Chapter 6 The Duat #2
“One question at a time, little one,” the eagle cooed. “You are in the space between where the mortals and the long-lasting ones dwell. It has many names. Those of Aur know this place as the Duat. It is home to many, but usually it houses the servants of what you call the theos or netjeru.”
“Like you,” Zahra said in realization. “Were those jackals servants of the theos? Or the vipers that came from the dust?”
“They are creations of evil,” Katerina said. “They are here for you.”
Zahra’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“They are called keres, and they are creatures of rage. They are summoned by a curse, one that follows a person for the rest of their days. The minds of the people and animals near the cursed are corrupted with a violent rage and a desire to kill the one the keres follow. Their job is only completed when the person cursed is dead.” She paused. “Truly dead.”
The eagle’s words echoed in Zahra’s mind. She stared at the eagle, as if the words would find a different meaning if she waited. When they did not, she shook her head. “That can’t be true.”
“It is,” Katerina said solemnly. “They are responsible for your death every night.”
“No!” Zahra pushed herself to her knees. Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. “I was only killed because of my father’s crime. If what you say is true, then the keres would have already come for me today.”
“The keres can only come out in the shadows of night,” Katerina clarified. “Or when Selene’s power is weakened in the mortal plane.”
Zahra fell back. The blood moon.
Katerina nodded as if she had read Zahra’s thoughts. “The longer the night of the blood moon goes on, the weaker the moon’s light will be, and the stronger the keres will become.”
Zahra shook her head. “I can’t be cursed.”
Katerina motioned to Zahra with her head. “If you look closely, you will see it. It has been there for some time.”
Zahra placed her hand on her chest, gasping as something constricted around her.
A long, black snake came into being. Its fangs dug deep into her heart, and its body wrapped around her chest. Its scales dripped with shadow, and its eyes were a familiar red—the same red she had seen in the commander’s eyes when he had cut her down the night before.
Zahra took in quick breaths, her hand hovering over the snake. “No. No.”
Katerina stepped forward. “Breathe, little one.”
“I don’t understand.” Emotion choked her voice. “Why was I cursed? Is the curse why I remember each night?”
“Someone in Aur wanted you dead, so they cast the spell. As for your memory, you already know why you remember.”
“I don’t,” Zahra cried, getting to her feet. “Please, you must help me. How do I break this curse?”
“The keres’ curse can be survived if you live until tomorrow’s dawn, but it cannot be broken—not on your own. The moon can protect you from the keres, but it cannot protect you during the eclipse.”
Zahra shook her head again. “I can’t do that. I am trapped in this single day until the Thoth’s spell is broken! There must be another way! Surely there have been others cursed as I am. Surely someone has found a way!”
“Only one other has been cursed with the keres,” Katerina began. “Her name was Asenath, but she succumbed to the curse.”
Asenath. The name was familiar to Zahra, though she did not know why. She hugged her arms. “If Selene sent you, then it was for a reason.” Her mouth fell open. “Surely not him.”
“You need each other’s help,” Katerina stated. “That is why I led you to him.”
“But he has the power to end my life long before the keres do,” Zahra cried. “Why would Selene want this? Please, tell me!”
Katerina shook her head. “I cannot give you more than I have. There are rules among the theos.”
Zahra’s heart hammered inside her chest, and her voice trembled as she spoke. “So you will tell me nothing? How am I meant to save myself from this curse and help the King find his bride?”
“I can only give you so much when little has been given in turn,” Katerina reasoned. “That is how it works.”
Zahra swung her arm. “I did not ask to be here!”
“Exactly.” Katerina’s voice was gentle, but her tone was strict. “And for that, your questions cannot be answered.”
“I don’t wish to understand all things. I only wish to live!”
Katerina stepped forward. “O chara—”
Zahra turned and walked away, anger burning in her heart. “How do I leave this place?”
“Do not wander,” the eagle warned. “The keres live on this plane. They will seek your life. A death in the Duat is far worse than a death in your world.”
“I don’t care.” Her death every night had been no accident or the result of the Aurans’ hatred for her. Every person that had killed her had done so because she was cursed. The King himself would likely kill her tonight if she went with him to the Feast. Her death was inevitable. This was her fate.
But it was not a fate she would accept.
“I will not give up.” She turned to Katerina. “Even if Selene has abandoned me, I will survive. I will find a way to break this curse.”
The eagle’s wings flapped, blowing a strong breeze on Zahra. “Selene has not abandoned you.”
“It seems she has!” Zahra turned and stomped away in the sand.
“Rhodopis.”
Zahra froze in place. She turned back toward Katerina, staring at her with wide eyes. She had not heard that name for many years—her true name.
Katerina took a step forward. “We do not have long. Your King is already taking off the ring.”
The air around Zahra buzzed with energy, and her vision blurred. She was returning to the library.
“Both of your fates are uncertain this night. If you are not careful, the night of the blood moon will claim you both.”
Zahra’s heart filled with fear. “I… I don’t understand. I don’t know what to do!”
“You do not need to.” Katerina leaned forward. “All that Selene asks is that you trust her.”
Zahra covered her head as a wave of nausea hit her.
The eagle’s blue eyes softened as the wind whipped around Zahra’s frame. “Selene is with you, Rhodopis.”
In a moment, Zahra was standing back in the hidden library. Her legs buckled beneath her, and her frame collided with a shelf as she collapsed to the floor. A voice shouted, but she couldn’t make out the words. Waves of nausea racked her body, and she clutched her stomach with her sore limbs.
Hands grabbed her, and she cried out as she was pulled from the ground. Warm blood coated her left hand, which clutched her right arm tightly.
Sweat trickled down her forehead, and nausea raged in her belly. Namir knelt beside her, his forehead wrinkled in confusion and worry.
Zahra pushed away from him and retched, and vomit soaked the floor.
Namir flinched, his face twisting in ways she did not think were possible. He grabbed an intact vase and, with his arm covering his nose, held it out from a distance for Zahra to take. She grabbed it, filling it with the contents of her stomach.
Namir dry heaved beside her before running to the door. He opened it and heaved again.
Zahra sat back against the bookcase as her senses returned. Her left hand was bleeding, and her ankle was sliced up. Her right arm and left leg ached intensely, even though the skin was unbroken.
She turned to the vase again to puke, and Namir gagged in the hallway.