I was frowning at the patient when I realized the light had taken on a peculiar intensity. The patterns in the panels began to throb in a kaleidoscopic swirl. I felt Ikram’s hand on my arm as I lost consciousness.

Twelve

A damp animal slithered across my face. I attempted to knock it off, but my arms were pinned down firmly and voices admonished me. Panic overwhelmed me with the ferociousness of a sandstorm, sucking away my breath and causing my heart to thump erratically. I jerked my arms free, rolled onto my side, and shouted, “Where am I? Who are you?”

I could not understand the babbled replies. I forced my eyes open and saw patterns of bright colors on the wall and women hovering around me. A washcloth, rather than a drowned jerboa (a long-eared desert rodent, as most of my Readers know), was draped across my forehead. After a lengthy moment to think this over, I sat up. I knew where I was (the Bedouin camp) and who the women were (Bedouin wives, widows, and maidens), but I could not come up with an adequate explanation for why I was lying on a mat. “What happened?” I demanded.

“Too much sun,” Omar answered from a polite distance. “My mother begs you to stay on the mat and drink water until you feel stronger. My sister has a bowl of broth for you. We were all very worried, Sitt Hakim, even though you have a reputation for fortitude and bravery.”

“Thank you.” I accepted a cup of water and sipped it until my memory reorganized itself. “I suppose I must have fainted, which I rarely do. One must acknowledge the intensity of the desert sun at its pinnacle, but I was frantic to find Herr Morgenstern before he became hopelessly lost. “Is he doing better?” My question was perfunctory, since I knew he was in grave danger from the heatstroke. I rather wished Nefret was on hand to offer medical advice, but I would have been furious had she followed me on my foolish trek into the desert.

Omar winced. “I am sorry that I cannot tell you that his condition has improved. He is in and out of craziness, at times allowing my mother to bathe his face in water, and then trying to shove her aside and stagger to his feet. Sheikh Nasir el-Din has not yet decided what to do with him.”