Kiya and the God of Chaos

by Philippa Bower

  Chapter Fifty Five: Escape

  When they arrived home, Laylos greeted them with relief. “Thank the gods you have returned safely, Kiya,” she said. “I have been so worried.”

  Kiya had to struggle to regain her breath before she could reassure her aunt. “I am fine,” she said, “and I managed to discover the scent of Osiris. But the Queen is after me and we must leave at once.” She glanced at Enno, who was standing beside Laylos, his head bowed and his body festooned with packages. “I see you have finished the packing.”

  “Only just. With you it is always a rush,” complained her aunt.

  “And with good reason,” said Huy. “The moment she finds Kiya is missing the Queen will send horsemen to cut off her escape.”

  “Where can we go? We cannot outrun them,” said Laylos, her eyes wide with dismay.

  “We will hide in the eastern mountains until the hunt dies down,” said Huy. “Then we will go to Wadi el-Nakhla. There is a quay there that services the limestone quarries in the Tuma hills. With luck we will be able to board a ship to Gesem.”

  “How long will we have to hide?” said Laylos. “I have packed very little food and only one barrel of beer.”

  “It should not be for long,” said Huy. “The Queen may have mercurial moods but she is intelligent enough to realise that if Kiya was captured and brought back to Akhetaten, there would be questions to answer.”

  Huy grabbed Enno’s rope and led the donkey out of the house. Kiya followed and briefly looked around the square for possible spies before remembering that Urshu would trouble them no more. She shivered at the memory of his fate.

  “Are you unwell, Kiya?” asked Laylos who was following her.

  “No, but I have seen something that will give me nightmares for the rest of my life.”

  Huy walked swiftly along a narrow track that ran between the back of the barracks and the wall of the cliff. Kiya struggled to keep up with him and there was no further talk. The track followed the base of the cliff as it curved away from Akhetaten and joined a road which ran parallel to the river.

  Kiya glanced back down the road half expecting to see the Queen’s guards but, apart from an ox wagon laden with stones and a couple of labourers, the road was deserted. A Bedouin boy tended a small herd of goats, which grazed on the thorny bushes of the scrub. They must have come down from the escarpment, thought Kiya. She scanned the cliff face and saw a shadowy zigzag, barely visible in the strong morning light.

  “Look, there is a path,” she cried.

  “Well done,” said Huy. “The sooner we leave this road the better.” He led Enno to the base of the path, which was half hidden behind an acacia bush. It was narrow and steep and Enno needed much urging, especially round the bends. When they neared the top Kiya looked down There was no sign of pursuit and she thanked Horus that they had had managed to evade capture.

  “I’m exhausted,” gasped Laylos, when they reached the summit.

  “We cannot stop here on the skyline,” said Huy and he led them down into a valley. There they sat under the shade of a thorn tree and drank from the beer barrel strapped to Enno’s back.

  A second barrel contained water for the donkey, which he lapped from a bowl.

  “Now we have time to talk - what happened in that room?” Sabu asked Kiya. “I heard screaming so I rushed in to rescue you.”

  “You came just in time,” said Kiya and described how Isis had destroyed Urshu with the power of her eyes.

  Laylos gave a shriek of horror and Sabu groaned. “You mean that ash in the room had been a man? I think I breathed some in!” He coughed as if trying to clear the cadaverous residue from his lungs.

  “Yet again I have to thank you for saving me, Sabu,” said Kiya “That is three times now. Once from the thieves at the inn, once from the same thieves when they attacked us at Akhetaten and now from Nefertiti.”

  Sabu grinned. “Being your bodyguard is certainly an exciting job.”

  “As is being her uncle,” said Huy. “All the excitement has made me hungry. Is there any food among those packages, my darling?”

  “Eat sparingly,” Laylos said as she unpacked bread, dates and dried beef. “I managed to beg these few scraps from the communal kitchen.” She looked around at the barren landscape and sighed. “We will be lucky if we do not starve in these hills.” She handed the food round and Kiya found that she had an appetite, despite the horrors she had witnessed.

