TWENTY-SIX
Muffled shouting as the camels drew to a halt caught Philemon's attention first. The rough descent as his camel sank to its knees confirmed it. They'd arrived somewhere. Their destination, perhaps? A long moment passed, but no one unloaded his water bag, so he pushed at the stopper to peep at his surroundings.
A desert nomad camp stretched out across the sand, brightly coloured tents huddled together against the surrounding dunes. The men who had assembled to greet the small caravan wore clothing as patched as the tents. Despite its size, this was not a prosperous camp.
A clinking sound drew everyone's attention away from the new arrivals.
Could it be Rahat?
The crowd parted to let a man through. A man who looked like he'd raided his mother's jewel chest and had no idea
