Chapter 20 #2
Rae dug her fingernails into her palms, forcing herself to focus. She couldn’t afford to lose control. Especially when there was a chance that she could convince the king to release her father and the others. She tilted her head in a bow.
“It is a sweet sentiment,” Meryamun went on. “But it’s also very wrong.”
Rae went rigid.
“You see, when you love someone, as I love Nefermaat, you do not express that love through submission. You do not show your devotion by groveling before cowards and malefactors, begging for her freedom like some common peasant. No. A lion does not submit to jackals, dear Ahura. You of all people should know this. What does a lion do?”
Meryamun smiled, and his handsome, striking face was transformed. Despite herself, despite everything, Rae could feel the pull of his spell. His radiance was as fierce as the sun.
“He roars,” Meryamun said with relish. “He roars and shows them tooth and claw, the likes of which they have never seen nor felt. And thus, the jackals will discover they’ve been dead since the moment they decided to touch her.”
Rae’s heart dropped.
With sudden, painful clarity, Rae recognized that they had underestimated the young king. Catastrophically underestimated him.
“Guard, send a message to the battalion we shipped down to Sakesh to support the tax collections,” the king said.
“Brief them about the situation here, and let them know that for every day the priestess is not returned to me, they are to take a hundred hands. One for each enemy slain in the name of my dear Nefermaat. Let it be known throughout the land that every hour of her confinement is awash in Sakeshi blood.”
The head guard bowed. “It shall be done.”
Rae could not mask her horror, and Meryamun laughed.
“Worry not, sweet lioness. I do not blame you for your soft heart, nor will you be punished for your honesty. Honesty is rare within these walls. The last thing I want is to snuff it out.”
Rae struggled to reply. She had not been worried about her own life, but the others… “Thank you, my king,” she managed. She hoped Meryamun wouldn’t notice the hate in her voice.
He didn’t. He’d already moved on.
“Ah! Sabni. Just who I wanted to see,” Meryamun said to the little man who’d come skittering into the throne room after the head guard left with his commands.
“Tell me, is there any word from the delegation we sent to Tash? I’m curious to hear their thoughts on my proposals.
Harsi has his own ideas about how their queen will respond, but honestly, what wouldn’t a mother do for her beloved son? ”
“I’m afraid we lost contact with the delegation,” the man called Sabni replied as the remaining guard led Rae from the chamber. “We expected a message from them yesterday, but so far, nothing. I’m concerned something may have happened…”
The throne room doors closed behind them, cutting off his response. Away from the king, Rae’s breath quickened.
I must speak with Omari, she thought.
The situation was bad before, but they’d just made it much, much worse.
***
It was midafternoon by the time Rae was able to get away from her duties and return to the riverside camp. She burst through the reeds without announcement and found Omari, Buto, and Kay roasting fish over a fire and tearing into some loaves of bread from the market.
“Well?” Omari asked.
At the sight of his face, Rae’s fear and anger found a target. “I told you this was a bad idea, Omari. I told you!”
With exaggerated control, Omari handed his skewer of fish to Kay, brushed the grit from his hands, and stood. “Tell me what’s happened.”
Cursing, Rae kicked at a rock and sent it sailing into the river. She wanted to scream.
Omari grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.
“For the love of Ra, will you get ahold of yourself? You’re going to bring the entire palace guard down on our heads if you keep carrying on like that!
” Squeezing her hard enough to cause pain, he leaned in so his face was nearly touching hers.
“Now,” he said in a low voice, “tell me what’s happened. ”
Rae jerked away and rubbed her shoulder. Again, she was struck by how much her friend’s behavior had changed since they’d left Sakesh. He’d always been passionate about their cause but never violent. And never toward her.
“They found the note,” she said. “The head guard brought it and me before the king. There was a priest in the throne room when we arrived, and he claimed the young priestess and Prince Bakenamun were conspiring together against the king. As I had suspected!”
Omari’s eyebrows rose. “I see.”
“Meryamun didn’t believe it, though. In fact, he killed the priest right in front of me.”
Buto nearly dropped his fish in the fire. “He killed a priest?”
