Taneb was nowhere in sight and the few sailors lounging on deck ignored her, occupied with a game of chance, throwing dice and making bets while they waited to begin the day’s backbreaking labor of fetching and stepping a new mast. I’m not their problem, thank the gods. Running down the gangplank, she hurried away from the River Horse, glad to blend in with the early morning crowd of sailors, merchants and travelers. She was drawing some attention but her plain garb didn’t attract nearly the interest her fine Theban attire had inspired yesterday.
Relax, you look like a servant girl, like one of the dozens out to run errands this morning. Tiya slowed her pace as she left the riverfront district, made herself draw deep calming breaths to slow her racing pulse. Walking through the marketplace she had enjoyed yesterday with Khenet, she fingered her new necklace.
Small though it was compared to the ones in Thebes, the temple of Isis stood prominently on a small hill to the east of the town, its white stone façade gleaming in the early morning sunlight. Finding her way easily through the streets, having marked her destination during the expedition to the market when her plan was little more than a fleeting thought, Tiya arrived in a few moments, only to encounter her first setback. The temple guards at the main gate refused to let her inside.
“Today isn’t a feast day—there’s no special ceremony,” the chief guard said, holding his spear across the opening. “The public isn’t allowed to just wander in at any time. You should know that, girl.”
“But I need to make a petition to the goddess—”
“Go use one of the small shrines along the east wall then, like anyone else.” He pointed and she turned to see a row of humble little altars built close to the main temple.
With a hot flicker of annoyance, Tiya remembered she was dressed as a commoner, not a highborn lady who could gain entry to the first courtyard of any temple in Thebes with no question. I can enter the inner chambers of several, on my rank alone. Fumbling with the buttery soft black leather pouch at her belt, she brought out a coin. “Please? I-I need to ask the goddess for help with my sweetheart—”
The other guard reached across to take the bribe, raising the spear barrier with his free hand. “Go ahead then. You’ll find the priestesses in the courtyard, doing their morning ceremonies. You can ask one of them to accept your petition and pass it along to the goddess.”
Flashing him a smile, Tiya walked through the gate.
The courtyard was quite spacious, paved in alternating green and white stones. Hesitating just inside the wall, Tiya debated what to do next. The door to the inner rooms was open, across the way. Five priestesses were clustered in a group off to the side, singing a morning hymn to the goddess, accompanied by the thumping of a small hand drum and whirring sistrums. To show respect, Tiya waited for the song to end before walking in their direction. One woman broke off from the circle and met her.
“Yes? Why has the guard allowed you into the courtyard at this hour?” Her face was stern.
Tiya drew herself up to her full height. “I’m Lady Tiya-ami-kitara, traveling on Pharaoh’s orders. I bear the mark of Nephthys, and I need to offer a prayer directly to her sister Isis.”
The priestess tittered behind her hand, rings flashing in the sun. “Pharaoh sends servant women on his errands these days?” Shaking her head, the woman took Tiya’s elbow, trying to steer her back to the gate. “You can make your petition outside, at one of the shrines, as I’m sure the guards must have told you. I hope you didn’t offer them a very big bribe to let you inside because it was deben wasted.”
Tiya dug her heels in and jerked herself free of the priestess’s grip. Rolling up her sleeve, she revealed the cartouche of Nephthys. The priestess lifted her hand from Tiya as if she were made of fire and backed away a step, staring at the mark and then at Tiya’s face. “I’m unable to deal with this myself. Come into the sanctuary and I’ll get the senior priestess.”
Allowing herself to be drawn across the courtyard while the other priestesses gawked at her and murmured, Tiya walked up the stairs behind her reluctant guide and entered the first room. Not as grand as those in Thebes, the place still projected an air of power. A large painting of the goddess Isis dominated the far wall, her outstretched gold-and-turquoise wings guarding a closed door to the next chamber.
“Wait here. Don’t touch anything.” With that warning, her guide hurried away across the tiled floor.
Throwing back her hood, Tiya examined the paintings and furnishings, remaining in the same spot as ordered until the priestess returned with a more senior member of her order in tow. Her coral-beaded wig slightly askew, this older woman eyed Tiya suspiciously, her thin lips compressed. “You bear the mark of Nephthys?”
