That God Won't Hunt (2 page)

She sent up a silent prayer to Meresger for having at least one true friend as she settled into her bed on her first night back at Menfi. She did not trust the vizier, or his Seth priest, or any servants but the two maids she’d brought with her. She thought that the queen mother had sent for her for good motives, but Ipuit knew that the favor of royalty was a chancy thing. If she did not bring about the results Ankhnes-Mery-Re wanted, then the queen mother would discard her in favor of a new tool to do her bidding. Ipuit did not resent Ankhnes-Mery-Re in any way. She was the daughter of a pharaoh herself; she knew how royal games were played. She also believed Ankhnes-Mery-Re believed it was the good of the two lands and her son’s best interests that were at stake in this game with the vizier. Ipuit would do what she could to help.

But what was she to do? She fell asleep pondering that question.

She did not think it was much later when the dog’s wet nose pressed against her cheek woke her. She blinked a few times, then turned her head to look at the dog. The small lamps of her shrine gave enough light for Ipuit to see that Nebshedd had something in his mouth.

“What have you got?” she asked as she sat up.

When he dropped the dead asp in her lap she wished she hadn’t asked.

“Ah.”

She sighed, and examined the corpse of the deadly creature carefully, holding it up with one hand while she rubbed Nebshedd’s ears and head with the other. She wondered which of the servants had left the snake in her room. The one who had protested the most about the dog, she supposed. What to do? To make a fuss about an assassination attempt would make her seem weak in her enemies’ eyes, while to act as if nothing had occurred might make her seem enigmatic and mysterious. That she was shaking like an acacia in a windstorm right now was something no one but she and the dog need ever know.

She calmed down when Nebshedd whined a little and licked her hand. “Good dog,” she said.
You saved my life,
she thought, and wondered what sort of reward she could give a creature who already wore a gold collar and was the pampered pet of pharaoh. Because he was a dog, she did what dogs love best: she patted him and praised him and scratched his belly for a while.

When she was done petting Nebshedd, Ipuit took the dead snake outside and tossed the body into a patch of flowers. Then she looked up at the moon, shining round and full tonight, the finest jewel in the garb of the goddess of the night. She closed her eyes and lost herself for a few moments in prayers of thanks to the Lover of Silence and the goddess with a thousand souls. She was still caught in the rapture of worship when she stepped back into her bedroom. At first, all she heard was a fluttering in the darkness, like the sound of a bat or a bird trapped up near the ceiling. The sound drew her rather than sparking any fear of another attack. The dog was not barking. In fact, but for the fluttering of small wings there was a deep, intense silence about the room. Ipuit stepped from the verandah into total darkness. No moonlight entered through the door or windows. There was no tiny flicker of flames from the lamps in the shrine. Darkness, deep, thick, and swirling with the manifestation of deep mystery. Magic had entered this room where a short time before death had been unloosed to strike at her.

Ipuit stood very still, set her body aside, and looked upon the room with eyes trained to see beyond the physical world. Once she drew upon her own magical senses the chamber became as clear to her as if it was midday in the desert. Nebshedd stood quivering in the center of the room, his keen sight hound’s eyes fixed upon the thing that fluttered a few feet above his sharply pointed ears. She became aware of the dog’s yearning, and a hunger beyond the physical. There was loneliness, confusion, and even hope emanating from the animal as well. Ipuit’s magical self did not doubt that the animal experienced such complex emotions, for she saw them, flowing around the creature like multi-colored mists.

When she turned her gaze up to where the dog was staring she immediately recognized what the dog was staring at. It was not a bird, or a bat. The delicate creature with the head of a human and the body of a bright-colored bird was a
ba,
one part of a human soul, though who it belonged to and what it was doing here she could not at first fathom. The
ka
was the strongest part of the soul, the essence of all a person was; it resided in the body and in the spirit world. The
ba
was the
ka
’s messenger and servant. The two blended spirits made up the essence of a complete soul. The
ba
could not survive without the
ka,
but it was known that
ba
spirits could become lost and be led astray.

Poor little spirit
, she thought. What was it doing here? And what did it have to do with one of pharaoh’s hunting dogs?
Poor Nebshedd
, she thought,
to be haunted by a
ba
when you should be chasing hares or sleeping on the end of the bed.

Then she suddenly understood exactly what it all meant. Ipuit did not know if the knowledge that came to her in a flash of clarity was a gift of the goddess, or if it was simply the only possible explanation. To do such a thing to any soul was a heinous crime, but to do it to Pharaoh—it went beyond crime to the deepest type of sin. It was blasphemy and heresy and wickedness so vile only the priest of Seth the god of chaos could possibly have contemplated it. Even to think of what had been done made Ipuit feel unclean and tainted.

But what was to be done? What needed to be done? Justice needed to be done, of course. And she was the priestess of Meresger, the savage lioness who pursued evildoers until they were brought to justice. Ipuit felt as much compassion for Nebshedd as she did for Pepi. She would do what she could for both of them.

