Read Online The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas - Free Book Online Page A

laughter of both frustration and mirth.
    She reached out toward him again.
    Kashkari bolted upright, breathing hard.
    Titus and Fairfax scrambled to their feet. “You all right?” she asked.
    Kashkari looked up at them, blinked, and gasped.
    They both immediately glanced behind. But no enemy was approaching from the outside. All the same, Titus gestured for Fairfax to go to Kashkari while he himself took up a defensiveposition near the mouth of the cave.
    â€œIs something wrong?” she asked, kneeling down beside their friend.
    Kashkari rubbed his face. “No, I’m fine. Probably got startled by a dream, that’s all. Where are we? And what time is it? How long have I been sleeping?”
    â€œWe are in the hills west of Luxor, across the Nile. And it’s . . .” She hesitated. “It’s sometime past noon.”
    â€œWhat?” Titus exclaimed. “How long did you let me sleep? I should have left hours ago.”
    â€œYou needed your rest. A few hours won’t make any difference one way or the other.”
    â€œThey very well might,” he shot back.
    â€œLet me—let me go outside for a moment,” said Kashkari.
    Titus had already begun to apply cleaning spells to himself as Kashkari slowly got up. As the latter made for the mouth of the cave, he went deeper inside, to a different chamber, and changed into a fresh set of clothes that had been part of the rebels’ battle supplies.
    When he reemerged, Fairfax was waiting. She lifted his tunic from behind and ministered to his back. Then she opened a small jar, also part of the rebels’ kit, and dabbed some balm on his lips. “You never look after yourself,” she said.
    Her touch was gentle and warm. Her words fell somewhere between an accusation and a lament.
    â€œI will learn.”
    She shook her head. “That’ll be the day.”
    He took her hand as they walked out. The cave was near the top of a completely barren hill, its rocky bones baking in the hot sun of the afternoon. The land dropped off in the distance, the brown, bare ground abruptly turning into startlingly green fields as it neared the Nile, the lifeblood of Egypt. And on the other side of the river sprawled Luxor, with its ancient ruins and modern brick buildings, both very nearly the same color as the desert beyond.
    About fifty feet away, Kashkari sat on a small outcrop, his head in his hands.
    A thought came to Titus. “You think he has dreamed of my death?” he asked under his breath.
    Her hand tightened around his. “He had better not.”
    His mother’s vision of his early demise was easier to deny on its own. Corroborated by Kashkari, it would be that much harder to pretend that there was any escape from a fate that had already been written.
    Kashkari rose and headed in their direction.
    â€œWill you drop in on my guardian in Paris, if you can?” Fairfax asked Titus.
    â€œThat is already on my itinerary,” he told her. “And will you take some rest? You have been awake too long.”
    She nodded.
    When they met up with Kashkari, Titus asked outright, “You have any prophetic dreams I should know about before I head out?”
    Something flickered across Kashkari’s face, but his answer was mild and even. “I’ll let you know when I do. In the meanwhile, may Fortune walk with you.”
    They shook hands. Titus embraced Fairfax. Then he took a deep breath and vaulted.
    Iolanthe stared at the empty spot where he had been.
    Every good-bye could be their last.
    â€œHe loves you,” said Kashkari quietly, “in a way that is beyond me.”
    She turned to him. “Thank you . . . and is it gauche to admit that I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean?”
    Kashkari smiled a little. He seemed back to his old self. “What I mean is that you are everything to him. When he sees you, he sees the one with whom he has been to hell and back—the one who