Sahure shrugged. He straightened a wrinkle in the coverlet laid across Tyema’s body. “I’m a soldier, used to keeping watch without true sleep. I want to be here if she awakens, if she needs anything.”
“I must speak plainly, old friend. The chance Lady Tyema is going to awaken grows more slim with each passing hour. The doctor is afraid to speak bluntly to you, but he’s given me a complete report. Whatever ailment she has isn’t going to release its grip on her. You need your strength to cope with the loss, to take care of your son.” Edekh’s face was shadowed in the candlelight. “I pray the outcome will be more positive, but if the gods decree otherwise, you must be prepared.”
Snatching up the half empty mug of wine on the table next to him, Sahure drank. “I feel as if I leave her alone, even for a few moments, she’ll die,” he said in a low voice, barely above a whisper. “I’d admit my fears only to you. Yet nothing indicates she even knows I’m here.”
Edekh patted his shoulder. “I’m sure Tyema herself would be the first person to wish for you to stay healthy. Go, get some rest and return in the morning. Her niece watches for her, the maids are here, I’m sure Sobek must be paying attention. I have a scribe on duty with no other task than to summon you should anything change.”
“All right.” Rising, Sahure kissed Tyema on the forehead and followed Edekh from the room into the outer chamber. “No one is to be admitted while I’m gone, understand?”
“The strictest order will be given.”
And so Sahure sought his own quarters, hoping for a few hours of sleep.
*****
He woke suddenly, feeling as hot as if he was lying on desert sands in the middle of the day. Sitting up in bed, he startled at the sight of the goddess Sekhmet, standing in the center of his room, dressed in a kilt and tunic of her customary red, leaning on a spear, a shield strapped to her back as if she was an infantry soldier. Behind her, in the western wall where he knew perfectly well there was no door, a closed portal glowed fiery orange, as if heated by unimaginable fires beyond. Sekhmet’s cartouche was inscribed in the center in black, outlined by radiant red. With a shiver he realized the goddess had installed a ka door in his bedchamber, such as would be found in his tomb, a portal between life and death, a place where his spirit could receive offerings from those who survived him. Inside a rectangular frame, the door had a long, narrow recessed panel, above which was a half rounded molding representing the reed mat used to close most doors in Egyptian homes, other than Pharaoh’s palace. His heart thumped. Am I to die tonight? Is Tyema?
“You humans can be unforgivably obtuse at times,” Sekhmet said, pointing one clawed hand at him, her green cat eyes gleaming in the reflected light from the uncanny portal. “It’s fortunate for you I count my debt from Kharga as yet unfulfilled.”
Hot desert winds blew around him. Hastily Sahure threw off the linen sheet and put his feet on the floor to rise. “Forgive me, Great One, I don’t understand.”
She unslung the shield and pitched it at him with a peculiar curved motion of her paw and wrist. Instinctively Sahure caught it, realizing as his fingers grazed the surface that while the shield might resemble black and white spotted cowhide, it was actually made from stone, yet lightweight. Examining the sturdy leather straps on the reverse side, he said, “You—you need a shield mate, my lady? Of course I’m proud to stand with you—”
“It is I who will stand with you in battle tonight, if you so desire.”
As she eyed him up and down, purring a bit under her breath, tail curling around her ankles, he belatedly remembered he’d gone to bed unclothed. He groped for his kilt at the foot of the bed. “In what combat? Is Pharaoh in danger?”
She came closer, slinking a bit, tail lashing the air as it swished from side to side. “Do you love this woman? Is she your mate or not?”
“Tyema?” He wiped his brow, as he realized the room was becoming even hotter. “Great One, I love her with all my heart but she has misgivings, even now.”
Sekhmet hissed at him, fangs bared. He recoiled, barely preventing himself from raising the shield in self protection. If a goddess wished him dead, even a magic shield wasn’t going to save him. “You’re a lion, born for great things, as is your son,” she said. Pointing one claw at him, she tilted her head, the pupils in her eyes expanding as if he was prey. Sniffing the air, she said, “Not to rule, for you haven’t the bloodline to be Pharaoh, but to accomplish much, nonetheless. The girl understands your drive to create and build. What she doesn’t understand is that mates must balance each other, fit each other, not necessarily match strength for strength. She fears she can’t help you achieve your dreams, thinks she isn’t lioness enough because she has weaknesses she hides from you.”
