Gary Gygax - Dangerous Journeys 3 - Death in Delhi (21 page)

She began at the beginning, telling him everything. At first, her account was almost mechanical. As she went along, however, Rachelle became animated. "Do you know that 1 think that that woman actually feels a certain
liking
for me? Gods forefend that there is something alike in the two of us! She admitted to being a
Black Crsefter,
a dedicated witch under compact to a foul demon—one of the great demons of the nether realms, according to her own words!" Rachelle's shudder as she said that matched her expression of disgust and loathing. "When I asked if such a pact didn't compromise her vows as a priestess, she said her
goddess
worked for the same ends, so she approved!"

"Ugly Indeed, my dear. Priestess to a killer goddess, the Mistress of Thugs. More is explained by knowing that. This woman is Indeed one to be reckoned with—a potent shadow behind the maharajah's throne. Fine work you did managing to uncover that," he reflected. Then the wizard-priest queried, "When she had told you all those things, Sujata made you swear to serve her, betray me, is that so?"

"Yes, but it came out badly, not at all the way I planned," Rachelle confessed with a voice laden great anxiety. "I swore by my dedication to Neith—an empty and meaningless promise, of course."

The magister understood the latter. No contract, so to speak, without consideration. Even the most evil of entities would laugh at one seeking to enforce such an agreement. "Clever," he said to her. "Your actions were most appropriate, not at all ill conceived. You have nothing to worry about after all, so why the concern?"

"No. You are premature in your judgment, Setne. I was not so safe in my cunning as I thought. Not clever enough by a bowshot. The damned bitch saw through that, made me swear an oath, and took out a drop of my blood to bind it. I am now marked. I cannot escape the words I agreed to. Yet what else could I do? To have refused would certainly have meant my death at that instant."

"Under the circumstances, Rachelle, you did the only thing possible. Forget the oath. It was coerced, and a forced swearing is breakable. I will use my hekau to negate it in due course."

She stared at him as if he had lost his mind. "Setne, my oath was before the black goddess of the Hindi's. I swore to obey. Are you saying that you can defeat the might of
Kali?\"

"No, I claim no such thing. But it was the
pirimah,
Lady Sujata the priestess, who elicited the compact,
not Kali.
Do you doubt that my abilities are greater than that woman's— inferior to any witch save, perhaps, the Crone of Pohjola?!"

"That's absurd. Of course I do not. You are surely a more able practitioner, Setne, but—" "No buts. Wipe the matter from your mind. Forget it for now. In addition, dear Rachelle, I give you this bit of additional information. Be of good cheer, stout heart. It is good news which
far
outweighs a petty casting from some second-rate witch." He was careful to make that seem plausible, to hide the patent falsehood.

Rachelle's condition made workable the ruse he employed. She responded as he had planned. "Don't keep me in suspense, Setne! What is it you have learned?"

He grinned at her, stood up, and walked to a nearby stand. "Among other things, I now know for certain where the missing crown jewels are hidden!"

Rachelle looked horrified when he said that. "Don't tell me more—Sujata will be able to get that information from me, and then I think she will have you killed!"

"Bah. I don't give a fig for what that dabbler might attempt. I won't go into the details of my discovery, Rachelle, but not because of her, but because it is now veiy late. High time both of us were asleep, in fact, for tomorrow we will have much to do. Here, you and 1 will have some of the wine our
charming
host has so generously provided." The magister poured the liquor into two of the goblets ranked round the ewer and handed the one containing a bit more wine to her. "You get the extra drops, Rachelle. 1 think your day was even more trying than mine."

She accepted it gratefully. They both drank, taking long swallows so as to drain the vessels quickly. "That is a bit better," Rachelle admitted as she set the empty glass aside. Then the amazon prilled off her gown, settling back under the sheets nude. "Now I am feeling much better still," she told him as she rested her head on a pair of down pillows. "You were starting to tell me about your day before I behaved so badly. As I recall, Setne, you mentioned you had spent your time with somebody, but I don't remember who it was. Begin again from the beginning, and tell me everything you did. It will help me relax."

