The Concubine’s Tale

by Jennifer Colgan

  She nearly fell over when the mat swept aside and one of the acolytes hurried into the room.

  “Shh.” The woman hushed her and turned to peer back into the corridor. “I’ve come to bring you news.”

  “Of Ammonptah?” Nayari’s heart thundered. Was he finally here? Had the warrior left? She found herself wanting to call for him, except she still didn’t know his name.

  “There is a man coming here from Saqqara. A wizard. You are to be given to him.”

  A startled laugh escaped Nayari’s lips. What absurdity. Ammonptah was a magistrate, a man of stature and intelligence. He had no use for wizards…did he? What could a wizard possibly offer Ammonptah?

  “I overheard Menep the priest saying that the wizard’s entourage would take an extra day to arrive and that he was going to instruct your guard not to take you out into the courtyard again. In fact, the other acolytes are preparing a room beneath the temple for you where you’ll await your new master’s arrival.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Nayari’s voice rose, and the acolyte hushed her again with a nervous glance at the door. “This can’t be true.”

  “It is what I heard. I’m telling you because I’ve heard tales of this wizard. He’s called Benak-Ra, and he is an enemy of Pharaoh.”

  “An enemy of Seti?”

  “As is Ammonptah.”

  “That’s impossible! Ammonptah loves Pharaoh. They are brothers.”

  “They are rivals. Ammonptah wishes to unseat Seti and has engaged Benak-Ra to cast a spell.”

  “How do you know all this? You’re merely a temple servant.” Nayari’s heart lurched in her chest. She clutched at her stomach to still the urge to slap the insolent woman. This had to be a trick, a test perhaps to force Nayari to denounce her master.

  “I’m loyal to Pharaoh. I will not help Ammonptah steal his throne. I’m giving you a chance to escape and disappear. If the offering your master makes to the wizard is not here when he arrives, there will be no spell.”

  “Surely the gods will protect Pharaoh from Benak-Ra.” Of course they would. He was their chosen son, after all.

  “Perhaps the gods act through me. I am telling you, little one. Go while you can and save yourself. Benak-Ra is a cruel master, and when his plot is uncovered, all who are with him will die.” The woman said no more. She slipped out of the room, leaving the reed mat swinging behind her. Nayari only stared, shocked and terribly frightened. It all had to be a trick. If she ran away from Ammonptah her punishment would be severe. But if she ran away from Benak-Ra…

  Finally, Nayari found the strength to move across the room. She looked out into the empty corridor. Where had her nameless warrior gone? Why had he abandoned her? Would the other acolytes be coming soon to take her to the room below the temple and keep her prisoner?

  She had to make her decision now. Run for her life on the word of an acolyte, or remain, loyal and faithful to her master until he was her master no longer.

  Nayari ran.

  “How about a glass of wine instead of coffee?” Cait asked.

  Grant felt as though he’d been snapped back through time-a journey of over three thousand years in the span of a heartbeat. “Wine sounds great.”

  He watched her rise from the couch, unfolding her long legs, and he counted those pearl buttons on her blouse. Six. He imagined sliding them through the buttonholes in the shimmery silk and discovering what treasures lay beneath.

  He turned to watch her cross to the kitchenette. She kicked off her shoes in a fluid motion, leaving her a few inches shorter.

  “Do you need help with the cork?” he asked with a grin when she set two crystal goblets on the open counter.

  She gave him a mischievous look, one perfectly arched eyebrow raised. “If you want wine with a cork, you’re in the wrong neighborhood, Mr. Pierson. This is screw-top wine.”

  “Ah.” He rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. “I had no idea this was screw-top territory. What about your coq au vin?”

  “For that, I use the good stuff. You’ll have to wait until I invite you for dinner.”

  “How long will I have to wait?”

  Cait poured a blush-pink wine into the glasses and carried them back to the couch in her cupped hands. “Quite a while, I’m afraid. I’m not allowed to date clients.”

