House of Scorpion

by Mark Gajewski

  “Thirsty, Sabu?”

  He nodded.

  I poured the remaining beer on the ground beside Sabu’s head. This was a night to be cruel to a master of cruelty.

  I set the empty jar down. I placed my hand on my belly. “I’m carrying King Scorpion’s child, Sabu. The blood of Nubt and Tjeni is mingled inside me. Royal blood – the most royal since man first settled in this valley. Horus himself has revealed that one of my descendants is going to rule this valley from the cataract to the sea. He’ll achieve what you failed to do with your pitiful alliance. The unifier’s name – and mine – will be remembered for all time. Yours, on the other hand, will not. Your death will be celebrated. You will not be mourned. And an instant after you’re dead you’ll be forgotten.”

  Then it was Nofret’s turn. She stood over Sabu. She cursed him. She recited every disgusting and degrading thing he’d ever done to her. After every recitation she kicked him in the ribs. A crack accompanied her third kick. With every kick after that Sabu screamed behind his gag. Tears were soon pouring from his eyes. Nofret’s recitation went on and on, for he’d done much to her. Far more than I’d ever guessed. Tears poured down my cheeks too. I’d underestimated the depths of Sabu’s depravity. When at last I helped Nofret limp from the hut Sabu was bruised and battered and bloody.

  Deservedly so.

  ***

  “It’s Bebi,” Khentetka said in a low voice.

  The sun had set an hour ago. Iry and I were sitting beside the fire in front of Harwa’s hut. Sabu was still tied up inside. We hadn’t fed him or given him a drink since the kidnapping almost a day ago. I’d looked in on him occasionally during the day; his ribs were nicely purpled and swollen where Nofret had kicked him. He was in great pain and I didn’t care. Nofret was wrapped in a linen sheet a few paces from the fire, fast asleep. Iry had just awakened; the two of them were going to take the night watch. Iry would relieve Harwa; he’d been stationed beside the path from Nubt that led past his farm since midday. Khentetka was grinding emmer into flour in front of her hut, to give the illusion to any passersby that everything was normal. I’d been weaving a reed mat for the same reason, a skill Khentetka had taught me when we were young girls.

  “Servants discovered the perch and dead guards a little after dawn,” Bebi reported, settling in next to us. “They rushed to Heket’s room to see if Sabu was there. When she said she hadn’t been with him last night they went to Nofret’s. When they found her room empty they raised the alarm.”

  Khentetka offered Bebi a cup of beer and he drank it down.

  “Ani took charge. He called the elites together. He sent guards to search every inch of Nubt. All they found was the ruined grain.”

  “They didn’t suspect you or your family because of the fish?” I asked.

  “Thanks to reporting it stolen, no. Our fellow fishermen aren’t very happy we accused them, though.”

  “It won’t matter once Father gets here,” Iry said. “You and your whole family will be restored to your rightful places. No more fishing for any of you.”

  “Thank you, Majesty,” Bebi said gratefully.

  “What does everyone think happened?” Khentetka asked.

  “My cousins may have started and spread a rumor that Sabu took Nofret and ran away because he was afraid of King Scorpion and his approaching army,” Bebi chuckled. “They may have started a second rumor that Sabu ruined the grain out of spite, to deny it to King Scorpion. Since the two of them are missing, the rumors have gained credence.” He snorted. “Ani’s going crazy, from what I’ve heard, trying to figure out how the dead fish and dead guards fit into the puzzle.”

  “Is Ani styling himself king of Nubt yet?” I asked. “I can’t imagine he’ll let a golden opportunity like this slip by.”

  “He hasn’t dared put the crown on his head,” Bebi replied. “Yet. But he’s definitely taken charge. With the army behind him, no elite will challenge him.” Bebi stood. “I should get back before anyone gets suspicious. I’ll sneak back here and report if anything major happens.”

  “Thank you, Bebi, for everything,” I said. “We couldn’t have done this without you.”

  “No, Majesties. Thank you, for ridding us of Sabu,” he replied, bowing to both Iry and me. “You’ve saved Nubt.”

  ***

  “The King!” Khentetka’s cry rang from her post along the riverbank at mid-morning the next day.

