by Jim Johnson
CHAPTER 15
SOMETHING HAD GONE WRONG. RUIA OPENED her eyes and blinked a few times to get a sense of her surroundings. The tingling she felt in her body, from whatever Herikhet had done to her, felt like a steady flow coming out of her deepest soul, almost as if she had to pass water but at a slow steady pace for a very long time. Not uncomfortable, but…strange.
A ripple down that drawing feeling distracted her and pulled her out of the twilight state she had slipped into. She focused on the center of the chamber, where Herikhet and Usemi were gathered together over Tjety’s body inside a glowing bubble of power.
Herikhet knelt next to Tjety, both hands on the Ranger's head. Usemi stood behind Herikhet, her hands on his shoulders and her head bowed so far forward that her forehead touched his bald crown. Both Usemi and Herikhet had their eyes closed, and even through the soft glow of the protective shielding, she could see that their vestments were soaked through with sweat.
She panicked, and then forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. She glanced around the outer circle, at her people and the other volunteers. She was the only one sitting up with her eyes open. All the others were either lying down with their eyes closed, or were in a meditative sitting position much as she had been.
She turned back to Herikhet and Usemi. They were clearly struggling over something, and she guessed that Tjety was even worse off than she had thought.
She felt the draw on her body and soul, and wished there was something more she could do. She thought hard about what Herikhet was doing, about what he had said at the senet house the night before.
He was pulling hekau from the volunteers and pouring it into Tjety, using himself as a filter and a conduit to add healing qualities to that energy. Essentially he was pulling the life out of them and into Tjety.
She wondered…if he could pull that energy and use it, what would happen if she pushed some of her hekau toward him?
She didn't understand the nuances, and suspected there was a risk to it, but the buzzing in her head and the sensations she got from the link were enough to make her think that as much as he was pulling at her core, if she focused just so, she could push as hard as he was pulling.
She took a fortifying swig of water from her little jug, and then rested her hands on her knees, closed her eyes, and concentrated.
She set her will to a calm space with several deep breaths, and then centered on the pulling sensations within her body. She felt the slow, steady trickle being dragged out of her center and through an invisible conduit toward Herikhet, where it mixed with other conduits and then on through Herikhet and into Tjety.
She pulled back into herself, feeling beads of sweat form on her upper lip and forehead. If just this minimal effort to feel what was happening was making her sweat, she couldn't imagine what Herikhet and Usemi had to be going through.
She followed the draw on her hekau inward, until she could sense where Herikhet was pulling from. Looking inward, she visualized standing on the edge of a deep pool of glittering water, thick with power and potential. She sighed at the image, only now getting a sense of what kind of power she might be capable of producing.
She centered her thoughts on that pool of coruscating power, flexed her hekau, and then carefully, slowly, sent a tendril of her own essence down that same conduit toward Herikhet, offering herself to him.
Several heartbeats passed, and then she felt like she was sweating out a river. A part of her sensed her pretty dress clinging to her sweat-soaked back. Her fingers screamed to pluck at the wet fabric, but she held firm, keeping her giving trickle going even as the taking trickle continued.
After another dozen heartbeats, she felt a ripple down both conduits into her core, along with a very clear sense of surprise and delight.
And then, to her mixed horror and amazement, Herikhet's voice boomed in her mind. She didn't so much hear the words as felt them ringing through her skull.
"I don't know how you're doing what you're doing, girl, but for all the good gods and for the life we're trying to save, do not stop."
She felt a strong pulse of gratitude and strength along the conduits then, and then his presence in her mind was gone, tracking down back along the conduit and back to himself.
Encouraged by his words and inspired by her own efforts, she concentrated hard and focused her will on feeding Herikhet just as much hekau as she could. She relaxed her body to make it easier for her to focus on the task at hand.
She continued to draw on her own reserves of power and fed them down the conduit toward Herikhet. As she did so, she sensed another presence within the connection, and after several moments' effort, she heard a softer voice in her head.
