Saleem sighed and held me tight. “Then you will not go alone,” he said. He then motioned for more horses to be brought forward.
We all mounted the horses and rode through the night to Zululand—and to Oringo.
2
It took us several days to reach the Zululand capital, and when we did, the people were having a great party outside of the city.
“What is happening?” I asked since I could not see through the massive crowd.
Saleem focused, shifting only his eyes into those of a lion. “I see Oringo,” he said. “He is tied to a pillar in the middle of the crowd.”
“He is still alive!” I exclaimed. “Hurry! We must rescue him.”
The people were laughing and dancing, playing music, and celebrating. I did not know why Oringo’s death meant so much to them.
Baka Mara dismounted and approached the people. “I am your king! Cease this at once!”
But the people did not obey him, those who could hear him anyway. They tried to get him to join in the festivities, but he refused. He grabbed one person and threw him aside, then another person punched him in the face. Then several people joined in the brawl.
I jumped down and pulled Baka away. “They don’t realize who you are!” I said.
Saleem raised his hand to order his army to attack.
“No!” I said. “We do not want a battle. The Zulu are—for better or worse—our allies for the moment. We just need to get to Oringo!”
“Then what would you suggest?” Baka asked me.
I looked toward Oringo, straining to see him. “What is wrong? Why is Oringo not shifting? Not fighting to escape?”
Saleem narrowed his focus. “He looks…drugged. And injured.”
Baka nodded. “We gave him a potion to keep him alive but would make him incapable of fighting.”
I looked at Saleem, my eyes pleading. “Please,” I said. “Help him.”
Saleem sighed and jumped down from his horse. I knew he didn’t want to do help Oringo, but he would do anything for me. He shifted into his lion and let out a massive roar. The people screamed, and many of them looked to Oringo. But it was not Oringo who had turned into a lion.
Saleem burst through the crowd, tossing aside anyone in his way. The people screamed and scattered, trying to get out of the way of the terrifying lion. With the crowd cleared, I could see Oringo. I ran down the path Saleem cleared for me, and Baka followed behind.
Saleem jumped up on the platform where Oringo had been tied. He used his claws to break Oringo’s chains, and Oringo collapsed to the ground. I climbed up onto the platform as well and rolled Oringo to his back.
“Oringo!” I cried, patting his cheeks. “Can you hear me?” His head lolled side to side, but his eyes fluttered and he was breathing. He was at least alive.
After their initial shock, some of the people tried to rush back toward the platform to stop us, but Saleem continued to roar and swipe at them with his claws, keeping them at bay.
Baka Mara approached the platform as well and pulled himself up on it. The people began to gasp and murmur amongst each other.
“Do you not know who I am?” Baka yelled. The people began to cower as they realized who he was. The Zulu guards ran forward, their spears held high. “Do you fools not recognize your king?”
Finally, the acting general ran forward and fell to his knees. “Your Majesty!” he said. “We did not expect your return so soon.”
“You do not know your own king?” Baka asked.
“Of course,” the general said. “The people were merely caught up in the excitement of the moment.”
“Fools that they are!” Baka yelled. He then pointed at all of the people around the platform. “Arrest them!”
“A-a-all of them?” the general asked.
“Must I repeat my order?” Baka asked.
“No, Your Majesty!” the general said and he then ordered his men to start rounding up the people. There was chaos as people scrambled, trying to escape the guards.
“Lock them up,” Baka ordered. “Kill every tenth man. For everyone else, only water for ten days. Any left alive after that, you may release.”
“Baka!” I said standing up. “Are you—”
Baka gripped my neck, choking off my air. Saleem started to lunge, but I held my hand out to stop him.
“Rule with an iron fist, Queen Sanura,” Baka said softly as he moved close to my face. “Make your people fear you.” He then let me go and I gasped for air, but I continued to stand before him. He patted me on the cheek. “And your enemies should fear you too.”
Baka then jumped down and headed into the city. “Come!” he said, motioning for me to follow him. “I am sure we are all in need of a good meal and a good rest.”
