by Overton, Max
Khu and Salom ran as a pair, as did Nebhotep and Terrik, but the two desert men had kept to themselves since the ambush, so Khu dropped back to run alongside his physician friend.
"I saw it but I can scarcely believe it," the younger man muttered.
Nebhotep managed to shrug awkwardly. "We mistook what we saw, that's all. The man wasn't dead."
"Of course he was dead. You told us all he was dead."
"I made a mistake. Dead men do not sit up and talk."
"You said he was stabbed through the heart and his breathing had stopped and his eyes glazed," Khu accused. "How can you mistake all that? You are a physician. You know these things."
"It is easier to believe I made a mistake than to say the man rose from the dead." Nebhotep shuddered. "She brought him back from the underworld. How could she do that?"
"I think it was one of the gifts she received from the Nine of Iunu."
"I don't mean how was she able to do it, though that is terrible enough. I meant how could she possibly think that was a right action? We live and we die, and only the gods have power over the dead - or should have, anyway."
Khu ran on in silence for many minutes, then, "You try to save men from death. Perhaps that is all Scarab was doing. Look on her as an excellent physician."
"That is not the same at all," the physician snapped. Nebhotep refused to say anything further for a long time. When he next spoke, he had pushed down his anger. "I'm sorry, Khu, but it is not the same thing at all. A physician works to prevent death. He works with the gods and his skill and his knowledge to keep a man in the land of the living. What Scarab did was totally different. The man was already dead and beyond the help of any physician. She reached into the underworld and dragged the spirit of the man back into a body that was incapable of sustaining life..."
"He lived though," Khu muttered.
"Yes, for an hour, but you saw him...and heard him. Khuns was plainly terrified. He had experienced death, felt his breath leave his body and his spirit face the entrance to the shadow world, where demons await the unprepared and gods wait to judge each man on his deeds. How far into that process do you think he was? Had his heart been weighed against the feather of truth? Was he on the brink of entering those pleasant fields that are the reward of the righteous, or was he about to be destroyed as a wicked man? Either way, he was pulled back and will now have to face the process again."
Khu would not meet the physician's eyes. "Scarab would not do anything evil."
"I would not have thought so either," Nebhotep agreed. "But I think she did with Khuns. I will not easily forget that man's screams."
"But if the power came from the gods, how can it be evil? When they gave her that gift, surely they meant for her to use it."
"Then we must say that the gods are cruel."
The two men ran on in silence, out of the sand desert and into the stony wasteland that bordered the Long Sea and the cultivated lands of Kemet. Twice, scouts of the Pillar saw patrols and the column veered away unseen. Towards evening, they halted in a ravine about an hour's travel from the place Khuns had intimated was the headquarters camp of the Shu legion. Scarab called the men together and told them of her plans.
"Jesua, Khu, and Salom will accompany me to the borders of the camp. I will enter the camp alone, find and kill Nakhtmin. I should be no longer than an hour. Afterward, we will start west toward Kemet, so I want the rest of you to eat and rest while I am gone." Scarab looked around at the silent men and frowned. "You say nothing? We are about to start on our great work. What is wrong?"
Nobody would meet her eye. Jesua cleared his throat and moved at step or two closer to Scarab. "We are still amazed at what we saw today, Eye of Geb." He lowered his voice a bit. "The men are afraid."
"Of what? Of me? This power comes from the gods, not me." She laughed. "The only time they need to be frightened of me is if they challenge my leadership."
"No man will challenge you, Eye of Geb. They know the power comes from the gods but what they fear is your willingness to use it." Jesua stepped closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "My lady, they saw an aspect of you today that scared them. Every man knows that revenge against one's enemies is right and proper, but hatred--single-minded hatred--can twist and warp a man's spirit. Or a woman's. My lady, they fear you have started down a path that must lead to destruction."
"That is nonsense."
"Nevertheless, that is what they...we...feel."
