Meryamun lowered his voice, so that Neff had to strain to hear him. “Shewasgetting cozy with Prince Harsi at the banquet…”
“Do you have additional orders for me, my king?”
“I do. Gather some men, take my fastest ship, and track down the Tashans. If my sister is hidden among them, bring her back.”
“And the rest of the delegation?”
There was a pause. “Kill them.”
“My king?”
“Kidnapping my sister is crime enough to warrant execution, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, my king. However, if theydon’thave the princess…”
“If they don’t, spare one, and bid him return to Tash with a message. Khetara has a new pharaoh. One who knows full well that many years have passed since Tash has offered fealty to the region’s sovereign kingdom. They can consider the blood of their ambassadors as payment overdue.” The guard began to step away when the king stopped him. “Either way, bring me Prince Harsi. Alive. He may prove useful.”
“Understood, my king. We will do our best to reach the Tashans before they cross their borders.”
Meryamun sucked his teeth. “What have I told you about calling defeat to your door? You are the hand of Pharaoh! Go now, and see that it is done.”
“Yes, my king.”
The guard departed, and Meryamun followed shortly after. Neff waited until their footsteps had faded to silence before emerging from the basket. She was about to follow—worried that the king would summon her and find her missing—but stopped in front of the chamber door. Femi was still. Looking at him hanging like a butchered animal in a slaughterhouse, she felt like crying.
His head lifted at the sound of her approach, and his eyes widened in surprise.
Without a word, Neff picked up a piece of sharpened obsidian, not unlike the kind Kenna used to make incisions during the mummification ritual. She turned to Femi, and his nostrils flared, uncertain of her intentions.
Neff held up a hand to indicate peace, then reached up to place the obsidian in his hand.
He regarded her with interest. “Who are you?” he whispered.
“Someone who could use more friends,” she answered.
Femi’s fingers closed around the blade, hiding it from view. He pressed his lips together and nodded.
Neff gave a small bow and slipped out of the room.
As she climbed the stairs to the main floor, Neff’s thoughts turned once again to the force that grabbed her right before Mery’s guard appeared.Like a warning.It was the same sensation she’d had in the Horus Room, as if someone else had been in there with them.
You’re jumping at shadows, Neff told herself as she made her way through the palace.Stop being childish and focus on the trip into Thonis to help the king choose the new servants.Kenna and Femi were valuable allies, but with Meryamun torturing innocent people and stoking a war with Tash, the situation was getting worse by the day. She needed to gather as many conspirators as she could.
Meryamun took down a king with a combination of cunning, strategy, and a multiplicity of well-placed pawns, each with their own role to play.
If Neff was to have a chance at defeating him, she needed to do the same.
Your brother isn’t the only one teaching me how to beat you, my king, she thought as she reached the throne room. She still couldn’t shake the sensation of something trailing in her wake, but as she pushed through the doors, it was almost a comfort to feel as if she weren’t going alone.
6Karim
He almost had it.
The errant map fell to the ground, rolling against a rise in the desert, and Karim dove for it. He dimly heard Sitamun shouting for him to stop, but he ignored her. Without the map, they were lost.Got it!he thought as his fingers closed around the scroll.
That’s when the sandstorm hit.
The force of it took his breath away. It was like being struck by a solid wall rather than a million tiny particles. He fought to cover his face with his robes as the sand stung his eyes and flew into his nose and mouth.