Rae nodded. “The king has total faith in Nefermaat and will do whatever it takes to get her back.”
“That’s good news, then,” Omari said, folding his arms.
“No, it isn’t!” Rae exclaimed. “Because Meryamun’s idea of doing ‘whatever it takes’ involves his men killing a hundred civilians in Sakesh for every day the girl isn’t returned!”
The two rebels at the fire jumped to their feet in chagrin.
“What?” Buto exclaimed.
Omari’s face turned scarlet. Then he turned back to the men. “Buto, finish cooking those fish. Kay, come with me. We need to send a pigeon to Sakesh to warn them. I’ll write the message, and you make sure the bird is ready. If he flies fast enough, he might make it there in time.”
Omari moved to leave, but Rae caught his arm.
“We should free the girl now!” she said. “If she shows up at the palace unharmed, no one has to die. We can come up with another plan to free the prisoners.”
Omari chuckled humorlessly. “Ay, have you learned nothing about war? Someone always has to die.” He glanced back at the tent. “The girl knows our faces. Our names. If we let her go now, we’ll be dead before sunset. The girl could still be useful. Guard her until I get back, will you?”
Nodding vaguely, Rae watched the men go about their business. To Buto, she asked, “Has the girl gotten any food or water?”
Buto shook his head. “Omari didn’t think it was safe to remove her gag. He said she’d probably put a curse on us. Make us smell bad or never get it up again.”
Rae rolled her eyes. “Give me that, you fool,” she said, snatching the bread from Buto’s hand. “A curse would be wasted on you. You already smell bad.” Then she grabbed an empty clay cup, dipped it into the river, and carried both items into the tent.
She found Nefermaat slumped in the corner, her eyes closed.
Rae hurried over to her, worried that the priestess might have fainted from the heat. It was stifling and airless inside the little tent.
“Neff,” she whispered, sliding a hand behind the girl’s bald head and lifting it gently. When she didn’t stir, Rae loosened the gag and pulled it out of her mouth.
Let her curse me if she wants, Rae thought. My luck couldn’t get much worse.
“Neff,” Rae said again. “Wake up. I have some food and water for you.” She lifted the cup to the girl’s lips and poured a few drops into her mouth.
The girl’s throat bobbed as she swallowed, and then she was leaning toward the cup and drinking greedily.
“Not so fast,” Rae cautioned. “You’ll get sick.”
Neff nodded and licked her lips, taking deep, labored breaths. Then she looked at Rae with those dark, haunting eyes and—inexplicably—smiled.
“Now I understand,” she said.
Rae blinked. “Understand what?”
“Why he didn’t warn me about you. Why he didn’t try to protect me.”
“Who?”
“Medjed.”
“Who?” Rae repeated.
“He knew that we were supposed to meet. He knew that you wouldn’t really hurt me.”
Rae felt the earth tilt beneath her feet. The girl was doing it again. There was something about her that unnerved Rae. Something that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
“You’re wrong,” Rae said. “You’re in great danger, Nefermaat.”
“I am. But not from you.”
Rae swallowed and decided to change tack. “What do you mean, ‘supposed to meet’? We’ve already met.”
Neff shook her head. “I met Ahura, but you’re not her. You’re Rae. Greetings to you. You’re not the only one with secrets. Our goals are not as different as you think.”
Rae felt a flash of satisfaction. I knew it. “So the priest was right. You and the prince really are conspiring against the king.”
Neff looked surprised. “You saw Montuhotep?”
“I did, in the throne room. He was going on and on about what a devious child you are. He only ended his rant because the king slit his throat. He won’t be spreading rumors about you any longer, I can tell you that much.”
Nefermaat’s eyes bugged. “Montuhotep is dead?”
“Very much so.”
Neff slumped back against the wall of the tent.
“It wasn’t your fault. The rat obviously had it coming.”
“Still.” The girl’s gaze settled on the loaf of bread. “Could I…?”
Rae gave her a stern look. “I’ll untie your hands, but you must promise not to try to escape.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Neff replied. “I’m exactly where I need to be.”
Another thrill of energy crept up Rae’s spine as she unbound Nefermaat’s hands. Why does she speak in riddles?
