Chapter 25 A Great Pharaoh
A Great Pharaoh
Zahra ran through the celebrations, tears streaming down her cheeks as she searched for Ramses. She saw him standing with the others in the dim light, dancing to the music.
A young boy tapped his shoulder and indicated Zahra. His eyes went wide as Zahra ran toward him.
“Ramses!” she cried. “He is gone. He is gone!”
Ramses grabbed her shoulders, trying to calm her down. “Slow down. What is wrong?”
Zahra choked down a sob. “He is gone. I can’t find him!”
Ramses’s brow furrowed, and he went straight toward his horse. He offered a hand to Zahra, and she jumped up behind him.
“What is going on?” someone asked.
Ramses spoke. “We will return. Please, continue celebrating.”
Lina came to their side. “Where is Namir?”
“He has run off,” Ramses signed. “We are going to find him.”
Lina’s eyebrows knitted together. “Be careful.”
Ramses nodded. He rallied the other medjay, and Zahra pointed to where she had last seen Namir. “He went this way.”
The group divided, scouring the edge of the village, but Namir was nowhere to be found. The next city was not for some distance, and there was no way he could have made it that far on foot. He was between the cities somewhere, hiding among the grass, trees, and wild animals.
Zahra tried reaching out to the ring, but she couldn’t see Namir with it.
She could only see darkness. Zahra looked up at the sky.
It was nearly five Atum. The moonlight grew dim as they searched the darkness for any trace of him.
The other medjay were searching in different directions, trying to cover as much ground as possible.
A small oasis caught Zahra’s eye, and she pointed toward it. “Over there!”
Ramses turned the horse toward it, and Zahra hopped off before Ramses had even come to a stop.
She stepped into a small stream as she ran toward the trees.
There was no one hiding in the shadows, though there were footprints.
A glint of light caught Zahra’s eye, and she dug at the soil beneath the tree, pulling out a small, round object.
She wiped the dirt off it, her heart sinking once the shape became familiar.
It was Namir’s ring. The moonstone reflected clearly in the low light.
Horror filled Zahra as she studied the footprints. He had been here, but other people had been there as well. She picked up a torn piece of fabric. It was from his shirt—and it was stained with blood.
Zahra covered her mouth, quieting a moan.
The assassins had Namir, and she had no way of knowing if he was alive or dead, or where he was.
She turned to Ramses, showing him the ring.
He stared at it, confused. She tried to explain, but she couldn’t.
Her frame was wracked with sobs, and she fell into the dirt, screaming.
She had failed. She had lost him. It was her duty to protect him, and she had been the one to chase him away. Namir was gone.
Katerina cawed from above, landing beside her. Zahra sobbed, shaking her head. “He is dead. They have taken him!”
Katerina cawed again, but this time Zahra heard her voice. “You can find him.”
Zahra swiped at her tears, pushing herself up from the ground. She closed her eyes, pulling in a deep breath. She thought of Namir’s black eyes and his laugh. She pictured his face and the way her hand fit in his. She pulled on his image, hoping for something—anything—to pull her to him.
Moonlight came to her eyes, and a vision unfolded around her.
She saw the shapes of people fighting where she was sitting.
There were four of them, and one was clearly Namir.
He used a dagger with bound hands, swiping at the assassins.
He managed to knock two down, but another came at him with a sword.
He pushed them away, stealing one of their horses and escaping.
Her vision followed him away from the palm trees to fields of wheat. He fell off the horse, his hands wet and bloody as he clutched his side.
He was injured.
Zahra focused on him as he ran toward a row of buildings near the fields. He hid inside one of them. The assassins searched for him not far away, getting closer and closer to his hiding place.
Zahra gasped as she left the vision. She nodded to Katerina, grasping the corners of the scarf around her neck. “Thank you.”
Katerina chirped and inclined her head before taking off into the air.
Zahra turned to Ramses, signing to him. “I know where he is.”
Zahra directed Ramses southeast, toward the fields of wheat.
An obelisk in the distance chimed five times as they approached, and Ramses came to a halt.
There was someone wearing a medjay’s uniform in the wheat stalks.
Ramses moved toward them, but Zahra stopped him, shaking her head. That was no medjay.
Zahra instructed him to hide. Then, she went toward the medjay. “Help! Please!”
The medjay turned toward her, speaking in Auran with a thick Ionian accent. “Halt! You cannot go any further.”
