Kenna turned to her sharply. “How can you know this?” Then he scoffed, as if he’d asked a question he could easily answer himself. “You’ve had a vision.”
“A dream, actually. Of two snakes, as in your father’s vision. Except this was different. The snakes were entwined with one another and suffused with light. The divine message is clear: Sitamun lives.”
Relief washed over Kenna’s face before he hid his emotions out of sight. “That is very good news,” he said evenly. “Though it makes me wonder what she’s been doing all this time. The world is a stranger to her outside the palace walls.”
Thinking of the oracle, Neff replied, “Perhaps fate has delivered her a friend.”
When they arrived at the storage room, the same chamber where Kenna had collected his mummy wrappings when they’d first met, Kenna ushered her inside. The room was small and dark, the only light filtering in from the door. Rolls of linen wrappings were piled on the floor along with sacks of natron, jars of various sacred oils and resins, and baskets of incense pellets. The smell of it was so intense that it made Neff’s eyes water.
Kenna peered out to check both ends of the corridor oncemore before speaking. “This is about the Book of the Red Lady, isn’t it? I went back and forth about sending it to you.”
“Don’t worry. I have a lookout in case someone comes this way,” Neff said.
“A lookout?” Kenna’s brow furrowed. “You mean that servant girl? I didn’t see her with you.”
“Not Ahura. She doesn’t know I’m here. Something else.”
“Something?”
Neff licked her lips. “The book isn’t the only reason I needed to see you. Do you remember that spell I cast, summoning a minor god named Medjed?”
Kenna’s eyes narrowed. “You said it didn’t work.”
Neff made an apologetic face. “Well…” Removing a small folded cloth from the pocket of her robe, she turned and flung the fabric into the air beside her. It fluttered and came to rest on a child-sized shape beside her. “I was wrong.”
Kenna jumped back, nearly tumbling a pile of wrappings. The dome-like creature didn’t move. It simply hovered there, watching him with its painted eyes.
“That’s…Medjed?” Kenna exclaimed.
“I think he must be,” Neff replied. “He can’t talk, but he’s been helping me stay out of trouble. Within reason, of course.”
“Of course,” Kenna repeated, still staring at Medjed.
“Go on, now,” Neff said to the little spirit, gesturing toward the corridor. “Let me know if you see anyone coming.”
Medjed bobbed in assent and slipped out from beneath the cloth, leaving it behind on the floor.
Neff turned back to Kenna. “I wanted to show him to you, because it proves I’m ready to cast the spells in the Book of the Red Lady.”
Kenna shook off his discomfort and composed himself. “I agree. As much as I wish we didn’t need to delve into maliciousmagic, I cannot see that we have a choice. Mery’s execration ritual must not be allowed to succeed. A curse of such magnitude would render my brother’s enemies defenseless against him. Swords would crumble and rust in their scabbards, and even the strongest men would fall before him. We must act against him with the most powerful magic available to us.” He bent closer. “Perhaps we consider the blinding spell, or ‘To Loosen a Bowstring.’”
“No. We cannot afford to wait until the day of the ritual to act,” Neff said. “If we fail, it may be too late to stop him.”
“What are you suggesting?”
The idea that had been keeping Neff awake at night sat on the tip of her tongue. “Mery has been teaching me to play Mehen,” she began.
“The snake game. He used to play that with Sita all the time. What of it?”
“He is a ruthless opponent, but I learn fast. I’ve beaten him a couple times now. The only way to win is to think like he thinks—and always be one step ahead.” She thought of the Mehen board and the winding coils of the snake, upon which one can either kill or be killed. “If we want to beat Mery at his own game, I must curse him before he can curse us.”
“Curse the king? You can’t mean…”
Neff recalled the words written in red ink. The final spell in Sekhmet’s book.
To Make a Man Die.
“It’s the only way,” Neff said.
