“Ready?” I whispered.
Heads nodded.
I couldn’t risk the guards at the door recognizing me. All of them were quite familiar with the royal family. So we broke into two groups, Iry and I in one, my relatives and the fish in the other. The first part of the plan depended entirely on them. Iry and I made a wide detour, then slipped unobtrusively into the shadows at the rear of the per’aa. We moved stealthily along its side towards its entrance. I kept my head down and face averted. We positioned ourselves around a corner of the building, a few paces from the door.
Bebi and the rest approached with the fish.
“Delivery for His Majesty,” Bebi cheerfully told the two guards at the door. “Biggest perch we’ve caught in a month. Fresh a couple of hours ago.”
“Go on inside.”
A moment later I heard brief muted cries. Not long after that Bebi whistled softly. Iry and I dashed around the corner and into the per’aa. The torch was guttering on the corridor floor, next to the perch and two guards lying in a pool of blood, their throats cut. Huni stamped out the torch, then picked up a dead guard’s lance and exited the per’aa and stationed himself in front of it as if he was on duty. Hor and Parahotep also took up lances and joined Huni. In the darkness, from a distance, no passerby would be able to tell the three from real guards.
Luckily, the corridor ahead of us, lit with bowls of oil on wood stands at regular intervals, was deserted. We hurried towards Sabu’s room at the very end of the corridor, the last door on the right, single file behind Bebi. Everyone had a flint knife in hand. Including me. We blew out each light we passed, plunging the corridor behind us into darkness. We stopped beside the last door.
“Sabu’s room,” I whispered to Iry. My heart was pounding and I was sweating. I moved my knife to my right hand, wiped my left palm on my skirt. This was it. I was either going to kill Sabu or die trying. I gently pushed his door open just wide enough for Iry and me to slip inside. Iry left it slightly ajar behind us.
A bit of moonlight spilled through a single window high up. By it I could see two shapes in bed. A complication. Sabu wasn’t alone. I should’ve accounted for that. Either his wife Heket or Pentu’s daughter Nofret was with him. Impossible to tell. If we were caught she’d be accused of helping us and she’d be executed. Her death would be on me. Too late to do anything about it now. I motioned to Iry to silence the woman, then moved as stealthily as possible to the side of the bed where the larger shape lay, my knife in my left hand, ready. Iry crept to the opposite side. Sabu was on his back, lightly snoring. Slowly, I lifted a corner of the linen sheet and climbed into bed, stretching out on my right side next to Sabu.
He stirred. “It’s Nofret’s night, Heket,” he said groggily. “But you’re welcome to stay.”
I pressed the blade of my knife against his throat. “I’m not staying.”
He was instantly alert. “Matia!” He tried to rise.
I pressed the knife harder. “Don’t try me.”
He fell back.
Nofret bolted awake. Iry clamped his right hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. He pinned her body down with his. She thrashed, frantic, tried to twist free.
“Not a word, Sabu!” I hissed. “Or I’ll cut your throat.”
“Talk to her!” Iry said in a low voice.
“It’s me, Nofret. Matia. Along with Iry. We’re going to save you from this monster. Iry’s going to release you now. Don’t cry out.”
I saw her head nod in the dark.
Iry removed his hand from her mouth and rolled off her.
“Thank the gods, Matia!” Nofret whispered, sitting up.
“Get dressed,” I told her.
While Nofret searched the floor for her linen skirt, Iry moved to my side of the bed. He placed the tip of his knife against Sabu’s belly.
“You remember Scorpion’s son, Iry.”
“You murdered my wife, Sabu. You’re a dead man,” Iry hissed. “Slit his throat, Matia. Hurry! Give him the death he deserves.”
A frightened moan escaped Sabu’s lips.
I gripped my knife harder, positioned it to pull across his throat. I’d waited eight years to kill Sabu, to gloat as the life died in his eyes. I’d waited eight years to savor this moment. But this wasn’t at all how I’d pictured it. I’d pictured Sabu being publicly executed in front of the thousands he’d wronged. I’d pictured his abject humiliation. I’d pictured him begging for mercy. I’d pictured him cowering in terror, waiting for his executioner to smash a mace into the side of his head. This – being killed in his bed, in the dark, in secret, was too easy an end for Sabu. It was too quick, too private. This wasn’t the death he deserved. He deserved to suffer far more than he was going to if I slit his throat right now. I couldn’t do it.
