Opener of the Sky

by Mary R Woldering

  Push on if you must

  Or stay

  Or go this way

  Either way leads to pain

  You see, I know what they sound like,

  Your little friends

  These voices in your crystal eye.

  The black-furred, hand-like paw touched her arm just before it faded into illusion.

  “MaMa!” Naibe cried, panting. “He’s finding us. Hide!” Naibe ran around the stone box. This time she grabbed Ari and hid in her cloaking arms. The women clung to each other, wide-eyed and silent. Before the shroud of silence covered them Ari saw the silhouette of a black wolf or dog, thin like smoke. In its place Ari thought she saw a gold armlet flashing in the slight available light of a distant torch.

  Oh. He’s here? She hardened her resolve, crouching and ready to fight.

  In the distance the women heard a faint scampering, snapping, growling and yodel-howling. Something was circling and finding the way.

  They’re coming Ari. Dogs. He has power over dogs. He’s sending dogs. Naibe grabbed Ariennu harder, as if it would help her gain more invisibility.

  I know Baby, I know… the elder woman listened silently for a long time as the sounds circled, grew louder, and finally paused outside the room where they hid. The sounds became confused, then footsteps followed.

  Maatkare stood in the doorway, golden wrist and arm bands glimmering in ambient torchlight. “I know what you tried to do,” he began to pace, trying to seem thoughtful. “Maybe I would have done the same thing too if I had been in your situation. But now you’ve caused a good man to die because you outwitted him with your little trick.” The sound of dogs growling grew louder. His thought voice growled too, half human, half dog as if he had become one of them. Easy brothers… he started, then spoke aloud. “Perhaps I should let them come at you. They are my trick, Red Sister. See if you like it.” Maatkare’s dark hand swept the air in front of him.

  Ari sensed an almost-whisper.

  Suddenly, black ravenous shadows emptied past him around his torso and over his shoulders; into the chamber pouncing, snarling and biting. Ariennu felt herself knocked back hard by the weight of several animals standing around and towering over her. She shrieked angrily, struggling against their weight. “Call them off! Damn you!” she swung, kicked, and shoved, but accomplished nothing.

  “You’re afraid… tsk, tsk… fearless Lady Ariennu… worried by some puppies.”

  “Am not… get them off me…”

  “About to soil yourself, you naughty ka’t” he chortled, toeing the threshold and gesturing. “Just a very small sample of what I can do, if you come to annoy me.”

  Puppies? Ari froze, her eyes clearing a little. The clawing and biting beasts had become gregarious, yipping puppies. They frolicked happily about her prone body then left, heading past the prince and out the doorway as they vanished. It had been a magnificent illusion. While Ariennu lay sprawled and gasping, the prince advanced and plucked Naibe from her hiding place behind the altar.

  “I knew you both might try to run the hour I touched dry land, so I tested you.” He pulled Naibe into his arms. She tried to fight but he kissed the stone in her brow, then traced his lips to her open mouth.

  “Don’t” Naibe whimpered a little, then relaxed in the prince’s grip as if the kiss had already cast a spell “There. That’s better, see…” Maatkare whispered, then turned his attention to Ariennu who was getting to her feet and smoothing her rumpled shift.

  “We don’t belong to you,” Ari addressed him. “You have Deka. Just let us go back to His Majesty.”

  “I see.” Maatkare countered. “So what you started in my grandfather’s plaza… the heated looks out of the side of your head at me while our Crown Prince embraced you… this has become something I should ignore? And at my farewell party, we hunted each other like lions mating. There was nothing to that?” he released Naibe’s chin and continued the lecture, airily lounging in the door frame. “Naughty creature. You suddenly realize your so-called ‘neter stone’ power, as the learned of Kemet would call it, has abandoned you, and now you try to leave me.” He stepped back to beckon some of his men who had come to assist him. “I praise your courage, though your attempt was not well planned. These men will take you and our young friend back to the boat. If there’s no more of this and you surrender yourself to me as the Lady Nefira Sekht has done, I promise you that you will see Our Father again in time… and perhaps you will even attend him again as his maids. Until that happens… just don’t be too proud.”

