Chapter 23 The Forgotten Goddess
The Forgotten Goddess
Zahra sat on the steps by the garden, her seashell necklace clasped in her hand. She closed her eyes, focusing on Namir’s ring. She saw his smoky form inside a building in Khem. Medjay surrounded the place. He was still safe—for now.
Zahra let out a breath, leaning back and looking at the sky.
The sun was dipping closer to the horizon, and she had received no word from Namir about the assassins.
She felt helpless. Though she had learned how to reach out to Namir’s ring or learn Badari, there were many things that sat on the edge of her mind, things she knew could help them both if she tried to master them, but she was not sure how.
Zahra fingered her mother’s necklace. She had thought a lot about her mother as of late.
Omar rarely spoke of her after her death, so most of the stories she had about her were from Heba or her own memory.
The thing that burned at her most now was a question she was not sure either of them could answer—if her mother, too, was a sibyl.
Ramses came bearing cool water and some food. He signed to her after he had set the tray beside her. “I received word that they have found some of the assassins.”
Relief flooded Zahra’s chest, and she signed back to him. “Is Namir returning here?”
Ramses shook his head. “He is remaining in hiding until all of them are found. He instructed that you stay here for the remainder of the day.”
Disappointment ate at her heart. She had wanted to see him again today.
Zahra turned her attention to the food, thanking Ramses for bringing it before eating.
Ramses sat beside her, catching her attention before signing. “What is troubling you?”
Zahra smiled. He hardly knew her, but somehow he could see her true feelings when few others could. “Many things.”
Ramses looked at her inquisitively. “Name one.”
Zahra bit her lip. “Geb’s confession.”
Zahra tried to explain her thoughts to Ramses, spelling out the words when she couldn’t think of the sign for her thoughts.
It was clear to her that whoever sent Geb that letter was also responsible for the one sent to her father.
Though the Thoth was safe in hiding now, Zahra wondered how they had come to know of it and its importance.
As for the assassins, they had been here for weeks, and yet they chose to attack late tonight, on a day with almost limitless chances for success.
The assassins, the Thoth, her father, and Geb were all connected in some way, but Zahra couldn’t see how.
Ramses was quiet after Zahra finished her explanation. After several moments, he raised his eyebrows and signed. “Have you asked your father more about the letter? He may have more to say.”
Zahra smiled at the idea, and she set her food aside. “You are right. He could know more.” Perhaps there was something he never told them that would complete the puzzle. He might have thoughts on the Thoth and the assassins as well. Perhaps he could see something she couldn’t.
“Could you have someone fetch my father and meet us at the library? I have research to do there, and I think he can help me.”
Ramses smiled and bowed his head before standing. “Yes.”
Zahra was surprised at the gesture, but she inclined her head to him, picking up the tray to return inside.
When Zahra and Ramses arrived at the library, most of the scribes had already gone home. Some were still searching records, even though everyone had been told to stop for the day. Nubia was gone as well, and Zahra was disappointed she couldn’t ask for her feedback.
Zahra had fetched the scroll and key to the hidden library when Omar arrived with two medjay in tow. His eyes lit up when he saw her. “Poulaki mou.”
Zahra smiled and ran toward him. “Patér.”
She hugged him tight. Though she did not want to admit it, she had missed him.
Omar pulled away. “They said you were with the King.”
“I was.” Ramses dismissed the medjay, and Zahra motioned for Omar to follow. “But I need your help with something.”
Zahra explained the Thoth’s spell to him once more as they journeyed downstairs, Ramses guiding the way with a lamp. “I am the only other person who can remember, and I am helping the King end this day, but there’s someone working against us.”
“I heard about the assassins,” Omar said. “Have they been captured?”
“No, nor have we discovered who sent them.”
Zahra unlocked the door, and Omar’s eyes went wide. He put his bag to the side, looking around the space. “What is this place?”
Zahra thanked Ramses. “You can wait upstairs.”
Ramses nodded, leaving the lamp for them to use before he closed the door.
Omar had already begun looking over the shelves. “Some of these records must be centuries old.”
Zahra nodded. “There are some that are as old as Aur itself.”
Omar looked around in astonishment. “Incredible.”
Zahra moved toward the shelf with the scroll about the Thoth, and she pulled it out. “Patér, what can you tell me about the letter you received?”