"Ruia? It's Usemi, Herikhet's acolyte. I'm monitoring his body functions while he dives deep to heal the Ranger." Ruia felt an adjustment in the flow of her hekau.
"What you're doing is incredibly helpful. We had no idea you had any talent or we might have asked you for more help."
Ruia didn't know how better to respond, so said out loud, "I don't know what I'm doing. I just thought pushing my…my hekau toward the priest would be easier than him pulling it out of me."
Ruia felt a sharp surge of surprise that was soon cut off, then the soothing presence of Usemi reappeared on the conduit. "Impressive. If you ever choose to be trained, you could go far in the priesthood."
There was a pause as she felt more adjustments along the conduit line. Usemi's voice sounded in her mind again. "I've taken control of the power inflow from you and from the other participants. Keep doing what you're doing, but relax a little. Think of water flowing through an irrigation channel, slow and steady and able to be stopped at any point."
Ruia nodded, then felt foolish since she was sure Usemi's eyes were closed. She said, "Yes, I will."
She felt a gentle laugh through the link, like a warm breeze on a cold day. "You don't have to vocalize what you say to me when we're linked mind to mind. You can simply think the thoughts and project them toward me. It's easy enough. Practice when you have time. For now, I must concentrate on Herikhet. He's gone quite deep."
Ruia felt Usemi's presence in her mind and through the conduit retreat somewhat, and could almost sense how Usemi was settled partly in her own body and partly within Herikhet's body. Curious, she shifted her attentions forward down the conduit, and got a glimpse of the interior of Herikhet's soul at the end of the conduit connecting her hekau to his.
She saw an orderly world with multiple conduits flowing in and one larger one flowing down toward Tjety. Standing strong among the various glowing conduits was an image of Usemi, who controlled the various flows and also had tendrils of thought and control on various nodes within Herikhet's soul. She guessed that those were the control areas for his breathing and heartbeat and so forth. Usemi literally had his life in her hands and the expression on her soul form suggested that she was taking that responsibility very seriously.
Ruia didn't know if she was supposed to be focusing in this manner, but it didn't feel like she was getting into anyone's way. She focused her will down the conduit line past Usemi's touch and down toward Tjety, but recoiled when she saw the dark shapes crowding in around some sort of massive labyrinth set in a bleak wasteland.
Usemi called out, "No, Ruia! You don't know what you're doing. Focus on what you're helping us with. There'll be other opportunities to teach you more." She felt the pleading from Usemi's soul, even felt an echo coming from Herikhet.
She did as they suggested, fearing getting into something she couldn't hope to understand. She settled her consciousness back into her own body, and took a few deep breaths to reorient herself to her surroundings. She opened her eyes briefly to see that she was laying on her back, pinned to the mat. She shifted to a slightly more comfortable position, closed her eyes again, and then focused all her will on providing them as much power as she could muster to be able to help Tjety fight the terrible darkness within his body and soul.
She lost track of
all time while in a twilight state. As she continued to feed power down the conduit, she gradually felt her fingers, hands, toes, and feet start to fall asleep. Soon she couldn't feel her legs or her arms either. The draw on her core had become significant, but yet she drew on her hekau and kept feeding it down the line.
She could feel Herikhet fighting hard at his end of the conduit, and sensed Usemi's focus increase on keeping Herikhet's body functioning even as he desperately tried to heal Tjety. Her mind's eye funneled down into a gray tunnel, and she felt unconsciousness creeping in along the edges. She deepened her breathing and tried as hard as she could to help, not knowing if it was enough.
Eventually, the drain on her system was too much, and she felt the connection between her and Herikhet sever. Usemi held onto one end of the conduit and sent grateful thanks down the line to her. "You've done all you can do, Ruia. We can't ask any more of you."
Ruia wanted to call out, wanted to protest to say that she had more, that she could give more, but the gentle pressure from Usemi to relax, to rest, to let go, was just too strong, and she felt herself sinking down toward the embrace of sleep, closer and closer.
