“According to his priests he is the sole god and rules all lands. I believe this god arrived with the foreign invaders.”
She frowned. “What should I do? Is there a place where I can pay for a room for the night? I can’t sleep on the street.”
“If you’ll trust me I know where you’ll be safe. My friend has a house nearby and no wife or family. Come with me.”
Tira nodded. “The priestess told me one of Horu’s warriors would join me on the quest. Perhaps you are the one.”
Kashe grabbed her arm. “I intended to leave my father’s house not long after the hawk came to me but something kept me here. He held his arm for the bird to land. “This is Horu Ka.”
Tira touched the hawk’s head. “So you also have an animal companion. Why didn’t you leave?”
He shrugged. “Maybe I waited for you.” The hawk took wing.
She grinned. “Then I believe we will travel together.”
Perfect, he thought. This was his escape. “If you can keep me from those priests I’ll gladly join you.” He led her to a small house where he knocked.
The door opened a crack. “Kashe, go away.”
“Let us in.”
“Us?”
“Yes.”
“Are you drunk?” The crack widened.
“Not a drop. Tuten, this is Tira, one of Bast’s warriors. She has been sent to examine some scrolls my father took from Toth’s temple. Going to the compound tonight wouldn’t be safe for her.”
“The priests still there?” The balding man looked from one to the other. “Appears you’ve been practicing your arts. Against each other.”
Kashe shook his head. “One of the priests, the one I swear belongs to the defeated invaders, set a group of river men to capture me. She jumped in and took down two or three.”
The cat leaped to the ground and wove a path around Tuten’s legs. He stepped aside so they could enter. He touched Kashe’s amulet. “This is new. How did you come by Horu wings? There are no temples or priests nearby.”
Kashe turned and braced for Horu Ka’s landing. The hawk swooped into the house. “The night the priests of Aken Re arrived at the compound the hawk came to me and dropped the medallion on the floor.” He didn’t mention the scroll with the prophecy.
Tuten laughed. “Looks as if your father has a son who will be a priest in a temple he has rejected.”
“I’m no priest nor do I intend to become one,” Kashe said. “I’ll serve Horu as a warrior.”
“Horru,” the hawk called.
Tira gasped and pointed. The cat sat on a cushion with the hawk perched on the table. Kashe laughed. “Just like the god and goddess they are allies.”
“Companions,” Tira said. “Just as we may be.”
Kashe nodded. He tamped a surge of desire to have her in his arms again. Lust had no place on a quest especially when the prophecy held a warning. If he repeated those words often enough he would believe.
Tuten ushered them into a room where leather covered cushions surrounded a low table. “Sit and tell me why you arrived at my door.”
“Can Tira spend the night? Going to the compound would endanger her.”
Tuten nodded. “I’ll sleep on the roof. She can use my sleeping chamber.”
Tira looked at the floor. “Could I buy a meal?”
Tuten laughed. “Buy, no. I will feed you.” He left the room and returned with a pitcher and three cups. He filled them with beer.
“Do you have water?” Tira asked.
“I’ve none left from the village well.” Tuten placed barley bread, cheese, sliced onions and dates on the table. “I’ve no wine, only beer.”
“I’m not much of a drinker.”
Tuten laughed. “Kashe will drink your share. He has made a study of beer.”
Kashe raised his cup. “Only because my life has been aimless since my father refuses to allow me to lead his guards. And remember, beer is food.”
Tuten cut a piece of cheese and wrapped it around a date. “Eat and tell us what you seek. Could you be the young woman who will wed the man who will become the pharaoh?”
She shook her head. “I’ve no relationship to any dynasty of this land. I’ve been called as a warrior of Bast.”
“Do you seek the lost daughter?”
“That isn’t my quest.” She leaned forward. “How do I know I can trust you with the secret I’ve been sent to unearth?”
