Damned by the Ancients

by Catherine Cavendish

  Heidi opened her mouth to speak and shut it again. She lowered her eyes. “If I tell you, you’ll only get cross again.”

  “I won’t. I promise. Tell me, Heidi. What were you going to say?”

  “You don’t like me talking about him.”

  “I don’t like you being so fixated on him.”

  “I promised to help and you have always said I should keep my promises.”

  “I also said you should be very careful what promises you make and to whom you make them. Some promises cannot be kept. This is one of them. It’s a beautiful day and I’d like you to go outside now and play in the fresh air.”

  Heidi stood, picked up the dark-haired doll, and left the room without a word.

  “What do you make of that?” Yvonne asked.

  Ryan shook his head. His phone buzzed, and he checked it. “It’s the office. I have to go in. Some diplomatic fuss.” He kissed Yvonne. “I won’t be long. Promise.” He raced down the stairs.

  Yvonne closed her daughter’s bedroom door and went downstairs, troubled by what she had seen and heard.

  Half an hour later she went outside, to find Heidi under the tree, playing with the black cat.

  “She likes that,” Yvonne said as the cat nuzzled her daughter’s hand and purred loudly.

  “She wants to come and live with us. She says she hasn’t got a home anymore and she’s very sad.”

  Yvonne knelt down beside her daughter and stroked the cat’s silky fur. “She looks healthy enough. Too healthy to be a street cat. Somebody has been feeding her and looking after her. If we take her in, they’ll miss her.”

  “No they won’t. She told me.”

  “Heidi, you know cats can’t talk.”

  “Of course I know that, but this cat is different. I told you.”

  “Even still… No. Look, I’m sorry but we can’t adopt a cat here. We’re only in Vienna for three years. What will happen to her then?”

  Heidi didn’t answer. She buried her face in the cat’s fur and the animal purred even louder, rubbing her face against the child’s cheek.

  Yvonne left them alone and watched them from the kitchen window. The cat clearly adored the little girl and the feeling was entirely mutual.

  The cat has chosen her.

  * * * *

  “We could always bring the cat back to England when we go,” Ryan said. “The quarantine regulations are different now. She can be inoculated and carry a pet passport.”

  “Supposing we don’t go back to the UK? What if you’re posted elsewhere?”

  “Then we’ll deal with that when and if it arises. Similarly, if this cat does have an owner and they surface, we’ll mop up Heidi’s tears. Come on, Yvonne. The kid’s lonely.”

  “She’ll be starting school in a few weeks and making new friends.”

  “Yes, but would it really be so bad to let her have this cat now? The two of them clearly get on.”

  “They adore each other. That cat followed Heidi around all afternoon. Wouldn’t let her out of her sight.”

  “Did she come into the house?”

  Yvonne shook her head. “That was the curious thing, actually. She followed Heidi right up to the kitchen door and then stopped, sat down, and waited. As soon as Heidi came back from the loo, off they trotted back into the garden.”

  “Well-trained cat.”

  “Maybe. Oh, what the hell? We’d better go and buy some cat food.”

  “Will you tell Heidi or shall I?” Ryan asked.

  “Both of us.” Yvonne opened the kitchen door and called, “Heidi. Come here for a second and bring your furry friend with you.”

  Heidi’s face lit up in a brilliant smile. She picked up the cat and ran to the door.

  Ryan tickled the cat’s ears and she shut her eyes, purring. “Well, it seems your mum and I need to go shopping for another member of the Mortimer household. One with four legs and a fur coat.”

  “Oh, thank you. Thank you.” Heidi cuddled the cat, who gave a protesting squeak.

  “I don’t think she wants to be squeezed to death,” Yvonne said, laughing. “Come on, put her down and let’s get down to the supermarket. What are you going to call her?”

  Without hesitation, Heidi replied, “She told me her name is Sekhmet.”

  * * * *

  Yvonne hung back to allow Heidi to get a little ahead of them at the supermarket before she whispered to Ryan. “I thought she’d call her Jet or Shadow or something. But Sekhmet? Isn’t that the name of an Egyptian cat goddess? The grimmer version of Bast? How has she even heard of that?”