  He tasted the sweet wine and pursed his lips. “In that case, how about Friday?”

  “I can’t. Besides, I have appointments with clients. Other people are interested in the scroll, and I’ve got to show it to them.”

  He frowned. “They don’t get a guided tour of the translation in Layton ’s journals, do they?” Why on earth would he feel a surge of jealousy? Because he wanted the scroll so badly? Or because he didn’t like the thought of another man hearing Nayari’s sensual tale from Cait’s lips?

  “No. They get a fax of the synopsis.”

  “Good. Now, let’s get back to it. Tell me a little more about Benak-Ra.”

  “There’s not much in the journals about him except speculation. He may have been a well-known magician of the time working under a false name to keep his dealings with Ammonptah secret. Defying the Pharaoh was a dangerous proposition, of course, so he must have thought he had a powerful spell. The price was certainly high enough.”

  “Nayari’s life.”

  “Along with other things, I’m sure. Taking on a concubine would have meant an added expense for the magician, even if he was already a wealthy man. Likely Ammonptah offered him a political position as well, payment he could collect only if his magic worked.”

  “And I have a feeling it wasn’t going to.”

  “It seemed there was already a network of loyalists in place to protect Seti II’s throne. Ammonptah had no idea he’d sent Nayari right into their arms.”

  “And into Khanu’s.”

  “Literally, at this point.”

  Chapter Four

  Khanu’s heart clenched at the spectacle that met him when he returned from the courtyard. The sight of Nayari lying limp in the arms of one of the priests nearly sent him to his knees.

  “What have you done to her?” He didn’t wait for a reply but scooped her fragile body into his arms. The other priest bowed and backed up a step.

  “I had to stop her from escaping. I found her scurrying through the back corridor searching for a way out through our chambers.”

  “You had no right to injure her. You should have called me.” Khanu swung Nayari around and headed for her room.

  “This way, warrior. We’ll take her to a room below where she won’t escape so easily.”

  Khanu hesitated. He looked down at her face, so beautiful in this artificial sleep. Her shallow breathing worried him.

  “What did you do to her?”

  “A balm to make her sleep.”

  Khanu growled. She’d be groggy and sick when she awoke. Grudgingly, he followed the priest to a dark flight of stone stairs. He squeezed his broad shoulders through a narrow door and set Nayari on a small cot in a windowless chamber lit only by a torch in a sconce on the wall.

  “Bring water.” He cradled her head in the crook of his arm. “Then stay out of my sight.”

  “Of course.” The priest bowed out of the room, and Khanu indulged in a curse upon the man’s family ten generations to come. Why would she try to escape? Surely the priest was mistaken. As the dutiful concubine of the magistrate, it should have been her pleasure to await the arrival of Ammonptah.

  She lay in his arms, her face a portrait of innocence. He brushed her lustrous hair from her brow and pressed the back of his hand to her fevered skin. What would Ammonptah do if he found her thus?

  The priest returned with a bowl of water and a cloth, and Khanu glared at him. “Post a guard at the temple gate. Enemies of Ammonptah are everywhere it seems.” Even in this room, he added silently.

  Once the priest had gone, Khanu tended to Nayari. Drops of cool water squeezed from the cloth onto her head roused her slightly, and she moaned.r />
  “You’re safe,” he said when her eyes fluttered open. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes blank. Then she surged upward, fear clouding her expression. She screamed once-a short, tortured sound that Khanu cut off by clamping a hand over her mouth. She struggled in his arms, and he hushed her, rocking her against his chest.

  “No, I’m not.” Her voice trembled as she recounted what the acolyte had told her.

  Khanu had heard the name Benak-Ra before. He’d seen tales of the man’s cruelty strike fear in the hearts of many seasoned warriors. A fragile creature such as Nayari would wither at his hands.

  His loyalty to Ammonptah dissolved as she finished telling him about the plot to unseat Pharaoh. “I will not let them give you to the wizard.”