"I will speak to them." Scarab called everyone together in the shelter of a sandstone wall and leapt onto a boulder so she could see every man. "You know me, men of the desert. You know that I was born of the house of my father Nebmaetre Amenhotep, that I was dispossessed and wandered for many years, known to men as Princess Beketaten or just plainly as Scarab. You know too, that my enemy, my own uncle Ay, who has since made himself king, tried to kill me. He had me tortured so I lost an eye, then he had me taken into the desert to die of thirst." Scarab leaned forward and gestured the men closer. "I will tell you what gives this so-called king of Kemet nightmares--I did not die." One or two men laughed and several others smiled.
"Do you know why I didn't die? I'll tell you. The Nine Gods of Iunu rescued me. Without a doubt they had their own reasons for this, as I am starting to find out. But they rescued me, healed me, and gave me gifts. Do you know what these gifts are?"
"The Eye of Geb," Jesua said.
"To bring water when we thirst," Lotan called.
"To heal," Abrim cried. "You healed my mother, so I have come to offer my service."
"To find things," Terrik added.
"Not just things, but to find the best way to go," Salom said.
"Yes," Scarab said. "These gifts and more." She took the carved scarab from her robe and held it up so the gold gleamed in the late afternoon sunlight. "This was given to me by Atum the creator. With it, I can command the gods. Shu gave me the cooling wind and Tefnut water even in the driest place. Nut shows me the way and Geb gave me this..." She touched her stone eye and many of the men sighed in awe. "With it he gave me the power to heal. Nebt-Het gave me the power to see in the dark with the stone eye of Geb, and Set showed me how to turn back evil with it. Asar enables me to use it to bring one of his subjects back from the realm of the dead for the space of one hour. It is this gift that I used to bring back Khuns, the officer of Shu."
Scarab paused and looked at each man in turn. "Do you think I use the gifts lightly? You have seen how I will only bring the water when we have none, how I will only heal when our good physician cannot. I could have used the gift of Nut to find the way to the Shu camp but I have never used Asar's gift before and...well, I admit I was curious." She sighed deeply. "I did not know how it would be. If I had known, I would have sought another way. I have offended you and ask your forgiveness."
"The gods plainly favor you," Marak said. "How can we do otherwise?"
"There is no forgiveness needed," Jesua agreed. "If the gods allow it, we bow our heads to their will."
The men murmured among themselves and one asked, "What of Auset? You named the gifts of only eight of the Nine."
Scarab nodded. "This gift I keep to myself. It is women's business and no concern of men. The Queen of Heaven guides me for her purposes."
"What is your pleasure, Eye of Geb?" Jesua asked after scanning the faces of his men. "Command us and we will obey."
"Very well. Jesua, you will wait here with the Pillar until I return. I will take just Khu and Salom with me to the camp..."
"You would leave me behind?" Jesua said in a stricken voice. "How have I offended you?"
"You have not, dear Jesua, but I need you tonight to build up the fervor of the Pillar once more. I will have ample protection from Khu and Salom."
"From the gods, more like," Khu muttered, but he looked pleased.
They left after nightfall, with the waxing moon already high in the sky casting a pearly glow over the desert. The silvery light threw deep shadows in the rocks an
d Scarab led her companions swiftly toward the Kemetu camp, making use of the cover. The camp itself was smaller than they thought it might be, but well guarded. It was situated on a low, gently rising hill. The rocky slopes afforded plenty of cover, but also hid the positions of guards, so Scarab, Khu and Salom settled down to watch, noting the guard posts and the movements of patrols.
"Where do you think Nakhtmin will be?" Khu asked in a whisper.
"Probably central," Scarab murmured in reply. "I can't see it too clearly, but one of those tents on the crest will be his."
"Could you not ask the goddess Nut for guidance?" Salom asked.
"I could, but it won't be necessary. It's a small camp. Where else could he be?"
