Montuhotep whirled on the prince. “Bakenamun, during Amunmose’s reign I wouldn’t havedreamedof going against either of his sons’ wishes—but this is not your father’s Khetara. Not anymore. And there isn’t a single person in Thonis I wouldn’t throw to the lions to regain my place at the king’s side. Not even you.”
Kenna swallowed, then squared his shoulders. “Don’t touch her. If you try, you’ll have to go through me first.”
Neff’s heart swelled as she watched the diminutive prince stand up to her old master, who towered over him.I knew he had it in him.
The high priest looked down at Kenna and sighed. “I suppose I must draw the line at striking a royal prince.” He turned back to Neff. “No matter. As soon as I get an audience with Meryamun, I will make your betrayal known. If you’re lucky, he’ll simply send you back to your village. If not, well, perhaps you’ll find yourself back in Bakenamun’s embalming chamber sooner than you think.”
A chill ran down Neff’s spine. “He won’t believe you,” she said.
Montuhotep shrugged. “A seed of doubt is all I need. And time for it to grow…” He stepped back and pointed at the door. “Now get out of my temple.”
Clutching Medjed’s cloth to her chest, Neff pulled up her hood and strode to the door with a confidence she did not feel inher heart. Kenna met her gaze, shaking his head as if to say:Don’t do it, Neff. Think about what I told you.
She gave him a sad, apologetic smile before hurrying off. Montuhotep’s threats only made her more committed to her plan. The days she thought she had left had suddenly turned to hours.
The truth was, she’d already made up her mind about the plan before she arrived. She hadn’t come to ask for Kenna’s advice or his permission. She’d come because she wanted to see him one last time before the end.
***
The cat was waiting for her when she returned to her chambers. She wound around Neff’s ankles and meowed continuously, as if enumerating her grievances about Neff’s absence. Paying the cat little mind, Neff sank into the chair by the table and wrapped her arms around herself. Her body shook uncontrollably, and as her tears fell, she wished with all her heart that the arms around her were her mother’s.
I’m so sorry, Mamet, she thought as she rocked back and forth.I’m so sorry I left you. I’m so sorry I’m causing you pain.
She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stop crying.
But I must take action.
The lamb had returned to her dreams, its dolorous voice insistent. So many of its predictions had already come to pass—the river of blood, the abundance of lies, the chaos brewing in every corner of the kingdom. How soon before the crowns were broken? How soon before the coming of sorrow and ruin that could never be undone?
Kenna had put the weapon in her hand—for the Book of the Red Lady was a deadly weapon indeed—but the gods themselves had given her the power to wield it and placed her within striking distance of its intended target.
Meryamun.
The man whose life she’d saved from the crocodile was the same life she now intended to take.
Would the curse work quickly?she wondered.Or slowly, like poison?The Book of the Red Lady had been hidden away in the House of Life for untold years, so neither Kenna nor anyone alive knew exactly how its spells might work. She would have to find out for herself.
Kenna’s words stuck in her mind like thorns, and Neff struggled to dislodge them.It’s not the same!she thought.Mery killing his father is different from me casting this curse!
Maybe it was different. Or maybe she’d learned to play Mery’s game a little too well.
The cat jumped onto the table and bumped her chin against Neff’s face, purring. The sound soothed her, as did the cat’s tender ministrations. Slowly, her muscles released their tension, and Neff found herself leaning forward onto the table and resting her head on her arms. She was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open. Outside her window, the sun had begun to set in a bloody pool of light. The cat curled up next to her, and Neff reached out to stroke her warm, soft neck, wishing that the day would not end, so that tomorrow—and the task that lay before her—might never come.
Soon, she was asleep.
***
The threads of dawn had just begun to filter into her room when Neff woke to a gentle rustling. She blinked into the murk, not ready to raise her head from the table. Her neck ached. Had she really slept through the night like that?
The cat had disappeared, probably off hunting. In the corner of her eye, she saw a tall female figure approach carrying a large,lidded laundry basket—much like the one she’d hidden inside in the underground hallway.
“Is it time to get up already, Ahura?” Neff murmured groggily. She yawned and stretched.
Ahura stopped. Her face was cloaked in shadow.
“I left the laundry piled by the door,” Neff went on, wondering why her maidservant felt the need to come into the room at this hour. Then she spied Medjed’s cloth discarded on the floor. It must have fallen out of her pocket when she returned from the temple. Perhaps Ahura thought it was a soiled rag that needed washing?
“Oh, that’s not—” Neff began, but she never got a chance to finish.