Before she let herself go completely, she cracked open her eyes and focused on the central circle, which had changed color from opaque gold to translucent white. Within the circle, Herikhet and Usemi were still hunched together over Tjety.
Ruia looked at Tjety's face, and saw that he had turned his head toward her. His eyes were open slits, and, for just a moment, she saw a glimmer of recognition in his eyes, recognition that seemed to translate to gratitude.
Taking that comfort deep within her soul, she offered a very tired smile and then gave herself over to the fatigue that swept around her and pulled her down into the darkness.
CHAPTER 16
HERIKHET SLUMPED IN HIS CHAIR AND brought the water bowl to his lips with shaking hands. The last several hours had been a blur, and he was so tired.
Somehow, he had managed to heal the worst of the hurts deep down in Tjety's body. The superficial wounds would heal in time, and the gunshot wound in his arm was already well on the way to healing, but it was the deeper infection, the dark stuff that had been moving in on his heart and lungs, that had been the hardest to heal.
But, with the help from Usemi and Ruia, and the support of all those good people, there had been enough raw hekau energy to pull the Ranger back from the Duat.
He raised the bowl again and drained it, then reached over and placed it on the small table in Tjety’s cubicle. He rubbed his face with his hands, then blinked his bleary eyes and stared at Tjety. The man was sleeping more easily than he had the night before. Herikhet had taken off the dressing and bandages on his arm in an effort to give the wound a chance to breathe. Even from here he could see that the flesh was a healthy pink color around the bullet hole, unlike the angry black and red striations that had been there the day before.
The back part of the wound was more ragged, though it too was more pinkish in color. He'd get it bound up again in the morning, and then he'd have to see what he could do to help Tjety recover. The blood loss would be fixed with time and good meals, but the flesh that had been blasted away would take longer to heal, and in some cases, what was lost just could not be replaced.
He stared at Tjety, taking in his whole form. The man was strong, not just in a physical way, but in his will and in his hekau. He had spirit, and he had grit. If he fought hard enough, he'd be able to overcome the limitations from his wounded and diminished arm.
"I think you'll be all right, son." As Herikhet scratched at the new stubble on his chin, Tjety let out a quiet sigh and then raised his hand slowly to rub at the bridge of his nose.
Herikhet grabbed the empty bowl off the table and filled it with water from the ceramic pitcher. He lifted himself out of his seat and took the two steps over to Tjety's cot and knelt down.
"Hey now, son, look at you. I didn't think you'd be awake until the morning."
Tjety groaned again, and then turned his head toward him. He cracked open one gummy eye.
"Wh…where?" he managed, through a throat that sounded dry and raspy.
Herikhet leaned over and moved one hand behind Tjety’s neck, and helped him lift his head. He placed the clay bowl against his lips.
"You're safe, son. In the temple of Amun-Re at Fort Sekhmet. This is water. Drink it slow." He tipped the bowl forward and poured a little water onto Tjety's lips and into his mouth. Tjety coughed on the cool liquid, spilling some of it down his chin and onto the blanket covering his chest.
Herikhet eased off, but after another try got some of the water into Tjety.
Tjety licked his lips. "That's good. Thank you." He other eye creaked open and focused along with its twin on Herikhet's face.
"Who…?"
Herikhet leaned over and pulled his chair next to the cot. "I'm Herikhet, priest of this temple. I've been here maybe six months or so; come up from the temple in Nebwet."
Tjety leaned his head back on the pillow. "Nebwet? Damned long way to send you."
Herikhet shrugged. "I volunteered."
Tjety laughed, but the laugh soon turned into a cough. He licked his lips. "Got any more of that water?"
Herikhet nodded and refilled the bowl. "Of course." He helped Tjety drain the second bowl and then set the bowl on the floor next to the cot.
Tjety licked his lips again. "So…how am I not dead and walkin’ the Duat?"