“No. Let’s take him to Scorpion instead, Iry.”
“Kidnap him? You’re crazy, Matia.”
“Sabu doesn’t deserve an easy death. Besides, you said you wanted me to hand you Scorpion’s mace so you could kill him, Iry. Remember? If we sneak him out of Nubt you can.”
“It’s too risky, Matia. We came here to kill him. Let’s get it over with.”
“Of course it’s risky. But worth it if we succeed, don’t you think? We can kill him in the street if we have to. One way or another, Sabu’s going to die. I’d rather make him suffer first.”
Iry pondered a moment. “We’ll give it a try, Matia. But at the first sign of trouble I’m going to knife him.”
“Understood. Roll onto your stomach, Sabu,” I ordered.
“One false move and I’ll gut you,” Iry snarled. He prodded Sabu with his knife.
Sabu rolled away from me, to the middle of the bed.
“Get me something to gag him with, Nofret,” I ordered.
A moment later she handed me a bit of linen. I shoved it into his mouth.
“You should tie him,” Nofret said. She started tearing the sheet into strips.
While I held my knife against the back of Sabu’s neck, Iry pulled Sabu’s wrists behind him and tightly bound them. Once he was secure, Iry yanked Sabu off the bed and onto his feet. He was naked. A little extra humiliation for him to endure. I tied a strip of linen around his mouth to keep the gag in place. Then I crept to the door and opened it slightly.
Bebi was outside, nervous.
“Change of plan. We’re going to smuggle Sabu out of Nubt,” I whispered.
Bebi shook his head in disbelief but didn’t argue. “The corridor’s clear.”
We moved into the corridor – Sabu, Iry with the point of his knife pressed into Sabu’s back, Nofret, me. Bebi’s brothers were stationed at intervals in the corridor, dark shapes against the wall. They joined us as we reached them, one ahead, one behind, both surprised to see Sabu with us. We hurried to the per’aa’s entrance. The cousins were still standing guard outside. I nearly stumbled over the perch, then one of the bodies.
“We can’t leave such obvious evidence out in the open, Iry, now that we’re kidnappers,” I warned. “Someone will see and raise the alarm.”
“Matia, Nofret – stay here and watch Sabu. The rest of us will carry the fish and guards to Sabu’s room and shut them inside. That should buy us a few hours before they’re discovered.”
Iry ungently shoved Sabu against the wall. I moved next to him and pressed the blade of my knife against his throat again. Nofret pressed the point of another just below his belly button.
The men staggered into the darkness with their burdens.
“I’m going to watch you die, Sabu,” I whispered, my lips close to his ear. “I saw you murder Hetshet. I saw you gloat when Baki murdered Father. I saw you murder Baki. I saw you falsely accuse Pentu and execute him. You bragged about murdering my son. You made my relatives fishermen. You gave my cousin Henuttawy to Abedu. You ordered your man to attack Heria. You abused and demeaned Nofret, over and over.”
Nofret jabbed her knife into Sabu’s flesh and he grunted. Blood trickled.
“You humiliated me. You ordered your spy to assassinate me. Instead, he murdered Iry’s wife, a woman beloved in Tjeni. A mother with two young girls.” I pressed my knife harder. “You’re a vindictive ruthless petty excuse for a man. You’re finally going to pay for everything you’ve done. Iry’s going to execute you in front of everyone in Nubt. I’m going to hand him the mace. I’m going to watch him smash your skull.” I pulled the knife sideways, just enough to draw blood.
He grunted again.
“After you’re dead I’m going to burn your body. Nofret and I are going to toss your ashes into the wind. They’ll mix with the dust. And you’ll be gone, just like that, erased from memory in this world and the next.” I laughed.
Nofret jabbed again.
Sabu’s grunt was louder.
The men returned. We couldn’t do anything about the blood in the corridor except hope no one noticed until the sun rose. We exited the per’aa and rejoined Bebi’s cousins. The streets were fairly deserted. We cautiously retraced our steps through the settlement, keeping to the shadows near the sides of huts, Bebi’s cousins with lances in hand, the rest of the men with knives, Sabu in our midst struggling to escape. In a few minutes we neared the gate, well-lit by torches flickering on either side. Four guards were stationed there, two on a side. We drew up in deep shadow beside a nearby hut.
