by Daniel Caet
“Calm down. My lady Ankh has sent me to take you to a safe place, but we must wait until nightfall.”
We waited a couple of hours until darkness was enough to guarantee our safety. Ahmet gave us capes of dark cloth that helped us to go as unnoticed as possible. In those conditions we took to the streets and Ahmet guided us through not very busy ones to the market area where the bird seller lived. When we got to his house, I knocked on the door in the most discreet way possible. A fat woman with exposed breasts opened the door.
“Who the hell is it at this time?” she said in bad manners. “What do you want?”
“The lady Ankh sends me,” I said, barely whispering.
“I do not care if you are sent by the very queen” shouted back, “these are not hours …”
“Shut up woman!” said the salesman, appearing behind her and pushing her away. “Come in, please.”
One by one, Iohebed's family entered the house followed by Ahmet, but the woman's voices had attracted unwanted attention. Two soldiers who were no doubt going back to the garrison after the change at one of the gates of the city approached quickly shouting.
“Stop! What is happening there?”
“Quick, enter and close the door, do not worry about me,” I said to the salesman who followed my instructions instantly.
By then the soldiers had arrived to where I was and with threatening attitude flanked me.
“You, slave, what are you doing here at this time?”
“Nothing, I've only come to pay a debt owed by my lady,” I lied.
“Oh, yes? And, why I don’t believe anything you say? These are not hours to pay debts. I do not know what you're up to, but you're going to come to the garrison with us and we'll blow the truth out of you.”
What happened next was so fast that I hardly realised how it took place. My body swayed slightly backwards as my hands rested on the chest of the two soldiers. Before they had time to react their bodies began to combust into ashes from within without giving them any chance to scream in the blink of an eye. The smell of burned flesh filled my lungs and a part of me felt a chill of pleasure, the feeling of power that ran through my body was like an orgasm, and I closed my eyes to enjoy completely. The wind swept the ashes, and the only evidence of what had happened were the two black marks left on the ground where the two soldiers had been before. I looked around to make sure that no one else had seen what had happened, and when I convinced myself that this was the case I knocked again at the door of the bird seller ’s who urged me to enter the house.
“What has happened out there? We've heard screams,” he asked anxiously.
“Nothing to worry about, a couple of soldiers wanted to know what I was doing around here at this time, but I managed to convince them that my lady had sent me to pay a debt. Are you all well?” I asked Iohebed and her family.
“Yes, just a little scared, but I guess it's normal given the situation. We're not used to hiding,” Aaron replied.
“I'm afraid you'll have to hide some more time. For your safety.” I turned to talk to the seller. “My lady Ankh told me that you would know what to do.”
“Yes, do not worry! They will be safe here until we can get them out of town. They are not the first group of slaves that your lady and I help.”
“And for a very cheap price, the truth be said, considering that we risk our own skin,” the woman with the breasts said, “maybe you should tell your mistress.”
“Shut up, woman, or I'll send you back to the tavern where I found you ten years ago! Blessed day, Hathor protect me!” said the man, clearly frustrated. “Do not listen to my wife, her mouth is as big as her tits, and you can see that is saying a lot. I owe a lot to the lady Ankh and her mother. If we talk about payments, I am the debtor, not them.”
The man's words made me see that the net that Sadith and Ankh had woven around them was much denser than I could imagine. How many people were part of it? And why did everyone seem to have absolute devotion to the two women? It was clear that there was much that escaped me, and I decided to discover it as soon as possible.
“I have to leave, if I do not return before midnight I'll put my lady in trouble. Are you sure you'll be fine?” I asked Iohebed.
“Yes, go in peace, Helel and tell my lady that I can never forget what she does for us.”
“So, I will,” I replied with a slight smile, trying to comfort that woman for whom I felt the greatest possible sympathy. I think somehow in Iohebed I saw myself reflected, someone who had lost everything except one thing, his family, the only reason to keep fighting.
“Tell my lady that I will let her know when the situation is calm enough for the next move, she will understand,” the merchant instructed me.
I nodded without questioning anything else and left the house back to the palace. The cold of the night made a chill run through my column, but I wrapped myself in my cloak and started my way back. For a moment I thought about transporting myself to the palace and saving myself the walk, but I discarded the idea because of the risk that someone in the palace would see me suddenly appear, and because I knew that it was necessary for the guards at the gate to see me return. If they were surprised at my return at such a late hour, none of them said absolutely nothing as soon as they saw Ankh’s ring. I walked through the solitary corridors of the palace to my rooms, but when I was about to arrive I noticed that something was not right. A sound of voices came from the corridor where Ankh's rooms were located. As I turned the last corner, I found Sarureptah and two older men who I immediately recognised as court doctors. Beside him, two soldiers armed to the teeth blocked access to Ankh's rooms. Without saying a word, I ducked my head and turned around. I knew that they would not allow me access to the rooms, but it was clear that something was happening. Suddenly, a huge scream came to my ears from inside the room and I recognised the voice instantly, it was Ankh's. Without thinking twice, I was transported to my cubicle without Sarureptah or his soldiers noticing and throwing my cloak to the floor I immediately entered the room. The image that I found was terrible. Ankh was lying on her bed, clearly in the middle of the delivery, and Ptehsure was at her side holding her hand. The bed was completely covered in blood and the smell filled the room. I ran to the bed while Ankh writhed in pain at her, so that she uttered a terrible scream.
