Warrior of the Nile (The Gods of Egypt) (6 page)

More questions blazed through Khenet’s mind, leaving him anxious and frustrated. He was plunging into a murky situation, the only certain knowledge being the girl’s dark fate and the likelihood of his own demise. He needed as many details as he could glean, about Viper Nome, about this sorcerer-nomarch—specifics about what the goddess planned. But Tiya was growing upset and near to tears and he hadn’t the heart to bother her for more.
Yet why should her distress matter to me when there’s mission information to gather?
This woman is getting under my skin.
Or maybe it’s just the whole strange assignment.
Great Ones
,
black magic
...

He stood as she did, immediately reaching to steady her, his hand on her arm. “Do you wish to return to your cabin?”

“Gods, no.” She shook her head emphatically. “Not to stay there, anyway. I brought some papyrus and inks in my bag. I wanted to sketch some of the scenery we’re sailing past. For many years I’ve longed to travel, to see more than the area close by Thebes. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.” Her smile was brave but wavering.

Her resolve in the face of certain death warmed Khenet, cementing his newfound liking for her.
May the goddess be swift and merciful with her death.
Hoping to distract her—and himself—Khenet pointed downriver. “Taneb tells me we’ll be sailing past the city of Tjaru in a little while. You might find it interesting. If you want to sketch there are some fine temples on the banks, and there will be other river traffic to watch. You’re an artist then?” He restrained an eye roll.
I’ve lost count of ladies of the Court I’ve met who fancied themselves
“
artists.
”

Lady Tiya fidgeted. “I’m accounted to have some skill. My father even had one of my hunting designs painted onto the wall of his tomb. And I was commissioned to paint a garden mural on the wall of the new library before this—this trip of ours came about.”

Khenet eyed the sailors at the stern of the
River Horse
. Men were studiously at work on the ship, but he had seen the surreptitious ogling directed at Lady Tiya in the last few hours. The fine linen of her dress, after the customary style of Thebes, was on the sheer side, and didn’t conceal much of her womanly figure.
I
don’t want her embarrassed by crude remarks
. “Let me get your art supplies for you. Stay here, rest.”

Sinking onto the mattress, she subsided, reaching to stroke the cat. “All right. Thank you.”

When he brought the kit to her, she was scratching the cat’s chin. Smiling, she set the animal aside and unpacked her things. Leaning against the bulkhead, Khenet watched as she sketched the cat. He was amazed. In just a few swift strokes she captured the somewhat battered animal’s essence, then added a border of whimsical fish, coloring them delicately.

“Do you like it?” she asked the cat, showing it to him. Yawning, the cat walked away. Lady Tiya laughed and set the papyrus aside. “Well, I’ll give it to the captain then, to thank him for the medicine.”

Khenet picked up the drawing and examined the border more closely. Each fish had a different expression. “This is good.”

“You sound surprised.” Raising her eyebrows, Lady Tiya plucked another small blank papyrus from her box and smoothed it against her thigh.

Khenet handed her the sketch. “So many of the Theban noblewomen claim to draw, but so few have the skill to combine two symbols together in any artistic style. If they even bother to actually touch paint to papyrus.” He bit his lips on further comments about the idle, useless women at court.

Picking up a fine-pointed brush, she dipped it into the flower-shaped inkwell and tilted her head. “Can I draw something for you?”

He crossed his arms. “Why?”

“I thought—”

Khenet moved away from the side of the ship, dusting off his kilt. “I’m going to fish, see if I can get some fresh Nile perch for our dinner.”

“Sounds like fun.” She took a second to clean the brush before shoving it into her art box. “May I watch?”

“Suit yourself, my lady.” Khenet walked away.

Raising her voice slightly, she said, “Tiya. Call me Tiya, as my family and friends do.”

Khenet wheeled, the artless invitation surprising him.
A
trick or test from Nephthys?
Or is Tiya trying to get on my good side?
Seduce me to avoid her fate?
Unblinking, he stared at her for several moments. She stopped short, her smile fading. He surveyed her from head to toe, then raised his eyes to the sky. Frustration over this entire assignment made his words harsh. “We’re not family. We’re not friends. This isn’t a pleasure cruise down the Nile on any Pharaoh’s barge.” He lowered his gaze and took in her shocked face. “My orders are to escort you to your death and to perish myself as a result. I’ll carry out my orders, Lady Tiya-ami-kitara, have no doubt. But honeyed words won’t sway me from my duty.” He held up one hand. “So don’t waste your time. Or mine.”