Tiya extended her arm, remaining silent. The other woman examined the cartouche closely, not touching her skin, finally nodding. Head tilted, eyes narrowed, the priestess stared at Tiya’s face. “And yet this is the temple of her sister, Isis. Explain to me why you are here?”
Curbing her impatience, Tiya made her voice soft and persuasive. “I need to make a petition to the Great One.”
“Very well. It’s certainly unusual but you may have a few moments here, to pray.” The officiant took a few steps toward an alcove where a small gilded statue of the goddess was lit by torches. “Over here will do.”
Tiya looked but didn’t budge. “I need to address the goddess directly, in the sanctuary.”
The priestess drew herself up to full height, and clamped her thin lips together. “Impossible. How dare you even think such a request, let alone utter the words? By your own admission you’re not a member of any temple staff—”
Tiya did her best to quell the anxiety rising in her gut like acid. Isis won’t appear to me out here. I have to get into the sanctuary. “Please, it’s a matter of life and death—”
Shaking her finger in Tiya’s direction, the other woman was working herself into a fine state of indignation. “I’ll have the guards escort you out, mark or no mark. You’re treading on blasphemy, wheedling your way in here, into sacred grounds. And probably lying.”
A breeze wafted through the chamber, ruffling the hems of their gowns, stirring the elaborate fringed ends of the priestess’s belt, their wigs. The woman glanced around warily before turning back to further berate Tiya.
Before she could say another word, one clarion note rang out, vibrating through the courtyard. Tiya felt as if the sound was thrumming in her very bones. The great door into the next chamber creaked open, although no one stood near it.
The younger priestess fell to her knees, chanting a protective blessing. Her elder clutched at her blue-fringed linen shawl, and swallowed hard, glancing from Tiya to the door. “My apologies to you, traveler. It appears the goddess is willing to hear your petition. Come then.”
Tiya followed the woman up the stairs and into the dimly lit chamber beyond. The first priestess remained behind. Crossing the floor in silence, Tiya and her guide went toward the inner sanctum door, which also stood open. Cool mist swirled from the portal, and a deep blue light glowed from the room beyond. A slight breeze brought the perfume of the lotus wafting to Tiya, clogging her nostrils. She sneezed.
“The goddess is present,” whispered the priestess, lagging behind Tiya and then stopping. “She’s—she’s actually here.”
Insides quaking, Tiya went forward alone. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she heard the door close behind her and the mist enclosed her. She stopped, casting about in an effort to identify some landmark. Licking her lips, one hand going to Khenet’s necklace for reassurance, Tiya swallowed hard. “Thank you for allowing me to approach you, Great One. If it pleases you, I have a petition to make.”
The mist directly in front of her cleared between one breath and the next, revealing the goddess Isis standing before her, dressed in a diaphanous black sheath that billowed around her legs in
the slight breeze. Red and gold ribbons fluttered at her waist, tied in the intricate tyet knot of Isis, symbol of resurrection and eternal life. The queen of the Great Ones wore no crown this day, although her elaborate wig was woven through with alternating gold beads and turquoise disks. Long coral-and-gold scarab earrings framed her face. Tiya went to her knees, her mouth dry, tongue paralyzed, heart pounding.
Isis gestured. “Walk with me, my sister’s daughter.”
Scrambling to her feet, Tiya found she was treading on green grass. She hastened after the goddess along a narrow stream. They came to a small pond, with several benches scattered around the circumference. Isis sank gracefully onto the nearest, under an acacia tree. A cat-footed table with a senet board composed of ebony, ivory and malachite squares as the top stood next to the bench. Idly the goddess studied the board and moved one white game piece forward two squares. “So, what is it you wish to ask of me?”
She hadn’t been invited to sit, so Tiya locked her knees to stop them from quaking and tried to give word to what had been a well-rehearsed speech back on the boat, in the night. “Please, I’ve come to you for help, Great One.”
“Help for yourself?” Isis stared at her. “Yet freely you accepted this task, chose not to wait for the omens to be cast to see if you were destined for this fate.”
