“Is it true? Did you and Aya really find something?” she asked, pink-cheeked and panting.
“It’s true!” Karim said, getting to his feet. “Here, let me help you with all that.” He lifted the packs from her shoulders and set them on the ground. “Where is the young sena?”
“I sent her to fetch a jug of fresh water. I thought we’d need it.”
“Right. Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
Unexpectedly alone with the princess, Karim wasn’t sure whether to kiss or embrace her or do nothing at all. Had she only kissed him that night because it was expected of a husband and wife, and because everyone had been watching? It had felt real…but maybe Karim had been imagining something that wasn’t really there.
Sita looked away, suddenly very concerned about the state of her hair. Finally, she broke the tension and said, “Show me thisgreat discovery of yours!”
Karim led her to the half-buried statue.
Sita identified the figure straightaway. “That’s Nepthys, goddess of the night and childbirth. You can tell it’s her because of her distinctive headdress—a house with a basket on top.” She smiled faintly, then added, “Supposedly, she is the goddess who named my brother Mery.”
“Is that so?” Karim asked, unconvinced.
“If you believe the stories. But why include a statue of her here? I thought Setnakht worshipped Set alone, forsaking all other gods. Unless…”
Sita squatted behind the statue, squinting at the words written there. “‘Nepthys,’” she read. “‘Lady of the House. Sister of Isis. Mother of Anubis. Beloved of Set.”
“She’s Set’s wife!” Karim exclaimed.
Sita nodded. “That must be the connection. Do you see the position of her body? Kneeling, with one palm facing herself? That’s the traditional gesture of a mourning woman. It makes sense to see Nepthys depicted this way, because among her other titles, she was also a protector of the dead.” Sita stood, and her brow furrowed. “But what dead is she protecting? There are no tombs here.”
Karim grabbed Sita’s hand and pulled her toward the place he’d been working. “Ah, but princess, I think there are.”
When Sita saw what he’d uncovered, she gasped. “Is that—?”
“An entrance to an underground structure? Yes, I think it is. And if I’m right, it’s big. Very big.”
Sita knelt in front of the large rectangular stone that was set into the ground, and traced her fingers across the writing engraved there.
“‘All that begins starts in darkness; and all that ends returns there. Night is the mother of all things. May I ever rest in herarms, among the imperishable stars.’” She turned to Karim. “This sounds like a prayer for a mortuary temple. It’s one thing to dig out a valley wall for a tomb, but quite another to erect an entire temple underground. It’s impossible, isn’t it?”
Karim took up a large copper chisel and held it out to her. “Only one way to find out.”
Sita bit her lip, hesitating.
Karim chuckled. “Your gods led us here, sena. I think they’ll forgive a bit of heresy, just this once.”
Sita suppressed a smile and took the chisel. “You know, you’re pretty smart…for a dog.”
“I’m going to tell Behkai you said that,” Karim replied. “He’ll be very upset with you.”
“No, he knows I hold him in high esteem.”
“He’ll drool all over you.”
“Only because he likes me.”
Karim raised an eyebrow.Something else the dog and I have in common.
Sita smirked. “So? Where do we start?”
Using his hammer, Karim helped Sita wedge the chisel between the slab and the top of the stone structure. After that, they were able to insert another chisel into the opening, and they worked together to raise the slab enough to slip a rope underneath it. Then, with the slab propped above its frame, they dug in their heels and heaved at the rope, pulling with bursts of force until the stone slid aside, revealing a dark portal beneath.
Dripping with sweat, the sun beating down on his head, Karim dropped the rope and squatted to peer into the abyss. “There are stone steps leading underground. At least we won’t need ropes to lower ourselves inside.” He stood and slung his pack of supplies over one shoulder.