“Now what?” Hor whispered. “We came in with a fish, not a bound prisoner.”
“We have the numbers,” Parahotep said. “Seven men against their four.” He gazed at Iry. “Time to fight?”
Iry nodded grimly. “Remember our plan. All of you protect Matia. I’ll make sure Sabu dies if we don’t make it past the gate.” He scanned the group. “Everybody ready?”
This wasn’t at all what I wanted – a noisy fight in Nubt’s main street. We’d attract attention. More guards would rush to the gate. We’d be outnumbered. My cousins would be killed or, worse, captured and executed. Sabu might escape. I was so close to getting my revenge. I wasn’t about to fail now. All at once, a way to salvage the situation came to me. Desperate, but possible. “Wait,” I whispered. “No time to explain. Trust me. Iry, Parahotep, stay with me. Keep hold of Sabu. The rest of you go through the gate two at a time, at intervals. Rendezvous in the grove of palms near the quays.”
Huni and Hor tossed aside the guards’ lances and strode to the gate and passed through nonchalantly. Buneb and Ankhaf followed a minute later. Then Bebi and Nofret.
“Our turn. Follow my lead.”
Iry and Parahotep each took Sabu by an arm. We stepped from the darkness into the street and moved towards the gate. Sabu was struggling mightily, trying to twist free, his cries muffled by his gag. Iry and Parahotep were practically dragging him, raising dust. The guards spotted us. We drew closer to the gate. The guards were becoming interested.
A few paces from the gate I turned around and started walking backwards, facing Sabu, shaking my fist at him. “What a miserable useless excuse for a husband!” I lectured loudly. “Bad enough to find you carousing naked with that woman! Then you resisted my brothers when we came to bring you home. We had to tie you up! And gag you to keep you from waking half of Nubt! And now we’re having to drag you home because you refuse to walk on your own! Will you never stop shaming me?”
We’d reached the gate. I stopped dead in my tracks, turned and faced the guards, stroked my belly. “And me in my condition! Can you believe it?”
All four guards laughed. I spun around and Iry and Parahotep followed me through the gate and into the darkness beyond the walls.
“Magnificent!” Iry exclaimed in a low voice when we were beyond hearing.
Ten minutes later we reached our meeting place. Bebi and the rest of my relatives and Harwa and Khentetka were anxiously waiting for us.
“We did it!” I exulted. I hadn’t felt this happy since the day I’d given birth to Pabasa.
“We should kill Sabu right now and be done with it,” Bebi said darkly. “He’s brought so much pain to Nubt. And my family.”
“He belongs to Father now,” Iry said firmly.
“Sabu will be executed as soon as Nubt surrenders. You’ll all watch from close up,” I promised cheerfully.
“That’ll have to do,” Hor muttered.
“My wife was murdered thanks to Sabu,” Iry said. “I’m deeply grateful to all of you for bringing him to justice. Rest assured, my father will know the roles each of you played tonight. He’ll honor you for what you’ve done for the rest of your lives.”
“Thank you, Majesty,” Bebi said, bowing.
“You should all go home now,” I said. “Iry and Harwa and Khentetka and I will get Sabu to Harwa’s farm. Nofret, come with us. We’ll keep you safe.”
“We can’t go home,” Bebi said. “Sabu’s guards will make a beeline for us when they discover the fish. Who could it be but us? We need to take our wives and children and run.”
A few muttered assents.
I thought for a moment. “No one will discover the fish or guards until servants go to wake Sabu at dawn. That gives us a few hours to divert attention away from you. As soon as you get back to your huts wake the other fishermen, Bebi. The rest of you help him. Be furious. Accuse them of taking your giant perch to get back at you because you used to be elites. Make everyone believe it was stolen. Once the fishermen are riled up and denying your accusations, go to Nubt. Tell the guards at the gate you were robbed. They’re not the same guards who saw us carry the perch in. Later, when per’aa guards find the fish and bodies, they’ll assume the kidnappers stole the fish and used it to gain access to the per’aa, like we actually did. They won’t come looking for you.”
