Chapter 19 #2
Huddled on the floor, Neff felt the blood drain from her face. Montuhotep.
“Oh! Erm, yes, High Priest,” Kenna said. Neff heard him fumbling with the jars. “I need more pine resin for my embalming mixture. Ah! Here it is.”
“I’m surprised at you, Bakenamun,” Master Montuhotep said.
“Excuse me?”
“Endangering yourself for the sake of a common whelp. I thought you were smarter than that.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Show yourself, Nefermaat. I know you’re in here. I tasked one of the Wab priests to keep track of your movements outside of the palace. I knew you were on temple grounds the moment you arrived.”
Neff froze, suddenly cold with sweat. If he heard what we were saying… If he knows…
“It will be worse for you if I have to root you out.”
She let out a shuddering breath and rose to her feet.
Montuhotep stood by the door with Kenna, who clutched a jar of resin, stricken.
The high priest smiled. “There you are.” He clucked his tongue.
“My little apprentice. How far you’ve come.
One day you’re vomiting on the floor of my chambers, the next, you’re conspiring against the king.
At least, I assume that’s what you two are doing in here. ”
He didn’t overhear us, Neff thought, relieved. He doesn’t know my plans. She still had a chance to salvage the situation.
“Absolutely not, Master!” she protested. “I only came to visit the prince. We’d become close during my time here, and I missed him. I’m lonely at the palace. I came in secret because the king wouldn’t approve. That’s all.”
“Do you take me for a fool, girl?” Montuhotep sneered. “If you think you can come into these sacred halls straight off the streets of Bubas, wrest my preordained position out from under me, and lie to my face, then—”
“High Priest!” Kenna broke in. “I suggest you take care before making unproven accusations against the king’s closest adviser.”
Montuhotep whirled on the prince. “Bakenamun, during Amunmose’s reign I wouldn’t have dreamed of going against either of his sons’ wishes—but this is not your father’s Khetara.
Not anymore. And there isn’t a single person in Thonis I wouldn’t throw to the lions to regain my place at the king’s side. Not even you.”
Kenna swallowed, then squared his shoulders. “Don’t touch her. If you try, you’ll have to go through me first.”
Neff’s heart swelled as she watched the diminutive prince stand up to her old master, who towered over him. I knew he had it in him.
The high priest looked down at Kenna and sighed.
“I suppose I must draw the line at striking a royal prince.” He turned back to Neff.
“No matter. As soon as I get an audience with Meryamun, I will make your betrayal known. If you’re lucky, he’ll simply send you back to your village.
If not, well, perhaps you’ll find yourself back in Bakenamun’s embalming chamber sooner than you think. ”
A chill ran down Neff’s spine. “He won’t believe you,” she said.
Montuhotep shrugged. “A seed of doubt is all I need. And time for it to grow…” He stepped back and pointed at the door. “Now get out of my temple.”
Clutching Medjed’s cloth to her chest, Neff pulled up her hood and strode to the door with a confidence she did not feel in her heart. Kenna met her gaze, shaking his head as if to say: Don’t do it, Neff. Think about what I told you.
She gave him a sad, apologetic smile before hurrying off. Montuhotep’s threats only made her more committed to her plan. The days she thought she had left had suddenly turned to hours.
The truth was, she’d already made up her mind about the plan before she arrived. She hadn’t come to ask for Kenna’s advice or his permission. She’d come because she wanted to see him one last time before the end.
***
The cat was waiting for her when she returned to her chambers.
She wound around Neff’s ankles and meowed continuously, as if enumerating her grievances about Neff’s absence.
Paying the cat little mind, Neff sank into the chair by the table and wrapped her arms around herself.
Her body shook uncontrollably, and as her tears fell, she wished with all her heart that the arms around her were her mother’s.
I’m so sorry, Mamet, she thought as she rocked back and forth. I’m so sorry I left you. I’m so sorry I’m causing you pain.
She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stop crying.
But I must take action.
The lamb had returned to her dreams, its dolorous voice insistent.
So many of its predictions had already come to pass—the river of blood, the abundance of lies, the chaos brewing in every corner of the kingdom.
How soon before the crowns were broken? How soon before the coming of sorrow and ruin that could never be undone?
Kenna had put the weapon in her hand—for the Book of the Red Lady was a deadly weapon indeed—but the gods themselves had given her the power to wield it and placed her within striking distance of its intended target.
Meryamun.
The man whose life she’d saved from the crocodile was the same life she now intended to take.
Would the curse work quickly? she wondered. Or slowly, like poison? The Book of the Red Lady had been hidden away in the House of Life for untold years, so neither Kenna nor anyone alive knew exactly how its spells might work. She would have to find out for herself.
Kenna’s words stuck in her mind like thorns, and Neff struggled to dislodge them. It’s not the same! she thought. Mery killing his father is different from me casting this curse!
Maybe it was different. Or maybe she’d learned to play Mery’s game a little too well.
The cat jumped onto the table and bumped her chin against Neff’s face, purring.
The sound soothed her, as did the cat’s tender ministrations.
Slowly, her muscles released their tension, and Neff found herself leaning forward onto the table and resting her head on her arms. She was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Outside her window, the sun had begun to set in a bloody pool of light.
The cat curled up next to her, and Neff reached out to stroke her warm, soft neck, wishing that the day would not end, so that tomorrow—and the task that lay before her—might never come.
Soon, she was asleep.
***
The threads of dawn had just begun to filter into her room when Neff woke to a gentle rustling. She blinked into the murk, not ready to raise her head from the table. Her neck ached. Had she really slept through the night like that?
The cat had disappeared, probably off hunting. In the corner of her eye, she saw a tall female figure approach carrying a large, lidded laundry basket—much like the one she’d hidden inside in the underground hallway.
