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  “I found you where you had fallen,” Tira said. “Here’s a towel and a change of clothes. I’ll help you wash.” Tira turned her back and waited for a short time.

  “Help me.”

  Tira turned to see the girl struggle to remove the robe. Tira pulled the cloth over the young woman’s head to reveal a short dress. “Can you stand?”

  “With help.”

  Tira supported her patient while she dressed and helped her walk to the small tent. Namose carried two cups, one with water and the other of broth. Tira checked the scratches on the young woman’s arms and legs and found only surface marks. She decided to leave them unbandaged.

  Namose handed the water to the young woman. “I couldn’t find any rotten bread.”

  “We won’t need any.” Tira pulled one side of the tent up to allow light into the area. “Why not bring our meal here?”

  Bast Ka strolled inside and curled at the girl’s side. Her eyes widened. “Are you the goddess? Have I reached the afterlife?” She put the cup on the ground.

  Tira chuckled. “You are very much alive. I’m Tira, one of her warriors. Bast Ka is my companion and Namose is my friend. Who are you?”

  “Merin, daughter of the pharaoh who died fighting the invaders and born from the first woman of his court.”

  Namose nearly dropped the food he carried. “Are you truly the daughter?”

  “Yes.”

  Tira studied the young woman. She had the look of the women she’d seen in pictures of the tombs in the Egypt of her world. Merin’s skin was tanned. Her dark brown hair had streaks bleached by the sun. She looked more muscular than the pictured women had. Tira spread a cloth and placed bread, cheese, honey and dates for their meal. “While we eat, tell us your story.”

  “I’d be glad to hear about your adventures,” Namose said.

  Merin shook her head. “What has happened to me is not something I’d care to live again.” She crumbled cheese over the cup of broth and ate. When she finished she yawned.

  “You can’t sleep yet,” Tira said. “I’ve a question. Two of our companions rode camels past the place where I found you. How did they miss seeing you?”

  “I heard camels and burrowed in the sand. Though the riders didn’t come from the temple I feared they were allied with the attackers.”

  “What attackers?” Namose asked.

  “I don’t know who they were. One of the priests told me to hide.”

  “Tell us your story from the beginning.” Tira’s hands formed fists. Fear for Kashe and Tuten battered her control.

  “Twenty years ago my father decided to rebel against those who had kept him a prisoner in the delta compound. In secret he gathered fighters. Priests from the temple of Horu and warriors of Bast joined his forces. Those women helped my mother escape. She was the first wife and believed the child she carried was a daughter and must be protected from the enemy. She fled into the desert. Warriors of Bast accompanied her. They died protecting her during a sandstorm. One of the desert clans found her. They took her to their tents. After giving birth she died.”

  Tira stared at Merin. What would it be like to be able to trace your ancestors for generations and to understand your place in the world? “You are fortunate.”

  Merin met her gaze. “To have lived, yes but not when I have no family. I know my father died in the battle. Did any of my brothers survive?”

  Namose shook his head. “All died.”

  “So the nomads said but I don’t want to believe them.” She looked up. “Though I sheltered with the clans I had no real home or family. After my second year I was sent to live with a different clan every year.”

  “Why?” Tira asked.

  “To keep me hidden from men who would seek to use me. To keep me apart so no clan could claim me. They told me I was special and the man I chose to wed would rule the Two Lands. With such frequent moves I made no friendships.”

  Tira touched Merin’s hand. In a manner they had experienced the same lonely childhood. Though she’d had Luci, her sister had never been a friend. Frequent moves had broken barely begun friendships. Her father had abandoned his family soon after her birth. Her mother had struggled to support them. She had died when Tira was sixteen. “You were safe with the clans. How did you reach the Horu temple?”

  “The warrior priests came for me. They brought hawks to the clan as payment for my keep.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “The priests searched for the man who would be pharaoh but they found no one worthy of the chair. They believed one would come from afar.” She covered her face with her hands. “I remained in the temple for almost two seasons. Then the priests of Aken Re came.”

