Chapter One hundred and twenty one: A Memorable Return
“Is the boy dead?” cried Ana. “What about my treaty?”
Desperate to save Ogjeno and escape from the terrible gorge, they ran along the sandbank and emerged from darkness into sunlight.
There was no sign of Ogjeno as they hurried along beside the river and Kiya had given up hope of finding him when Ana shouted, “There he is!”
Ahead of them a dark shape was tangled among the reeds. Kiya helped Ana pull the boy out of the water and laid him on the ground. He lay limp and unresponsive.
“Oh no, he’s dead!” cried Kiya. She put her head on his chest, trying to listen for a heart beat.
“Get out of the way,” commanded Ana. She turned Ogjeno on his stomach and started to pump his back. “We have many drownings in Crete, but sometimes a person can be saved.” Water rushed out of Ogjeno’s mouth but he showed no other signs of life. “In a last resort we have to breathe into a person’s lungs,” said Ana. She turned Ogjeno over, pinched his nose, pressed her lips and against his and blew. She repeated this many times.
“You humans,” said a voice behind them. “Leave you alone for a few minutes and you start having sex!”
Kiya turned to see Sobek standing in the river. He was once more a man with a crocodile’s head and appeared to be uninjured by his encounter with the inkanyamba.
“Oh, Sobek!” she cried. “You saved our lives. I have never seen such bravery. But we fear that Ogjeno might have drowned.”
The Nubian coughed and then coughed again, then he sat up with a groan. “What happened? Are we dead?”
“No! Thanks to Sobek we are alive!” said Kiya. She was about to embrace Ogjeno but, when he saw the god, he scrambled to his feet, ready to flee. “Don’t be afraid,” said Kiya. “Sobek is a friend.”
“For now,” said the crocodile, nastily. “I don’t know what you did up there, Kiya. It certainly wasn’t what we intended. Your father seems to have become angrier that ever.”
Kiya looked behind to where a huge bank of cloud was building. “He intends to attack Egypt with his monsters,” she cried. “We must hurry and warn everyone!”
Sobek morphed into a crocodile and Kiya heard Ogjeno give a gasp of horror. “Get on my back,” said Sobek. “And be quick. That inkanyamba will recover soon enough from its wounds and is as much under Seth’s command as any of them.”
Kiya and Ana clambered onto Sobek’s back. Ogjeno hesitated. “Is he to be trusted?” he asked, nervously. “He seems as much a monster as any of the others.”
Sobek snarled.
“He is a god,” said Kiya, hastily. “You must apologise to him, Ogjeno. Please or we will not escape.”
Ogjeno muttered an apology and climbed up onto Sobek’s back. He looked frightened and crouched low, clinging onto the ridged scales.
“Hold on tight,” said Sobek and launched himself into the river. They raced downstream, moving fast in the direction of the strong current.
“I am sorry about Yidini,” Kiya said to Ana. “You must be upset to lose such a devoted servant.”
Ana shrugged. “He died a hero. That is all any man can ask for. I will ensure that his name is recorded in the hall of fame.”
Kiya searched Ana’s face for any signs of grief, but saw none. The woman must have a heart of stone, she thought. Even she, who knew him for so short a time, was distressed by Yidini’s death.
They made swift progress along the rapidly-flowing river, to the confluence, where they had met the murderous brothers. Kiya looked apprehensively at the acacia grove where they had been killed but could see no sign of their bodies.
Behind her Ogjeno and Ana were talking. “Was it my imagination or did you kiss me, Princess?” he asked.
“I merely saved you from drowning,” said Ana. “It was the only way and it is important that our treaty be ratified.”
Ogjeno laughed. “You are a statesman first and a woman second.”
“I am flattered,” said Ana.
They soon came to villages, where people ran from the huts to view with awe the sight of three people riding a crocodile. By now Ogjeno had gained courage and stood on Sobek’s shoulders, his head held high, as befits a future king returning to his people.
“Please let me dismount here,” he said to Sobek. “I must clear the villagers away from the path of the monsters.”
Sobek slowed and turned towards the shore.
“What about our treaty?” said Ana.
“It will be ratified. I will hasten to Egypt and bring an army of archers with me.”
“Thank you, Ogjeno,” said Kiya.
“No it is I who must thank you,” said Ogjeno. “I will go down in legend as the man who rode the back of a crocodile and retrieved more metal feathers than any before.”
A crowd had gathered and people were still running from the huts as Sobek crawled up the sandy slope that led to the village. A great cheer rent the air when the people recognised Ogjeno and there was an even greater cheer when he held the feathers aloft.
The triumphant Ogjeno slid from Sobek’s back and the people knelt upon the ground, prostrating themselves before him.
Sobek turned and crawled back to the water.
“I hope Ogjeno remembers his promises,” said Ana. “All that admiration could go to a man’s head.”
Kiya hoped so too. An army of archers would be an invaluable support in the defence of Akhetaten. She thought of Meri and wondered how her son was coping with the demands being placed upon him. She should be there, trying to protect him. But she knew, with sorrow, that her part in his story was over.
Her mission had been a failure, far from saving Egypt she had unleashed devastation upon her beloved country. She felt exhausted and lay down upon Sobek’s back.
“Do not sleep,” said Ana, “or you might fall off.”
But Kiya was too tired to care and closed her eyes.
She woke up to jolting and opened her eyes. Ana was asleep beside her. A roaring filled her ears and she knew that they were approaching a cataract. She sat up and shook the Princess awake.
“Hold on tight,” she said.
They crouched down, clinging to the scaly ridges that ran on either side of the crocodile’s back. Spray soaked them and they hung on grimly as Sobek rocked from side to side, surmounting the rocks and rapids that blocked their way.
Then the river was smooth again and there were few people as the river looped through the wide savannah with its many trees and herds of elephants.
A flock of birds flew overhead, fleeing towards Egypt. Kiya looked behind and saw that Seth’s thunderclouds were like a mountain in the sky. Even from so far a distance she could see lightning flashing in the blackness. Ogjeno should have little trouble in persuading his people that they should escape from the approaching terror, she thought.
They breasted another rapid and were traversing a wide desert. The sun beat down upon them. Kiya quenched her thirst with water from the river, but there was nothing to eat and she was hungry. She hoped it would not be long before they reached Ana’s camp and that there would be food there.
Valley walls were rising on either side of them. Soon they were within the narrow reaches of the upper Nile valley. They navigated the penultimate cataract, with its huge granite islands. Kiya kept an eye open for any who might have survived the boat wrecks, but could see no signs of life.
After a stretch of smooth water, the final cataract was in front of them. Sobek turned aside before the maelstrom and crawled onto the bank.
“This is as far as I take you,” he said. “Those soldiers of yours have star-metal weapons, which could do me damage.”
“Thank you for your help,” said Kiya as she slid from his back and stood beside Ana on the shore.
“I wish your mission had been more successful,” said Sobek. “The immortals will not be pleased with either of us.”
“I am sorry.” Kiya said and watched, dejectedly, as Sobek disappeared belo
w the water.
Kiya and the God of Chaos Page 121