Pharaoh's Gold

by Nathaniel Burns

  “I think I’ll hold on to the pretty one. Wouldn’t want to spoil your looks before we can have any fun with you,” He sarcastically said. “We’ll just wait until my friends have finished teaching your partner some manners.”

  Neti let out a frustrated grunt which caused Shabaka to look in her direction. The distraction was long enough for one of the men to land a hard blow in his stomach, causing him to double over and gasp for breath.

  Rahann chortled at that, and called out, “Since I’ve never been able to beat you I’m really enjoying this.”

  Shabaka took another bow as one of the men managed to grab hold of him and restrain him.

  The next moment a loud wail filled the air as Neti used all the force she could muster and stomped on Rahann’s foot. The action was quickly followed with an elbow thrust into his chest. Rahann released her and doubled over, causing the men to momentarily halt their assault on Shabaka.

  Neti quickly moved and grabbed Rahann’s head and brought her knee up against it. Forcing it back and drawing a moan from him while causing him to fall back. She quickly kicked him in the side and launched all her weight at his chest, landing with a great thump and driving the wind from him. She could hear the sound of his rids cracking as she pulled at the sash around her middle, quickly loosening it, before tossing him over, eliciting a scream from him as he tried to keep his arms around his ribs.

  Shabaka quickly went after the first man, who went to help Rahann, by pulling him back, using the momentum of the movement to throw him against the wall, before again continuing with the other, rendering him a hard below the chest bone, enough to send the man back staggering and gasping for breath.

  Neti bound Rahann’s hands tightly behind his back and said between pants, “Never underestimate a woman.” Then dropped her weight on his back again causing him to scream again.

  “Neti!” Shabaka shouted in warning. She looked up and saw one of the men approaching and reached for the nearest object, which happened to be one of the glass beakers. She lifted it and without thought threw the contents at the guy’s face. A pained scream erupted from him as he covered his eyes and face with his hands, screaming, “I can’t see!” Moments later Shabaka drove him to the ground and Neti used the container to knock him on the head. Shabaka pulled his sash also from his waist as started to tie his hands, stating, “Not really the reason why we wear them, but it works.”

  Juts then the last grabbed Neti’s arm and hauled her backwards, causing her to blindly swing the glass container, this time hitting the guy’s forehead and smashing it. The man staggered back a couple of paces, dazed, while blood started seeping through the cut.

  Neti clutched her hand as she moaned, causing Shabaka to turn to her, “Neti!”

  “I’m fine, it’s just a cut.”

  Shabaka grabbed the closest length of fabric and moved to tie the other man also, before checking on Rahann’s bonds. Goading Rahann in return by saying, “You know you’re a bad fighter when even a girl can beat you up.”

  “That’s no girl,” Rahann said back between grunts.

  “You’re right, she is no girl. She’s Neti and she’ll kick your butt .”

  Shabaka moved to Neti and waited or her to right herself before asking, “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

  Neti smiled and said, “When we came back from Aswan, I got Moses to teach me.”

  “So all this time…” Shabaka started.

  “Yes,” Neti said nodding. “And it is also possibly the reason he and Yani are not talking.”

  Shabaka thought it over for a moment then said, “He was the one to teach you how to get free when someone held you.”

  “Yes, and I fear Yani may have thought differently about it.”

  “Well then I will make a point of thanking his in front of her when we return.” Shabaka looked at the men, then said, “Come you had best summon the mejay, and have that hand seen to.”

  “I can’t leave you here alone. What if one of them manages to free themselves.”

  “We could always knock the out with a blow to the head.”

  “I will go find a runner or a messenger,” Neti said.

  Neti went to open the door and quickly found someone she could send. She returned some time later. One of the men started to moan about their treatment to which Shabaka firmly replied, “We do not need to treat you with any consideration.”

  Rahann made to say something, however Shabaka backslapped him and told him to keep quiet. Before joining Neti at the door.

  “I think that in future we should first check to see if someone is there before doing anything,” Shabaka said, leaning against the frame, pressing against his one side with a hand.

  “I agree!” Neti said, moving to lean against him, “I suddenly feel very tired.”

  “Almost everyone does after their first fight,” Shabaka said.

  “We still have to arrest the others,” Neti said.

  “I have a good mind to have the mejay do it, and to allow Ramesses to beat everything else out of them.”

  “You are not going to do anything?” Neti asked surprised.

  “People would see it as personal,” Shabaka said. “Besides, we got them.”

  “Yes we did.”

  Just the then first of the mejay arrived.

  END