  CHAPTER 3: KHMENU

  After Sokor, more boats with troops and equipment joined the southbound fleet until the vessels numbered over forty. The fleet was composed of reed boats for shore excursions and light supplies. The rest of the boats were made of strapped wooden planks and were designed to carry troops, weapons and trade goods.

  At the first few stops, the prince asked for food to be brought to the women. As punishment for the escape attempt he had separated them on different boats, each under heavy guard. When the prince wanted to be entertained by one of the women, he sent his two personal guards in a straw boat to collect them for the evening. As long as their behavior was without incident, they were treated in kind. Life was almost agreeable.

  Whenever Ariennu was not chosen, she lay down to meditate on some sort of future. The Children of Stone seemed so broken from her life that she came to think of relying on them or any of her so-called “gifts” as folly itself. To be sure, she was glad of her ability to heal herself, her new talent of invisibility and farseeing flight, but none of it mattered. Somehow, between Marai’s death and the sorcery used by Great Hordjedtef and his grandson Maatkare, nothing seemed to work.

  What’s the use? Ariennu frequently asked herself. If I try to get my thoughts to speak to Deka or Naibe, I get the same thing each time. From Deka I get this sharp silence. From Naibe I get a deep and almost crazy hurt that makes me want to do stupid things to see that she isn’t lost to me. Then she would sadly admit: Ever since we tried to leave when we were at Sokor she’s gone half mad. No, she was headed that way from the hour we learned that Marai was dead... helpless and with mostly blown wits. I-I just can’t desert her like this.

  After two weeks of separation Prince Maatkare had loosened his restrictions. He allowed the women to move into a single cabin on one of the larger boats. By the end of the third week of the journey south, the fleet drew within a day of Khmenu.

  Ariennu noticed that Naibe barely contained herself. She knew Wserkaf was on duty at the Greater Temple of Djehuti at this sepat and silently warned the young woman: I don’t know what you’re up to, but you’d better not get Highness’ attention or he’ll figure on some kind of ‘fix’ for you.

  That ‘fix’ always turned out to be sex, but only as a release after he had toyed with them as if they were prisoners. Maatkare would drain Naibe’s spirit. With Ariennu, he employed prisoner and torture games. Fix their attitude or teach them what disobedience or disrespect caused. He didn’t kill anyone else as an example, the way he had executed the elder guard, but he zealously worked to break their spirits and to domesticate them.

  All afternoon Naibe and Deka had been sorting dried herbs into gift bundles for the officials the prince might visit. The task was familiar. They prepared them just the way they had made them a lifetime ago, when they had been with Marai. The difference was that he would come aboard from time to time, look at the bundles, curse the women’s carelessness and shred them, tossing the remnants about the sunny deck and slapping any of them who objected. Deka would nod and politely begin to pick up the uneven shards. Ariennu would snarl that there was nothing at all wrong… and how dare he, and Naibe would simply dissolve into childish tears which usually resulted in him choosing her for the evening.

  “You heard where we are?” Naibe gestured to Ari that they should speak silently and quickly because she saw the men bringing the Ta-Seti woman in another boat. “It’s Khmenu. Wseriri…”

 
; Ari wasn’t paying attention to her. “Don’t start that now. If Menkaure couldn’t send anyone, what makes you even dream that Wserkaf would or could get us. Have your spirits changed thoughts?”

  “He’d get me…” Naibe insisted.

  Ari shook her head.

  Be at peace as one life ends

  Another begins.

  Profound truths await the patient ones

  Lost in time and place.

  The Children’s quiet voices whispered as a kind of greeting to both women once they stood together in the cabin.

  “You said that before,” Ari’s breath rushed out to the Child Stone in a sigh. “Do you have anything new?”

  “They say the same thing to me, Ari.” Naibe’s expression calmed. “Things have changed though. I’m still going to send word to Wseriri. I know his thoughts will be open to the sky and the pulse of earth at this time, and he won’t be protected from us while he’s on duty. Highness has let us come ashore the past three evenings for supper invitations. I’ll just…”

  Wait. Quiet your thoughts. Deka is coming. Ari jabbed Naibe in the arm and motioned for her to go back out to greet the other woman. The moment they emerged from the cabin, Ariennu caught a glimpse of Maatkare’s jewelry glinting on his folded arms in the late afternoon sun. Damn. What’s this now? Come to see Deka aboard instead of sending her with guards? Something’s up.