  “She could have easily picked it up from something she’s read. You know her and cats. Anyway, you have to admire her originality. Any kid could come up with Jet, but it takes one with imagination to come up with Sekhmet.”

  “I suppose.” So why wouldn’t the nagging unease go away? The cat was beautiful, gentle, and affectionate. Yvonne chided herself. She must stop being so paranoid.

  Heidi was busy piling pouches of cat food into their shopping cart.

  “Whoa,” Ryan said. “You’re feeding a cat, not a lion. There’s enough food there to last her a month or more. What if she decides she isn’t moving in after all? Tell you what, let’s make it a week’s worth and take it from there.”

  Heidi shrugged. From her expression, nothing would dampen her mood today. She selected the less expensive foods and piled those back on the shelves. Cat litter and tray, a cat bed and toys swiftly followed and Heidi clearly couldn’t wait to get back to the cat.

  “We’ll have to make an appointment with the vet in the next few days,” Yvonne said to Ryan. “Get her checked over and vaccinated. Better see if she’s had the operation as well.”

  * * * *

  The cat was sitting in a regal posture by the front door, waiting. Heidi raced up to her and picked her up. The cat licked her cheek.

  “You’re going to live with us now, Sekhmet,” Heidi said, and a chill iced Yvonne’s blood as she caught the cat’s eyes. An unusual amethyst color, they radiated power. She had known many cats in her life but never had Yvonne seen anything like that expression. If she told Ryan he would say she was imagining things. But no way had Yvonne imagined that stare. And no way could she explain why it unnerved her so much.

  * * * *

  The cat immediately made herself at home, wandering from room to room, examining furniture, carpets, jumping up on chairs and sofas. Yvonne watched her every move. All perfectly normal and catlike. The usual amount of sniffing, exploring, squeezing under chests of drawers and bookcases. Heidi followed her from room to room, giggling.

  “She’s happy enough now,” Ryan said. “Maybe we won’t hear any more about the man in the basement.”

  “I certainly hope you’re right,” Yvonne said. But fear continued to nag at her.

  * * * *

  That night, Yvonne lay awake, staring up at the ceiling. Heidi had only been persuaded to go to bed if Sekhmet was allowed to sleep in her room with her, and when Yvonne had checked on her daughter before going to bed, she found her tucked up and sound asleep while the cat sat on the floor next to the bed, as if guarding her. Sekhmet turned toward Yvonne and fixed her with that stare that had so affected her earlier. She seemed to be telling her to keep away. But that couldn’t be the case. Surely.

  Yvonne finally fell asleep, only to wake feeling herself being crushed into the bed. She was laying on her stomach, resting on her hands. On her back, something moved. Something large, heavy, that pushed her down until she was almost suffocating. Her ears rang, her mouth opened as her breath was crushed out of her. She struggled to break free but the pressure on her back increased, like gigantic paws or hands weighing her down.

  “Help…me. Help…” Her voice sounded weak, strangled. Not her voice at all. Rasping. Indistinct. Still the thing pushed down
on her. Dizziness overwhelmed her. “Help…me…”

  “Yvonne. For God’s sake. Wake up.”

  The fog in her mind cleared. The pressure released and Yvonne struggled to sit up. “Where did it go?”

  “Where did what go?” Ryan held her to him. “You scared the life out of me just then. That must have been one hell of a nightmare.”

  “I thought I was awake. Something…a large animal…jumped on my back and tried to crush me to death.”

  “Thank God the only animal in this house is that cat, and she’s hardly large enough to do that. You were probably thinking about her when you drifted off to sleep and your subconscious did the rest.”

  Yvonne sank back against the pillows. “Yes, you’re probably right. It seemed so real, though.”

  “I’ve had dreams that have stayed with me for days. Weeks even.” Ryan settled back down and fell asleep within seconds. Yvonne finally drifted off around dawn.