Omar was taken aback by her question, but he answered regardless, describing his experience as he had many days before. The contents of the letter were similar to how Geb described his letter, but Omar did not share any new information.
Zahra sighed. “Thank you, Patér.”
Omar looked worriedly at Zahra. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“Perhaps.” She rolled out the Thoth’s scroll on the table, telling him about it, Geb’s confession, and the assassins after Namir’s life. “There’s something I am missing, but I don’t know what to look for.”
“I see why we are here now.” Omar picked up the papyrus and looked at it.
Zahra nodded, standing and moving over to one of the shelves. She took out some records of Asenath and the Thoth. “I hope there will be answers here.”
Omar set the papyrus on the table. “Then I will help you search.”
Zahra smiled. “Thank you for your help, Patér.”
He inclined his head to her in reply, his curious eyes studying the shelves as he walked toward them.
Zahra sat at the table and looked through the records she had pulled. Each one was familiar to her, but she pored over them once more, in case there was something she had not seen. She was close to the end of the pile when she sighed, rubbing at her eyes. Perhaps this was pointless.
“Zahra.” Omar motioned for her to come. Zahra left her work and joined his side. He was looking at the papyrus of Re’s journey through the sky and underworld.
A sharp pain formed in Zahra’s head, and she rubbed her temple as she turned from it. “It tells us nothing new.”
The pain grew sharper, and she winced as she walked back to her seat. Her vision was foggy, and the pain made it difficult to think.
“Zahra. Zahra!”
Zahra looked back as Omar grabbed her arm. “What is it, Patér?”
Omar eyed her hand on her head. He held the scroll in his hand. “Did you hear anything I said?”
Zahra’s brow furrowed. “Of course I did. You said…”
Had he said anything? She recalled hearing his voice, but she could recall nothing of what he said.
“What did you say?” she asked, dropping her hand to her side.
Omar opened his mouth, but as soon as he spoke, Zahra’s head pounded again. He held up the papyrus, pointing to Apep at the bottom, then pointing to the symbols on the papyrus of the Thoth.
Sun. Moon. And stars.
Zahra cried out as pain shot up both sides of her head. She fell to the floor, groaning as force pushed on her mind. Omar dropped the papyrus, rushing to her side, but she couldn’t hear him.
Visions ran through her mind, tugging on memories that had been pushed into hiding.
She saw the old pr-aa, intact and beautiful as it had been in ancient days.
Asenath screamed from within as she was stabbed by a khopesh.
Her chosen groom leaned over her, begging her to breathe.
A voice hissed from the sky, and Asenath’s eyes became black like tar.
A darkness covered the visions, and Zahra couldn’t hear the words of the voice or see more than Asenath’s terrified face. She shut her eyes, trying to fight the building pressure in her skull.
Something was keeping her from remembering.
Zahra gritted her teeth as she focused on an image in her mind. The hand that held Apep’s tail was clear in front of her, but darkness was eating away at the image.
Selene! Zahra thought. Help me!
Moonlight poured into Zahra’s mind, pushing against the darkness. The memories returned to her. Zahra grunted, falling forward and catching herself on the floor. The darkness sat like a wall in the back of her mind, thick and concrete.
Omar held Zahra’s arms. “Zahra, can you hear me?”
Zahra took in a deep breath, wiping at her bloody nose. “Yes.”
Omar helped her sit up, and her trembling hand reached for the papyrus he had dropped. The painting was as vivid as she remembered it. Her thumb stroked the symbol on the hand that held Apep’s tail. “Do you know what netjer this is supposed to represent?”
“That was what I was trying to tell you,” Omar said, “but you couldn’t hear me.
” He retrieved the other papyrus from the table, comparing them side by side with the one in Zahra’s hand.
“Her name is Iset. The stories about her are very old and very few. She has been mostly forgotten by Aur’s people.
She is the mother of Apep—the great snake.
She was thought to have been the netjer of the stars and Nebthet’s sister, but she betrayed Re and became the netjer of chaos.
There used to be more records of her, but I have not been able to find any for years now. ”
Zahra rubbed the remaining ache from her temples.
She recalled reading about Iset now, though she was not sure why she couldn’t before.
Katerina herself had said the keres were creations of Iset, and Zahra’s visions and dreams of the First Pa-sekhemty Feast had shown Iset working with Asenath’s kin to kill her.