“What happened? I thought it was not her time to give birth yet.”
“It's not the time, it's a month before the child is due to be born,” Ptehsure answered, looking at me with evident fear on her face.
“But what have the doctors said, why do not they do anything?”
“I do not know” she answered with a tremor in her voice “She has been in this state for hours, but they only talk to my lord Sarureptah, they do not even come in here to see her. Helel, I am very afraid, she has lost a lot of blood and the pain is unbearable, but the child does not come. I do not know how much longer she can stand like that.”
As if she had heard it, Ankh contracted again with a wave of pain that made her back bend in an impossible position. I placed myself on top of her and grabbed her face in my hands without knowing what else to do.
“Listen to me,” I whispered. “You cannot give up now, you must fight for you and for this little one, you must try to push, Ankh, I beg you, can you hear me?”
“It ... it hurts a lot, Helel. I cannot take it anymore,” she replied with a thin voice.
“I know, but you must do it, do you hear me? Ankh? Ankh?” I shouted but even though she looked at me, the strength to answer me had abandoned her body and it was evident that she was losing the battle.
Suddenly, a great knock sounded on our backs, the doors of the room opened wide and Sadith entered the room like a breath. Her face showed absolute seriousness when she approached the bed.
“When did it start?” she asked.
“A little after noon. Suddenly she started to bleed, and the pains began, but she has not dilated at all.” Ptehsure answered.
Sad
ith's face hardened even more. She approached Ankh's face who was no longer able to speak and opened her eyes. She placed her hand on her chest and closed her own whispering a few words that I did not understand. Then she opened her mouth and smelled her breath.
“Sadith, what's wrong?”
“What has she eaten?” she asked.
“Nothing,” the girl replied, “she has only drunk some watery wine that one of the slaves brought.”
“What wine?” Sadith said to the girl. “Is it still here?”
“Yes, in that jug on the table,” said the slave, indicating a table at the back of the room.
Sadith went to the jar and sipped the contents, immediately spat it out and the jug exploded into a thousand pieces. She returned to the bed and approached Ankh to whisper again.
“My little girl, I know you can hear me even if you cannot answer me. Listen to me well, you have been poisoned. The wine you took was mixed with black lotus essence to cause the birth, but at the same time the black lotus makes your body unable to contract and expand as you need to help the child out. I'm going to have to help you both, but do not be afraid, you will not feel any pain. I'm going to take you to a quiet, beautiful place for a moment, okay? It will be a warm place and full of those flowers that you like so much. I want you to enjoy that place and I promise you, when you come back, everything will be over. Do you hear me? You have nothing to worry about, I am by your side. I do not intend to lose another daughter in a delivery.”
Ankh's eyes did not open, and yet her hand closed slightly over Sadith's, confirming that she had heard everything she had said and put her fate in her hands. Sadith did not waste a moment and without even turning she raised her hand, and the doors of the room closed again. Now nobody could enter without her permission. She straightened and dropped her travel cloak to the ground. Suddenly, it was no longer Sadith, but something else. My body began to vibrate as soon as the song began. Placing her hands over the body of Ankh the words that came out of her mouth increased in intensity and the vibration that accompanied them increased equally. Suddenly I noticed her face and two large black lagoons occupied the space that were previously filled with her two blue eyes. That one was not Sadith anymore, that woman was channeling a superior power, a power that no one could know if it came from light or darkness, a power unknown to all but the gods. Suddenly, Ankh's body rose slightly above the bed and a blue light surrounded her completely. Her face remained calm, at peace; Sadith's on the contrary, tense as a bow. Ptehsure scared away from the bed to stand behind one of the room’s columns, huddled and sobbing. What happened next would have scared the bravest of men. Ankh's belly split like cut by a knife and the blood began to spill from her body like a waterfall on the bed. Sadith's song grew even more intense as a creature covered in blood rose from Ankh's belly.
“Take the baby, cut the cord” shouted the being that I knew as Sadith.
Without thinking, my body reacted and I grabbed the creature. A girl. In spite of the blood that covered her it was evident that something was not right, the color of her skin had a purplish-blue tone and her lungs did not move eager to capture the air of the new world that surrounded them.
“The cord, Helel!” Sadith shouted again.
Once again, my body reacted without thinking. I had no knife or dagger at hand, so my teeth broke the cord that still attached that creature to her mother. The metallic taste of the blood, far from disgusting, caused a chill of something similar to pleasure. I hugged the little girl in my arms waiting for the warmth of my body to help her breathe and my mouth whispered a single word.
“Live!”
As if she could have heard me, the little girl began to move her chest up and down, her lungs looking for life. I pressed her even more against me.
Meanwhile Sadith had continued her song whispering softly this time, as if it were a lullaby. I saw how Ank’s body retracted and closed again as if nothing had happened, and the blue light was concentrated on her belly where the tear had previously occurred. Slowly her body descended again on the bed, her face still calm and serene as if she were in the best of dreams.