  I hurried through Harwa’s partly-harvested emmer field to the river just as Scorpion’s boat nosed against the bank. Khentetka threw a rope, her end tied to a palm tree, to a crewman. He secured the bow with the free end. Two more boats accompanied Scorpion’s, filled with heavily armed soldiers. They lowered their sails and poled close to shore but didn’t tie up. I saw Niay standing next to the steersman on Scorpion’s vessel.

  Scorpion came to the railing, Mekatre beside him. “Is Sabu dead?” Scorpion called anxiously.

  “Better! We kidnapped him!” I cried.

  Scorpion smiled, amazed. He clapped Mekatre on the back.

  The deck was crowded with royals – Scorpion’s youngest daughter, Heria, and his oldest, Weret. Her new husband, Kama. Mekatre’s wife, Nebta – she was holding the hands of Iry’s daughters. Sety caught my eye and nodded.

  Scorpion broke into a broader smile when Iry and Harwa half-carried the stumbling bloody bruised emaciated Sabu through the stubble to the riverbank. Iry had untied Sabu’s ankles but left the rest of his bonds in place.

  “A gift, Father!” Iry cried. “May I present Sabu, king of Nubt!”

  The soldiers and oarsmen aboard Scorpion’s boat cheered long and mightily.

  “You’ve done well, Son, Wife,” Scorpion called approvingly.

  Mekatre looked sheepish. He’d doubted me right up to the end.

  “Get on board,” I told Nofret.

  She splashed knee-deep into the river.

  Crewmen grabbed her arms and hoisted her over the railing and onto the deck.

  She stood dripping. Heria immediately moved next to her and greeted her. I thought that very kind. She’d become slightly acquainted with Nofret the first two days of our journey north from Nekhen eight years ago.

  “I’ll never forget how you helped me,” I told Khentetka and Harwa, embracing them both at the same time. “Sabu would still be free without you two.”

  “It was our pleasure, Majesty,” Harwa said.

  Khentetka nodded, crying.

  I waded into the river and oarsmen pulled me aboard. Very carefully, because of my baby.

  Scorpion put his arm around my shoulders and held me close. “I worried about you the whole time, Matia. If I’d known you were going to kidnap Sabu I’d have worried even more.”

  “It was a spur of the moment decision. Iry kept me safe, Husband. And I had my friends and relatives.”

  We watched as Iry and three crewmen hung Sabu, still tied and gagged, upside down by his feet from the bow. An additional humiliation. Once they were aboard we untied the mooring rope and oarsmen poled us into the channel. Then they raised the sail and, aided by oarsmen, we traveled the last mile to Nubt, leading the other two warships. Our little flotilla was a stirring and intimidating sight; I doubted anything like it had ever been seen in the valley. Sabu had been such a fool to think he could challenge Scorpion and win.

  Scorpion and I retired to the pavilion amidships as soon as we were underway. I helped him don his white crown and tied a lion’s tail to the back of his belt. He took up his crook and flail and we returned to the bow in time to see Nubt come into view.

  The partially-harvested plain between the river landing and Nubt was deserted. The gate of the walled southern section was closed. No fires curled from huts in the northern section; not even a dog roamed the lanes. Boats and fishing punts swayed in the current along the riverbank. The nearby fishermen’s huts were abandoned.

  It took half an hour for Scorpion’s hundred soldiers to disembark and array themselves on the plain near our small fleet.
We royals waited patiently, seated in the shade of palm trees beside the riverbank. Iry held both Abar and Neith on his lap. A few feet away Sabu’s body swung by his feet in rhythm with the current, continuously twisting, his head occasionally banging into the side of the boat. Iry and I told Scorpion and Mekatre and Sety everything that had happened since we’d gone our separate ways at Hiw. Scorpion laughed hysterically when we told him how we’d used the fish to gain entry to the per’aa, then walked Sabu out of Nubt under the guards’ noses.

  Scorpion had married me because he believed I was going to be the ancestress of the unifier and he wanted to be his ancestor. To him, the night I’d fled to Tjeni, I’d been a prize, a chance to fulfill a prophesy, an opportunity to strike a blow at Sabu, a way to tie Nubt to his house. Up to now, he’d treated me like a prize for the most part. But I’d just risked my life and the valley’s future to give him what he wanted – Nubt. For the first time, as we sat under the palm trees, I saw respect in his eyes. I suspected things were going to be different between us from now on.