We parted then, with more thanks. Half an hour later Iry pushed Sabu to the ground inside Harwa’s hut. I watched, gloating, as Iry tied Sabu’s ankles together so he couldn’t walk, then tied more strips of linen around his arms. Meanwhile, Khentetka rummaged for food and drink in her jars and containers, then carried the provisions outside with Nofret’s help. Sabu secure, we all departed the hut, leaving him bound and gagged and furiously fighting to free himself. Harwa lit a fire and we all clustered around it. Khentetka laid out food and drink and we descended upon it, ravenous, jubilant.
“We’ll put the signal in place at first light,” Iry said. “A length of linen tied to a palm tree, visible from the river. Father will be here in a day or so if he’s on schedule.”
“He’ll be surprised when he sees Sabu, more or less alive,” I said.
“Nubt’s certain to surrender now,” Iry said with satisfaction.
“We’ll put Sabu on board Scorpion’s boat and continue to Nubt and liberate my settlement,” I said.
Harwa rose. “I’ll go up the riverbank half a mile and keep watch. If anyone from Nubt comes looking for Sabu I’ll warn you.”
“We’ll take turns watching here,” Iry said. “At least one of us will remain awake and armed at all times. If men come to rescue Sabu, whoever’s on guard must slit his throat. We can’t let him escape justice.”
***
Nofret entered the hut with me after Iry finished his watch and woke us. It was a little before dawn. He stretched out on a pallet next to the fire that had burned to coals to get some sleep. Khentetka was with Harwa, helping him keep an eye on the path from Nubt. I wasn’t expecting any trouble yet; with luck, no one would enter Sabu’s room for another hour and discover him missing.
I lit a bowl of oil. Sabu was lying on his side in the center of the hut, still tied and gagged, furious. Lines of blood had dried on his throat and stomach. His hands and feet were swollen and blue from the tightness of his bonds. His comfort wasn’t my concern; his ability to escape was. I set the bowl on the ground, close to his face so I could see him clearly. I drew a knife from a sheath at my waist and tested the blade with my fingertip. I didn’t plan to use it; I simply wanted Sabu to think I would. Sabu’s breathing quickened noticeably. He struggled impotently against his bonds – though not as hard as he had earli
er. He was growing weaker.
Nofret and I sat down side by side. We held hands, drawing strength from each other. We stared at Sabu.
He glared back.
I’d waited so many years, worked so hard, endured so much to defeat Sabu. I finally had. He was helpless and doomed, writhing in front of me on the dirt floor of a farmer’s hut. I’d given up hope I’d bring him to justice after he’d murdered Pentu and pressed me into his service. But then he’d given me to Ny-Hor and unknowingly sealed his fate. I’d escaped to Tjeni and unleashed forces he couldn’t withstand. Sabu should’ve executed me when he murdered my husband and son. But he’d been arrogant and merciless. He’d set out to break me, to grind me into the dirt. He’d turned me into his personal trophy, a prize he could parade around and humiliate and abuse, over and over. His arrogance had been his undoing.
“In case you believe someone’s going to rescue you, they’re not,” I told Sabu. “I forced Ny-Hor to back out of your alliance. His daughter Satiah is now the wife and hostage of Scorpion’s son Lagus. Khab’s abandoned you too. His son Kama’s married to Scorpion’s daughter Weret. He’s husband and hostage in Scorpion’s court. Your sister Nebetah’s Scorpion’s hostage too. Your only friend is Abedu – and he’s no friend.”
Sabu didn’t take the news well.
After a while I began to chant – “Hetshet, Ika, Pentu, Pabasa, Tamit, Heria, Nofret, Heket, Matia; Hetshet, Ika, Pentu, Pabasa, Tamit, Heria, Nofret, Heket, Matia” – over and over. After a few minutes Nofret joined in. Sabu squirmed. We continued to chant. I wanted Sabu to remember the names of the people he’d killed and harmed, wanted those names to burrow deep into the recesses of his mind where he wouldn’t be able to drive them out. I wanted those names echoing up to the very moment Iry swung a mace against the side of his head.
I finally stopped. My throat dry, I took a long drink of beer. So did Nofret. I held the jar up.
House of Scorpion Page 47