“Ema is the world to me,” he said. “Every human, including me, has weaknesses. There’s no shame in that, as I’ve told her. She lies sick in her chambers tonight, out of her mind with a fever for two days now—can you help her? I’d thought to petition Sobek in the morning if she’s no better, go to his temple, force them to let me into the inner sanctum and beg the god on my knees for help, even though I’m not pledged to him.”
Sekhmet made a huffing sound, almost a growl. “She’s not sick. Useless for you to talk to the Crocodile—Sobek has no power over black magic unless it threatens Pharaoh himself.”
Sahure rocked on his heels as if she’d struck him. “Black magic? Ema’s been affected by black magic? How—”
Sekhmet shook her head. “Not my place to explain. But I’ll help, to clear my debt to you. I loathe being in debt.” Baring her fangs for a moment, ears flattening against her skull, the goddess laughed. “And because I relish a good fight.” She pointed over her shoulder at the ominously glowing door. “Your woman battles for her life and the survival of her ka in the realm beyond. And all the answers you seek are there with her.”
“Why are we wasting time talking, then?” Sahure laid the shield carefully on the bed and bent to grab his sandals. “I need my sword.”
Sekhmet purred his name, a sound sending shivers up his spine. Unpredictable, ferocious, bloodthirsty—and apparently my ally in a battle I didn’t even know I was fighting. When he checked on her, the goddess held a sword, the pommel a golden lion’s head, set with rubies blazing in the odd light seeping from the closed portal. She presented the weapon to him with formality. “Here, forged by me, in the holy fires I control, to be wielded only by a consummate warrior such as yourself.”
The blade was some metal unknown to him, silver-colored, covered in golden hieroglyphics. His swift perusal of the characters in the red light revealed a prayer, or perhaps a spell. The markings swirled and changed even as he read them, as if written in sand. Magic. The weight of the blade in his hand was perfect, and he knew he could cut a swath through enemy ranks with ease, if the foe was human. Glancing past the goddess to the sacred door, he doubted he’d be facing anything recognizable.
“Stay close to me, follow my lead,” Sekhmet ordered as she walked past him. With one paw, she rotated the door handle, which appeared to be solid gold in the shape of the hieroglyph for the word ka. The portal opened into a scene straight from the nightmare he’d been having before her arrival.
The hallway beyond the door sloped downward, the coal black walls and ceiling covered in detailed paintings glowing red. One glance was enough to imprint his mind with scenes of demons torturing humans, death and destruction lovingly depicted. Warmth poured out, surrounding him, taking his breath away for a moment, but he hefted the odd shield and marched after the goddess. The hall was narrow, no room for them to walk shoulder to shoulder. Heat radiated from the ground, penetrating the stout leather of his sandals. A distant drumbeat punded like an uncanny heart. He had to draw a deep breath of the acid smelling air to keep his own heart from beating in time with the ominous sound. After a few moments the climate became more bearable and as his breathing eased, Sahure realized they’d come to the end of this tunnel.
Whiskers twitchin
g, Sekhmet turned, paw to her lips in a warning. More lioness than human, she crept out of the passageway to a narrow plateau which ended in a sheer drop. Following her, Sahure found himself on a ledge, barely wide enough to stand. Gazing beyond the goddess, he saw a dizzying set of stairs carved into the stone, going straight down at an angle that was going to be hard to navigate without tumbling headlong to whatever waited below.
Whiskers flared, she pointed with her chin. “Your lady.”
He stared at the scene in the midst of the cavern ahead.
Huge yellow and green stalactites dripped from the ceiling, shedding red drops of water like blood onto a floor spiked with black stalagmites big enough to impale a giant, were he to fall. Open fissures in the ground breathed steam and burning vapors. In the middle of this underground room, the floor rose to become a flat plateau, oddly shaped into a series of ledges.
Sekhmet growled, pointing in the direction of the plateau. “An utukkai, a demon in the service of Qemtusheb.”