  Finally, when all was ready, guards cut the rope tied to Sabu’s feet. He dropped head first into the water. Waiting guards pulled him to the surface, chest heaving, blowing water out of his nose. Water streamed from the gag in his mouth. It didn’t wash away the filth or dried blood that covered his body. I laughed at him as they dragged him out of the water to us.

  “Your Majesty,” Scorpion said pleasantly, bowing slightly. “Shall we enter my settlement?”

  Sheer hatred blazed from Sabu’s eyes. Impotent hatred.

  Iry and Scorpion and Sety and I walked slowly towards the gate in Nubt’s wall, side by side, Sabu held up by Scorpion’s guards a step behind, soldiers spread out in several parallel lines, Mekatre directly ahead of us carrying the royal standard, a scorpion atop an ebony pole. The rest of the royals remained under the palms in case Nubt didn’t surrender peacefully and a fight broke out. In that case, soldiers would hustle them onto the boat and Niay would get them out of danger. As we approached the gate we heard loud voices arguing inside the walls, the words indistinct. All at once the voices ceased. Our soldiers drew their weapons. We continued on. When we were within twenty yards of the gate it slowly swung open.

  Scorpion stopped and the rest of us with him. The guards moved Sabu next to Scorpion.

  Maya and Ani strode through the gate, dressed in their finery, carrying their sticks of office. They looked sullen. The remaining elites, their relatives mostly, were arrayed behind them, trepidation on their faces. Ani and Maya stopped a few paces from Scorpion and dropped to their knees.

  “I have your king,” Scorpion announced grandly.

  I noticed Bebi standing at the edge of the crowd behind the elites along with his extended family. I motioned him to join us.

  He came and knelt next to Maya. He looked up at Scorpion, eyed Sabu with disgust, then spat on his feet. “Majesty,” he cried loudly, “Nubt knows no king but Scorpion. I pledge you my fealty, and my family’s.”

  Ani and Maya muttered the same pledge, without enthusiasm. They laid their sticks of authority on the ground.

  “This is Bebi, Husband. My cousin.”

  Scorpion smiled. “Matia told me how you helped her capture Sabu. The tale of Bebi and the fish will be told and retold whenever we celebrate in my court.” He laughed.

  The looks Ani and Maya shot Bebi were priceless. A puzzle unexpectedly solved.

  “Sabu stripped Bebi and his family of their authority, simply to hurt me, Husband.”

  “Rise, Bebi,” Scorpion commanded. “I restore your authority. You will once again wield your stick – in my name. For the help you provided Matia, you and your family shall be honored.”

  Bebi stood and bowed low. “You are most gracious, Majesty.”

  Scorpion surveyed Ani and Maya, who were still kneeling, then the other elites. “As for the rest of you, we shall see. Your fates will be decided by my son, Mekatre. From this day he will rule Nubt in my name.”

  Mekatre could barely contain himself. A dream achieved.

  For him. But not for me. I’d spent my youth preparing to rule Nubt. I’d have been better at it than my father or Sabu or Hetshet. I’d certainly make a better ruler than Mekatre was going to be. But, even though I’d just given Nubt to Scorpion, my settlement was now lost to me. My role from this day forward would be to bear and raise a child whose descendant would unify the entire valley. My life was going to be so much less than I’d wished. I sighed. There was nothing I could do about it. I spotted Heket in the midst of Nubt’s elites. I motioned her forward. She came to me, hesitant, eyes focused on the ground.

  “Husband, this is Heket, daughter of King Khab, given against her will to Sabu to seal his alliance.”

  She bowed.

  “You’ll soon be free of Sabu,” I assured her. “We’ll take you home to Nekhen afterwards.”

  “Thank you, Majesty.”

  She moved behind me. She didn’t look at Sabu.

  “Would you like to take possession of Nubt’s per’aa now, Majesty?” Bebi asked. He’d seized leadership of Nubt’s elites.

  “My wife tells me you have a sacred court where you honor your god,” Scorpion said. “Matia will lead me there. Assemble your people on those grounds immediately.”

  “Yes, Majesty.”