Sadith was herself again with a quick convulsion and her lungs inspired the air around her avidly. Her knees failed to hold her body and she fell on the bed next to Ankh. I wanted to approach her to help her, but the bulge in my arms prevented me from doing so.
“Sadith!” I screamed.
Immediately Sadith raised her head and looked at me, her face had lost none of its hardness.
“I'm fine, do not worry, but we must hurry,” she said.
Without saying another word, she got up with difficulty and putting her hands to the front spoke loud and clear.
“Stand up, oh guardian, and attend to my command. Protect this room and its inhabitant as you guard the gates of hell. May anger, blood and death be your weapons, my wishes your will, my enemies your food!”
At one point a vibration filled the room and I could see how a great grey creature, halfway between a large dog, a lion and something else that I could not describe, materialised for a few seconds before us to disappear immediately as if it had dissolved in the air.
“Quick, give me the girl!” she told me. My hands hesitated for a second to deliver my valuable cargo, and she noticed it. “The girl is very weak, Helel, she is still not out of danger, it is necessary that I took her. I know a nurse who may be able to help her survive. It's our only option, Helel. Ankh cannot feed her.”
Her eyes looked at me with sincere concern and my hands reacted to that look by giving her the little one.
“Don't move from her side, Helel, under any circumstances. Whoever tried to kill her today will try again without a doubt.”
She held out her hand to the spot where Ptehsure stood looking curled up from her hiding place with the fear reflected in her face and trembling. She closed her fist and the girl's body fell to the ground.”
‘What have you done?” I asked, fearing the worst.
“Don’t worry! She is only asleep. When she wakes up she will not remember anything except that it has been a complicated delivery. I have to leave. Remember. Do not leave her until I come back, and do not let anyone in the room. If someone tries to hurt her, the guardian that I have summoned will make it the last thing they do.”
And without saying another word, she left the room with the girl in her arms and I stayed with Ankh, watching over her dream.
Two days passed before Sadith returned. By then Ankh had woken up, although her condition was one of extreme weakness and she could barely speak. However, it was soon evident that she could not remember anything of what happened. When Sadith entered the room, a glance at her face was enough for me to understand that something was not right. Her face was emaciated, exhausted, and had a pale color that gave her a sick air.
“Helel, leave us!” she said with absolute seriousness. A part of me wanted to refuse tired of receiving orders from everyone around me, but I knew that if I did it would only make things worse, so I obeyed and retreated to my cubicle.
I sat on my cot without noticing that I was holding my breath as if my body had anticipated what was going to happen, until the sound of Ankh's voice came to me in the form of the most heartrending cry ever uttered followed by an obvious attempt of consolation on the part of Sadith and Ptehsure. My mind fell into emptiness, and I do not remember how long I was in that state, but when I finally became aware of what was happening around me, Sadith was standing in front of me.
“I did not know these cubicles were so small,” she said, looking around. “I am sorry you have to live like this.”
“Don't worry about me, I'm not the one who matters right now.” I was afraid to ask the question whose answer I already knew, but finally my lips obeyed. “The girl?”
“She's dead,” she answered without a single expression of pain or even empathy on her face. Her coldness was something that unnerved me. Did that woman have no heart? How was it possible that the person who had sacrifi
ced so much for my family was at the same time as cold as the desert nights? What had happened to the affectionate and tender girl I had known? Without wanting it, the answer resounded like a scream in my head. What had happened to her was me.
“Wait a minute,” she said, raising her hand and closing her eyes. “That's it,” she continued, exhaling all the air from her lungs and her face relaxed showing the true dimension of her exhaustion. Two large black bags appeared under her eyes and the bones of her cheekbones became even more marked. Slowly she sat on the cot next to me, her hands barely able to hold her to prevent her from collapsing with all her weight on the fragile wooden structure.
“I've cast a barrier spell, no one can see or hear what's going on in this cubicle right now,” she said, looking into my face. “These days have consumed a large part of my energy, I can barely keep up appearances, forgive me.”
“Do not worry,” I said, “but what happened, Sadith?”
“The girl was very weak. She should not have come to this world for more than a month. The farmer’s wife I took her to, she did everything she could, but her body did not admit food, and finally the exhaustion was too much for her.” For the first time I could see how her eyes filled with tears. “I'm afraid this blow will be too hard for Ankh, the two previous babies were lost in the first months of pregnancy and, although it was hard for her, there was no corpse to remind her of the loss. This time is different, much more painful.”
“The poison …”
“The poison has been the cause of this misfortune. The girl was healthy, if she could have been inside her mother until the end of her pregnancy I have no doubt that she would have survived. Someone had a specific interest in this baby not surviving and that the mother died in the process.”
“Someone? You're kidding? I think it's obvious who. That Sarureptah slug did not even allow doctors to take care of Ankh. For hours she was suffering, and no one deigned to move a finger for her. I swear, I'm going to tear off his head and hang it from his guts from the tallest tower in the palace.”