Sahure squinted, wishing he could see better in the gloomy cavern, envying the goddess her cat-eyes. A faint vibration rumbled through the stone under him and he caught a glimpse of the otherworldly denizon.
Easily twice Sahure’s height, he estimated, with horns, the demon stood on hoofed legs, spiked tail lashing the ground, tentacles like those of an octopus waving in the air where arms should have been. An imposing sight and a daunting opponent. Sekhmet, however, seemed oddly pleased as she began to move. “They send only one low level uttukkai, which tells me their god is wary of angering us or provoking us too far. This is good news.”
Sahure hefted the sword as Sekhmet sidled toward the precipitous stairway. He had to give his attention to the treacherous footing, but kept glancing at Tyema and the demon, who had now lifted her above his head, wrapped in one thick tentacle like the body of a huge black serpent. He was taking her in the opposite direction, apparently heading toward the fiery glow in the distance to the west.
When Sahure hit the cavern floor after jumping from the fifth step, he didn’t wait for the goddess but began running after Tyema and the demon, using the nooks and crevices of the cavern as cover. Sekhmet was at his shoulder in a moment, easily keeping pace.
As he got closer to the source of the fierce light, he realized it was a lake of fire. Stretching farther than the eye could see, gigantic roiling flames of red, yellow and orange flame crashed against the land mass with a thunderous impact that echoed in the cavern. The Lake of Fire? “Are we in the Afterlife?” he whispered to Sekhmet as they paused for a moment, taking shelter behind a stalagmite while the goddess reconnoitered. Sahure was impatient to rescue Tyema, but the Great One was his commander on this field of battle and must be obeyed.
“The Afterlife you know is but one of many destinations in this realm,” she said. “The Lake of Fire spans all boundaries.”
The demon paused at the edge of the lake, attempting to improve his hold on Tyema, who screamed defiance, kicking his face and punching as best she could at the muscular coils wrapped around her midsection.
Unable to sit and watch this scene unfold, terrified for Tyema, Sahure broke into a run. “If you value your miserable life, put her down and move away,” he yelled, sword raised to impale the demon.
Quick as a desert whirlwind, the monster spun around, clutching Tyema closer until she squeaked like a mouse in the grip of a snake. Eyeing Sahure from a set of bulging eyes, the demon appeared to be amused. “What’s this? A second human where none should be? Are you a willing sacrifice, then?” The tail seemed a living thing, weaving a sinuous pattern of defense between Sahure and the creature’s body. Studded with spikes dripping green ichor, the appendage ended in a dangerous black stinger, extended like a dagger, ready to strike.
“I’m no sacrifice and neither is she.” Sahure couldn’t get a clean stroke with the sword, although he hacked off the tip of the tail with a mighty blow as the stinger slashed toward him, which sent the demon screaming and sidling away. Tentacles waving in apparent anguish, the demon swore in Hyksos, but retained its hold on Tyema, closing the tentacle more tightly.
“Go back, save yourself, you can’t help me,” Tyema shouted in between panting efforts to breathe or to tear the tentacle loose. Tears cascaded down her face. “We can’t both die here. You have to protect our son, warn Pharaoh.”
“Listen to her words,” the demon advised, curling the damaged tentacle close to its body and cradling it with a smaller arm. “Escape to your world however you came here, for if you linger, I’ll have you. I was summoned to take this one,” he said, waving Tyema in the air like a trophy. “But two kas to harvest is even better. Interfere with me again and I’ll add you to my tally.”
“I won’t let you take her,” Sahure said, trying to get close enough to do more damage, wondering where in the Seven Hells Sekhmet was. Some shield mate! “And you’ll never defeat me, demon.”
“You delay me, mortal.” The demon glanced out across the lake and seemed to come to a decision. It reached one sinuous tentacle into a pouch slung on a belt around its portly middle and threw a handful of glowing stones on the ground between them. “You humans like games, play senet with these.” Extending the tentacle holding Tyema straight above his head and holding her there, the creature waded into the lake of fire, immersed in flame to his waist, which didn’t seem to affect him, covered as he was in an almost stonelike green leather skin. Laughing with a shrieking sound like wind clawing at crevices in a canyon, he strode away through the fiery waves.