Resting her hands on her hips, fists clenched, she narrowed her eyes. Drawing herself to her full height, her voice was chill as she said, “I didn’t ask for this. Not any of it. Yes, I volunteered to serve, but I had no idea what Nephthys was going to demand of me. I certainly didn’t request
you
as my guardian. But, like it or not, we’re in this together, at least till we reach the Viper Nome. We don’t need to be rude and angry with each other the whole trip. Common courtesy goes a long way.” She shook one finger in his face. “At least you had some choice. Nephthys told me, ‘Go there and die at my command, girl.’”

Her behavior left Khenet unaccountably amused. He was physically intimidating, towering over her, yet she confronted him fearlessly, calling him to task for his discourtesy. He had to admire her determination. Keeping his expression blank, he leaned over until he was right in her face. “You think a member of Pharaoh’s own guard can say no to orders?”

Lady Tiya blinked but didn’t surrender her ground even with him looming over her. “I think you had some choice, yes. Pharaoh’s adopted brother—”

Jaw dropping, Khenet took a step out of her personal space. “How did you know?”

Her eyes opened wide and her eyebrows lifted to her hairline. “It is talked of.”

He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, praying for patience.
My family
,
how I became part of Nat’s family
,
is no one’s business.
Not a subject for gossip.
And certainly not a topic to discuss when Nephthys might overhear.
Could the goddess hear through Tiya’s ears even now?
Opening his eyes, he made a slashing motion with one hand, as if to physically cut the conversation short. “Well,
we’re
not going to speak of it.”

Lady Tiya spread her arms out, palms up. “What does being Pharaoh’s brother have to do with anything I’ve said to you?” She cast an appealing glance toward the heavens. “It’s a tremendous honor to be adopted into Pharaoh’s family.” Shaking her head, as if shooing away his words like so many annoying gnats, she sucked in a deep breath. “No matter. All I want is to enjoy this voyage and not to think about what waits for us in the Viper Nome. Am I asking too much? Can you give me five or six days of peace?”

That’s not unreasonable
. “Let’s declare a truce.”
Maybe now’s the time to try for more information after all.
“In fact, perhaps we can compare notes on this trip we’ve embarked upon,” Khenet said.

Tiya raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I know what Pharaoh shared with me, and you know what Nephthys told you, alone in her sanctuary. It won’t surprise me if we each have some puzzle pieces the other hasn’t seen.”

Tiya bit her lip. “I can’t. Nephthys forbade me to discuss any details, even with you. Especially with you.”

Hands on his hips, annoyed, Khenet said, “What does that mean?
Especially with me?
” Perhaps he could sway her to confide with a display of his soldier’s confidence. “What am I not aware of, Tiya? Better if you tell me.”

“I can’t,” she cried. “The goddess will come and punish me, punish
us.
”

A horrible suspicion crept into Khenet’s mind, crawling like a spider into his consciousness. Nauseated, he demanded, “Is she planning to take over my body? To send my
ka
roaming untethered for a time as she did yours?” Not giving Tiya a chance to respond, he went on. “Because if that’s her idea, she’s doomed to disappointment, goddess or no. No foolish ancestor of mine made pacts with vengeful deities. I have my own protections.” Now he did stop, wary of telling this woman too much. She was, after all, the goddess’s pawn. And victim. Better for her if he didn’t share what he’d found in the old scrolls.
And if Nat had known Nephthys planned to touch my
ka,
he would’ve told me.

“Please, can we stop talking about this?” Tiya begged, eyes glistening with tears. “There’s nothing I could tell you, even if I were free to talk, that would be of any use, I swear.”

Resolved now that the last thing he was going to do was give her any inkling of his secrets, Khenet nodded. “So, truce then?”

She tilted her head, considering. As she nodded, she asked, “Now will you teach me to fish?”

“Adult Nile perch are bigger than you, my la—
Tiya
.” Waving a hand at the stern of the
River Horse
, the best place to fish from, he stepped aside. “By all means, after you.”

“Maybe I can catch a half-grown perch then.” She stalked past him. “And don’t you dare laugh at me.”

Smiling, he followed her.