  She settled against him finally, and her breathing returned to normal. When he looked down at her, tears spilled over her cheeks. “But Ammonptah is our master.”

  “Not any longer.”

  “What?” She trembled in his arms. The sensation of her supple body shuddering against his turned his thoughts to further betrayal of Ammonptah.

  “We will escape.”

  “How? The priests are watching.”

  “They’re watching the front of the temple. They believe I’m loyal to Ammonptah and will do as I say. We will leave here in a few hours, before they rise for their morning prayers.”

  Her honey-colored eyes searched his and, beneath the fear, he saw trust and admiration. She put her hands on either side of his face and brought her lips close to his. Her breath was sweet. “Tell me your name.”

  “Khanu,” he whispered, so close to her mouth that the word echoed between them. “Servant of Nayari.”

  She kissed him then, and a sensation that had to be borne of the gods shot through his body. Every muscle went taut, and the ache in his loins exploded into flame as her tongue slipped between his lips.

  “Have you ever felt like that?” Cait set her wine glass on the low table next to the couch. She felt an ache herself, low in her belly. The thought of Nayari clinging to her virile warrior, knowing her life was in his hands, made her long for that kind of surrender.

  Grant set his glass down also and leaned forward. “I’ve had a few great first kisses, but it sounds like Khanu got the wind knocked out of him.”

  “It must have been amazing to have been mentioned in the writing. It makes me think the writer knew them intimately, to include a description of how Khanu felt the first time they kissed.”

  “It’s like someone reaches into your chest and pulls out your heart for you to look at.”

  Cait giggled. “That sounds more like an Aztec custom. I’ve always imagined it felt like having your stomach land on your knees.”

  “Anatomically impossible.” He winked.

  “Do you want to discuss anatomy or hear the rest of the story?”

  “I think I want to kiss you.”

  Cait’s breath caught, and she leaned forward as if an invisible string drew her toward him. He’s a client, the damnable voice in her head shouted over the pounding of her heart as he brought one hand up and cupped the back of her head.

  I quit, she decided immediately. There. He’s not a client anymore. Cait leaned forward just another inch, and Grant took her mouth in a kiss that left them both breathless. He delved into her, drawing her tongue into his mouth, holding her steady while he explored. When he pulled back, he left her weak and wanting more.

  “I think I know how Khanu felt,” Grant said.

  He traced the line of her lips with his thumb, and Cait resisted the urge to take it in her mouth and show him just what she could do with proper motivation. She licked her lips and settled back on the couch. “There’s a lot more to the story.”

  “Good. I was hoping we weren’t finished yet.”

  Nayari huddled beneath a rough blanket and strained to hear any sound from the narrow corridor outside of the cold stone room. The warmth of Khanu’s searing kiss had worn off long ago, and now, while she waited for him to return, she began to shiver uncontrollably.

  What if the priests found him sneaking through the temple, or caught him spying on them to make sure they were asleep? What if Benak-Ra had arrived and was even now preparing to claim her as payment for his services to Ammonptah?

  She froze when she heard the scrape of sandals on the dusty floor and nearly screamed when a large hand peeled back the edge of the blanket.

  “We can go now,” Khanu said. He held out his hand, and Nayari unfolded her body from the cot. She drew close to him for a moment, reveling in the heat of his skin and his masculine scent. The weight of his arm across her shoulders calmed her. “We need to hurry, but nothing stands in our way. We cannot risk taking the cart and the oxen, but if we stay to the alleyways behind the marketplace, we can be well on the road to Amun by sunrise.”

  “Will we be safe there?”

  “We can lose ourselves for a while, then travel to the sea. From there, we can go anywhere we desire.”

  Nayari stared at her savior. Fear and hope battled in her heart. “You mean leave Egypt?” She thought about the family she’d left behind so long ago and wondered if perhaps she might find her back to them one day.

  “If we must, until Ammonptah forgets about us.”

