Claimed by the Desert

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

By the time Vera's train reached Suez her funds were almost completely depleted. She had never really been on her own or had to manage her own money, so she hadn't been as frugal as she should. Now she had to find a way to get all the way to Oman, a four-day trip at the least, on practically no money.

She blew a few curls out of her eyes and tapped her fingers on the railroad bench as she debated what to do. It was nearly sunset and she really wanted to rent a room for the night even if it wasn't the most sensible thing.  Thinking of her father and Kareem, Vera decided she needed to do what was best for them and not for herself.

"Excuse me?" Vera asked the railroad employee behind the ticket counter. "What would be the best way to get from here to Oman?"

He smiled at her and replied, "There are many ferry ships in the canal that travel to that area, to which city are you traveling?"

Vera hesitated. This was the first time she had spent any considerable time away from the train for days and even though she had an iron railroad spike and Halsten's dagger in her satchel, she was unsure whether or not she was safe from Amias.

Deciding she had no other option but to trust this man, Vera crossed her fingers and said, "I'm not sure. Which city is nearest Selma Plateau?"

He shrugged before turning and speaking to one of the other employees in Arabic. 

"Amir says the closest city would be Sur," he said as he turned back toward her. "He says there are villages that are closer, but none with a sea port to get to by ferry."

Vera smiled at them and called her thanks as she rushed away toward the canal. Perhaps if she made it there soon she could find a ship leaving this very evening.

When she finally arrived, the first thing she noticed was that the docks were even more crowded than the railway station. She was shoved and bumped into several times before she figured out how to move with the busy crowd.  It took her ages to find a ferry in all the madness, and even longer to find someone to tell her how much it would cost.

It wasn't long before Vera found herself once again sitting on a bench contemplating what to do. She had been told the ferry ride to Oman would cost much more money than she possessed and she had no way of making any more. The farthest she could travel on her meager funds was Hurgada, and that wasn't even out of Egypt.

Vera placed her head in her hands and groaned. She was a failure at being a heroine. She had begged Halsten and her father for years to stop being overprotective and let her go off on her own, but the truth was she hadn't even managed three days without them.

"Traveling to Sur, huh?" a man's voice said from the seat next to her.

Vera jumped in fright, not sure when he had sat down without her noticing.  Her fear increased astronomically as she saw the red flecks around the man's iris.

"Now, why would you want to do that?" 

His hand clamped down on her wrist before she could even think about getting away.

"Let me go, Amias," she snapped with more bravery than she felt.

"No, I don't think I will," he replied, his eyes glowing a brighter red in his anger. "Did you honestly think I would let you go? I told you before that you can't run from me. I'll always find you, Vera."

"I said, let go!" she shouted again, as she slashed at him with the dagger from her bag.

He immediately recoiled from the metal, letting go of her wrist long enough for her to leap up and race away. Her fear-addled brain was telling her to just keep running, but Vera knew he would eventually catch up to her. Her only shot was to find some place surrounded by iron where she could hide out for a while to think up a plan.