by Jerry Dubs
Imhotepo shook his head. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Akila said, trying to find a way to couch what she saw in the ancient world with terms from the modern world. “The women here give birth and raise families, just as they have through history, but they aren’t expected to be ‘feminine,’ if you know what I mean. They are women, obviously, but they are people first. They can be angry or strong or commanding and they don’t feel any pressure that they aren’t being ‘proper’ women.
“Back in the modern world, women have to fight that, they have to be extra strong and they can’t show any feminine traits if they want to be leaders.”
Imhotep put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
“I know what you mean, Akila. I thought that, too. About everything. When you and I were born there was this long tradition of what roles we should live. And established religions were all about how you are supposed to conduct your private life, what to eat and wear, when to have sex and in what positions, just everything.
“There isn’t as much history here, the religion, with a whole world of gods, isn’t as restrictive and people are still sort of exploring their possibilities.”
She nodded. “Exactly! In our world people talked about breaking out of the mold, but here the mold hasn’t been set, it is more elastic. It feels like everything is still possible.”
A fish broke the water on the lake and plopped back in. As Akila turned to the sound she quivered as she remembered the sound of rocks hitting the water before the men attacked her and Hapu, before they killed Isesi.
Feeling her tremor, Imhotep asked, “What is it?”
Akila shook her head. “Nothing. I guess when everything is possible, it means everything, both good and bad.”
Before Imhotep could answer, a triple drum beat sounded and Akila said, “I think that is the dinner bell.”
Attack
Pulled from its resting place deep within the leather sack, the rock was gripped briefly by fingers nearly as hard as the stone and then given freedom. The rock spun through the night air from the darkness of the jungle toward the edge of the trees where a sentry was silhouetted by the starry night sky.
The rock brushed against a dark leaf, moving so quickly that it tore the leaf from its branch. It arced onward, passing though a small bush and snapping a dried twig.
The tiny crackle caught the sentry’s ears and he turned his head to look into the forest shadows. Instead of the dark tree trunks standing against the darker interior of the jungle, he saw only an irregular dark shape that quickly grew in size. And then the shape changed from shadow to pain as the rock struck his forehead.
He felt a sharp punch as his skin was torn, then a ripple of vibrations as his skull cracked and his head fell backward. And then darkness descended.
- 0 -
On the lake front, Imhotep crouched alone, his feet at shoulder width, his knees bent as he held the stance Akila had taught him. He extended his arms and pretended to encircle a tree, imaging himself embracing his chi. Eyes closed as he faced the water, he tried to remember Akila’s instructions: Don’t push your knees farther forward than your feet, keep your shoulders relaxed, breathe from your stomach.
He felt a twinge in his right knee and, sighing in disappointment, he opened his eyes and came out of the stance. He was trying to strengthen his legs, especially the one that had suffered the most from his entombment, but it didn’t seem to matter what kind of exercise he tried, his leg continued to ache.
He was nearly fifty. Extreme old age in this era, he thought with chagrin, and he wondered if he would just have to accept this minor infirmity.
Bending, he picked up his staff and, leaning his weight on it, he pivoted toward the quiet village. Ahmose and King Parahu, celebrating the trade treaty, were comparing the flavors of beer from the Two Lands with a fermented drink that King Parahu called palm wine but which smelled like rotten fruit. Nehsy and Ty had left immediately after the long dinner to make formal copies of the trade agreement. Nehsy had been eager to complete the work and return to ‘civilization.’
Ty had been ... nervous. There was no other word for it, Imhotep thought. The young scribe seemed never to have recovered from his long bout with seasickness. He ate little, drank much, and kept looking into the jungle and twitching at the slightest sound.
Some people don’t travel well, Imhotep thought with a frown, which changed into a smile when he thought of Akila and Pharaoh Hatshepsut.
Akila is changing, he thought. She is on the verge of discovering something about herself. This trip, after her journey from the modern world to this ancient time, is releasing her spirit, setting it free from bonds that she didn’t know were restraining her.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut is like the flooding river now, surging beyond constraints, moving beyond the Two Lands and embracing, changing everything she touches.
They had retired with Queen Ati to her hut after the meal, taking with them some bolts of linen, jars of oil, and a collection of different weapons. A strange pajama party, he thought with a smile.
He stretched his back, shook his right leg, hoping that the movement would rattle things back into place, smiled at his own foolishness and raised the staff to begin walking back to the village.
His eyes, accustomed to the night’s darkness, saw a shadow move at the jungle’s edge. Then another shadow. He leaned forward as more and more shadows stepped from the forest and began to run toward the village. Even from a distance his failing eyes could see that they were bent forward, running stealthily and carrying weapons.
A raiding party!
Fear swept over him and he started to run toward the soldiers’ encampment.
- 0 -
Oil lamps spread yellow light against the brown branches and woven palm leaves that made up the walls of Queen Ati’s hut. She, Akila and Pharaoh Hatshepsut sat in a circle in the hut. Two unraveled bolts of linen lay to the side by a jar of perfumed oil.