I sat on a reed mat bed with Oringo’s head in my lap. I wetted a rag and wiped Oringo’s head and neck and dripped the water into his mouth. He had slept for many hours.
“Did Baka say how long it would take for the drug to wear off?” I asked Saleem, who waspacing the room, as he had been doing for hours.
Saleem shook his head. “He just said it would wear off in time. But how much time?” He shrugged his shoulders.
We were both nervous. Baka had been nothing but courteous to us. He released the Dakari captives, as promised. Those who could not fight were given an escort back to Dakari village. Those who could fight were asked to stay here with Oringo. Once Oringo woke, I hoped that he would join the alliance and then all of us—me, Oringo, Saleem, and their armies—would march to Anwe, where we could join with Zakai and then plan for our move to Egypt. But Oringo still had not woken up, and Saleem did not trust Baka any more than the kabir did. And truth to tell, I did not trust Baka either. I wanted nothing more than to leave this place, but we couldn’t until Oringo awoke.
Finally, Oringo began to stir. He groaned and shook his head.
“Oringo!” I cried, helping him sit up. I saw Saleem slink away to a corner of the room. I think a part of him still hoped Oringo would die.
“S-Sanura?” Oringo said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “What happened? Where am I?”
“We are in Zululand, the capital city,” I said.
“What?” he asked, moving to stand, but he was unable to do so. I handed him a cup of fresh water.
“It’s a long story,” I said. “But for now, Baka Mara is our ally.”
“He…he busted into the village, hundreds of soldiers,” Oringo said. “I wasn’t strong enough. They wrapped me in chains. Stabbed me. But there was something on it. A red…liquid…”
“That must be how they poisoned you,” I said. “The poison kept you from being able to shift into your lion.”
“What are you doing here?” Oringo asked, his eyes clearing. “Were you captured too?”
I shook my head. “We are guests of Baka. I defeated him but spared his life. He owed me a life debt, so I chose your life.”
He wagged a finger at me and smiled. “You are a smart woman.”
“Well, we will see about that when we try to leave,” I said. “Baka says we are all friends, but I am still not sure we can trust him.”
Oringo tried to get to his feet, but he wobbled, nearly toppling over. I grabbed him, but I was not strong enough. Saleem rushed over and grabbed Oringo’s other arm. Oringo’s eyes went big.
“Okay, now I know I’m dreaming,” Oringo said.
“No,” I said. “Saleem is here. He agreed to join the alliance. He helped me save you.”
“You are amazing,” Oringo said to me, his eyes still reflecting a dreamy quality.
“We should send for Baka,” Saleem said. “See if we can come to a proper alliance or find out if we need to escape. No reason to delay.”
I nodded and went to the door. “I wish to see King Baka Mara immediately,” I told the guards. One of them nodded and ran off. While we waited, we continued to help Oringo come to his senses, giving him food and water. By the time Baka arrived, Oringo appeared to be nearly bac
k to his full strength.
“King Oringo,” Baka said as he entered the room, his hands outstretched. “How nice to see you again.”
“Wish I could say the same,” Oringo replied. “Last I saw you, you were slaughtering my people and taking me captive.”
“It is the nature of business,” Baka said. “Of rulership. I fight you, you fight me. We make alliances, we break alliances. We do what we must in order to reap the greatest benefit.”
“That is not my way to rule, Baka,” I said. “I mean to rule for the benefit of all.”
“So young,” Baka said. “So idealistic.”
“Perhaps,” I said. “But I am also the daughter of Pharaoh Bakari. The sister and betrothed to Pharaoh Ramses. It is my blood right to sit on the throne of Egypt as queen and rule as I see fit. It is my right to succeed or fail in the manner I choose.”
“This is true,” Baka said. “But how would releasing you benefit me?”
I tried not to look surprised at his words. And I shouldn’t have been. I knew he was more capable than most of betrayal.