  Ari and Naibe bent to assist their former companion as the prince boosted her up into their grasp. He stood for a moment looking half astonished and half annoyed at the three women standing in a respectful row on the narrow deck of their boat. A crafty smile slowly etched his lips. Ariennu saw his gaze fix on her for a moment.

  Hmph. She scoffed silently. What does he want? Then she asked demurely, pretending to avert her eyes. “Shall we ready ourselves for the evening, Your Highness?”

  “No.” his crisp answer seemed almost too well thought out. “This is the place of Djehut, where Count Hordjedtef has rule and my tender-hearted cousin Wserkaf seeks wisdom through his duty while his senior attends Our Majesty down the river.” His eyes dropped for a moment.

  Ariennu sensed Naibe’s breathing begin to come in short panicked gasps as she realized her thoughts had been read, interpreted, and instantly dashed. Ari hoped the young woman wouldn’t scream, but knew she couldn’t move to comfort her. He would pretend to see it as an alliance and a reason. She wasn’t afraid of the prince, but she didn’t want to give him an excuse to provoke Naibe’s hysteria even further.

  He grabbed the lead and tie down ropes between the vessels and swung up to the flat wooden deck as blithely as an acrobat. In the next moment he seized Naibe’s hand.

  “No. Don’t touch me!” she snarled, pulling away with such a force that she scratched his hand.

  “Ooo… little Sekht,” he grabbed her forward, licked the blood from his hand, then bent to her so his lips whispered to her stone. “Eeeen-djoad, eeeen Tah-ackhgor, eeen nauuuu…”

  The lightning whistled through Ari’s stone. She and Deka winced, gasped, and crouched, holding their ears at the high pitched squeal in their heads. Naibe froze in place, tears streaming down her cheeks. Maatkare moved in toward the youngest woman, licked her tears mingled with the blood from his scratch, then kissed her almost gently, whispering:

  “You must think I’m such a fool that I wouldn’t even know how to gird myself. I know you would leap at the first chance to run for shelter in a temple again, perhaps to find your doting Prince Wserkaf… perhaps to bear to him the tale of your capture.” His voice slithered and his eyes turned a glimmering wolfish yellow.

  “I’ve decided Khmenu isn’t a needed stop and have sent my words with a man.” He looked over his left shoulder to see if he could catch a glimpse of men rowing to the shore with the sealed messages from King Menkaure and from his grandfather Hordjedtef.

  “The priests’ll have something sent back… good beer and roast meats for all before we push on. This is a sanctuary of peace and we are warriors. We have no purpose here except to quell any revolt in the surrounding area that has come up. And just in case you didn’t notice it, I never planned a stop. I’m well aware who is here for at least another week or two.

  He turned to Naibe again, pressing her and stroking her mound gently through her kala until a damp spot formed. “You really should stop this nonsense. Your Shinar sorcery doesn’t work on me, and I know your stone’s control word with or without the use of the hand strap. Except for your pretty eyes and the tight comfort of your sweet young clench, you are useless to me,” he released her and she stumbled.

  Ariennu stared at Deka, who had turned her head away.

  Don’t you look away from me! This is your doing, Ari’s thoughts snarled.

  Maatkare touched Ariennu’s arm. “You tonight, however,” he stepped back.

  “Wha?” Ari’s jaw dropped.

  “I’m going to teach you manners for putting thoughts in her heart.”

  “But I…” Ariennu was about to say she had done nothing of the sort, but the word: “Really?” escaped her lips. “The ladder, again? Oh, I will fight you. I’m in no mood for your stupid prisoner games,” she snarled.

  He shrugged, turned to hop down to the straw transport scow, then beckoned to the men on the women’s boat and watched them snap to attention.

  “I have five fingers. I’ll tuck them down one at a time, and then if you’re not on this boat I’ll give you a pain. While you fight, it my guards will come to get you and strap you down properly; tightly this time, not playful like before. I’ll reward them with you when I’ve finished with you.”