  “If he succeeds in becoming pharaoh-”

  “Then perhaps the loss of your sacrifice might not matter to him. Come, Nayari. We have to go now.”

  Nayari followed him into the dark, up the stairs and quickly through the empty temple room. The face of the statue of Min seemed to stare in disapproval when she glanced up at it. Would the god punish them for their betrayal, or reward them for their greater loyalty to Seti? Nayari supposed that depended on who actually was the rightful pharaoh.

  The courtyard was silent and lit with the silver light of the nearly full moon. Nayari pulled her shawl around her head as they hurried past the low stone wall and toward the first closed stalls of the marketplace. With such bright light, surely someone would see them.

  With her hand clasped firmly in Khanu’s, she felt free despite the fear. The world lay before them, and anything was possible. For the first time in her life she had the power to direct her own fate. The prospect made her head spin and her heart race.

  “Slow down and breathe,” Khanu said when he pulled her into a shallow niche in the wall that ran through the marketplace. Very soon the merchants would begin to open their stalls for business, and the sight of two weary travelers panting in the avenue would raise suspicions. He pulled her into his embrace and held her steady while she struggled to breathe normally.

  “What if the wizard can find us with his magic?” she asked finally.

  “Don’t consider that now.”

  She looked up once more into his eyes and lost herself for a moment. Khanu bent his head and brushed his lips against hers. This time her trembling stopped. She reached up, reveling in his height and his strength, and slid her hands around his neck. He took her mouth again, but halfway through the kiss he stiffened, and Narayi’s lips went dry.

  A commotion sounded from the direction of the temple.

  Khanu pulled her after him, and they broke into a run through the mazelike corridors of the market place. “Even if we get separated,” he warned as they flung themselves through the alleyways, “keep running.”

  Grant’s lips came down on Cait’s again, this time with an urgency that left her heart thumping. He’d been stroking a strand of her hair, which he now brushed behind her ear. The movement brought him close to her, and he took full advantage of the moment.

  She surrendered to the thrill of his hands when they settled at her waist after a lazy journey down from her shoulders. The weight of his torso as he angled across her felt wonderful, and she arched against him, urging him with her movements.

  “That’s not the end of the story,” she panted when he broke the kiss.

  “The lovers didn’t escape and live happily ever after?”

  “Not yet.” Cait�
��s reply was muffled by another kiss, and a faint moan escaped her lips when Grant brought one hand up to flick open the first button of her blouse.

  “Do they get captured in the marketplace?” One finger roamed inside her collar and dipped beneath the lacy edge of her bra.

  She shivered. “N-no.”

  “Are you going to make me guess what happened to them?”

  Cait didn’t answer right away. She watched Grant’s fingers find the next button of her blouse. She’d need to clear her head to remember the rest of the story. “Let’s slow down. The best part is coming up.”

  His hand paused in its exploration, and he gave her a searching look. “Right.”

  Cait’s breathing settled. She didn’t want Grant to back off. She only wanted to savor the moment. No need to rush.

  She kissed him once, lightly, and then settled against him. His arm came around her, and she took a deep breath before continuing her tale.

  The sounds of the marketplace died away behind them as the sun climbed above the distant horizon. Khanu slowed his pace, counting the narrow streets in his head as they made their way through the outskirts of the city. Here, the houses stood close and the odor of livestock was strong.

  Fabric sails hung between the mud-brick walls, providing patches of shade for miniscule courtyards and alleyways. Children with large, dark eyes scurried between pens of goats, throwing feed from wooden bowls.

  No one gave the couple a second glance. Nayari’s grip on Khanu’s hand relaxed, and when he turned to look, he found her smiling at a small boy leading a pregnant goat by a tattered rope. The creature waddled obediently on the end of its tether, its abundant belly nearly scraping the ground.

  The boy grinned back at Nayari, showing the gaping hole where his two front teeth belonged.

  “We are looking for Horeb, the weaver. Do you know him?” Khanu asked.