“I know, I know,” he said, waving away my unspoken words and taking some cheese from a nearby table and eating it. “I gave you my word. But as you can see, Oringo is alive. The life debt is paid, is it not? Anything else I do for you will be far beyond what was owed. So why should I do that, Queen Sanura? How will you be a better ally for me than Keket?”
“You said yourself,” I said. “Keket is a madwoman. You cannot trust her to keep her word. Egypt is also on the cusp of falling. If Keket loses Egypt, what good will an alliance with her be to you?”
Baka nodded. “Very good points. I must say, you do seem far more honorable than Keket. Or me for that matter.” He laughed. “Keket and me, we are cut from the same cloth. We care only about ourselves.”
“I suppose the question should be why I should agree to an alliance with you,” I said, “if you are not worthy of the words that tumble from your mouth.”
“Now you are thinking like a queen,” Baka said. “Never trust anyone.”
“I will keep that in mind,” I said, and for some reason, I was starting to like him. I had a feeling Baka was more honorable than he had led me to believe—but only with people he felt were worthy of honor. He would never be loyal to Keket because he knew she was not a real queen. She was only set on vengeance. He had not honored his word to Saleem because he did not respect him. He saw Saleem as weak. I did not think it was only because of my hubris that Baka might keep an alliance with me. I had pride, yes, but I had strength. I had honor. I was a capable ruler. I could save Egypt. Set things to right before it was too late. Baka knew this. And he knew I was the only person who could do this.
“I require your army,” I said. He started to laugh and interrupt me, but I held up my hand to stop him. “You decimated the Dakari army that I needed to take back Egypt. Your army will replace that and more. But you and your generals will stay here. Your men must follow Oringo’s orders. He is my general.”
Baka’s eyes flit to Oringo, then back to me. “You think this pup has what it takes to command an army?” Baka asked.
“Not just any army,” I said. “My army. Once I retake Egypt, your men will be sent back to you, along with whatever gold I can pay them from Luxor’s coffers. Egypt will then reaffirm our friendship with the Zulu Nation and we will exist as equal powers once again.”
“So, I am to give you my army in exchange for the status quo?” Baka asked.
I shrugged. “And what was wrong with that? The Zulu Nation thrived under the previous agreement with Egypt. How many men have you lost since Keket took over?”
Baka flinched so quickly, I would have missed it had I not been staring right at him. Baka had been in Dakari when his army attacked Nuru. I think the losses had been much higher than he anticipated.
“And what of our arrangement with Nuru?” Baka asked.
“That is at an end,” I said. “Nuru is under Egypt’s protection until such a time as the city is rebuilt and the Nuru can renegotiate their own treaties again.”
“That is a great loss for me,” Baka said.
“And it is about to get bigger,” I said. “You were taking too much in tribute. You know this. I saw how much it was, and I saw the levels of starvation in Nuru. You will return the last tribute you exacted from the city. The gold and the grain. You will send it back immediately to alleviate the city’s suffering while Saleem and his army are at war.”
“No,” Baka said, shaking his head, and I could feel Saleem growling behind me. “You overreach, Queen Sanura.”
I clenched my fists to my sides and pinched my mouth closed. I knew I was asking for a lot, but I would not back down. Keket had ruined Africa, and I would repair and rebuild all of it, brick by brick, grain by grain.
“Why haven’t you killed me, then?” I asked him. “Or Oringo? Or Saleem? If you do not want an alliance with me, why are we here?”
“Keket wants you,” Baka said. “I was weighing whether to join with you or her, but right now you are not looking so good.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said. “You don’t have to send me to Keket alive. She wants me dead. But you would have a hard time doing that now that my lion kings are back at full health.”
Oringo and Saleem both stepped forward and growled. Baka did not shrink back, but his guards did.
“I am willing to negotiate, Baka,” I said. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want…to be a lion king,” he said.
“What?” I asked, not sure I heard him right.
“Not for myself,” he said. “For my people. I have seen the might and power of the lions during my lifetime. I want that for the Zulu as well.”