Herikhet told him what little he knew. The wagon's mad rush toward the fort gates, the battle outside the fort, the destruction of those…things, and then the healing ritual and all the people who had helped him.
When Herikhet mentioned Ruia's part in the healing, Tjety reached out and grabbed his hand. "Ruia! Ruia…I think I saw her, but…I'm not sure. I think I was looking through a white haze or something."
Herikhet nodded. "She told me she saw you open your eyes, right near the end of the healing ritual. That gave her confidence that you were out of the worst of it, and then she passed out." He held up a hand when it was clear Tjety looked agitated. "No, no, she's all right. She was taken back to the senet house and put to bed. She'll be all right in the morning. Madame Teteri is taking good care of her."
Tjety eased down into the pillow again and used his good hand and arm to pull the blankets up over his chest. "That’s good to hear." After a quiet moment, he focused on Herikhet again, a flash of fire in his tired eyes.
"So tell me straight, Priest. Am I gonna lose this arm? It's all a mass of tingles and soreness and who knows what all. And I'm weaker than a sick dog."
Herikhet refilled the water bowl. "The weakness should pass in time. What's the last time you had a good meal?"
Tjety stared up at the ceiling for a long few moments, then shook his head. "Longer than I can remember."
Herikhet nodded and this time handed him the water bowl. Tjety pulled himself up onto one elbow and reached out with his wounded arm. With a shaking hand he raised the bowl to his lips and drank.
"Good food and lots of water will get your blood up and restore some of the strength you're missing. I'm sure you'll discover that your hekau is pretty well depleted too."
Tjety nodded as he drained the water bowl once again. "I can feel that. I must have fought right into unconsciousness."
Herikhet nodded. "I'll tell you true, Ranger. If I'd come up on you in the field, I'd have cut that arm off and you'd be an invalid for the rest of your life." He pointed a finger at him. "You're one tough son of a bitch, and you've got a fighting spirit in you. I like that."
Tjety snorted. "Thanks."
"No, really. I don't think you appreciate how close you were to walkin' the Duat. If you didn't have a friend in that girl, Ruia, and if you hadn't gotten to the fort when you did…I think you'd have died from that infection soon enough. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. My last wife maybe, but not my worst enemy."
Tjety chuckled and then handed him the water bowl before settling back into
the bed. "So…the arm. Am I gonna lose it?"
Herikhet shook his head. "No, may the mighty Amun-Re damn my eyes. No. You're gonna keep that arm." He rubbed a hand over his bald head, feeling the scratchiness from the day's growth. “It’s gonna be weak for a while, and you’ll probably never regain full strength with it.” He pointed at Tjety's other arm. "You any good with your off-arm?"
Tjety glanced down at his left arm. "Fair enough. Not as good as my right, but Rangers are trained to fight and shoot with both arms, presumably in cases like this."
Herikhet raised a finger, remembering something. "Speaking of Ranger training. You've got some pretty fine automatic shielding in there." He tapped his finger against his own forehead. "That something the Rangers are teaching their new recruits these days?"
Tjety nodded. "We got a specialist in hekau shielding a couple years back. I learned the basics but never did take the time to work hard on it."
He blinked tiredly at Herikhet, and then closed his eyes. "I'm having a hard time keeping awake, here."
"Not surprised, given what you've gone through the last few days." Herikhet stood up. "You need some rest. Work on that and I'll come back to you in the morning with something to eat. Maybe if you're feeling up to it, I can get you something a little stronger than water to drink too."
Tjety smiled and pulled the blanket up to his chin. "Much obliged, Priest."
Herikhet picked up the water bowl and placed it back on the table. "Any time, son." He considered asking Tjety just what in the good gods he was doing out here on the frontier, but no. Time enough for that. He headed for the entrance to the room.
Tjety called out, "Hey, wait!"
Herikhet paused. Tjety glanced around the room and then pointed at his gear. "I'm too tired to go into it now, but grab my satchel and take a look. We need to talk about what I found."
