other tent, a few canned goods, and the fishing poles.

“We can come back to the boat as we need things,” Thatcher said reasonably. “And if for some reason we have to make a hasty retreat, we won’t need to worry that we’ve left all of our supplies in one location. We can rely on what we’ve got in the boat to see us safely back to Larache.”

“That’s good thinking, sir,” Ian said admiringly.

Thatcher gave him a sardonic smile. “Thank you,” he said. “Now, tuck this pack under the mainsail, would you? Oh, and here are your personal items,” he added, handing Ian his light, his pocketknife, his compass, and the prophecy.

“Thank you, sir,” said Ian, taking the items.

As he was stuffing his pockets with his things, Ian heard a shout from the shore and looked up to see a tall bearded man with a sizable belly. He was wearing a long white linen tunic and waving to them.

Jaaved shouted,
“Bonjour, Grand-pére!”
and waved back with vigor.

Ian and Carl scooted to the bow of the boat, anxious to help tie it up when they finally docked. As their sloop cruised the last few meters, Jaaved’s grandfather limped his way down the dock and stood at one of the pilings, ready to assist them. Jaaved navigated the sailboat closer and pulled up on one of the ropes, which dropped the small sail. Ian was impressed with the Moroccan boy’s handling of the vessel as it sidled up easily to the dock and was stopped with little effort when Jaaved’s grandfather put one foot on the bow and took the lead line that Ian handed to him.
“Bonjour!”
said the older man with a wide toothy grin as he quickly wound the rope around the piling.

The professor rose and greeted the man in French, and the two had a little chat while Perry and Thatcher quickly jumped to the dock and secured all the other lines. Jaaved wrapped a cord around the rudder before leaping out of the boat to fiercely embrace his grandfather. Ian was touched by the exchange and realized that he had developed a fondness
for Jaaved and his patient, gentle nature. He could tell that Jaaved’s grandfather had that same quality. He knew he was going to like the old man.

Ian turned away then to see about getting everyone onshore, and he noticed that the professor was already working his way slowly out of the boat. He jumped to help him, sensing that Professor Nutley might not be as spry as he used to be. After the professor had made it safely onto the dock and continued conversing in French with Jaaved’s grandfather, Ian held his hand out to Theo and she joined the group. Carl was busy getting his sword through his belt loop, and the moment it was bonded to his side, he leapt ashore with ease. While Ian was still in the boat, he handed Thatcher and Perry the two backpacks that would accompany them to shore, and finally made his way onto the dock, only then realizing he was the last person waiting to be introduced to Jaaved’s grandfather.
“Bonjour,”
Ian said to him, working to pronounce the word correctly and extending his hand.

“Hello, young man,” said Jaaved’s grandfather as he took Ian’s hand into his own.

Ian was startled. “Oh! I didn’t know you spoke English,” he said. “I’m Ian Wigby, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, my good young man. You may call me Jifaar. I am Jaaved’s grandfather. Professor Nutley told me you were from England. I assumed it would be easier to converse in your native tongue.”

“Yes, thank you, sir,” Ian said, then looked down at his shoes as he struggled for something else to say. He hadn’t expected Jifaar to be so civilized.

He was saved from having to make further small talk when Jifaar said, “Come along, everyone. I was just about to break bread. Won’t you join me for a meal?”

Carl nodded eagerly. “We’d love to!” he said, and hurried to the old man’s side. Ian allowed Theo and Jaaved to go ahead of him, then followed while Jifaar led them to the front of his house, where a large rug was laid out on the dirt under a tree. Jifaar told them all to make themselves comfortable on the rug; then he motioned to his grandson and they disappeared inside the house.

While they waited for their host to return, Ian had a chance to take in their surroundings. He was surprised that what he had first thought was a rather shabby-looking shack was actually a neat and tidy small wooden home, complete with a porch strung with two hammocks and a yard outlined with stones.

There was also a well-tended garden to the side of the house, and a weathered wheelbarrow and a rusty watering can showed definite signs of use.

The enormous tree they were under was close enough to the small house to give it plenty of shade and protect the garden from the long, hot rays of the afternoon sun.