  After lunch, Huy insisted they go further into the mountains.

  “When our pursuers fail to find us on the road they may well check the side trails. Make sure you leave no trace that we have been here.”

  By late afternoon they had traversed several of the small valleys that lay in the mountain range and Kiya was feeling depressed. She had hoped they might discover a more hospitable place, but each valley was as dry and desolate as the next.

  “We will never find our way back,” grumbled Laylos. She stopped and looked around. “This seems a nice spot for us to spend the night.”

  “I agree,” said Kiya, for it was as good as any other.

  “Very well,” said Huy. “We will stop here, beside this pile of stones.”

  “I had hoped never to have to spend a night in the open again,” complained Laylos as Kiya helped her unpack bedding and lay it on the ground. They handed round the last of the food.

  “There will be nothing for breakfast tomorrow,” said Laylos. “How I wish there were food shops in Akhetaten. I am sure it is very generous of the King to feed us all but the sooner life returns to normal the better.”

  That night Kiya had a dream. She was drifting down a river, floating on her back and gazing up at the blossom trees that bloomed white against an azure sky. One of the branches drooped down and brushed her face. She woke with a start. Something was tickling her cheek.

  “Hold still!” Sabu’s voice was soft and urgent. His hand came out of the darkness and swiped away the creature that had been crawling across her skin. “Ouch!” She heard him cry out in pain.

  Kiya sat up. Dawn was breaking, tingeing the sky pink against the swell of the mountains. She could see Sabu staring down at the insect he had killed.

  “It’s a scorpion,” he said. “I saw it crawl across your face. Its tail was raised to strike so I flipped it away.”

  “Did it sting you?” she said.

  He held up his hand. “Yes. I was not quick enough.”

  She grabbed his hand and stared at it. There was a puncture wound at the base of his thumb and the surrounding skin was discoloured.

  “What’s going on?” Laylos sat up and blinked at them with bleary eyes.

  “Sabu has been stung by a scorpion,” said Kiya.

  “Where is it?” Laylos looked at the corpse and frowned. “A fat-tailed scorpion - one of the most venomous. Oh dear!” she forced a smile and turned to Sabu. “Don’t worry, my boy, you will be fine.”

  “Perhaps we should try to suck the poison out,” suggested Kiya. She put Sabu’s hand to her lips and sucked. It just tasted sweaty and she knew she had failed to remove any venom.

  “Stop worrying. Go back to sleep. I will be all right.” But he wasn’t. By the time Huy woke up, Sabu was sweating profusely and had difficulty breathing.

  “We must get help!” Laylos cried.

  Kiya looked around the empty landscape then stared at the unfortunate victim as he lay trembling on his blanket. Where could they get help? Enno pushed past her and sniffed at Sabu.

  “Get that donkey away before it treads on him!” shouted Laylos. Enno gave her a mournful look and then turned and trotted off. “Came back here you no-good donkey!” Laylos yelled. Enno took no notice of her and hurried over the ridge and out of sight.

  “You must have upset him,” said Kiya. She jumped to her feet, torn between caring for Sabu and finding the donkey.

  “Trust that donkey to desert us at the first sign of trouble,” said Laylos. “Stop fussing about Enno and help me cool the boy down. We mu
st try to reduce his temperature.”

  Kiya filled a bowl of water from the barrel, while Laylos unpacked two towels. They came back to find that Huy had removed Sabu’s tunic so he lay just in a loin cloth. Gently they wiped cold water over his heated torso.

  “He must drink something,” said Laylos, “He could dehydrate with such a fever.”

  Huy sat Sabu up while Laylos fetched a goblet of beer. She trickled beer down his throat. He had difficulty swallowing and choked, his body wracked with coughing.

  “Hang on Sabu,” said Kiya.

  He opened his eyes and tried to reply but his words were slurred and his eyes soon glazed over.

  Oh no, thought Kiya, he is going to die! She felt tears prickle in her eyes and she brushed them away. How could a life so full of promise end like this? How could she ever forgive herself for putting him in such danger. She placed a hand upon his heated forehead and felt as if her heart would break.