“Not help for myself—not anymore.” As the goddess arched one elegant eyebrow in disbelief, Tiya felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She rushed on with her plea, abandoning the memorized speech. “I admit, after I stepped forward in Thebes to accept this task, after Nephthys described the whole to me, I thought if I could just appeal to you, you might be willing to shield me or—or help me. I’d planned to go to your temple in Dendaret, ask you to grant me asylum in the Afterlife from her plans, but I saw my chance to visit your temple here in Zauimu when our ship was damaged, so I took it.”
Sitting back in her chair, Isis spun the senet piece on the board with one idle finger. “You say that was your intention? If your intentions have changed, what will you ask of me?”
“Tell me how to spare the life of the soldier Khenet, how to—how to relieve him of the duty to accompany me to the Viper Nome and to die there. Show me another way to accomplish what Nephthys needs done, a way that doesn’t involve his death through black magic. I can’t stand by and allow the loss of his ka.”
For a long moment, Isis regarded her from eyes as deeply black as obsidian. “You don’t ask for yourself? You no longer desire to elude the death Nephthys has in mind for you?”
“Of course I want to live.” Tiya swallowed, looked away. “To tell you the truth, Great One, I want to know the love of a good man in this life, have children, a home—but I accept now that none of these will happen for me. But it isn’t fair that a worthy man should also have to die, his soul destroyed with no chance of the Afterlife. He doesn’t bear any marks of Nephthys. I can accept my fate if he is spared.”
“So you seek to bargain.” Isis returned to her contemplation of the game board. “Do you play senet?”
Startled, Tiya didn’t quite know what to say, so she kept silent.
Picking up one of the pieces, the goddess slanted a sideways glance at her. “I ask because life is much the same. I pose you a question—what outcomes are possible in senet?” She tossed the piece to Tiya.
Automatically, Tiya cupped her hands to prevent the elaborately carved piece from falling to the ground. “Win, lose or draw, Great One.” Tiya looked at the small token in her hand and gasped. The face was unmistakably Khenet’s, carved in great detail, even down to the scar on his cheek.
“Exactly,” Isis said. “Arriving at any one of the outcomes involves many game pieces, deployed in a vast array of choices. You and Khenet are game pieces. Harsh for a mortal to hear, but true.” Shaking her head slightly, beads in her elaborate wig chiming, the goddess held out her hand for the pawn. Taking a step forward Tiya reluctantly set the piece upright in Isis’s palm. For a heartbeat, the queen studied the pawn’s face before returning it to a position among the ranks of other pawns. With a start Tiya noticed her own face carved on the pawn next to Khenet’s. “You gave your word to my sister. Khenet swore an oath to Pharaoh, who is of the company of Great Ones. Normally, pawns can’t take themselves off the board.” She shot Tiya an amused look, a smile curving her lush lips. “My sister is accomplishing a task assigned to her by my husband, Osiris. Do you know what will happen if I grant your well-meant but rash request, and remove the piece known as Khenet from the board?”
Folding her hands behind her back, Tiya shook her head. “No, Great One.”
Holding her arm out straight, palm down, Isis gestured at the peaceful pond. A lotus plant emerged from the crystal surface, large green leaves unfurling across the water, creating ripples that scared tiny rainbow fish, who flitted away in lightning bursts of color. The heavy heads of two lotus buds extended from the leaves, supported by a single thick stalk. “In order to remove Khenet from the game, I have to remove you.”
“I don’t understand, my lady.”
“His oath was to accompany you. The only way I can countermand my sister’s influence and prevent you from journeying to the Viper Nome is to keep you here with me, in the Afterlife, as one of my ushabti. A servant,” she said, smiling gently at Tiya. “Whether you admit it to yourself or not, that’s what you meant to ask me for, originally. Duties in the Afterlife are pleasant, life eternal stretches happily in front of you. Free of his oath, the warrior could return to Thebes.”
Tiya licked her lips. Give my life for his, in effect? But then I’d be guaranteed the Afterlife without the painful death I’ll likely face in the Viper Nome. Rather than feeling joy at the prospect, sadness swept over her in a wave. Eternity without him?By the time he came to the Afterlife, he’d have forgotten all about me.