Scarab slipped away, down from the position where they had been observing the enemy and onto the slopes of the hill. She moved confidently from rock to shadow, from hollow to outcrop, relying on her agility and senses to keep her safe. The guards on the perimeter of the camp kept to their observed schedules and she waited unseen, only a few paces from one, until he started to move. As he passed her, pacing off his appointed route, she rose and slipped across the stone and sand noiselessly, the hem of her cloak only an arm length from his kilt. The guard neither saw nor heard anything and when he turned to walk back, she was gone, moving silently between the tents.
The sounds of the camp reminded Scarab that she was in the midst of the enemy. All around her arose the sounds of men asleep--snoring, breathing, or muttering--or awake and talking to their companions in soft voices. Campfires, now smoldering into embers, cast only a faint glow, the moon still producing parches of silver light and black shadow, enabling her to pass unseen into the middle of the camp.
There, she thought, looking at a large tent on the top of the hill. Or possibly there ...Another tent was almost as large and just down the slope to the north. She crept to the back wall of the largest tent and slit the fabric with her dagger, stepping through the opening into complete darkness. Help me, Nebt-Het ...The furnishings took on a faint greenish light seen through her stone eye and she stepped across to the military cot in the corner. It was empty and showed no signs of having been used. Where is he ?
It took Scarab only a few minutes to check the other tent, where a man lay snoring gently. Scarab did not recognise him and assumed he was the legion commander. She was tempted to rouse the man and force him to tell her where Nakhtmin was, but knew she could not afford the noise or time. Salom was right. I should have done this at the start . She left the tent and stood in the still air of the night, staring up at the blaze of stars in the body of Nut.
Hear me, gracious Nut. I need to know where Nakhtmin is .
The stars burned brightly but none moved or gleamed more brightly, indicating a direction. Nut, I beg, show me where Nakhtmin lies . A breath of wind stirred the pennants and standards of the Shu legion, and then another stronger, that half-lifted the fabric before dying away. Nut ...A gust roared through the camp, flapping tent fabric and bending the standard poles. A pennant snapped off and rose into the air like a bird, disappearing into the north.
"He is not here," Scarab grumbled to Khu and Salom when she returned to their hiding place. "He has gone north."
"So, we go back to the others?" Salom asked.
"You do. Khu and I will follow Nakhtmin north and you will bring the Pillar to us tomorrow."
"I cannot leave you alone, Eye of Geb," Salom protested. "We are surrounded by the enemy and Khu..."
"...Will be able to look after me," Scarab finished. "The gods are on my side, remember?"
Salom scowled but could do nothing, so he left immediately.
Scarab and Khu set off for the north, hurrying while the light of the moon was available to guide them. When it set, Scarab utilised her stone eye again but Khu had to hold her hand as the trail was invisible to him. Even when the dawn light increased enough for him to see, he clung to her, grinning with pleasure.
"Just like old times," Scarab murmured, glancing round at Khu. She saw that he was following the trail well enough and gently disengaged her hand. She pointed at the ground and, squatting, pointed out scuff marks and the print of sandals. "This is the trail Nakhtmin took. We have been following it all night." Khu nodded but Scarab scanned his face anxiously. "It does not worry you that I use these gifts?"
"Not really. The...the raising of Khuns shocked me, I admit, but I can see these other gifts, while amazing, are natural things. I have been thinking, you know, trying to see things as Nebhotep sees them, always looking for a natural explanation. After all, cats can see in the dark when men cannot, a trained tracker can follow spoor across rock where I would be lost, and a great physician can heal where a lesser one would fail. Your gifts are...are like that, natural things that...that we lesser beings do not understand."
"What about finding direction?" asked Scarab, smiling.
"The doves that roost in the palace eaves fly off to feed in the river fields every day, but return unerringly every night."
"And water?"
Khu shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you can smell it like the Abu we saw in Nubia. They smelled it and dug it up with their tusks."
Scarab laughed. "So I'm cat and dove and elephant, tracker and physician all rolled into one? Well, if it makes it easier to accept me, dear Khu, then go ahead and believe that. Who knows, maybe it's even true. Maybe the gods just heightened my natural abilities."
"Do you have other abilities you haven't told us about?"
