Weekend Writing Warriors #SnippetSunday The Desert's Secrets

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Sign up below with your name, blog and email and share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Your post needs to be live between 12:00 noon on Saturday 11/12/16 and 09:00 AM on Sunday 11/13/16. Visit the other participants on the list and read, critique and comment on their 8sunday posts.
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It's NaNoWriMo, and my very first time participating in it, so of course you will be getting excerpts from my WIP, a novella, Stolen Secrets! If you have been following Book II of my Illuminati series, The Tree of Life, you will know that I just introduced a minor character, Prince Mukhtar,  who appears in both Book I, The Book of Life, and Book 11, of the Illuminati Series. He is also the hero of a Romance Fantasy Novella I am writing for NaNoWriMo, a little spinoff adventure! In it, Isis has sent him to retrieve a chalice to be used in a ceremony that will break the spell the jinni, Ornias (from my short horror story) has cast upon the Ring of Solomon, before their mortal enemy, Set, can get his hands on it. The heroine, Lady Isabella Valentine, has been hired to retrieve the same artifact from an anonymous benefactor,  who has sent a helper, David Khoury, to assist her on the archaeological dig. Here’s a bit from where I left off last week . . . (*Note: It's NaNo, so may be a bit rough in spots.)

          “W-what?” She glanced toward the door and noted two more Bedouins, standing sentry on either side of the entryway. More, she knew, would be outside, no doubt tending to the beautiful black stallion of Prince Mukhtar, eldest son and heir of Sheikh Abdul Kummel al-Rahman, Leader of the Hassana. The gold agal of his kuffiyah might as well have been a crown, but the entourage he traveled with assured his identity could not be mistaken.
             “Forgive me, Lady Valentine,” he replied, this time in flawless English. “Allow me to introduce myself.”
            She held up her hand, and said, “No need for that, Prince Mukhtar. Everyone in Cairo knows who you are. But please do explain what you are talking about.”
            He bowed his head politely, and took a step closer. Looking down at her, he said softly, “Of course, My Lady, with pleasure; I wish to procure your services as an archaeologist. I seek this,” he said, pulling a drawing from somewhere within his robe and extending it toward her. 

I hope you enjoyed the snippet I posted for Elizabeth this week as she is crazy busy with something called NaNo. It isn't something you can eat. I figured that much out, as I had to remind her twice that it was time for my snack!  Harumph!  Please don't forget to visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors and #SnippetSunday authors for some great reads!