  When she awoke, Ryan was already up and she could hear Heidi talking in her room. Yvonne pulled on her bathrobe and padded to her daughter’s room. There she found Heidi talking to Sekhmet in a language she didn’t understand. The cat sat with her paws neatly positioned and her tail tucked around them.

  “What are you saying, Heidi? What language is that?”

  Heidi smiled. “Egyptian. Sekhmet understands it better than English or German.”

  Yvonne nodded and went in search of Ryan.

  “It was surreal,” she said. “Now, obviously I didn’t understand a word she was saying and it could have been gobbledygook for all I know. Probably was, in fact, but the whole atmosphere in that room felt weird, off-kilter somehow. Do you know anyone who understands ancient Egyptian?”

  “Possibly. There’s a woman called Yasmin. I think she’s got Egyptian parents so I’ll ask her. Even if she can’t help, there are specialists in practically every field you can imagine working at the UN. There could well be a classical scholar among that lot. Let me have a listen.”

  Ryan and Yvonne went upstairs. Heidi was still talking. Only this time, someone was replying. A female voice, soft, also speaking that strange, alien tongue.

  As soon as they reached Heidi’s door, the conversation stopped. They went in. Only their daughter and the cat were in the room.

  “Who were you talking to?” Ryan asked.

  “Sekhmet. She told me how much she likes living here and how we’re going to be great friends and have lots of adventures together.”

  “And that’s who was talking to you just now. Before we came in?”

  Heidi nodded. “Yes.”

  As if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  “Hello, Sekhmet,” Ryan said, putting his hand out to her. Sekhmet turned her eyes toward him and gave a little meow. “What did she just say, Heidi?”

  Heidi laughed. “Nothing. She just mewed.”

  “But we heard voices. Yours and someone else’s,” Yvonne said.

  Heidi nodded. “That’s because I can speak to her and understand what she’s saying. She knows you don’t.”

  The cat purred and stretched her long, lithe body before moving to sit next to Heidi.

  Yvonne and Ryan exchanged confused glances. Ryan tried again. “Why don’t you say something to Sekhmet now and see if she answers you.”

  “She won’t.”

  “Why not?” Yvonne asked.

  “Because you’re here. She says it’s rude to talk in a language other people don’t understand when they are there.”

  “We don’t mind. You could tell her that, couldn’t you, and see what she says?”

  Heidi hesitated, then spoke to Sekhmet. The cat stared at her but said nothing.

  “She won’t say anything,” Heidi said.

  Yvonne struggled to keep her voice level. “That’s a shame. Won’t you talk to us, Sekhmet?” She put out her hand to the cat, who ignored the gesture. Ryan motioned her to come out with him.

  “We’ll leave you both to it then,” Yvonne said, thinking how ineffectual she sounded.

  Back downstairs, the two of them made for the kitchen.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Ryan asked. “Did I really experience that? Did we?”

  “I’m afraid we did and I haven’t a clue what to make of it.”

  “I’m going to set up a tape recorder in her room. I’ll install it when she’s not there and it will be voice activated so, with any luck, we should catch her speaking to the cat. Then I’ll see who can translate it—if anyone.”

  “Oh, Ryan, did we make a mistake letting her have that cat? All that seems to have happened is that instead of the man in the basement, she’s got Sekhmet talking to her.”

  “There’ll be a logical explanation. I’m sure of it. A child’s imagination knows no bounds. You know that.”

  “Yes, but not like this.”

  Ryan put his hand on her arm. “Don’t worry, or you’ll be having another of those nightmares.”

  Yvonne shivered. “Don’t remind me. Never again.”

  An hour later, Yvonne took Heidi out into the garden with Sekhmet, allowing Ryan to set up the recorder in her room. A few minutes later he joined them and nodded at Yvonne.

  “Okay, Heidi. We’ll go back in now,” Yvonne said. “Have fun with Sekhmet.”

  “I’m going to make some calls,” Ryan said as they entered the kitchen. “I’ll start with Yasmin.”

  “Good luck. I’ll try to get some work done. I want to go over the last chapter again. Then I need to do a whole load of editing and polishing. I don’t want to get behind and have my editor screaming for this manuscript.”