In the space between the three women lay a collection of axes, spears, knives and a khopesh sword. A leather-covered shield, already examined and discussed, was propped against the wall.
Outside the hut, three warriors from Ta Netjer mingled with three soldiers from the Two Lands, their stomachs full, their attention relaxed. Admiral Ahmose had stressed that the missing woman meant that there was danger, but the soldiers believed that the danger was in the jungle, not here in the quiet village, and not after nightfall.
And, the soldiers of the Two Lands reasoned, Pharaoh Hatshepsut was well armed and certainly in no danger from Queen Ati.
Inside the hut, Queen Ati picked up the khopesh sword and said, “Why is the blade curved like the moon?” She held the sword in one hand and with the other followed the short straight blade and then ran a finger along the sweeping curve of the blade, following it to the hooked tip.
“The hook,” said Pharaoh Hatshepsut, “allows the soldier to grab and tear away an opponent’s shield. The curved blade adds strength to the blow and, because it is curved outward, it reaches the opponent more quickly.”
Queen Ati felt the sword's heft, admiring its balance.
“And the blade is made of?” she asked.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut smiled. “Our metal workers combine tin with copper. One metal lets them shape the sword and give it a sharper edge, the other gives it strength.”
“And the ratio?” Queen Ati asked.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut laughed. “I think my son Thutmose would have me executed if I gave away such secrets.” Then she leaned forward and put a hand on Queen Ati’s arm, “But I would tell you, Queen Ati. However, I do not know. Nor do I know how they generate the heat to make such metals. I know it involves twice-burned wood that glows with the heat of Re, but I haven’t spent time in the forges.”
She leaned back and pulled a bolt of linen to her. “Just like the linen. I know in general that they take strands of flax and twist them together, and I have seen the looms where they weave the threads in
to cloth, but I haven’t tried my hand at it.”
Queen Ati cocked her head. “Before I became queen I was trained in all the things that women do. Before my body began to change I did all those things. I would still if I could.”
Pharaoh Hatshepsut nodded. “I was trained with my father and his advisors. I rode with him in his war chariot. I learned to shoot a bow and how to use a sword.” She stared off into the darkness. “I lost my brothers when I was young and I think my father wanted me to become a man.”
“Because only a man can rule your country?” Queen Ati asked.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut nodded. “The temple carvings show only men as rulers. But,” she shrugged.
“That is the way in much of the world,” Akila said softly. “But there have been many strong women who have ruled their countries. And, in my world, women were leaving the home and becoming more active in helping to guide their countries.”
“In your world?” Queen Ati said.
Akila nodded, but before she could begin to explain there was a shout from outside and then a scream.
In a single move, Pharaoh Hatshepsut snatched the khopesh and hurried to the doorway.
- 0 -
After killing all the sentries on the western edge of the village. Yuya’s Medjays abandoned stealth. Moving rapidly through the village, they were bent now on creating confusion.
Anyone sleeping outdoors was killed as they slept. The Medjays lit torches from the dying fires and began to set fire to the raised huts.
While a squad of the men burned huts, the others spread ahead in the darkness looking for enemy soldiers. And in front of them, tall enough to peer into the raised huts without climbing the ladder, Yuya stalked the shadows for the three women he had spied earlier at the center of the feast table, for he was sure now that they were the ones Governor Seni was intent on killing.
- 0 -
Imhotep reached the lakeside edge of the village, the area where the soldiers of the Two Lands had encamped.
“Wake up!” he shouted as he ran from hut to hut. “We’re being attacked! Wake up!”
Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and Imhotep turned to see Captain Djehuty.
“We’re being attacked,” Imhotep said.
Just then a scream came from the far end of the village.
“How many? Where?” Djehuty asked.
Imhotep shook his head. “I don’t know. I was by the lake and I saw men running from the trees toward the village. I don’t know how many.”
Before Imhotep was finished speaking, Djehuty started to turn away. “I want the first three squads to race to the hut of Queen Ati, that is where Pharaoh Hatshepsut is. Don’t fight your way there, just get there and protect pharaoh.
“The rest of you come with me. We will sing and shout as we attack. Make as much noise as you can to draw the enemy to us and away from pharaoh. Everyone now! For the Two Lands! For Pharaoh! For Horus! Let your blades sing and spill their blood!”
As the men rushed into the darkness, Imhotep turned and ran stiff-legged toward the hut that he and Akila shared, hoping against hope that she would be there.
- 0 -
Pharaoh Hatshepsut stood in the hut’s doorway and stared toward the growing flames at the western edge of the village.
A hand touched her shoulder and Akila said, “Pharaoh Hatshepsut, King Parahu has warriors. Admiral Ahmose has fifty soldiers.”
“And I am their leader,” Pharaoh Hatshepsut said. “What is happening?” she barked at the soldiers at the base of the ladder.
The leader of the protective guard shook his head. “I do not know, Pharaoh Ma’at-Re-Ka. There was some shouting and then a scream.” As he turned to point across the village an arrow buried itself in the wooden doorpost by Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s hand.