Chapter Four

The encounter cleared the air and set the pattern between them for the next few days. Luckily, Tiya’s headache did not reoccur. She and Khenet made a habit of sitting in her private tent at the ship’s bow while she sketched things of interest, or watched the ever-changing scenes along the riverbanks. They played endless games of senet, using a miniature wooden set Khenet kept in his gear. Occasionally, they fished off the stern. Each night they joined Captain Taneb at his fireside for dinner on shore, but otherwise they were left alone in their own private world. The captain and his crew tended to the ship and kept to themselves. Interacting with passengers was outside their scope.

Tiya studied Khenet as if he were a puzzle she had to solve, which made him self-conscious. Usually in the presence of fine ladies he was tongue-tied. Awkward. Aware of his size. It was simple with the tavern girls and dancers. They didn’t expect anything of a man after he left their bed. His lack of airs and graces didn’t matter to them. Such women cared only about the weight of his purse and the length of his cock. Khenet had never had any complaints in either department.

Although he made it a policy not to talk about himself, Tiya drew him out in a way no one else ever had. To avoid revealing more of his thoughts than he intended, he had to concentrate on how he answered her intelligent questions. Tiya seemed to take a genuine interest in the answers.

One day she was quizzing him about the travels he and Nat-re-Akhte had made as young men to the southern jungles of Kush. “But why were the people there interested in making a treaty with Egypt? What did they hope to gain? Trading partners? Allies?”

“Not in the way you mean. Not allies in war. The Kush believed that our Great Ones would honor any treaty made by Pharaoh and come to the defense of the Kushites as well, when needed.”

She studied his face. “And that bothered you? Why?”

Khenet shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t meet her eyes. “I don’t want to sound blasphemous. After all, it was the priests and Crown Prince Tenuheten telling the Kushite leaders these things, but—”

“But?” she prompted gently.

“But I don’t believe the Great Ones have ever interfered in matters outside Egypt. What interest would the gods have anywhere else?” He shrugged, absently fingering the beads at his wrist. “What are the Kush to them?”

“Making the treaties founded on a lie?” Tiya raised her eyebrows.

“That’s harsh,” he demurred, tugging a bit at his earlobe as he considered her assessment. “Making treaties based on an uncertain premise. Something we might not be able to deliver certainly.”

“You have a strong sense of honor. That does you credit.” Tiya laid her hand on his arm and smiled.

“Yes, well not too much honor to refrain from beating you again at senet. How many deben was that you owe me now? Fifty thousand?”

“At least a hundred thousand.” She laughed.

“Look there, off the port bow.” Khenet touched her knee. When she turned to him with raised eyebrows, he pointed off to the center of the Nile. A whole family of curious hippopotami had surfaced to watch them sail by.

Tiya chuckled. “How cute the baby is, splashing about.”

He enjoyed her pleasure. “Cute enough now but dangerous. If his family decides we’re a threat, they could take this boat apart.”

Tiya craned for one last view of the hippos as they sailed past, then she collapsed onto her cushion with a thump and a giggle. “I used to ask my mother why we couldn’t be sworn to the goddess Tawaret.”

“You wanted to be a hippopotamus?” Khenet smothered a laugh.
I
never beheld any woman less like the plump hippo goddess.

She flashed him a sad smile. “Such a life sounded like much more fun. Hippos swim in the Nile all day and eat lotus flowers, you know. Nephthys travels in the dark and fire to bring death and destruction. She terrified me as a child.”

“I’m not too fond of her now, and I’m a grown man.” He rolled the dice in his hand, channeling some of his own tension into the cool weight of the blocks.

“And you? You’re sworn to Horus the Falcon, aren’t you?” Tiya pushed ivory and ebony pegs into the proper slots, setting up the next game.

A black peg rolled across the deck by his foot, and he bent to retrieve the game piece. “Horus is the patron of my home province. He’s Pharaoh’s special guardian so we all took an oath of allegiance to the Falcon God.”

Suddenly, the boat heeled over, veering wildly across, toward the center of the river until the helmsman got her under control. The senet board fell to the deck with a clatter. Steadying Tiya with one hand, Khenet studied the sky to the west where the gust had sprung from.

Captain Taneb lumbered over to their side. “We may have a problem.”

Khenet slowly pivoted on his heel, scanning the entire sky. “Bad omens all right.”