In the distance, three hills rolled up from the flat plain, and the skeletal remains of a teeming city lay in crumbling ruin in clumps along them.

“Rather gloomy-looking up there, isn’t it?” Theo whispered to him.

“I was thinking the same thing,” he said. “I wonder where the professor intends for us to start looking for the Star.”

“It’s an awful lot of territory to cover,” whispered Carl, on his other side.

“I wish we knew where to find our Seeker,” said Ian. “It seems like he should have shown himself by now, don’t you think?”

“It does,” said Theo. She looked like she was about to say something more but Jifaar and Jaaved came out again. The older man’s expression appeared concerned. His arms were laden with a huge tray of fruit and fish while his grandson carried another tray, loaded with a pitcher and several glasses. Ian jumped to his feet and hurried over to help Jifaar. “Allow me, sir,” he said.

“Thank you, Ian,” their host said, handing him the tray. “Come sit and let’s chat about your journey.”

When everyone had a portion of fish, fruit, and drink, Jifaar said, “My grandson tells me you are being pursued by some kind of wild beast.”

The professor nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

Over the course of their meal, he explained the troubles they’d had since coming to Morocco, but Ian noticed that he was careful not to elaborate on how exactly the six of them had gotten there.

“And you are here looking for the Star?” asked Jifaar. Ian was surprised that he’d made that leap so quickly, but then he reasoned that Jifaar had probably seen the shovel sticking out of one of the backpacks.

The professor smiled, and Ian realized that the old man wasn’t likely to get much past Jaaved’s grandfather. “It had crossed our minds,” he said.

Jifaar leaned his back against the trunk of the tree and
placed his hands across his large belly. “If you believe the rumors,” he said, with a playful twinkle in his eye, “then you will have heard that the Star has already been discovered. A group of Germans came upon it and smuggled it back to their country.”

Ian gasped and looked round at all the other shocked faces—except for Theo’s. “No,” she said slowly, as if feeling her way along the truth. “That’s not true. They haven’t found it. They found something similar. The real Star of Lixus is still out there.”

Jifaar appeared surprised. He looked sharply at Theo and asked, “How do you know this, sweet lady?”

Theo gave him a level look. “The same way you do, sir.”

The old man threw his head back and laughed, slapping his knee and pointing to her.

“What’s so funny?” asked Carl.

Jifaar winked at Theo. “The young lady knows without being told, am I correct? She sees the future of things before they happen?”

“She does,” said the professor, and Ian wiggled protectively closer to Theo. He wasn’t sure if Jifaar would scoff at her, and was ready to defend her if he needed to.

But Jifaar surprised him when he gave her an admiring smile. “My grandson’s mother was also blessed,” he said, nodding toward Jaaved. “Such a lovely woman, and a shame that she passed so young.” Ian looked at Jaaved, who was happily eating a pomegranate, seemingly oblivious to their conversation.

Perry spoke up next. “So am I to understand that Theo is correct? That the Star has not been found?”

Jifaar nodded. “Oh, yes, the young miss is correct, but everyone across these lands believes the Star has been stolen.” Jifaar’s eyes were still filled with mirth, and Ian was having a hard time following their host’s train of thought.

Carl must have shared his perspective, because he said, “I don’t understand. Why does that make you smile?”

Jifaar’s grin widened while he explained. “Several weeks ago a German patrol came up the river and stopped at my door. They showed me papers and said they were under special orders from their leader to find the Star of Lixus. They were so arrogant,” he said, and spat into the dirt. “So, I told them I knew exactly where they should look for their precious gem.”

“Where?” asked Perry, and Ian realized he was holding his breath. Perhaps Jifaar was their Seeker after all.

But Jifaar smiled wickedly, as if he were the holder of a particularly hilarious joke, and said, “I sent them to the Jichmach.”

“The Jichmach?” Perry repeated.

Jifaar nodded. “They are a rival tribe to us. My son, Jaaved’s uncle Raajhi, leads the Jstor. We are keepers of this ancient land. The Jichmach would like nothing better than to take this fertile soil near the river for their own. It was good that they encountered the Germans. It taught them a lesson.”