She looked at the arrow in surprise and then there was a grunt from below her. Looking down she saw one of the soldiers crumple to the ground in slow motion. As the man fell, the others raised their shields and turned toward the encampment.
A volley of arrows cut through the darkness. Some thudded into the shields, others buried themselves in exposed flesh of the soldiers and others fell into the now-empty doorway of the hut that Pharaoh Hatshepsut had already vacated. Running to the rear of the hut, she began to hack at the wooden supports to create an escape. She felt movement beside her and then saw an ax blade flash past her as Akila assaulted the wall also.
Queen Ati crawled to the doorway where she pushed aside embedded arrows and reached down to pull up the ladder. Then she began to cut an opening in the floor by the entrance. The trap cut, she dragged the ladder with her as she crawled back to Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Akila.
A last blow by Akila’s ax broke through the wall’s support and Pharaoh Hatshepsut kicked at the matted palm leaves to create an opening.
“Here,” Queen Ati said, sliding the ladder to her.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut lowered the ladder and then, khopesh in hand, she quickly climbed down it. Queen Ati motioned for Akila to go next. Once she was down, the queen followed, tipping over a lamp to set the hut on fire as she left.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut crouched to look under the hut.
She saw bodies on the ground, but no one standing on the other side of the hut. A crackling sound grew louder and flames from the hut began to push through the conical roof.
“Who is it? Who would attack you?” Pharaoh Hatshepsut asked Queen Ati.
“No one. We have no enemies,” Queen Ati answered.
From the distance came a chorus of shouts and then the chanting of soldiers heading to battle.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut straightened and said, “Those are my lions. They will kill these cowards who attack in the night.”
“But they are on the far side of the village,” Akila said, staring into the flame-lit shadows of the nearby huts.
Suddenly they heard the sound of orders being barked and a deeper, calm voice said, “Find the women.”
Pharaoh Hatshepsut shook her head. “I don’t know that voice,” she said in a whisper.
“We need to go somewhere, to hide until this has ended,” Akila said.
Queen Ati grabbed each of them, nodded toward the darkness and said, “To the forest of myrrh.”
Into the forest
Behind them the shouting and sounds of fighting increased and more flames reached into the sky. Walking through the darkness beyond the village, Queen Ati led Akila and Hatshepsut up the slight incline to the forest of myrrh.
Just outside the black wall of thorny branches that seemed to embrace the midnight blue of the night sky, they paused to let Queen Ati catch her breath. While they waited, each unconsciously listened intently for the pad of bare feet on the rocky path they had just traveled.
They turned to each other, their eyes questioning. Suddenly a rock thudded against the trunk of the nearest tree, right behind the space where Pharaoh Hatshepsut had held her head a moment earlier.
“This way,” Queen Ati said, hurrying into the tree-lined maze.
- 0 -
Captain Djehuty struggled to keep command of his men as they hurried through the chaotic village.
Women and children screamed as they scrambled past them, the huts burned with loud crackles and pops, and warriors with clubs and heavy spears ran past them. The soldiers of the Two Lands, unsure whether the running warriors were the enemy or their allies, hesitated as Captain Djehuty ordered them to hold their blows.
And then arrows began to thud into the ground, bury themselves in exposed chests and rip into arms and legs.
“Archers!” Djehuty screamed and the men who had had been awake enough to remember to pick up their shields before running into battle, raised them. The other men scattered, running for the shelter of the burning huts.
“Keep shouting,” Djehuty ordered and then started to run forward, leading his men against an unknown enemy.
- 0 -
The three squads assigned to safeguard Pharaoh Hatshepsut were stalled near the cente
r of the village.
They had stumbled upon a line of King Parahu’s warriors who were crouched behind burning huts. In front of them the ground was filled with men, some dead, some trying to crawl, arrows sticking from their bodies, others moaning and crying as they lay wounded, too weak to move.
The soldiers of the Two Lands talked a moment and then one squad peeled off and ran to the right, a second squad ran to the left and the third squad, spears at ready, charged into the body-strewn battleground.
Jumping over bodies as they charged, they rushed past a clutch of huts and found themselves face-to-face with ten Medjay warriors. Their supply of arrows exhausted, the Medjay had discarded their bows and were formed in a loose circle, holding spears.
The soldiers of the Two Lands skidded to a halt and quickly arranged themselves in a line, their own spears gripped and ready. This was a fight they knew and they were unafraid of the Medjay.
As one, the line of soldiers screamed a battle cry, threw their spears at the unshielded Medjay warriors and then, khopesh swords raised, they attacked. Two of the Medjay fell, spears in their stomachs, but the others closed ranks and knelt, their long spears angled upward.
The soldiers charged on, swords flashing, bloodlust in their throats. And then the second squad appeared, charging from the Medjay’s flank. The Medjays threw their own spears and then drew their knives and charged at the men in front of them, trying to break through the line.
The night was filled with the smell of blood, the grunts of wrestling men and the surprised screams of men as blades cut into them. Beyond the bloody knot of fighters, the third squad continued its dash toward the hut of Queen Ati.
- 0 -
Yuya almost laughed.