  “Did they see you?” Namose asked.

  She shook her head. “I hid on that day. The false priests were driven away. Then the eldest priest of Horu showed me a secret place where their treasury was hidden. He showed me how to open the room. Among the items there I found the jewelry the gods gave to the first pharaoh’s wife.”

  “What other things were hidden there?” Tira asked.

  Merin closed her eyes. “Coins and cups made from gold, silver and copper. Also some gems. The priest spoke of keys to unlock doors to items of value but I never saw them. He also said one sent by the goddess would come. In her hands she holds a clue. She must look beneath the wings of Horu and find the guides the god and goddess provided.”

  Tira nodded. If the keys were beneath the wings of Horu she had to visit the temple where Kashe and Tuten had gone to visit. She wished Merin had been found before the men left. Then all could have gone to the temple. “If you were safe at the temple how did you come to be on the desert?”

  “Just after dawn raiders came. They attacked the priests. I hid in the treasury.”

  Namose leaned forward. “What happened?”

  “Death. I heard shouts and screams of pain. The thuds of falling stones shook the ground. Metal clanged against metal. Though few in number the priests of Horu are fierce fighters. When all was silent I fled into the desert where you found me.”

  Tira swallowed. Fear for her friends threatened to choke her. Did the band of men remain at the temple? Would her friends be forced into a battle? She had to believe they were safe. Tuten was wary and Kashe a good fighter. Horu Ka had gone with them and the hawk could add his talons and beak to their defense.

  “We must go after them,” Namose said.

  Tira shook her head. “They will return. If they sense the presence of enemies they won’t enter the temple. We must prepare to leave here quickly. Prepare bundles. A blanket, toweling, changes of clothes and food in each bundle. Wash one of the beer flasks so Merin will have water.”

  Namose rose. “I’ll see to the food. Can enough be packed in the bundles to serve us for days?”

  “I believe so but I’ll come and help. Merin will sleep.”

  Chapter 14

  The sun had drifted past midday when Kashe and Tuten approached the walls surrounding the temple of Horu. They found a hidden pocket of greenery in the cliffs beyond the start of the mud brick structure where they hobbled the camels. The blind canyon was small and hidden from view.

  As they walked toward the front entrance Kashe tapped the older man’s arm. “Look up.”

  Tuten frowned. “Do you see what I do?”

  “Vultures.” The carrion eaters lined the walls. Some flew to the inside of the temple while the others perched and stared into the temple grounds.

  “Trouble.” Tuten pulled his mace from his belt.

  Kashe did the same. As Tuten crept forward Kashe followed and listened for the sounds of fighting. They paused beside the gate. Horu Ka landed on Kashe’s wrist cuff. The bird’s eyes flashed red. Kashe gripped Tuten’s arm. “Slow.”

  The older man pressed his fingers to his lips. “Death scents the air.”

  “I smell it, too.” Kashe slid along the wall and paused just inside the entrance. He heard no sounds other than those made by the vultures. H
is eyes widened and he muffled an angry curse. The pillars lining the approach to the rectangular temple building stood but the stone hawks that had topped them had been shattered. The destruction spoke of a raiding party. Who would dare destroy this temple other than the men who followed Aken Re? Did they lurk inside?

  Grief shuddered through Kashe. His legs trembled as he fought to control a flood of rage. He pressed his back against the mud bricks. His suspicions coalesced. His father had left Mero with a group of guards. Surely the destruction had been wrought by an organized party. He shook his head. He couldn’t accuse until he knew for certain who had commanded the raiders.

  What now? Though his oath had been made to Horu no priest had cried his name to the god. Kashe feared his oath wouldn’t hold against his father’s given word. For Kashe thoughts of leading the troops of Aken Re nauseated him. He turned to Tuten. “We enter by stages. Go to the first pillar. I’ll follow and take the second. We’ll continue the pattern until we reach the temple.”

  “Agreed.”

  As they made their way forward the stench of death grew stronger. Kashe’s anger simmered. He would learn who led the raid and find a way to destroy them.