“You can.” Kashe tapped his amulet. “I am the chosen of Horu as you are of Bast. Tuten was my mentor and is my friend. He can gather the supplies we will need when we leave here.”
She met their gazes. “I seek what was hidden when the invaders came. These objects are needed to seat a new dynasty.”
Tuten raised his head. “Symbols of the rule?”
Tira fed the cat a bit of cheese. “How did you guess?”
“The staff, the crook and the double crown have not been seen since the arrival of the invaders in the Two Lands. I was with the nomarch’s men when the people of this land united to fight. The pharaoh wore a war crown. He carried a spear and a mace.”
“Why are you so hesitant to confide in us?” Kashe asked.
“I’ve learned to keep my own council.” She drew a deep breath. “For too long I’ve faced life alone.”
“Have you no family or friends?” Tuten asked.
Tira shook her head. “They’re all dead.”
Tuten bowed his head. “I also have no living family but I do have friends. So does my large companion but they’re seldom members of his family.”
“There is Namose,” Kashe said.
“Young and powerless.”
Kashe turned to Tira. “I believe you have traveled a distance to reach the Two Lands.”
“You could say that. How do you know?”
“You’re taller than most of the women of the Two Lands. Your skin is darker. Are you from Nubia?”
She laughed. “From a more distant land.” She stared at her hands. “I can never go home.”
“So you became a warrior of Bast.”
“Something like that.” She covered her mouth to hide a yawn.
Tuten refilled his cup. “After you meet the nomarch where do you go?”
“I’m not sure. The chief priestess of the temple thought the Valley of the Pharaohs.”
Tuten drained the cup. “I’ll show you where to sleep.” He pointed to Kashe. “Go home, my friend.”
Kashe rose. “After the priest leaves I’ll return and escort you to my father.” As he walked toward the compound he wondered how his father would react when a warrior of Bast appeared at his door.
Chapter 5
Once again Tira woke in a strange place but with little of the confusion of the last time. She sat on the edge of the bed and felt a moment of panic. Was this a dream and would she wake in jail charged with murdering her sister? Would she be a prisoner and forced to give answers she didn’t have? Even if you must remain there all the days of your life? The echo of the old woman’s voice brought her new reality into focus. This world was now her home. This Egypt with similarities and differences was where she would remain.
She stretched and rose. After finding a pitcher and basin she washed. What she wouldn’t give for a shower. An impossible dream. Even if she could speak of one she had no idea of how they were manufactured and installed. The technology wasn’t present in this time and place.
After donning clean clothes she washed the ones she’d worn in the basin. The linen cloth should dry quickly in the hot dry air. Already she felt warm. She wondered about the seasons. In the ancient Egypt of her world there were three, inundation, sowing and harvest.
She carried the wet things into the room where she’d eaten the night before. Tuten sat on a cushion near the table. Before joining him she stepped outside to lay the wet clothes on a bench in the tiny garden. “Good morning.”
“And to you.” The older man pointed to a bowl of eggs. The shell of one he’d eaten sat on
the table before him. “I boiled water for you to drink.”
“Thank you.” She didn’t imagine there was coffee or tea. She noticed slices of melon in a bowl near the figs and dates. She took one and bit into the sweet fruit. After eating several slices she peeled one of the boiled eggs.
What would Tuten think if she asked for raw eggs, oil, a skillet and cheese? Would he consider her insane? She opened her mouth to speak. Once again no words emerged. She released a held breath. There was no way she could bring any idea from her former world to this one except her knowledge of martial arts. Her skills were engrained in her muscles and her mind. Accept what is, she decided. She bit into the egg. “What happens now?”
“Kashe will arrive as soon as the priest leaves.” He scowled. “For those of us who remain loyal to Horu, Bast and Toth, the Aken Re priests serve an abomination.” He leaned forward. “Warrior of Bast, I have a question for you.”
Tira swallowed. “If I can I will answer.”