“But being a lion king is a blessing from the Lion Queen, the Queen of All Gods,” I said. “I don’t have the power to bestow it.”
“No,” Baka said, “but Saleem might.”
I looked at Saleem, but he seemed just as confused as me.
“His brother was heir to the lion blood,” Baka said. “And he had a daughter, Janissa. I want Janissa as a wife for my son in the hopes that their child would be the first lion king of the Zulu Nation.”
“Is that possible?” I asked Saleem.
“At one time it was,” he said. “But no marriage union has proven to yield such fruit in many generations.”
“Because it was never attempted with Zulu blood,” Baka said, pounding his chest. “The lion tribes have never intermarried with the Zulu. I want this opportunity for my family. For my people.”
“Janissa is only a child,” Saleem said, growing defensive. I placed my hand on his arm to calm him. Arranged marriages were simply part of noble life. I would help him see that.
“How old is she?” I asked.
“Only twelve,” Saleem said.
“And how old is your son, Baka?” I asked.
“He is seventeen,” Baka said.
“And what if Janissa’s children are not of the lion blood?” I asked. “Would she be mistreated or punished?”
“No,” Baka said. “I know that this is a risk. But it is one I am willing to take. My fervent hope is that Janissa will bear the Zulu a lion son. But if she does not, we will still treat her as an honored Nuru and Zulu princess and she will eventually be queen of the Zulu Nation as would be proper in any marriage alliance for my son.”
“Would you be willing to put that in the marriage contract?” I asked. “That should any harm come to her, the contract will be null and void and Janissa will be allowed to return to her people along with her full dowry?”
“Yes,” Baka said, and he did not hesitate.
“Will you agree to wait three years?” I asked. “Until the girl is of marriageable age at fifteen?”
“If Saleem signs the contract today, yes,” Baka said. “You will have my army tonight. The food will be sent to Nuru tomorrow. All will be as you will it, Queen Sanura.”
I looked at Saleem and saw the frustration on his f
ace. But this was an excellent bargain, for me, the Nuru, and the Zulu. But Saleem was hesitating.
“May we speak privately,” Saleem asked.
“Of course,” I said, and we moved to a faraway corner of the room.
“I…I feel terrible arranging Janissa’s life without her knowledge,” Saleem said.
I nearly laughed. “Is that what is bothering you?” I asked. “This is part of being noble. Very few of us born to privilege choose our mates. And it is your right as king to arrange marriages for the betterment of your country.”
“Will Janissa ever forgive me?” Saleem asked.
I reached up and patted his cheek. “Maybe not. But arranging marriages is part of being king. And she will be a queen of a powerful nation. This is an excellent match for her. She cannot be angry at you forever.”
It was adorable how uncomfortable with being king Saleem still was, and I was glad I was by his side to help him through it. Saleem finally nodded and we moved back to Baka.
“I will sign the contract,” Saleem announced.
“Wonderful!” Baka said. “Now, let’s celebrate! Come! Eat! Drink! For tomorrow, we war!
3
Even though we had forged a successful alliance with the Zulu and we no longer feared Baka killing us in our sleep, Saleem, Oringo, and I were not in the mood to celebrate. Oringo was still groggy from the poison and sore from having been beaten. Saleem was heavy of heart over marrying his niece to a stranger, and I could tell he was uncomfortable being so close to Oringo. His face was sullen and his eyes constantly taking note of where Oringo was.
For me, even though I had gained the Zulu army to my cause, the war against Keket had not even begun. It would be a long march back to Anwe. I had to hope that Zakai’s feelings toward me had not soured in the months I had been gone. And if he did still love me, would he feel betrayed when he found out that I had also fallen in love with Oringo and Saleem? Could he accept that part of me? I did not love Zakai any less. If anything, knowing Oringo and Saleem helped me love and appreciate Zakai’s strengths even more. But while it was not unusual for a man to love many women and even have many wives, there were few men in the world who would share a woman with another man.
The Queen of Egypt Page 2
