“Religion is a tool to control the masses,” started the eldest.
“They exist,” interrupted Soromeh. “I saw them. They grow us like cattle. They use us for their wars. I—I think they manipulated Sethy…”
Kamilah frowned.
“You don’t believe me,” said Soromeh.
“Let’s go back to more urgent matters. Soromeh, I swear that you and your people will be safe in the palace. I also promise to let you leave whenever you want, with my blessing. You have my word as the eldest child of a king.”
“...All right,” she muttered. “You… you have to help me find Damon. He fell in the river. I think he was captured by Sethy. And Iram. I—I saw him on the Nile, on a felucca. I think he managed to escape the hippopotamuses… I….”
“Soromeh, breathe.”
Soromeh realized she couldn’t. She closed her eyes, blinked away her tears, and focused on her breath. When she opened them again, the child was staring at her. Soromeh shivered and tried to be strong.
“Kamilah, I have something to ask from you. I promised his mother to give him a chance, but I don’t want to stay at the palace, and I don’t know where I’ll be going…”
“You needed me, and I was not there,” said Kamilah softly. “If your only request is that I care for this child, it’s little for what I owe you, my sister.”
Soromeh swallowed her sobs.
Kamilah went on. “He will be raised as a prince of Egypt and will never need for anything. He will be a brother to my son. I will love him as if he were mine.”
“I had a good life,” muttered Soromeh to the child. “You’ll have the same.”
“What is his name?”
“...Yocheved told me they only named their children when they were sure they would survive. I think this one proved himself.”
Kamilah thought for a moment. “Moosah,” she said. “Son of the water.”
Soromeh smiled, for the first time in too long.
“Moosah,” she whispered.
On the bridge, an angel with burned wings waited. Upon hearing these words, she smiled and flew off. The sun slowly disappeared over the horizon.
* * *
Sethy paced the length of Damon’s quarters. Master Kamuzu, the head physician, exited the bedroom and closed the door behind him.
“So?” asked the king. “Will he survive?”
“Survive? Of course, your majesty. He won’t die from an arrow to the shoulder. Well, unless the wound gets infected, of course.”
Sethy sat down heavily. Kamuzu glanced at the main exit and sighed.
“Listen, your majesty, I have healed every cut, bruise, burn, and splinter that boy managed to get in his life. Every time, you paced my antechamber, like you’ve been doing now. Every time, he gets better.”
Sethy nodded.
“Sadly, his shoulder is beyond saving. The arrow pierced everything. Skin, muscles, nerves. I would be surprised if he manages to move his fingers ever again, much less grab a sword.”
He placed an awkward hand on Sethy’s shoulder, but the king jerked back.
Kamuzu sighed, exasperated. “This is Pamiu’s job. He’s the one who talks you out of your moods. Where is that old cat anyway? Making me work alone…”
He left the quarters. Sethy sat there, in silence, all night.
At dawn, he was pulled from his thoughts by knocking on the door.
“Your majesty?” asked a servant. “I was sent to tell you the Lotus Flower has docked. Her Majesty Kamilah is back.”
Chapter 23
Dusk
The capital spent the next day recovering from the storm. Egyptians swept their streets and gardens with resilience. Soon, the river was once again overflowing with boats, merchants were back at their stalls, and peasants tended to their crops. The palace nobles calmed down, and the scribes went back to their work, the soldiers to their patrols.
Soromeh slept.
Princess Kamilah had posted her best guards at her door. No one could enter without Soromeh’s permission, not even the king.
She also sent men to search the Nile and its shores. They found a felucca stuck in the middle of the river, its mast broken. On board was a distressed young Hebrew. He was escorted to the palace, right to Soromeh’s door.
“I’m sorry, Iram,” said the guard Ookami with regret. “I can’t let anyone inside.”
“I know,” he breathed. “I can wait. Can you just tell me… How is she?”
Ookami could only shrug.
Iram sat on the floor, as he had done so many times in the past, and waited. Night came, then morning, and he didn’t leave his post.
The first trumpets sang. There was movement inside. Groans, then approaching steps, and the door finally opened.
Soromeh appeared, groggy, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Am I still allowed to ask for something to eat?”
“Of course, your highness,” said Ookami. “Her Majesty Kamilah was very clear about that. We should do everything—”
He stopped. Soromeh had just seen Iram and was frozen in place.
Iram stood slowly, searching Soromeh for any trace of wounds.
“Soro—” he started, before catching himself. “Your majesty. I’m glad to see you—”
She jumped into his arms and kissed him.
“Soromeh, we can’t—” he tried to tell her between kisses.