  “See you later.” Ryan dashed upstairs to the room he had turned into his office.

  Yvonne wandered into the library, trying to shut her mind off from the cat and her daughter’s odd behavior.

  * * * *

  She stared at the computer screen. She read the chapter again. And once more. She sat back in her chair, too stunned to think.

  The last chapter of her book had tied up all the loose ends, left the Marquand sisters with yet more plaudits for saving the tsarevitch’s life and about to board the Orient Express back to Paris.

  Except that’s not what she had just read.

  The last ten pages of her novel resembled the insane ramblings of some sex-obsessed pervert. Yvonne’s readers would tolerate the occasional “bloody” and “hell,” but never the f-word, and one instance of the c-word would send them screaming for a refund. Yet this last chapter had Alicia calling her sister a “fucking cunt” on three separate occasions while drunk and screwing her sister’s latest fling.

  The memory stick. Fortunately, she always backed up her work. If someone had tampered with her laptop, they surely wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble to search for her USB stick. Yvonne retrieved it from her purse and inserted it into a port on her laptop. She selected the file, held her breath and clicked it.

  She scrolled down to the last chapter. It was the same. Who the hell was playing around with her work? Ryan wouldn’t. He never had and there would be no reason. Heidi could use a computer but never used her mother’s. Besides, she wouldn’t do this. She couldn’t. There was no way she could have even known the words that were now staring Yvonne in the face.

  So why did she even question whether Heidi might be responsible?

  Because nothing is making sense right now. Least of all Heidi.

  Yvonne ejected the memory stick and wandered out into the hall. She listened. The house was silent. Heidi would be playing in her room. She decided to go and see what she was getting up to.

  She paused outside the closed door but could hear nothing. She turned the handle and…

  “No!”

  Heidi hovered a couple of feet off the ground. Her hair blew impossibly around her, arms outstretched, eyes viv
id pools of brightest blue. Around her, a shimmering haze of light shifted and billowed like some electrified force field.

  “Heidi!” A shadow moved behind her child as Yvonne tried to push through the light that crackled and burned the hairs on her arms. The more she pushed, the more Heidi was pulled away. The shadow grew and took on the features of a man. Yvonne knew. It had to be. Emeryk Quintillus.

  “Let her go!” Yvonne’s last, desperate push sent the shimmering light bouncing and swaying, taking her along with it until she was spinning, the room moving faster and faster in a dazzling haze. In front of her, a bearded face studied her, his gaze penetrating her brain. Sharp pain stabbed her head from all angles and she cried out. Heidi said nothing. Maybe she couldn’t speak.

  “Take me but let her go. She’s only a child.”

  Yvonne crashed to the floor, bruising her knees. Heidi fell on top of her. The light blinked out. Quintillus had vanished.

  Yvonne held her child close. Heidi still didn’t speak. She didn’t respond to her mother’s caresses and when she pulled away, someone else looked out of Heidi’s eyes.

  Chapter 9

  Sometimes she forgot her own name. Paula Bancroft. That’s who she had been in life. Now, set adrift from her dead body, her spirit moved heavily through time and space, weighed down, betrayed and alone.

  Isis had come for her in her beautiful golden chariot. She should have protected her. But Isis wasn’t who she appeared to be. Arsinoe, Cleopatra’s murderous sister, had assumed Isis’s identity to trick Paula. She had forced her out of her body and made her a pawn in the siblings’ eternal war. She had summoned Set and Sekhmet and they had chained Cleopatra’s spirit to her own. Now Cleopatra herself had dragged Paula down to this hell of nothingness. All to keep Quintillus away. To stop him from making Cleopatra his own—the queen who wanted nothing more than to spend eternity with her lover, Mark Antony; to rejoin her body in its tomb beneath Taposiris Magna; and who would stop at nothing to get what she so desired.

  The ever-present mists whirled around her, whispering voices assailed her ears. She could never make out what they were saying. Too indistinct, or maybe in an ancient language.