In response, Setnakht wheeled his steed to face the city. His horse squealed and stomped the ground.
“Patience, imi-ib,” Setnakht cooed, tugging on the reins. Thenhe shouted once more in that unnaturally loud voice: “Heed me, Shesmu! Heed me, my ushabti! I command you to cleanse this city of its human pestilence. Root them out to the last man and leave no survivors!”
With that, Setnakht kicked his horse into a gallop and thundered down the palace road toward the heart of the city. Shesmu and the stone men followed, weapons in hand, their stiff walk becoming a steady march as they cast off a thousand years of stillness. Karim tried to count them. Were there a hundred? Two hundred?
He waited until the last ushabti had passed before he stood, scouring his mind for a plan. “There are a lot of them, but they’re slow,” he said in a rush. “We could reach the Hudjefa first if we hurry, but what do we do once we get to them? How does one defeat an army of stone?”
Sitamun rose next to him, the serpent staff in her hand. “For now, we only need to get the Hudjefa out of the city. Khetaran magic is very literal. Setnakht’s command was to kill every person they find in Perset. But if they aren’t within the city limits…”
“Then there’s no one to kill,” Karim said, finishing Sitamun’s thought. He nodded. “It’s our best chance. Let’s go.”
He took off at a run. Sita sprinted by his side, her expression resolute—a far cry from the delicate princess he’d met in Thonis, who fatigued after only an hour of walking. They veered off the palace road to flank the ushabti, making their way through the winding city streets.
“Find Elyas,” Sitamun told him, her chest heaving with exertion. “He will have assembled the men and will not want to abandon the city without a fight, but you must convince him that the threat is too great to make a stand here. I will go to the women and children and direct them to flee the valley.”
“All right,” Karim said. He hesitated. “Sitamun…”
“We will see each other again,” Sitamun said, her voice catching with emotion. She reached out to press her palm to his cheek.
He put his hand on top of hers, suddenly desperate not to let the moment pass. Their brief respite from the turmoil of the outside world was over, he knew that. The little life they’d built there…that was over too. But it had been good.
So good.
He hated to let her go.
He dropped his hand, and she dropped hers. Fate was calling. They could not wait any longer to answer.
With one last look at Sitamun, Karim bolted toward the courtyard at the center of the village where Karim had first met the Hudjefa. He’d learned that it was often used as a meeting place, so he suspected it would be where Elyas and his men would assemble.
Sure enough, a crowd had already gathered when he arrived. Men were pulling weapons from their armory, albeit with less haste than Karim had hoped. Dumiya stood slightly apart from the rest, spear in hand. Karim found Zev and the tribe leader among them, engaged in animated disagreement.
“You’ve brought damnation upon us, Elyas!” Zev said, the scar on his face purpling with agitation. “We had peace before the outsiders came. You should have let me kill them while I had the chance!”
Elyas bristled at the accusation. “Get ahold of yourself, Zev! I have done as you’ve asked and prepared the men—but you still haven’t explained what in god’s name is going on!”
Zev was about to reply when both men noticed Karim.
“Take whatever you can carry and leave the rest!” Karim shouted to the crowd. “You cannot defend yourselves against what is coming. We must flee the city!”
The armed men stopped what they were doing and eruptedwith protests and confusion. Elyas grabbed Karim by the shoulder and pulled him aside.
“Are you mad, sen? Raising an alarm is one thing, but fleeing the city? If this is a ploy to go back to your people and betray us, then I swear to you—”
“It’s not a ploy,” Karim broke in. “It’s too much to explain right now. Please, for the safety of your people, we must gonow.”
Dumiya came over and watched the men’s exchange with growing apprehension.
Zev shook his head, furious. “No. Absolutely not. The women and children can leave, but I am not going anywhere!”
Dumiya turned her head in the direction of the palace, her gray eyes narrowing and her body growing tense.
“Elyas!” Karim begged. “Listen to me!”
The old man’s expression darkened like a thunderhead. “No, sen, you listen tome. Until you tell me what you’re so afraid of, we aren’t leaving.”
The sound of barking joined the clamor of the crowd. Behkai came racing down one of the side streets and ran to Karim, his mouth foaming, his eyes wild. Then, a distant, terrified shout pierced the air.
“To arms!”the voice cried.“To arms!”