Zahra recognized Pesha’s cautious eyes. “Please, I was traveling home when I saw an injured man. I tried to get him to come with me, but he ran off. Please, he needs help.”
Pesha stepped forward. “Where was this man?”
“That way.” Zahra pointed west. “He was going toward the city over there.”
“Thank you for telling me. Please, return home. It is not safe out.”
Zahra waited until Pesha was out of sight before motioning for Ramses to follow her. They entered the building Zahra had seen Namir enter.
The first floor looked like an office with small windows near the ceiling that let light in. There were scrolls and farming records. Past a wall was a set of stairs. Zahra walked carefully down them, and Ramses followed her into the dark space.
A dagger tore through the air, narrowly missing her face. She jumped back as the attacker clumsily fell over. Startled black eyes appeared in the low light. “Zahra?”
Zahra let out a breath of relief, coming to Namir’s side. She placed her hand on his sweaty cheek. “I am here, Namir. I am right here.”
He leaned into her touch, falling back further. “How did you find me?”
“I managed to see where you went despite your best efforts,” she said, removing his other hand from his side. He hissed as she did so, and she immediately put pressure on the wound as blood came spurting out. She looked back at Ramses, and he quickly came to their side.
Namir grunted. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Ramses took off his shirt, and Namir let out a cry as Ramses forced it against his wound.
“I couldn’t leave you,” Zahra whispered, brushing his curls from his sweaty forehead.
Namir pushed weakly on Ramses’s shoulder, trying to sign with his other hand.
Ramses shook his head, focusing on his task.
Zahra took Namir’s hand and squeezed it. “Breathe, Namir. It will be okay.”
“You both should go,” he rasped. “T—There is no saving me. If you leave, you will be safe. I will be here in the morning…”
“No,” Zahra said, stroking his head. “Where is this coming from?”
“I failed as King.” He drew in a long, quivering breath. “As long as they don’t kill me during the blood moon, then you will be safe, and this day will finally end.”
“It will not end like this,” Zahra stated. “You made me a promise. You made your people a promise. You cannot die. I forbid it.”
Namir smiled wearily. “And I must do what you say?”
Zahra smiled softly. “You know you must, o méli.”
Ramses waved at Zahra in the darkness, and she flinched.
There was a glint of red in his eyes. He blinked the glow away, motioning for her to take over for him.
She let go of Namir’s hand and applied pressure to his wound, all while watching Ramses out of the corner of her eye.
The keres were clearly working within him, but he was fighting it. How?
Ramses pulled Namir to the back of the room and propped him up. There were farming tools everywhere, and Ramses used these to create a small shelter of sorts, so they were hidden from view of the stairs.
When he was finished, he put his hand on Namir’s shoulder. “I am going to get help.”
Namir shook his head, wheezing. “It is dangerous.”
Ramses turned to Zahra. “Take care of him.”
Zahra swallowed and nodded.
Namir reached out for Ramses. “Ramses, no.”
Ramses smiled, thumping his chest with his fist and bowing his head. Then he left them in the darkness.
Zahra turned toward Namir. She could barely see his eyes, let alone tell if they were open. “We have less than an hour, Namir. We can do this.”
Namir turned his head toward her, breathing heavily. “I am sorry.”
Zahra’s heart ached. “Don’t be sorry. Please.”
“I should not have left.” He groaned as he tried to move. “I ensured we were not followed, but I was foolish to think the assassins wouldn’t be waiting for me.”
“You did not know they would find us,” Zahra said, keeping pressure on his wound. “The important thing is that you are alive.”
“I should have let them finish the job.” His brow furrowed after he said it, and he turned away from her.
“Namir…”
“I have trapped you here.” He gritted his teeth. “If I was a better King, I would have ended the spell by now.”
Zahra shook her head. “That’s not true. There’s so much that’s beyond your control.”
“Like what?” he asked, turning to her. Tears were in his eyes, and his voice was hoarse as he spoke.
“I chose someone on the first day of this spell, and I do not even remember her. Now, we are trapped in this day, and my people hate me enough to take my life. I have failed as King, and I am not fit to be Pharaoh.”
“Iset has messed with both of our memories,” Zahra said. “She could have made you not remember your bride. And you are still learning to be a King. You cannot expect to be perfect.”
“I expect to be good enough,” Namir rasped, “but I am not. I have done nothing good for this kingdom.”