The small coals grew into man-sized, featureless, many-armed blobs, much like the octopus Sahure had once seen, captured at sea and brought to Pharaoh’s court as a curiosity. If these beings had mouths or eyes, they were well hidden. Whipping their barbed tentacles through the air, the group blocked his access to the lake. One managed to graze Sahure’s arm before he shifted the shield to protect himself and the contact left a pattern of small red welts, as if he’d been burned by poisonous thorns. Arm throbbing, he backed away, frustrated, shield raised. Now what?
Green light flared behind him, a shower of green sparks falling beside him, accompanied by the roar of an enraged lioness. Sekhmet in lion form bounded past. Launching herself at the new enemy, claws tearing huge holes in their unarmored bodies, she was seemingly unaffected by the poison in the tentacles. Whenever one of the creatures sought to wrap itself around her body, the tentacles blackened and shriveled away. Yelling a battle cry, Sahure waded into the fray behind her, now acting as her shield mate, slicing off tentacles as he went, doing as much damage as he could to the ones she injured as she whirled and pounced.
One attached itself to her back as she rolled and yowled defiance. He slashed at it and then pursued it across the black sands as the thing crawled away, pinning it with the edge of the shield and slicing through what seemed to be a neck. He ran back to the battle in time to watch the goddess bite the head from one of the demon assailants, spitting it aside with disgust and crushing another between her front paws, long talons punching holes in the bodies. He hurled the sword at the center of a larger demon about to launch itself at Sekhmet’s haunches and the enemy fell. Retrieving his weapon a moment later, he realized they’d vanquished the army of uncanny warriors Tyema’s captor had unleashed on them.
But we’ve wasted much time. Seeing no one left to battle them or bar his access to the lake, Sahure ran forward to follow the demon and Tyema. The furnace-like heat drove him from the shore’s edge. Clearly whatever power the demon possessed to walk unscathed through the flames didn’t apply to humans. Swearing, he spun around in the gray sand to face his companion. “By Set’s teeth, goddess, do something to get me across this lake! I have to follow them, I have to either save her or grant her a clean death myself, to ensure her safe passage to the Afterlife.”
Sekhmet sat daintily cleaning her claws with her sinuous pink tongue, but at his words she morphed into her human state as green light flashed and sparks flew.
“I�
��m the goddess of fire,” Sekhmet reminded him calmly. Walking past him, to the edge of the lake, she raised both arms, paws facing the fire, lethal claws unsheathed. Her tail lashed the ground, raising clouds of gray dust as she intoned, “I am she who rules your fierce heart and I command the living flames to give way.”
As Sahure watched, breathing hard after the battle, impatient to be on his way, the flames parted, drawing away from each other, until there was a six foot wide path down the center of the lake in the direction the demon had gone. Almost out of sight, apparently on the far shore, the demon wheeled in place for a moment, bellowing defiance, and then sprinted to the east. Sahure stepped onto the hot lakebed, full of glowing coals and glittering black sand. Sekhmet snagged his arm, nearly yanking him off his feet.
“I can only go this far, mortal, now we’ve killed the interlopers and driven off the higher order demon to the other side of the lake. My king Osiris forbids direct confrontation with the enemy in their own land, but they’re fair game if they trespass on our side.”
He shook off her grasp. “Thank you for bringing me here, for arming me.”
“The waves will remain parted for a time, if you can rescue her and return. The portal I opened will remain as well. You only have until dawn in your own world.” Sekhmet tapped her claw three times on the amulet she’d given him. Heat and fire pulsed through his arm from the enameled disk. “You’ve proven yourself to be an excellent battle comrade this night, so I grant you one additional boon, resistance to the effects of being in this place where humans shouldn’t be. Touch your lady and she too will be protected for a time. Our debt is discharged, agreed?”
“Agreed.” He didn’t care whether Sekhmet felt she’d done enough or not. It was plain the goddess would offer no more help, and he had to be on his way to have any hope of rescuing Tyema. “Thank you, Great One.”
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