“I thought I was going to die without seeing you again,” she blurted. “I thought—”
She placed her hands on his cheeks. Her eyes filled with tears.
“Iram. I—our child is—”
He held her tight and whispered against her hair. She hid her answer in the folds of his tunic. They held each other for a long time, in silence, and then went back in the chambers. Ookami closed the doors behind them, and neither he, nor his fellow guard, ever said a word on what they witnessed.
* * *
“She’s awake,” said Hermes, entering Naími’s quarters. “Iram is with her, the main door is watched by the eldest princess’ soldiers, and Aïden is guarding the balcony.”
Harouk was sitting at the main table, devouring his third plate of food. “Can we trust that demon?” he asked between two bites of meat.
“She’s feeling guilty,” shrugged Hermes. “She didn’t tell me in so many words, but she said that, by fleeing, she broke our pact. Demons take their deals seriously, so believe me, no one will be able to approach the little princess without losing a limb.” He looked at Harouk and blinked. “Speaking about demons, did you become one overnight?”
“I’m hungry,” answered Harouk, starting a second chicken. “Constantly.”
“You make me nauseous,” commented Dewei without lifting his head from the table.
He was sitting backwards on a chair, his wings stretched behind him. Silas was carefully replacing his damaged feathers. Hermes leaned over, curious.
“...I didn’t know angels groomed each other. You’re actually a flock of birds!”
Silas didn’t raise to the bait. “Our wings conduct energy,” he explained, aligning the primary feathers. “Healing comes easier if everything is in place.”
“But they’re all damaged. Look at that one. There’s only the barb left.”
“On the contrary. This is excellent news.”
Silas separated it from the others, pressed it, and rolled it between two fingers. A waxy tube broke apart, letting out a brand new feather. Hermes burst out laughing.
“Angels molt! Oh, please, tell me you have winter and summer plumage. Oh! Are baby angels covered in a hideous down? Do you lay eggs?”
All three angels glared at him in annoyance.
Someone scratched at the main door. Hermes frowned and gestured to Harouk, who grabbed a sword and followed him.
They opened to find Bastet and Anubis, both in human form. He was falling from exhaustion, resting most of his weight on her. As soon as the door opened, she pushed him towards Harouk and jumped into Hermes’s arms.
&nb
sp; They kissed passionately, long enough that Dewei had to cough several times to make them stop.
They all took place at the table, Bastet sitting on Hermes’s lap. Harouk directed Anubis to his own chair and started filling a plate.
“He needs water. He’s dehydrated,” added Bastet, digging into a fruit bowl.
Harouk filled a cup and waited, arms crossed and glaring, until Anubis was done drinking. When the jackal started eating, slowly, Harouk sat down again.
“Where was he?”
“I was in—” started Anubis.
Harouk interrupted him with a gesture. “You, eat.”
Anubis rolled his eyes but obeyed.
“In the Valley of the Kings,” said Bastet, playing with Hermes’s hair. “He was trapped in a tomb.”
“You still haven’t told me what you did to get that information,” said Anubis.
“And I won’t, either. Just be thankful. And eat or the angel is going to force feed you through a funnel.”
Hermes looked up at her. “Were you caught by the storm?”
“We waited it out,” she said, braiding his hair. “I didn’t know where to go. I couldn’t bring him back to the oasis. I was hoping there was still someone around who could take care of him.”
“I don’t need to be taken care of!” blurted Anubis. “I’m still immortal!”
“Immortal but powerless,” she corrected. “You’re as weak as a human, right now. You can suffer like them.”
“I don’t need a nanny!”
“Too late. I found you one,” she pointed at Harouk.
Instead of denying it, Harouk placed a newly filled water cup in front of Anubis.
There was the sound of wings coming from the balcony. Aïden, in full demon form, crash-landed inside.
“Move! Let me in! I need shade!”
Upon seeing Bastet, she froze.
Bastet went to her and placed a soft kiss on her brow, which Aïden accepted reluctantly. They exchanged a few whispered words. Aïden asked a question; Bastet answered. They nodded. Bastet smiled.
She then went back to sit on Hermes’s lap and, to everyone’s frustration, didn’t say a word on what had just transpired. Aïden, slightly less tense, went to sit in the darkest corner of the room, not bothering with a chair. Harouk threw her a chicken leg.
Hermes turned to look at the demon. “Didn’t I tell you to watch over the princess?”
“She left her quarters,” said Aïden, already done with the meat and busy licking the bone. “She’s with guards and with her boy. She said not to worry. She’s going to speak with her litter. I want more meat.”
Anubis gave her the rest of the chicken.