Scarab looked at the young man sidelong. "I can tell when a man is in love--but most women can tell that, so I will not claim it as a gift from the gods."
Khu blushed deeply and stared at the ground. "I...I...that is...I mean..."
Scarab ignored Khu's stuttering, her attention fixed on the trail ahead. "Shh. Someone's coming."
They took cover behind rocks and watched as a Fifty trotted into view. The soldiers slowed and stopped when the officer in charge rapped out a command. The men sat or stood and drank water from their flasks while the officer consulted with his deputy.
"They're not Nakhtmin's men," Scarab whispered. "That is not the Shu legion, but the Heru. What is going on? Is Ay allied with Horemheb now?"
"Ay is king," Khu muttered. "If he commanded Horemheb..."
"Horemheb would find a way to disobey...unless it suited him. Is every man looking for me?"
The men of the Heru legion leapt to their feet as a man arrived at a run. "Soldiers," he gasped out. "A hundred men of the Shu legion."
"Stand to," the officer called out, and his men scrambled into position, holding spears and swords at the ready.
The Shu legionaries appeared from the west at a slow trot, their formation ragged and their weapons sheathed or held casually. Their officer angrily called a halt when he saw the Heru soldiers waiting, and screamed at his junior officers. He took two men with him and marched down to the waiting men of the Heru legion.
"Heru? What in Hathor's tits are you doing here? You are off-station."
"I could say the same of you, Shu. You are a long way from Men-nefer. What is your purpose here?"
"I'll ask the questions. I have the larger force, in case you had not noticed."
"I noticed, but I have the better warriors. I think we are evenly matched."
The Shu officer snarled. "But I have archers and you do not. Now, you did not answer my question. Why are you here?"
"I obey my commander, as I expect do you. You may take it up with General Paramessu, if you wish."
"Paramessu?" Scarab hissed. "He's here? Why?"
"And you may consult with General Nakhtmin, Tjaty and Crown Prince of the Two Lands." The Shu officer smirked. "I think my general outranks yours, as my command outnumbers yours. I suggest you accompany me to General Nakhtmin's camp. I am sure he will want to question you."
"Where is this camp?"
"North and west. Why?"
"I should send word to General Paramessu."
"Send a runner. You and you
r men will accompany me."
The Heru legion marched out with half the Shu in front, and half behind. Scarab waited until they had disappeared before coming out of hiding.
"This is getting more complex by the minute, Khu. Nakhtmin I can understand. He and his father can breathe easier with me dead, but what does Paramessu want? Is he after me or Nakhtmin--or something else entirely?"
"So what do we do?"
"I'd like to continue on and kill Nakhtmin."
"His camp will be crawling with troops now," Khu pointed out. "And shortly, Paramessu will be there as well. I doubt you'll be able to get into the camp, let alone find him and kill him."
"I think you are right. I'd still like to go and see though." Scarab laughed at Khu's expression. "We'll just go and look. I promise I won't do anything foolish."
Khu grunted but said nothing. The trail that the soldiers had taken was clear and straight as it speared north by west through the wasteland. They hurried to catch up until the hindmost ranks were visible, and they followed at a more leisurely pace.
"Keep an eye open for Paramessu," Scarab instructed. "We don't know in which direction his camp lies. I would not like to be surprised by him."
"Didn't he threaten to kill you? Perhaps that is why he's here."
"He did, but he spoke in the heat of the moment. I cannot believe it of him."
"You still love him," Khu said softly, not looking at her.
"No Khu, I don't. Once certainly, and I still love our son Set, but I don't love Paramessu any more."
They sighted the camp before the sun had risen more than four hand spans above the horizon. This camp was a more formal affair than the small one on the hill and Scarab saw immediately that penetrating the defenses would be a lot harder. She and Khu moved as close as they dared and settled down to watch. Another hand of time passed before a large column of men appeared behind them. Paramessu had brought over two hundred Heru soldiers to Nakhtmin's camp. They settled down outside the perimeter lines and the general, along with three of his officers, strode into the camp to confront Nakhtmin.