“Once you have found the symbols vital to a united Two Lands where will you go?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps the goddess will reveal what I must do when my quest ends.” She bent her head. She could enter one of the temples of Bast but she wasn’t sure this kind of service would suit her.
“Before you and Kashe arrive at the Valley there is a hidden temple of Horu. This is where my name was given to the gods. The priests there may be able to aid your search. Kashe should go there and give his name so the priests can carry it to the god.”
Tira nodded. Could these priests have knowledge she could use in the search? Did they have the keys? She closed her eyes to think. Was Kashe truly the companion chosen by the god? His presence on the quest would present a problem. She was more attracted to him than she’d ever been to a man. She had no idea about the customs of this land. In the Egypt of the world she knew there were women’s courts. Men often had more than one wife. Being confined in such a place wasn’t to her taste, nor did she think she could share.
Kashe had been chosen by Horu. What would happen if his name wasn’t known by the god? The nomarch had promised his middle son to the temple of Aken Re. Would that promise hold if Kashe’s name wasn’t heard by Horu? Maybe she only needed his help until she gained access to the scrolls. She might need to continue the quest alone.
She met Tuten’s gaze. “Are there prophecies about these days?”
He laughed. “Omens, prophecies, rumors and lies abound in the Two Lands.”
“Tell me what you know. I want to understand.”
He nodded. “The priests of Aken Re cry doom on those who refuse to embrace their god. They warn of plagues and pestilences to come that will smite their enemies. Yet the priests and priestesses of the Three proclaim the land is on the brink of rebirth. I pray when you find the symbols of the rule a way will be found to drive these foreign priests and their god to join their defeated people.”
Tira frowned. He asked too much of her. She didn’t think changing the rule was her role. Or was it? Another thought bubbled to the surface. Was this Aken Re the one worshiped by the Hykons? She tried to recall what she’d read about these mysterious invaders. Were they the same here? “Where did these invaders come from?”
“Out of the east but the exact location of their origin is unknown.”
She drew a deep breath. Did it matter where they had arisen and who they were? They had been defeated. “Last night you mentioned the daughter of the last pharaoh and that through her the Two Lands would be united. Do you believe she lives and she is who she will claim to be?”
“Always in the times of greatest trouble when a dynasty ends a daughter is spared. Young Namose, Kashe’s brother, can tell you more. He’s a scholar in training and studies the past.”
Tira finished her meal. Maybe this Namose should be her companion. She might need his knowledge. Except, Kashe had been chosen by Horu and she’d been told a warrior of the god of the skies would join her. She cleared her place at the table. A memory of the kiss she and Kashe had shared heated her body. She wanted him to travel with her. She wanted what his lips had promised.
The sound of flutes, sistrums and drums drew Tira to the door and toward the town’s main street where people gathered. She slipped into the crowd. Bast Ka sat at her feet. She lifted the cat into her arms and watched the procession. A group of young women wearing pleated dresses played the instruments. Four guards walked before a palanquin carried by four men. An obese man whose white robe glittered with gold rayed circles sat behind the open curtains. Four more kilted spear-carriers followed.
A sound between a hiss and a growl vibrated against Tira’s chest. The priest turned his head. She ducked into the shadows. The scent of incense wafted toward her. She dashed away and returned to Tuten’s house before a fit of coughing revealed her to the priest’s eyes.
Tuten met her at the door. “Why did you go out?” A frown appeared on his round face. His dark eyes shone with concern.
“To see. Who are the fat man and the others?”
“The chief priest of Aken Re and his entourage. The parade was to show the people of town how powerful he is. Those priests try to convince everyone their god should be the sole spiritual guide of the Two Lands.”
“I don’t think a parade would persuade anyone except those people who are foolish.”
Tuten bowed his head. “But the people of Mero know the nomarch sides with this priest. The nomarch controls their lives.”
“Where does the priest and his entourage go?”
“They will travel by barge to the temple they stole from Toth with the nomarch’s help.”
“What do you mean?”