Giving Tiya no time to examine her turbulent emotions, Isis held up a hand. “Wait, before you seek to make any choices. Let me show you the ultimate result of this alteration to the game, this removal of key pieces.” She pointed at the first lotus bud, which opened slowly, a sparkling green light arising in bands from its petals. In the light Tiya saw miniature figures in Egyptian and Hyksos uniforms doing battle. She recoiled as hideous, many-armed demons fell upon the Egyptian troops and began a mass slaughter, tearing soldiers limb from limb.
Are the demons eating the fallen? Sickened, averting her eyes, she fell back a step, clutching her stomach in dismay. “What is this you’re showing me?”
“If I keep you here to save the warrior, there’ll be no time for Nephthys to replace you with your cousin before an impatient Smenkhotep figures out another way to work his black magic. Less efficient, but he gets the task done. He’s researching such methods in ancient scrolls even as you journey to wed him. Once he finds the answers he seeks—or he weds you—he’ll give Qemteshub’s hordes an entry point in the Viper Nome. The neighboring province will be lost soon thereafter. Split by enemy forces, each nome in succession will fall as war rages.”
“And Egypt?” Tiya looked back at the flower, but the green light and the display of her doomed countrymen was gone. How can Khenet and I be so important?
Isis shrugged, laying the Khenet game piece aside. “It’s impossible to see too many moves ahead in this game of senet we’re imagining today. Untold events and influences always come to bear, twisting the future, girl. But of a certainty, without you and your warrior the enemy wins the immediate victory. Egypt will be seriously endangered.”
Nausea roiling Tiya’s stomach made her glad she’d had no breakfast. “In such a case, why would you help me?”
Holding up her hand in a cautionary gesture, Isis laughed. “I haven’t said what I’ll do. This conversation is about you and your choices. Perhaps I believe there can be an even better outcome. Perhaps I argued with my sister to no avail about the deliberate sacrifice of human lives and imm
ortal souls, no matter how noble the cause. Such actions are the start of a slippery path. Perhaps I think oaths shouldn’t be sworn for all time, levied on innocent descendants of the oath giver.” Isis smiled a little. “This game being played by my husband and Nephthys against Qemteshub’s puppets is only one in a long series, a tournament between opposing forces, if you will.” Isis looked her over, head to toe. “You see, you’re a significant pawn, and this soldier with you.”
“And the second bud?” Tiya said desperately, feeling tears pricking at her eyelids. The conversation isn’t turning out at all the way I expected. I thought I could somehow save him, if not myself, but preserving our lives doesn’t balance the loss of all Egypt to evil.
As if reading her thoughts, Isis regarded her for several moments. “Ah yes, the other outcome.”
Tiya didn’t see any movement from Isis but the second bud opened out into a gorgeous, glowing blue flower. The green sparkling lights above its surface showed a tremendous storm raging, lightning shattering the sky, thunder booming, above a miniature city crumbling into dust below the celestial spectacle. Tiny figures ran here and there, like insects trying to escape, but the lightning sought them out, obliterating every last one. A blaze of green blotted out the entire scene, leaving Tiya blinded for a moment, and she brought her hand over her watering eyes.
“My sister’s victory against Smenkhotep and Qemteshub, bought with your soldier’s blood, his eternal ka, and your own death,” said Isis calmly. “The nome is saved.”
“Destroyed, you mean,” Tiya said, blinking hard, trying to clear the spots from her eyes.
Isis shrugged. “There will be some cost in human life, yes. However, Qemteshub will be unable to use the place as an entry into Egypt. Nephthys wins the game as she wishes to do, with a grand gesture. The soldier’s soul is destroyed. You’re granted immediate entry to the afterlife as Nephthys promised.”
Tears rolling down her cheeks, Tiya stared at the two innocent-seeming lotus flowers bobbing slightly in the water. Saving Khenet comes at a terrible price—danger to Egypt itself. He wouldn’t want that. He’d curse my memory when he realized it was our fault for not finishing what we set out to do.
Warrior of the Nile (The Gods of Egypt) Page 9