  I led our party to the court. It was smaller than Tjeni’s and primitive compared to Nekhen’s – an area of packed earth with a throne atop a dais beneath a sunscreen at one end. It wasn’t even surrounded by a wall. Scorpion seated himself on the throne and Iry and Mekatre and I ascended the dais and stood next to him after Mekatre set the end of the standard into a hole in the ground. Fanbearers moved behind us to cool us. Guards forced Sabu to his knees in front of the dais. Scorpion’s soldiers formed a ring around the outside of the grounds, on alert. More lined the street between Nubt’s gate and the court. I saw others pressing inside the walls to secure the southern section of the city. All the while men and women and children were filing into the court, spilling past the packed area for a considerable distance. I estimated close to two thousand people were present.

  Nubt’s elites took places on the right side of the dais. The rest of the royals arrived in company with guards and stood to the left. Heket rushed into the arms of her brother Kama. She sobbed.

  I saw Khentetka and Harwa at the back of the crowd. I sent a guard to bring them to stand with the royals. They deserved to witness Sabu’s execution up close.

  Scorpion rose from the throne. “Nubt is mine!” he cried in a loud voice that carried to the back of the crowd. “Tomorrow I’ll be crowned king of Tjeni and Nubt in this sacred court. You will all attend. Thereafter, I will travel back and forth between my two settlements regularly, to remind you that you owe me fealty and to personally collect my due from you. I’ll reside in both settlements. Whenever I’m absent my son Mekatre will rule in my name.”

  Mekatre moved beside his father. He didn’t look happy. He’d expected to rule Nubt independently, like a true king. That Scorpion would split time between the settlements, that Mekatre would in essence be a mere stand-in, was news to him. I couldn’t help being relieved. I’d dreaded Nubt being put in Mekatre’s hands, as inexperienced and incompetent as he’d proven to be in every task he’d ever been assigned. Just the threat of Scorpion looking over his shoulder should be enough to keep him from doing anything stupid.

  “You will all pledge fealty to Mekatre as well as me. Mekatre will speak with my voice. You will obey him without question.”

  Mekatre stepped back.

  “The day after my coronation I’ll depart for Nekhen to return King Khab’s daughter, Heket, to him, as my son Iry promised,” Scorpion continued. “But today we have important business before us.”

  A soldier carried Scorpion’s mace to the foot of the dais and stood facing the crowd, holding the mace aloft with both hands.

  “You all know the poor excuse for a man on his knees before me. Sabu. A false king. He m
urdered his older brother and father to gain his throne.”

  There was much murmuring in the crowd at that. No one but me and my confidants had known.

  “He falsely accused Pentu, my wife’s first husband, of assassinating King Ika. Sabu murdered Pentu too.”

  The murmuring grew in volume. That Pentu wasn’t a traitor was news to everyone.

  “Sabu murdered Baki, Pentu’s son. He ordered his henchman to assault my daughter Heria. He ordered his assassin to murder my wife, Matia.” Scorpion indicated me. “That assassin instead killed my son Iry’s wife, Tamit, a woman who was as dear to me as my own daughters.” Scorpion raised his crook and flail high. Then he pointed them down at Sabu. “Sabu challenged and insulted me! He brought misery and suffering to Nubt! For these crimes, and more, he must die!”

  A cheer rang out. Then several. Then many more, simultaneous, scattered throughout the crowd. They quickly grew to a roar, sweeping like a wave over the sacred court, washing onto us on the dais.

  Sabu began trembling violently. Abandoned by the Nubtians he’d scorned and abused.

  Iry and I descended the dais. Heria joined us from the midst of the royals. And Nofret. I took the mace from the soldier. Heria walked to Sabu.

  “Remember me?” she asked. She grabbed Sabu’s hair, bent his head back, spit in his face, laughed, released him, stepped aside.

  Nofret delivered one last kick to Sabu’s purpled ribs.

  He doubled over in pain with a muffled cry.

  I noticed Heket, still in Kama’s arms. She’d suffered as much as Nofret. I gestured. She came forward. She pulled Sabu erect by his hair, stared into his eyes. She cursed him. She slapped his face. Then she viciously kicked him in the ribs. He doubled over again.

  “Thank you, Majesty,” she told me, then moved beside Nofret. They embraced.

  Iry and I arranged ourselves on opposite sides of Sabu. He was cowering, whimpering. His gag was still in place. I wasn’t about to remove it and give him the chance to plead for his life or curse me for his death. To be refused last words – that’s what a man like him deserved.