  Ariennu shuddered. “Bring them on then. I don’t care.” He won’t shame me, she thought to herself. When I was young, I could go some rounds with quite a number of them before I got tired. “Only two?” she spat, drawing herself taller.

  Maatkare’s smile grew sly as it crept out of one side of him mouth. “Brag about it, then, ka’t. We’ll see.”

  Go MaMa. Just go. Naibe’s thoughts whispered gently. We’ll be alright.

  Prince Maatkare’s fingers were already starting to count. Ari turned, glaring at the prince. “Your servant… comes.” she airlessly mocked and moved to the edge of the deck to descend over the side. Somewhere in the distance she was aware of a catcall, and one of the men whistling.

  Deka said once that we should fly away in bad times. I never wanted to do that. Me. Wise MaMa Ari. I’ve always been the one who’s in for the fun, excitement, men, strong drink, and the good times. This with you, Maatkare, is just different. It’s not about pleasure any more, it’s about breaking a woman down… owning and devouring. You’re just… mean and low; full of making me be that way too, Ariennu groaned a little, hoping he had listened to every word of her thoughts.

  “Mean? You of all of my pets know why I must be,” he walked slowly around her, examining his men’s work in tying her. “I’d like you to talk with your voice, but I had to gag you until sweet words came forth... those that beg for my kindness.” Prince Maatkare hovered at Ari’s left shoulder for a moment. He waved a warm and meaty joint of beef in front of her. It was so juicy that the grease ran down his forearm when he took a bite and began to gnaw it. The smell intoxicated her to the point of drooling past the gag. She had eaten a light meal in the morning and had been about to forage for some dates to whet her appetite before the prince had come to the boat. When he took her, he had her bound quickly without letting her eat or drink anything.

  Prisoner game. And me so excited at first I didn’t think of food. Been too long now. Thirsty. She sucked on the cloth rag a little. Before, when it was a game… her thoughts wandered badly. The boat had a lower cabin set below the deck. In it was a temporary cage for prisoners. His two personal guards sat at the top step to the deck, guarding. You bring your men prisoners in this hold, too? She tittered wickedly. Bung them?

  The prince sighed, entertained at her words, but insulted.

  She felt his knee butt the back of her l
eg, then noticed it had grown numb.

  Ari knew Maatkare’s eyes followed the line of her arms. He had ordered them bound high and fastened to a horizontal bar slightly higher than her head. Another bar was woven in front of her arms but behind her neck. A third dug into her chest just below her naked breasts so that every time she tried to take a deep breath she thought her ribs would crack. Her forced, shallow breathing alone made her feel hot and dizzy. When that sensation combined with her hunger and thirst, she felt nauseous and faint. The next bar crossed her belly and was tied to another bar crossing her back. Another pair of bars secured her thighs, front and back. The last two bars braced her legs apart at the knees and wider apart at the ankles. Rope bound her to all of the intervals where flesh, wood, and uprights met. She wasn’t sure, and at that point didn’t care, how everything was fixed so it was actually part of the cage.

  The first time he had placed her in what he called the ladder, it had been an exciting and intense sexual session. The prince had teased, tormented, and joked with her, always stopping short of allowing her release. He would slap her rump, whisper filth, and send even nastier thought and images through her Child Stone until her skin echoed it before allowing her relief from an evening of built up frustration. No thought or words could express the experience. Disgusting. Good. Incredible. Goddess, my insides are screaming… she shook her head wondering how this could get more intense. How is he…? I’m hurting damn you…

  Tonight, the binding was too tight on purpose. She was hot, tired, thirsty, and on the verge of losing consciousness. This wasn’t erotic at all; it was painful.

  I’m thirsty. Get bored with your game and get inside me to take it, Highness. You know you want it. Her thoughts projected.

  “No. Not just yet. Oh you heat me well enough, Red Sister… but not quite enough. I need you to say you truly serve me. You know that,” his husky whisper almost soothed her. She didn’t see him gesture to the guards, but assumed he had given them some kind of signal. They had been seated just out of sight, but when she bent her head back as far as she could, she saw they flanked him. He unfastened the rear door of the cage and allowed them to enter.