Chapter 39 The Pharaohs’ Plight #2
Namir slowed Victory as they approached the Pharaohs’ Library. He dismounted and helped Zahra off. He patted Victory’s snout reassuringly before handing off his reins to one of the medjay still remaining. “We will be fast. Please, be quiet and stay safe. We do not know what creatures are out here.”
Waaiz entered the library first, holding his khopesh with his good arm, while Namir held an oil lamp. He motioned Namir and Zahra forward once it was clear. They made their way to the third floor, retrieving the key and scroll to the hidden library.
A few scrolls fell from a nearby shelf, and Zahra spun around. For several moments, there was nothing in the darkness. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Zahra saw the glowing red eyes of a ker.
“Go,” Zahra said, pushing Namir back. “Go, now.”
The ker dove forward, its mouth red with blood. Waaiz waved his blade at the ker. “Run!”
Zahra and Namir bolted toward the stairs. Namir stumbled at the sight of a scholar drowning in his own blood.
Another ker was waiting at the bottom of the staircase. It snapped its jaws and them, growling.
Zahra and Namir clasped their hands and threw a circle of light forward. The ker cried out, falling back as the light knocked it off its feet.
Zahra and Namir ran past the injured ker, heading downstairs. Namir held the lamp as Zahra worked. “Hurry!”
Zahra’s hand fumbled with the key. “I am!”
The ker barked from upstairs, and Zahra could hear its thundering footsteps as it descended into the downstairs. She finished unlocking the door and pushed it open. They both stumbled inside.
The ker rushed forward to follow them. As soon as its body met the doorway, it was blown back by a golden light. The ker shrieked as it dissolved into ash.
Namir pulled Zahra further into the library. “What was that?”
Zahra let out a breath of relief. “This place is protected.” No wonder all of these records had remained preserved for so long. No servant of Iset could come here.
Namir released her hand, studying the doorway. “When we were looking through the border records, Nubia would come down here to visit me, but she would never come inside. I always had to come out to her. Perhaps this was why.”
Zahra’s brow wrinkled, and she placed her hand on his shoulder. “Namir…”
Namir tore away from her touch and moved toward the chest that held the Thoth. “Let us get this over with.”
Zahra looked up, hearing the footsteps of the ker upstairs. She rubbed her arms. “We shouldn’t have left Waaiz. He won’t survive if another ker comes.”
“He has fought in more battles than I can count. There’s a reason he leads our armies.” Namir lifted the Thoth out of the box. Its sands, once golden and moving, were still, and it lacked its signature purple glow. Still, Zahra could feel Re’s power radiating from it.
Namir stared at the Thoth, and the golden glow around his chest grew brighter as he studied it.
A heavy thud from upstairs pulled them out of their focus, and Namir slipped the Thoth into a bag. “Let us go.”
Zahra held the bag and oil lamp as Namir stepped forward into the darkness. They had made it up the stairs when Waaiz jumped into their view, swiping at a ker. He grunted, thrusting his khopesh through its chest. The ker cried out, stumbling back before collapsing into a pile of ash on the floor.
Waaiz heaved, shrugging his uninjured arm. “Do you have it?”
Namir led the way toward the door. “Yes. Let us get out of here.”
Movement came from behind one of the turned over tables. Zahra stepped up by Waaiz. “Look out!”
Namir threw a circle of light out toward the shadow and it shrieked, jumping to the side.
Zahra’s eyes narrowed. That wasn’t a ker.
She held the lamp up.
Namir’s teeth gritted. “You.”
Nubia stepped out, hugging herself. She was bleeding from the cracks in her skin, and her braids were a tangled mess. She clenched her jaw, her cheeks wet with tears. “Menes.”
Namir barreled forward, grabbing Nubia’s arms and thrusting her against the table.
“Namir,” Zahra cautioned.
Nubia let out a cry as Namir shook her. “Why?! Why have you done this? You were my sister!”
Nubia pushed her ash-and-blood-covered hands against his chest, grunting. “I was never your sister!”
“What of all the years we spent together? What of the days you read to me or the things you taught me? You were the one who told me of Re’s miracles!”
“Re is a liar,” Nubia spat. “His promises mean nothing.”
Namir clenched his jaw. “How could you say that? His power is what saved your life! You remembered that night all along, and yet you chose to lie to me. Why?!”
“Your choice that night was a mistake,” Nubia growled. “You never cared for me, only for Jt and Mwt’s affection! Our childhood was a lie. I only spent time with you to gain Mwt’s favor.”
“She always favored you,” Namir said. “She was the one that advised me to use your plans, to name you Vizier. She spoke highly of you, and you killed her!”
Nubia clenched her jaw, digging her nails into Namir’s arms. “I had no choice! It was me or her.”
“You had every choice! You chose this path!”
“Enough!” Zahra put down the lamp and bag, shoving between the two of them and separating them. “We don’t have time for this.”
“The Pharaoh Queen is right,” Waaiz said. “The longer we are here, the more likely more of those beasts will come for us.”
Namir thrust an accusing finger toward Nubia. “Then how has she survived? If she has been hiding in here this entire time, the keres would have attacked her.”
“Because they see her as one of their own.” Zahra looked at Nubia. “You can hear Iset and her servants, can’t you? That’s why you are hiding here in the city. It’s not too late. You can still help us, help your people.”
Nubia laughed. “You are a fool, sobki. Face it—Aur is doomed.”
Namir gritted his teeth, stepping toward Nubia once more. “Nubia—”
The ground shook and screams came from outside, along with the growls of keres.
“No,” Zahra said, grabbing the bag with the Thoth.
The oil lamp rolled and snuffed out as Namir, Zahra, and Waaiz ran toward the front doors, leaving Nubia behind in the darkness.