The Celestials around the table ate, drank, and caught each other up with the events, their mood growing heavier.
“If our clans are officially at war, an assembly like this is even more dangerous,” said Silas.
Bastet emptied her cup and stood. “I did what I had to do. I’m going back home. And you guys should leave the country.”
“We are,” said Harouk. “Tomorrow, with the princess. Anubis, you’re coming, too.”
“Do I have a say in this?”
“No,” said Bastet and Harouk at the same time.
She went to Anubis, and he just stared back with mistrust. She sighed and kissed him on the cheek. “Eternity is a long time, my friend. We’ll see each other again. Maybe, at that point, you’ll have forgiven me.”
She turned to Hermes and kissed him passionately, enough to make everyone feel awkward. She smiled at Aïden and mouthed a word.
When she left through the window, all three of them stared after her.
“What a woman,” said Hermes, fanning himself. “Aïden, I’m surprised you’re not hysterical, like the last time she left you.”
“She promised,” was her only answer.
Anubis finished his plate and frowned. “You mentioned an angel with burned wings. Is it really Lady Naími?”
“Terathel,” corrected Dewei, standing up. “We found her on the shore, after the storm. She hasn’t said a word, so we don’t know where they disappeared.”
“Didn’t you talk to the princess, this morning?”
"Yes, but she doesn’t remember anything either. She recalls the storm, the Celestial armies fighting, being pierced with a sword of ice. But from that point, nothing, not until waking up on Princess Kamilah’s ship.”
Anubis frowned. “Are you saying that angel removed her memories?”
“I’m saying someone must have played with both of their minds,” said Dewei.
“Dewei,” tried Harouk, “you can’t still believe that—”
Dewei slammed his hands on the table. “Yes, I do. I know Terathel. I’ve known her—”
“She’s not Naími.”
Dewei glared at him. “Believe me, I’m aware of that. But I went to Limbo, and I saw, Harouk. Their essence, the base of their being, is the same. I have known both Naími and Terathel, and they both feel the same.”
He pointed at a side door. “And that thing? On the ice? Was not either of them.”
Anubis looked at the door, incredulous. “Did you put her in the storage room?”
“She looked like she needed some time to think,” said Hermes. “Maybe she’ll answer our questions, now.”
“I’ll do the talking,” said Dewei.
The room was dark. There was a straw mat and some unlit candles and incense burners on the ground, only proof that Naími used to meditate there. Terathel ignored it all and was curled into a corner, hidden behind her burned wings.
Her hands were tied in front of her by two silver snakes.
“Is this really necessary?” asked Dewei.
“You didn’t see how powerful she was,” said Hermes.
Dewei kneeled in front of her. She looked at him, then at the other two, and went back to him. She had Naími’s eyes but none of her flame. She didn’t look like the Terathel from Limbo either. She just looked exhausted and scared.
“We wish to speak to you,” he said. “Can you answer our questions?”
She nodded.
“Good. What is your name?”
She frowned, thought, and, after a moment, shrugged.
“Well. We can find an answer later. Do you know who I am?”
She shook her head.
He bit his tongue to stop himself from showing emotion. “I am… I am a friend,” he said. “I am someone who once betrayed you and who’s looking for a way to make it right.”
Terathel had no reaction.
“Try simpler,” said Anubis.
“You can call me Dewei. These are Hermes and Anubis. They are also your friends.”
“In a manner of speaking,” corrected Hermes. “I still haven’t forgiven what she did to the little princess.”
“Hermes!” snapped Dewei.
These words caught Terathel’s attention. “The… the human girl?” she croaked.
“Yes, the human girl, the pregnant woman whose child you killed,” said Hermes.
Terathel hid further into her wings, shaking. “He—he never said that—I didn’t know—”
“Who’s he?” asked Anubis.
“I wanted the pain to stop!” she yelled. “The light was hurting me! He promised he would make it better if I agreed to—to let him take over my body! He almost killed the human girl and I—I don’t remember what he made me do! I see nothing in my mind, but I see her face, and I hear her screams!”
She was breathing too fast. Dewei tried to get closer, but she crawled back to a corner, like a wild animal.
Hermes pressed on. “Do you remember his name? Or where he brought you both, when you disappeared from the Nile?”
She shook her head. After a moment of silence, Hermes touched the floor with the tip of his scepter. The silver snakes fell from Terathel’s wrists and crawled back to coil themselves around the metal rod.
They left Dewei alone with her and went back to the table.
“So?” asked Harouk.
“From the little she said, we can guess there’s someone out there who orchestrated all this. She was used to start a war between our clans.”
The Celestial Conspiracies Page 34
