“Explain,” Montu growled, keeping his gun at his side.
Xander’s eyes slowly surveyed the group of Medjay silently watching him, fingering their weapons, waiting for an acceptable explanation. His gaze settled on Leila. He looked anything but amused.
Please, just talk. We’re almost there.
Xander looked away. He cleared his throat and started with the basic details of the bombing that Leila was sure most of them already knew, but in addition, he explained the accusations against Soliman. “He was last seen on museum surveillance, walking through the labs with a box. Thirty minutes before the explosion, he walked through the museum, including the gallery where the bomb went off in a trash can.”
After a moment of contemplative silence, Montu was the first to speak. “So it would appear that Soliman delivered a bomb.”
“Right,” Xander deadpanned.
“Emphasis on appear,” Drake added pointedly.
“This is outrageous,” Pakhet snapped, her voice full of indignation. “Soliman would never blow up a museum.”
The Medjay all murmured their agreement.
“Artifacts would have been inside that box,” Hapi said.
“He would die before hurting others,” Onuris concurred.
“You speak lies.” Pakhet pulled out a dagger and took a step toward Xander.
Montu lifted his disfigured hand and Pakhet stopped. “I think we can all agree his information has value. Killing him too soon won’t help us.”
A few of the Medjay nodded silently, while others continued to direct their glares at Xander.
“And I think we can gather from the information that Al-Rashid is orchestrating this,” Montu continued.
“He must be stopped,” Onuris said, “before he blows up another museum.”
“But how?” one of the twins asked, Leila was pretty sure it was Pihor.
Montu shifted away from Xander, and Leila sighed. Xander was out of immediate danger. She had to keep the focus on Al-Rashid. She couldn’t let the Medjay forget he was the real enemy.
“We do what he says,” Leila blurted out.
Gasps of indignation radiated among the group.
“What I mean is, we find the scrolls and use them as a lure,” she added before they could accuse her of trying to help Faris. If they sicced Bastet on her, she’d probably lose more than just her tongue.
Montu directed his glare at her. “Do you know what’s on those scrolls?”
“Yes.” Behind her back, Leila curled her hands into fists. “Why do you think Faris wants them so badly?”
“You’d have to be insane to bring them out of their hiding place,” Montu said in a dangerously low voice. “No one goes near the scroll, especially not you. You’ve already broken one oath, so how do we know you haven’t broken others? How do we know you aren’t working for Al-Rashid?”
Leila clenched her teeth. This was not how she wanted this conversation to go. “I’m not his puppet.”
“You’ll do anything if there’s a gun to your head,” Montu sneered.
“We need to find Adel—Soliman,” Drake cut in, her voice cracking on Soliman’s name. It was almost a plea.
“But where could he have gone?” Onuris asked. “No one has heard or seen him since the bombing.”
“What did Soliman say to you?” Montu asked Leila.
“Nothing really. Just that he was on his way to a doctor’s appointment.”
Drake stiffened at Leila’s side.
“I’m sure Al-Rashid knows where he is,” Drake said through gritted teeth, though she had an odd note to her voice that Leila couldn’t place.
Leila straightened her shoulders. “That’s it. Faris kidnapped my mom and brother… and he probably kidnapped Soliman as well.”
“Or Faris killed him,” Xander grunted.
“He’s not dead.” Drake glared at Xander. “He wouldn’t run and hide, either. He’d be here with us if he could.”
The other Medjay nodded.
“But how do we find him?” the other twin asked, probably Peteese. “If he’s Al-Rashid’s prisoner, then he could be anywhere.”
“Then we start by surveying all properties belonging to Al-Rashid.” Montu waved at Peteese and Pihor. “Get him out of my sight.”
The twins marched forward and grabbed Xander under his arms.
Bastet growled and held up her scimitar. “What about his punishment?”