“Is it time to get up already, Ahura?” Neff murmured groggily. She yawned and stretched.
Ahura stopped. Her face was cloaked in shadow.
“I left the laundry piled by the door,” Neff went on, wondering why her maidservant felt the need to come into the room at this hour.
Then she spied Medjed’s cloth discarded on the floor.
It must have fallen out of her pocket when she returned from the temple.
Perhaps Ahura thought it was a soiled rag that needed washing?
“Oh, that’s not—” Neff began, but she never got a chance to finish.
She was so confused by the rag over her mouth that she didn’t even think to scream.
It wasn’t until she felt it pulled tight and tied behind her head that panic set in, and by then, it was too late to cry out.
Neff tried to throw herself from the chair and away from her assailant, but Ahura was very strong.
She held Neff’s head against the table while she grabbed her wrists and tied them behind her back with another rag.
Except that wasn’t possible. Ahura only had two hands.
Someone else was in the room with them. It was too dark for Neff to make out who it was, but it looked like another woman. Another maidservant. Within seconds, they’d bound her ankles too.
Neff’s heart raced. She screamed into the gag, though the sound was so muted that it made no difference.
Suddenly, she was lifted straight out of her chair as if she weighed nothing at all and placed inside the laundry basket.
After that, the two servants quickly packed the empty spaces around Neff’s body with her own laundry, taking care to leave enough room around her face for her to breathe, then covered her head with a light cloth to shield it from view.
Finally, the lid was replaced on top of the basket, casting her into total darkness.
No, no, no! Neff thought as the basket was hoisted into the air. Don’t you understand? Today is the day I curse the king! You can’t take me now! You can’t!
She felt herself being carried and heard voices pass by her.
“…furious that Femi escaped. He’s sent the guard out to look for him, but so far, no luck…”
“…I heard the king’s already sent messengers to Tash with an ultimatum: Swear fealty to Khetara, or Prince Harsi’s head will be displayed at the end of a spear by the palace gate…”
“Greetings to you, Ahura, Herit. You’re up early this morning.”
The voice was female, elderly, and familiar. The movement stopped.
“Greetings to you, Nebet,” said a young female voice.
That must be Herit, Ahura’s accomplice. Neff pictured the round-faced, curly-haired maidservant that she’d seen Ahura talking to in the corridors.
“Yes, we wanted to get a head start on the laundry so that we might have time for swimming later on.”
The older woman spoke again, her voice filled with profound sadness. “Mm, yes. Sitamun used to love swimming in the afternoons.”
Neff screamed into the rag again and thrashed wildly in her bonds. She felt Ahura struggle to keep hold of the basket, nearly dropping it.
“Are you all right?” Nebet asked.
“I’m fine,” Ahura replied, getting a better hold on the basket. “A lot of laundry this morning. We’d better be going. Have a good day, Nebet.”
The movement resumed.
Exhausted and nearly suffocated by her exertions, Neff gave up and lay still.
Where are they taking me? And who are they, really?
she wondered. She’d had her doubts about the veracity of Ahura’s story from the start, but she thought they had built a rapport.
She hadn’t expected to be kidnapped. Then again, she was the king’s closest adviser…
Inside the basket, Neff felt a change in the air. It was fresher and cooler, and a slight breeze wafted through the weave.
We’re outside, she realized, which of course, made sense. If they were pretending to do the day’s laundry, they’d be taking her down to the river.
Soon, the gentle burble of the Iteru filled her ears along with the distant chatter of women.
“We’re clear,” Herit said quietly. “The other servants are facing away from us. Go! Go!”
Neff bounced uncomfortably in the basket as Ahura’s pace quickened. The flow of water was joined by the dry sound of reeds brushing against the basket. They’re carrying me through the marshes.
Then, a man’s voice: “Did you do it? Is she in there?”
“Yes,” Ahura said, though she didn’t sound pleased.
“Put it here.”
The basket was set on the ground, and a moment later, opened.
The light cloth over Neff’s head was lifted away, and she blinked into the sudden light.
The sun had risen since her abduction and blazed from the eastern horizon, throwing her kidnappers into silhouette.
Still, she could see that there were three men and two women standing around her, and the largest of the men appeared to be the one who had spoken.
He dragged her roughly from the basket and set her on her feet.
“Careful with her, will you?” Ahura said. “She’s loyal to the king, but she’s still just a girl, Omari. She’s scared.”
Neff cowered under the intense gaze of the men and women. She was scared, but she was also angry. Whoever these people were, they’d interrupted her from carrying out her divine mission.
The man called Omari scoffed. “High Khetarans don’t feel emotion the way we do. Not even their children.”
“Omari!”
“Rae, will you stop worrying about the girl and rejoice? You did it! You landed the first strike against the pharaoh. Now that we have leverage, we can finally fight back! We can fight for your father! For Sakesh!”
Neff turned sharply to look at Ahura—no, not Ahura. Her name was Rae.
So I was right! Neff thought. She is the woman Karim met by the river in Sakesh! She is the fourth figure from the Oracle!
As if sensing Neff’s gaze, Rae turned to look at her, and sunlight lanced across her face. Her eyes shone with triumph, but there was another emotion there too.
Doubt.
She and these others must be part of the southern rebellion, Neff thought. She doesn’t know about the oracle. About the four of us. About any of it.
The lamb whispered in Neff’s ear, louder and more insistent than ever before.
Take heed, Thonis, Great House of Amun!
Take heed, Sakesh, Great House of Ra!
Beware! Sorrow and ruin comes to the Children of the Two Lands!
Neff’s body relaxed, despite the dark portents whispering in her mind.
She doesn’t know…
Yet.
Perhaps she hadn’t veered off the path after all. Perhaps once again, she was right where she was supposed to be.