“Though the invaders were driven away many of their priests remained. These men visited the nomarch and made promises for his help. He took a group of guards and followed them.”
“Were you there?”
Tuten’s hands clenched. The muscles in his forearms rippled. “I remained to guard the compound and family. I only continued as one of the nomarch’s guards until my service time ended. I can’t follow this new god.”
Tira met his gaze. “The priest is evil. What about the nomarch?”
“Not evil but a man with great ambitions. He craves more wealth and power than he has now.”
Tira gathered the dried clothes and rolled them in her bundle. As she sat at the table she wished Kashe would come. The sun had passed beyond midday when he appeared at the door. He leaned against the door frame. “Are you ready to meet the nomarch of Mero?”
His grin warmed her. She lifted her bundle. As he straightened she admired the way the arm bands made his biceps seem more powerful. Her gaze lingered on the amulet centered between his pecs. The man was potent and she had to resist his allure lest she be drawn from the quest. She lifted Bast Ka and turned to Tuten. “Thanks for the bed and the food. The blessings of Bast on you and your house.”
The older man bowed. “I am pleased to help. I’ll find a chariot, a horse and supplies. They’ll be upriver at the abandoned house. When will you leave?”
“Ask the warrior,” Kashe said.
Tira shrugged. “Until I study the scrolls I won’t be sure the Valley of the Pharaohs is my destination. Though the chief priestess believes that’s where the symbols were hidden the area may only be the site of more clues.”
Kashe nodded. “I’ll try to send word but I’ve a feeling we’ll depart in haste.”
“Then I’ll begin at once.” Tuten caught the pouch of coins Kashe tossed.
Tira carried the cat and walked beside Kashe. “Will Tuten find trouble for helping us?”
Kashe shook his head. “He is clever and is an honored veteran of my father’s guard. He’ll have a good reason for his purchases.”
“Where’s your bird?”
Kashe pointed to the distant cliffs. “Maybe there. Unlike ordinary hawks he seldom appears during the day.” He brushed her arm with his hand. “About my father and older brother. Don’t be fooled by their fawning m
anner. They are sworn to Aken Re and will do what they can to promote that false god.”
Tira met his gaze and saw sadness in his dark brown eyes. In a way he had been betrayed by his kin as she had been by hers. “I’ve spent a lifetime knowing how most people act for their own gain.”
“And where was this?”
His question caught her by surprise. In another world and another time she wanted to say. She had been betrayed by the only family member who had remained alive. There was no way she could say these things. The words were in her thoughts but never on her tongue.
She stared at her hands. “My sister blamed me for an ill deed she had performed. She thought her life would be spared by the person she cheated. Enemies killed her and I was forced to flee.”
“Just as I’m being forced.”
She nodded. That explanation was best. “Just don’t be fooled if I act naïve. Until I find the information I need I can play a foolish woman.”
The walk to the compound led away from the river. They passed fields where the green shoots of plants rose above the earth. She had no idea what grew there. In the city most of the plants she’d seen had been trees and weeds. Once beyond the gardens she saw sheep, goats and cattle grazing on lush grass.
At the gate to the walled compound a guard stepped from a square tower. He bowed to Kashe and straightened. His eyes focused first on Bast Ka and then Tira. “Warrior of Bast.” He turned to Kashe. “Does your father know about this guest?”
Kashe grinned. “Her arrival is a surprise.”
After gaining entrance Kashe led her along a path toward the family’s residence. She pointed to a small building with pillars fronting the entrance. “What is that/”
“The family temple,” he said.
What gods were enshrined there, she wondered. Had the new replaced the old or had the rayed disc been added and given a prominent place? Though she would have liked to discover the answer Kashe strode toward the sprawling mud brick building. They reached an inner courtyard and a set of shallow steps. She glanced into a garden lush with greenery and flowering plants. She was reminded of the botanical gardens she had visited several times. “How beautiful.”
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