Chapter One
Egypt
Though the ground was hard and sharp, Ingrid knelt in the dirt. The dry surface
layer, lifted by the afternoon wind, dusted her damp skin. She brushed the hair
from her eyes, streaking her cheek with brown, looked up at the farmer who stood
above her and placed her hands flat on the earth. "This is no good for
farming," she said. "It's very, very old." The farmer's face was
stubbornly blank. He did not want to understand. She began digging, jagged bits
of rock tearing at her fingertips. Soon she found something. Holding up a shard,
she smiled. "You see, antiquities. Good for tourists. Good for money."
The farmer squatted and reached for the shard. After studying it, he threw it
down and shook his head.
"This was a palace," Ingrid said, retrieving the shard. "A place
where kings lived. Pharaohs."
The farmer mo ... read full excerpt from OBVIOUS ENCHANTMENT, AN ebook
