But what if the supporting text doesn’t exist? Or the Heka priests won’t let me see it? They probably didn’t even intend to share this one!
She looked at the engraved bowl of grapes.
A green vessel.
Neff glanced across the room, where a tall vase sat in the corner, filled with gifts Meryamun had offered her. “To honor your name, Nefermaat,” he’d said.
Written in the gods’ words, her name was made up of two symbols. A heart and an ostrich feather.
Neff counted the ostrich feathers in the vase. There were seven.
The last grape slipped through her fingers and rolled across the windowsill. The cat batted it to the floor.
I have everything I need to cast the spell, Neff thought in disbelief.It’s all right here.
Perhaps it was meant to be.
“Well, what do you think, Cat? Shall we summon a god?”
***
It didn’t take long for Neff to assemble the items. She set the bowl with the four ostrich feathers on the floor by the window and brought a lit candle to stand beside it, along with the spellscroll. She held the engraved hippopotamus tusk in her right hand. The wand, something every Heka priest needed in their tool kit, served to focus her power.
Neff listened for any sound outside her chamber. It wouldn’t do to be interrupted while attempting to cast the spell.
The corridor was silent.
Am I really doing this?It was awfully reckless—but then again, her situation was desperate. Besides, it might not work. Even some of the simple spells she’d attempted had no effect, and this one was obviously much more advanced.
Just try, she told herself.What’s the worst that could happen?
Kneeling in front of the bowl, Neff quieted her thoughts and picked up the candle. The cat watched from her pillow, her tail flicking with interest. Neff dipped the flame into the bowl and waited for the feathers to alight. They began to smolder, then burn. Neff set the candle down and began turning the smoking bowl. As she did so, she spoke the words, making sure to enunciate each one clearly.
“Ho, Medjed! You of the House of the Lord of Silence!”
Three revolutions to the right—
“Come to me, and punish those who would do me harm!”
And one to the left.
Finally, Neff set down her wand and took the bowl of ashes in both hands. She inhaled a deep, deep breath, and blew the ashes toward the open window.
A cloud of black particles billowed into the air and hung there for an instant before the breeze pulled them out and away. Neff watched the cloud dissipate, the bowl still raised to her lips. She waited in anticipation.
Moments passed.
Nothing happened.
Neff sighed and set the bowl down.
She cleaned up the items, rerolling the scroll and setting the green bowl back on the tray with the remnants of her meal. She moved slowly, heavy with disappointment. Aside from a couple small victories, her attempts at casting spells had been largely unsuccessful. She’d been trying to teach herself the art of heka, but clearly the knowledge was meant to be passed down from master to apprentice, much like everything else in the priesthood. But even with the king’s urging, she knew the Heka priests wouldn’t agree to mentor her. They’d say they were too busy or would sabotage her education somehow.
She needed help, but aside from the Heka priests, who else in the kingdom had the ability to teach her?
Then she knew.
“Of course! Why didn’t I think of it before?”