Tiya squinted. “What do you mean ‘bad’?”

“See how yellow and brassy the band of clouds on the horizon has become?” Khenet pointed. “Sandstorm coming, is my guess. Right, Captain?”

Taneb spat over the rail into the river. “Yes. And no safe cove to shelter in, not nearby.”

“Odd time of year for a sandstorm.” Khenet’s gaze was fixed on the increasingly forbidding horizon.

“Many odd things going on this year.” Taneb leaned on the railing and studied the rushing water below. “Ever since Pharaoh’s forces defeated the Usurper Lynefaraht and her Hyksos allies. Their cursed god Qemteshub doesn’t leave Egypt easily.”

“Aye, we beat him but still he circles like a vulture.” Cold prickles of foreboding worked their way through Khenet’s spine, and he shivered despite the mid-afternoon heat.

Already the wind gusted, plucking at Tiya’s skirts. Brushing a curly tendril of hair out of her eyes, Tiya surveyed one man, then the other. “What do we do then?”

“Try to run before it, reach shelter before the brunt of the storm hits. You’ll have to go below, my lady.” Taneb kept his eyes on the sky as he gestured vaguely toward the stairs.

“Of course.” Half running, she went to her awning to retrieve her things, Khenet on her heels. The wind intensified, gritty sand swirling across the river, reducing their visibility. He helped her below to her cabin. The ship’s cat scooted into the room just as Khenet shut the door behind them. Rocking alarmingly, the ship climbed the crests of the unusual river waves, then fell into the troughs behind.

Tiya half fell onto the narrow bed, putting one hand to her head and the other on her stomach, her face suddenly white. “This motion is making me dizzy.” She swallowed convulsively. “And nauseous.”

At the door, Khenet paused. “I should go see if the crew needs any help. I’ll only be a moment. You’ll be fine if you stay in the bunk.”

Hanging onto the bedside for dear life, she nodded. Yowling, the cat retreated to the farthest corner of the bed.

Khenet struggled out into the passageway. The winds howled and he could hardly breathe for all the grit in the air, even here below decks. The ship bucked and plunged into the trough of a wave, nearly throwing him off his feet. Sand swirled down the stairway, stinging his skin. Retreating, he fought his way back into her cabin. The wind was too loud now for him to say anything to Tiya.
Probably better if she doesn’t know the ship is being driven by the storm.

The
River Horse
was clearly out of the control of Taneb and his crew now.
Our fate is in the hands of the Great Ones.
I
only hope Nephthys is paying attention.

Khenet staggered across the heaving deck to the bed, falling next to her. As the ship took a stomach-turning lunge, she clutched at him and burrowed into his arms. Automatically, he held her close, trying not to think about the softness of her skin, the curves of her body pressed to him.

As the storm wore on, he allowed himself to stroke her hair, whispering soothing comments directly in her ear. Listening to the ship’s timbers creak and groan, he tried to assess how the
River Horse
was doing as she ran before the wind. He made and discarded plans for how to save Tiya if the ship sank. His frustration grew as it became increasingly clear to him that he wouldn’t be able to save her—or himself—if the ship sank in such a fierce storm.

After one spectacular free fall into the trough of a wave, followed by a jarring crash, Tiya shouted. “I’m sorry to be such a scared rabbit! I’ve never been in a sandstorm before, let alone one on a ship!”

Keeping his body braced around hers, trying to take the bruising impacts for them both, he lowered his head until his lips were next to her ear. “We’ll be fine. You’ll see. This is a well-built ship.”

Eventually the plunging motion diminished.
Maybe we’re sailing out the other side of the storm.
He prepared to say as much to Tiya when the vessel halted, colliding with some obstacle in the river. They were thrown onto the deck and, unprepared for the impact, Khenet was unable to cushion their fall. He landed on top of Tiya.

Hastily, he rolled off her small frame and stood, reaching to help her regain her feet. Refusing to let go of his waist, she clung to him. He tried to tilt her chin with one hand. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

Apparently unable to speak, she shook her head. Alarmed, Khenet set her on the edge of the bunk and ran his hands over her arms, then down the length of her body. Trying to be all business, even in the seriousness of the moment he couldn’t entirely ignore the satiny smoothness of her skin. A pulse of pure desire ran through him, sending blood rushing to his cock. Hastily he stepped back, keeping one hand on her shoulder. “No broken bones. I think you had the wind knocked out of you. Try slow, shallow breaths for a moment or two.”