The wizard-priest took a deep breath, set aside his empty goblet, and lay down beside her, but stayed atop the sheets. "It began with my search for breakfast. What an ordeal that was!" Inhetep proceeded to regale her with an accurate if exaggerated history of his attempts to get a quick bit of food before leaving. Rachelle had to laugh. "Then, well away from the palace, I gave the slip to those set to keep track of me. Here's the way I did it. . . ."He paused, looked at her. Rachelle was sound asleep, a little smile still showing on her full lips. Setne leaned over carefully, kissed her forehead gently. "I do love you, amazon. Sorry I had to slip a little sleeping draught into your wine, but you've had too much for any one person. Sleep soundly."

He was up, pacing back and forth immediately thereafter. Inhetep left the bed chamber and paced still more in the big salon. How indeed
would
he manage to break the oath made to Kali? If they were in /Egypt or some other land in which its pantheon was recognized as supreme, then it would be an easier matter. In such circumstances, his own ecclesiastical prowess would suffice to invoke assistance from the /Egyptian deities, and the matter would be taken care of. Here he could not do so. The continual movement assisted his thinking, but after a time it was apparent to the wiz-ard-priest that the familiar activity was not going to be enough to enable his mind to produce what was required. "It is now about two hours after midnight," he said aloud. "That gives me plenty of time for both. ..."

What he meant, of course, was meditation and preparation thereafter. Inhetep was adept at yoga, having studied it under an ancient Hindi master, a guru who had made the magister into one of the greatest in /Egypt. That was not to say that he was a true master. Inhetep knew his ability tell far short of that. It did enable him, though, to do and achieve many useful things. "Here will be fine," he muttered, seating himself in the lotus posture upon a soft carpet. "Three hours of deep trance, and then awaken," he told himself." His fingers met in a certain manner, and the next second his mind began the process of ascending. Energy flowed through his body, and left to itself, his systems worked at greater efficiency to restore themselves. His conscious mind went into the state typical of the deepest slumber. Meanwhile, that part of the brain unused by most humans was stimulated into action. In that portion, the wiz-ard-priest was alert and active.

In truth, it was not only ^Egyptians who knew about the many parts of a person. Some, if not all, of that knowledge was common among those enlightened ones of the East— from Hind to Tibet and Ch'in. Inhetep's body was at rest, his heart beating regularly in slow rhythm. Only the physical part of his power was affected. He still could command the mental and spiritual force of his being, and the five other portions of that which made up Magister Setne Inhetep the ur-kheri-heb-tepi were unaffected or even made more potent by the trance. His double could roam ethereally or astrally, his spirit and soul were there, along with his name. All would be employed in the three hours given.

When his consciousness returned, the magister moved slowly out of his folded sitting position, performing a number of exercises in the process of eventually standing erect. It required half an hour to complete the regimen, but at its conclusion Inhetep felt splendid, his mind refreshed and alert, his body rested and finely tuned. He drank a little water but ate nothing. His body needed no nourishment; in fact, such foreign matter taken into it would detract from its efficient operation at this time. He thought of time then. "Very dark," he noted, peering out the window. "A full hour and a bit more before the eastern sky pales." He went to his bag and drew out the box. He knew instantly that his things had been searched, the container he held opened. That made him smile.

Setne flipped the lid up without saying the special words required. There was a statuette of the great Thoth inside, one which radiated the power of a fetish. It was personal to him and dangerous for anyone besides himself to touch. "Thank you, Lord of Wisdom, for guarding my secret," he murmured aloud. He meant that little prayer. Whomever had dared to tamper with their belongings had avoided doing more than simply opening the box. The priest-wizard shut the little coffer, spoke the enchantment necessary, and reopened it. Its opening now accessed a very much larger space, one as large in volume as any massive traveling trunk boasted. In that magickal hiding place were those things he needed for what was to come.