  In a flurry of rapid wing beats Horu Ka soared ahead. The hawk hovered at the entrance to the building. Kashe dashed forward and nearly stumbled over a cluster of dead men. Tuten growled.

  “What?” Kashe asked.

  “These two and the one over there are members of your father’s guard. The other four are new recruits.”

  A faint cry caught Kashe’s attention. He passed the bodies of a dozen priests and discovered one remained alive. Kashe knelt beside the man whose arms and legs had been shattered. Knife and mace wounds had bled and clotted. Kashe lifted the man’s head. He squirted water from his leather flask into the man’s mouth. “What happened?”

  The priest swallowed. “Dawn. Men. Nomarch. Mero. Aken Re. Demanded daughter.”

  Kashe gave the man another drink and listened to his labored breathing. Shame and anger heated Kashe’s face. He had the answer he had expected and dreaded. His father had betrayed a second of the prime gods of the Two Lands.

  “I belong to Horu.” Kashe said the words aloud and prayed they were true. He leaned closer to hear the priest’s strained voice.

  The priest stared at the amulet. “Chosen. Name.”

  Kashe gulped a breath. Men from Mero had destroyed this temple. They had left a priest to die alone. He bowed his head. “I am Kashe of Mero, second and unvalued son of the house. I bear the look of ancestors my father seeks to erase from the lineage. He gave me to the priests of Aken Re but I refused to join that cursed priesthood. Horu sent a hawk to guide me. I won’t serve a god from another land.”

  “Avatar?”

  Kashe shook his head. “Just a warrior. What did the Aken Re priests want?”

  “Daughter. Was here.”

  “Did they find her?” If they had finding the symbols became more important.

  “Hid. Fled. Seek. Help.”

  Kashe grasped the priest’s hand. Before Kashe could ask what he must do he heard the soft whisper of his name and that of the god. A long sigh flowed from the man and then his eyes lost all sign of life.

  Kashe sank back on his heels. How could he help the daughter when she had fled into the desert?

  Tuten touched Kashe’s shoulder. “Men are coming. We have no time to reach the camels. I’ve found a place where we can hide.”

  Kashe followed his friend deeper into the temple. Tuten pointed to a narrow room where a carved slab of stone slid across the opening. As Kashe entered the space Horu Ka screeched. The hawk shot into the air. An arrow followed. Kashe lingered in the doorway and thought about attacking the one who sought to harm the bird.

  Kashe pulled him inside. “Steady. Don’t toss your life away in a futile gesture.”

  Kashe drew a deep breath. “Pian is with them. He shot the arrow.”

  “And missed as usual.”

  That assessment made Kashe muffle a chuckle. He slid the stone into place and moved to where he could peer through the holes carved into the door. Five guards followed Pian and the priests. They paused outside the hiding place. Kashe held his breath. What if these men found them? Could he and Tuten battle free?

  “You lied,” Pian shouted. “You said the daughter was here. My father came to take her away and she was gone. He wouldn’t have attacked this temple if he’d known she had left.”

  “She was here. Our seers read her location in the omens. Our spy in this temple spoke of her. Your father found women’s clothing in one of the sleeping chambers. She fled and she will be found. Do not fear.”

  “Where could she have gone?” Pian asked.

  “She was raised on the desert and I’m sure that’s where she fled,” Hebu, beloved of Aken Re said.

  “How will we find her?”

  “Among our priests are men who know the eastern desert. They will track her using this knowledge on this western desert,” Oris Aken Re said. “Once new sacrifices are made and the omens are read they will be sent on the hunt.”

  “When?”

  “As soon as this can be done. Perhaps two days.” Hebu laughed. “Rewards will be offered and other men will join the search. We will offer jewels, coins and land for her capture. That will send many men into the desert. If she isn’t found there is a second plan. Fear not. You will sit on the pharaoh’s chair and bring the worship of Aken Re to this land.”

  Pian’s laughter raised the hair at Kashe’s nape. His brother had plans the priests didn’t know.

