VALLEY OF KINGS MICHAEL NORTHROP SCHOLASTIC INC.
For Ronald Martin Solan Artist, soldier, Porter Street irregular Copyright 2015 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. scholastic, tombquest, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Library of Congress Control Number: 2014959843 ISBN 978-0-545-72340-4 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 16 17 18 19/0 Printed in the U.S.A. 23 First edition, August 2015 Book design by Keirsten Geise Scholastic US: 557 Broadway New York, NY 10012 Scholastic Canada: 604 King Street West Toronto, ON M5V 1E1 Scholastic New Zealand Limited: Private Bag 94407 Greenmount, Manukau 2141 Scholastic UK Ltd.: Euston House 24 Eversholt Street London NW1 1DB
Something was wrong. Luke? Alex croaked, but he could barely form the word. Wait, he thought. Was Luke even in here? He was having a hard time remembering anything before... Chalky sediment kicking up inside a clear plastic cup... Luke s cup empty... Luke out cold. The water. They d been drugged! Alex tried to get up but his body felt so heavy that the best he could do was roll out of his bunk. He thunked heavily down onto the floor, his numb body barely registering the impact. His breathing suddenly felt as thick and labored as his thoughts. He managed to raise his right hand up and flop it limply against the wall until he hit the light switch. The room brightened, but his vision blurred. Luuuuke! he wailed, but it came out as little more than a breathy whisper. He paused to gather more breath, to try again. And that s when he heard the door s little lock click back. Alex tried to turn his head, but it was taking too long. He flopped over onto his back and looked up as the door slid open. 56
It was the beefy businessman from the dining car. The man stood there for a moment, his large frame outlined against the black windows behind him, the Egyptian night rushing by. Alex now understood just what sort of business he did, and for whom. The man took a long, quiet step forward and closed the door behind him. He looked down at Alex, smiled, and shook his head. Then he dropped a small metal key into the right pocket of his suit jacket and took a loop of white plastic out of the left... a zip tie. Alex had seen them before, had felt them cutting into the skin of his wrists and hands. Once they were on, they had to be cut off. Alex flopped his hand around his chest and found his amulet. But it was under his T-shirt, and getting it out from under there seemed impossible. He pushed his hand up to his neck but his fingers were too numb to grab the thin silver chain. Luke, Alex said through lips he couldn t quite feel. The soft mumble was mostly drowned out by the rumbling train. But the next sound was much louder... KKLONNK! he heard as a hand shot out from the top bunk and clocked the intruder in the head with a shiny new ten-pound dumbbell. THWUMMP, he heard as the man collapsed heavily to the floor. His forehead smacked Alex s shin, but Alex barely felt it. Luke s head appeared over the edge of the bunk. 57
I couldn t let him take you, he said. You d never come back. Alex stared at him incredulously. But... you were drugged, he managed. The water... His words were soft and slurred, but Luke seemed to hear them all right. Luke raised his eyebrows. Like I said: proper hydration is important. All my coaches say that. And that water did not look proper. I poured it out. I ve got a big bottle of water anyway.