He had allowed himself one full hour before any interruption was likely to occur. Yesterday, the magister had risen at first light and found the palace barely awake; only its slaves, servants, and petty officials were required to be up and about then. General Ratha might keep to a soldier's schedule, but he was not the one who would be coming to disturb the two of them. The foxy little chancellor or the court's evil chief practitioner would be the agents coming soon. They would be sure to pay an early visit, earlier than usual for either of them. Inhetep expected a knock at the door at sunrise.

After most of the time he had alotted was spent, the wizard-priest replaced those things he no longer needed and closed up the magickal coffer. Clothed in his best garments, the tall /Egyptian looked every inch the mighty heka practitioner. He held a little goblet, one which might have been a ceremonial vessel of priestly sort, but which was actually for another purpose entirely. It contained an elixir he had prepared for Rachelle. It would banish any lingering effects from the drug he had induced her to drink so that she would rest.

He hurried into the bedroom, for the sun's rays were painting the sky a golden color. In a few minutes the call would come, he knew. Calling out as he stepped through the door, the magister said, "Here! Wake up sleepy head. Day dawns, and you lie abed still? For shame, girl! Now up! I have a little ..." The rest of what he was going to say to her died in his throat. What he had at first taken to be the amazon was merely the folds of the coverlet and sheets, tossed back so as to resemble a human form.

The magister hurried into the adjoining lavatory and bath, but the big chamber was desolate, as desolate as he felt when he saw that. Rachelle was gone. Just at that moment, he heard a pounding on the door, then the bang of it being thrown open.

THE JEWELS OR YOUR LIFE, INHETEP

"/Egyptian! Come with me now. The maharajah demands your presence before the throne."

The magister walked slowly from the inner room to the salon. He saw a young palace guard officer backed by a mere handful of men arrayed before the entry to the suite. "I have been sent to bring you before His Resplendence," the young officer said harshly. He was doing his best to seem bold and confident, but there was fear in his eyes, for he knew the repute of the tall, green-eyed man who stared at him un-winkingly. He was a great mage, one able to blast him where he stood. Trying to conceal his need to swallow, dry mouth making his voice harsher than even he wanted to sound, the officer barked the words he had been instructed to say; "Do not delay. You will come now, as you are."

This was the ultimate insult, a total disregard for his rank, power, and supposed status

as a guest of the imperial ruler of the state of Delhi. Inhetep read the situation, the man, the all-pervasive fear from the soldiers with him. It almost made him laugh. All this he had anticipated—all save the kidnapping of Rachelle. The magister was dressed, ready, and armed with everything he required, right down to the box bearing the figurine of Thoth within it. He had all save that which was most precious to him: Rachelle. Inhetep didn't laugh. When the young officer's eyes slid in fear from his own, the wizard-priest inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement of what the man had said. "I hear the words given to you by others. I agree to follow you because it suits me now. Woe to you though, feeble little man, if any harm has come to she who is my companion."

Although the /Egyptian spoke in low voice, his words sent a terrible chill through the officer's spine, numbing his brain. "I did no harm to your woman—she is in the hands of the pirimah who herself too—" He chopped off his babble, too late. He had spoken what he had been commanded not to, and for that the court practitioner would have his head.

No look of satisfaction crossed Inhetep's countenance. The guardsman had merely confirmed what the magister had suspected. His anger was directed at himself as much as towards the treacherous Hindis. Of course, the wizard-priest thought in self-reviling lashes, it was typical of one such as Sujata. Rachelle's being taken was his fault. Had he taken precautions, it could have been prevented. The icy fury which filled Inhetep spilled forth to sweep over the soldiers, and they shook before the blast of it as little flowers before a storm. "Well you should tremble, officer, but it will be your masters' hands who bring punishments upon you, not mine. All of you! Brace your weak knees and march. Lead me to your maharajah as you have been ordered!"