“I still don’t understand,” Rae said as she watched the girl devour the bread. “You’re just a child. Why would you risk your life to work against the king?”
Neff swallowed a bite of food and looked straight at Rae. “Because of the lamb.”
Rae straightened. “The lamb?” The words whispered through her mind like the wind, full of smoke and honey and wine.
“Yes. The Oracle of the Lamb.”
The little priestess told her everything. About her dreams, her visions, her journey from Bubas to the Temple of Amun to the royal palace. She recited the words of the lamb and their connection to four very special individuals: Nefermaat herself, the princess Sitamun, a Red Lander named Karim—
“And you.”
Rae scoffed. “You’ve got to be joking.”
“I’m not,” Neff replied.
“You want me to believe that a thousand years ago, Khnum, the Divine Potter, decided that a High Khetaran princess, a thirteen-year-old girl, some desert tribesman, and a Sakeshi rebel were supposed to meet and somehow save the kingdom from…what? A tyrant king? Is Meryamun the cause of the ‘sorrow and ruin’ your lamb speaks of?”
“Yes and no,” Neff mused. “Stopping Meryamun is part of our calling, but I’m certain there’s more to it than that. I don’t know yet exactly what, but I have a feeling that we’ll find out very soon.”
Rae tilted her chin and stared at the top of the tent, where early evening light filtered through the weave of the canvas. “This is madness. Come on, you’ve finished eating. I’ve got to tie you up again and go find Omari.”
Neff shook her head. “No, don’t! You must listen!”
“Enough! Now stay still.”
The girl began to struggle as Rae attempted to bind her wrists. “Please, Rae! I know you’re a good person! I can see it in your eyes! You want to do what’s right for the kingdom!”
“Be quiet!” Rae snarled. She could feel her anger growing. It was all too much.
“You met him! Karim! By the riverbank! Isn’t that right?”
Rae froze. She couldn’t be talking about the Jackal, could she?
“You remember him, don’t you?” the girl went on, seemingly encouraged by the confusion on Rae’s face. “He saw you on a farm by the side of the river. He had curly hair. Stubble. Big smile. You gave him fish to eat, and he gave you gifts in exchange.”
Neff squeezed her eyes shut, as if straining to recall the memory.
“When I met him, he said he gave you a…a ring, I think, and something else.” Then she gasped.
Before Rae could stop her, the young priestess reached out, looped her finger under the cord around Rae’s neck, and pulled the lion amulet from its hiding place beneath Rae’s dress.
“This,” Neff said with triumph. “He gave you this Sekhmet amulet. For the one who wields the scepter.”
Thunderstruck, Rae jerked the amulet out of the girl’s grasp and tucked it back beneath her dress with a trembling hand.
The hand wearing the very ring that Neff had also mentioned.
The ring featuring four symbols: a snake, a feather, an eye, and a scarab.
She glanced at the packs piled up in the corner of the tent, one of which contained her sekhem scepter.
“You can’t know all that…” Rae muttered, her mind whirling.
“You can’t! This is some kind of High Khetaran magic. Some kind of trick!”
“It’s not, and you know it!” The little priestess didn’t raise her voice, but the strength in her words shone through nonetheless. “Look inside you, Rae. Look into your soul and tell me you don’t believe!”
Rae scanned Neff’s face, searching for deception or guile, but found only a young girl begging for someone to share a burden she’d been carrying alone.
Rae growled in frustration. “Fine! I’ll…consider what you’ve told me. Now I must return to the palace. I’ll come back soon. All right?”
Mollified, the priestess simply said, “Thank you.”
“I need to tie you up again, but I’ll make the bindings looser this time.”
The girl didn’t move a muscle as Rae retied the rags around her wrists and mouth, and she seemed at peace when Rae gave her a final glance before stepping out of the tent. “I’m not saying I believe you. I’m only saying I’ll think about it.”
Neff didn’t need to reply, her eyes said it all. You may not believe yet, but you will.
Rae gripped the rough canvas and shut the tent flap. The memory of the Jackal’s thoughtful face filled her mind, profiled against the sun as he gazed out onto the Iteru.
The river gets its way, in the end.
She cursed.