  “We should have come to the temple with the raiders.” Pian’s voice rose to a shrill pitch. “You saw that follower to the false god. His body remained warm. The man could have told us where she fled. How was he missed?”

  “Ask your father,” Hebu said. “You could have left your bed and led the raid. Since your brother vanished you must lead the army we’re gathering. What good is a ruler who stands in his father’s shadow? Once you’re wed you will lead raids on the temples of the gods of this land and the nomarchs who refuse to acknowledge Aken Re.”

  “Why must I lead? I find men of the army to be crude.”

  Kashe heard distaste in his brother’s voice. He choked back a laugh. Though Pian had trained in the use of weapons he had no liking or understanding of tactics and strategy. He had never gone with the guards on practice skirmishes. Pian preferred the ways of ease and pleasure.

  “Where is the treasury we were told existed?” The whining voice of Oris rose. “We should have profited from the destruction of this place.”

  “The nomarch and his men searched. They were pleased with the hawks and the weapons they found,” Hebu said. “We added to our flocks and herds. Maybe the hawks were their treasury. Trained birds are valuable.”

  “Then there is nothing for us here,” Oris said.

  “What of the daughter?” Pian asked.

  “She will be found.” Hebu gestured to the guards. “Have you completed the search?”

  One of the guards bowed. “No sign of anyone in the entire compound.”

  “Then we’ll return to our camp so we will be with our fellow priests to chant the evening prayers and bid farewell to the sun and welcome the moon.”

  Kashe and Tuten remained in the narrow room for a time after the voices ceased. Finally Kashe opened the door and stepped out. “We must hurry to the oasis.”

  Tuten shook his head. “Wait for the hawk to return.”

  As sunset streaked the sky with bands of red Horu Ka appeared. Kashe and Tuten strode to the blind canyon where they’d left the camels. They mounted and rode toward the camp.

  “In the morning we must search for the daughter,” Kashe said. “I fear for her safety. Do you think we’ll find her before the priests do?”

  Tuten shrugged. “If the gods will. What about Tira’s quest? Will you abandon that search?”

  Kashe groaned. He had no idea what choice to make. Tira needed his help to find
the symbols but the dying priest had asked him to help the daughter.

  When they reached the oasis the moon had risen. Tira waited by the fire. Kashe noticed how tension slipped from her body. What was that about?

  She leaned forward. “What went wrong?”

  “Nothing.” Kashe left his camel with the others. After removing the saddle he returned to the fire.

  “I don’t believe you,” she said. “Were the invaders still there?”

  Kashe stared. “How did you know about them?”

  “We have a guest. She claims to be the daughter.”

  Kashe rose. “Where is she?” Could this girl be the one the priests sought? Could she be part of a trap they’d set? He needed to see her. “Do you believe she is who she claims to be?”

  “She seems to know things only a daughter would know.”

  “I have questions for her.”

  Tira reached his side and clasped his arm. “She’s sleeping. Rushing will only frighten her. Sit and eat.”

  Kashe returned to the fire with her. He used a piece of flatbread to scoop some of the stew. “Tell us what occurred.”

  Tira related the discovery of Merin. “She told us about the attack on the temple.”

  “We’ll need to test her,” Kashe said. “She could be part of a ruse. Tell me again how you found her?”

  Tira drew a deep breath. “The vultures.”

  “Why didn’t we see her?” Tuten asked.

  “She said she burrowed into the said,” Tira said. “Tell me about the bandits who invaded the temple.”

  Kashe gripped the bowl. “Not bandits. My father and his men.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “I recognized several of the men,” Tuten said.

  “One of the priests remained alive. He confirmed the identity of the attackers,” Kashe said.

  “Did he give your name to the god?”

  Kashe nodded. He filled his bowl a second time.

  “Then why were you gone so long?”

  Tuten mopped his bowl with the bread. “Pian and two priests arrived before we could leave. We hid and listened to them. They wanted the treasury and the daughter. They plan to send seekers after they read the omens.”