Tiya appeared to take no notice of his semi-aroused state. Pressing one hand to the center of her chest, she nodded. “What—what happened?”

“I think we ran aground. As soon as the winds die off completely, we’d better go on deck and see.”

“Are we going to sink?” Her eyes were wide and she trembled.

“I don’t think so.” Gently squeezing her shoulder, he infused as much reassurance into his voice as he could muster. “It would have happened already.”

“What a comforting idea.” Tiya combed her fingers through her hair and reset the turquoise-and coral-studded hairpins that had come askew. Khenet’s fingers itched to complete the task himself, to thread his fingers through that beautiful dark silk. “Can we please go on deck?”

“I think it’s safe enough now, yes. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on with the ship. We agree on that point.” He hurried from the cabin, brushing his own worried thoughts away like the sand he swept from their path.

* * *

Khenet led Tiya up to the deck, taking her arm to help her over the detritus and sand that clogged the short passageway. Her skin prickled at the touch, remembering the way he’d run his hard palms all over her. He’d only been checking for injuries, but his touch had left her shaken and warm in a way even the sandstorm had not.

The skies were a clear, bright blue again as she stepped on deck. The
River Horse
wasn’t moving. The mast had broken off about a foot from the deck and vanished. Tattered red and white sails lay in a tangled heap against the starboard rail. Clustered at the bow, Captain Taneb and his men were gesticulating and talking, all their attention concentrated over the side.

Trudging hand in hand up the canted deck with some effort, Khenet and Tiya joined the group.

Taneb scrutinized them. “Glad you’re safe and sound, my lady.”

“A few bruises perhaps.” Dropping Khenet’s hand, Tiya rubbed her elbow and made a face. She was still shaky and nauseous, not quite able to believe they were through the storm. “What happened?”

“See for yourself. We’ve gone aground on a sand bar.” Taneb gestured at the river below.

“Edekh said you knew every obstacle on the Nile.” Cautiously Tiya leaned over the side to see the problem for herself. The prow of the boat had rammed into the sand, and the collision had forced the bow entirely out of the water. Khenet swore under his breath beside her, confirming her own suspicions that their situation wasn’t good.

“High praise indeed, to be sure, but no man truly knows the Nile.” Craning over the rail, Taneb spat into the water below. “She’s constantly changing, just as she did today, in the storm.”

“What do we do?” Tiya straightened, glancing from the stocky captain to Khenet, a budding worry rising inside her.

“My crew’ll have to go free the bow, dig it out. Fortunately, our cargo this trip is so light.” Taneb made her a little half bow. “If we were carrying our usual consignment of goods rather than one beautiful woman, we’d have to unload the ship here to have a hope of getting free.”

“Or we could wait for the crocodile god to repair the river,” one of the nearby sailors said jovially.

“Don’t even mention crocodiles, idiot.” The scowling captain’s reprimand was gruff and instantaneous, surprising her in its vehemence. “When you’re standing knee-deep in the water you’d better pray the beasts are nowhere near. Now, all of you, you have your orders—get moving. I want to be off this sandbar well before sunset.”

“Can I help in some way?” Tiya shivered in the lingering breeze.

The captain did her the courtesy not to scoff at her offer. “You can keep watch with me, for crocodiles or hippos.” He drew her aside.

The sailors lowered themselves cautiously over the side of the ship, one after the other, into the Nile.

“I’ll be glad to work with them,” Khenet said, startling Tiya. “I’ve done this sort of thing before, on other expeditions. The excavation will go faster.” Suddenly, Tiya’s worry about crocodiles became decidedly less abstract.

After unbuckling his leather shoulder harness and shedding his kilt, Khenet stood barefoot in his loincloth like the others. He was solid muscle all over, the body of a finely honed warrior, strong and capable. The sinuous tattoo on one arm accented the strength and power of his upper body. An intriguing line of dark brown hair trailed from his belly button down under the edge of the loincloth. Her pulse racing, Tiya raised her line of sight off into the hazy distance. First folding his clothing neatly then setting it aside, Khenet vaulted over the railing to reach the sandbar below. Tiya redoubled her efforts to search the water for predators, her heart in her throat all the while.