The
ba
still fluttered above Nebshedd’s head. Ipuit debated whether she should try to capture the tiny piece of fractured soul, then decided on a different course, for capturing the fragile
ba
might destroy rather than save it. Instead, she grabbed Nebshedd by the collar and forced the reluctant hound away from the little soul bird. She took the dog with her to the shrine, and made it sit while she knelt before the small gold statue of her goddess.

With her eyes closed, one hand on the dog and the other held out in supplication to Meresger, Ipuit said a prayer for protection, then opened herself further to danger. She sent her own
ba
and
ka
, twined together as they should be in a living soul, out of her body and into the world beside the world where spells were given form and sent to bring mischief or healing to the living world. With her she took the spirit image of Nebshedd, the lean red sight hound, and for a dog she’d been told did not like to hunt, he was quick to find the dark trail she looked for.

All magic leaves a path back to its source. With Nebshedd leading the way, this one was easy to follow. She was not surprised to find the priest of Seth as the source of the evil. He was surprised to find her in the place of his abomination, and this surprise gave her an advantage in the battle they waged for the soul of the pharaoh. She had another advantage as well. For though darkness mixed with blinding light disoriented her, and pain and confusion tore at her mind, Ipuit was certain she caught the occasional glimpse of Nebshedd darting in to bite the Seth priest whenever and wherever he could.

You’re a good dog,
she thought, but it was the last thought she had before she gathered all her strength to drive one last blast of magic at her enemy’s defenses. Once that spell was cast, Ipuit became aware of nothing else, not even the darkness.

##

“Are you awake, my princess?”

The voice was familiar, but Ipuit could not place it just yet. Was she awake? “I am not sure.” The words issued from such a dry throat that Ipuit was not sure the voice was hers. She was not sure where she was, and that was most disconcerting. “Have I been ill?”

“Very. But all is well with all three of us now.”

The voice was male, young and confident. It didn’t belong to any priest she knew. Where had she heard—?

“Pepi!”

She sat up, even before her eyes were open, trying to find a way to bow in bed. Hands gently grasped her shoulders and kept her from falling to the floor.

“Easy,” Pharaoh said. “You’ve been asleep for days, and you’re weak. Don’t fuss. Let me help you. I’ve had to chase out my mother, and every servant and priestess in the palace, to claim the privilege of taking care of you.”

“You came back from hunting!” Excited as she was, the words came out as a faint whisper.

He laughed. “Of course. My place is here, ruling the two lands. Here I will stay. And in bed is where you will stay until you are well enough for the wedding feast. Then we will stay in bed together, but we will talk about that when you are better.”

Ipuit smiled at his words, and was glad of his aid in helping her to lie down again. Once he had helped settle her back on the bed, Ipuit stared wide-eyed at the pharaoh. He smiled at her regard, young and handsome, and quite self-possessed. They were alone in her bedchamber, and Pepi was seated near her on the bed. There was something very familiar about the look in his eyes, but she was used to seeing that enthusiastic intelligence shining out of the hunting hound’s far-seeing eyes. Now, she thought, Pepi’s
ka
was back where it belonged.

“Yes,” he said after she had studied him for a while. He pointed to himself. “I am all here.” Then he pointed to the dog. “And Nebshedd is here,” he added, patting the dog that sat close to him, leaning against Pepi’s thigh. “We were both very confused for a while.”

Ipuit was very curious. She was also very weak, yet she felt a bone-deep satisfaction. She knew that the goddess had worked through her to break the curse. “How did it happen?” she whispered. “How did the Seth priest—?”

“How did his evil magic trap a god in the body of a dog?” Pepi shook his head in disgust. “I do not know, but I will learn. Perhaps my excuse is that I am a young god, and my uncle did not allow me to learn all that I should have during his regency. With your help, royal wife, I will learn the magic a pharaoh needs to know. But that is for the future. What I remember before the curse struck me was that my uncle presented me with the gift of a litter of the finest red hunting hounds. Even as a pup Nebshedd was the most beautiful. I remember picking him up and making a fuss over him. Then I grew dizzy and the world became dark. The next thing I knew I was in a kennel with the rest of the pups and I knew that somehow this was all wrong.”

“You knew you were Pepi?”

He gestured. “Sometimes. Mostly I was aware of scents and sounds, and all the things dogs are aware of. I remember being sad when I heard my mother cry. I remember whimpering and whining and scratching at her door once, but the kennel master wouldn’t let me get to her. I was part of the pack, but not part of it. When Nebshedd wore my body he was as confused as I was, but the vizier and his Seth priest kept him under control. They let him hunt with the pack, which was true to his dog self, while I roamed the palace knowing that was where I belonged. Sometimes I would hear my
ba
trying to reach me, but my dog self did not understand it was trying to draw me home.” He shook his head. “It was all very confusing until you came back.” He took her hands in his. “I knew you.” He bent to sniff her palm, and licked it. “You smelled and tasted right. I knew you would help me.” He lifted his head and looked her into her eyes. “And you did.”

“How—how?” She wished she could concentrate more, and that her dry throat did not make it so hard to speak. “When the spell was broken—how did it—how did you feel? What did you do?”

“I woke from a dream I knew had been real. One moment I was contentedly asleep under the desert stars surrounded by my hunting pack. The next I was on my feet and shouting for my guards and my chariot, and for my traitorous uncle and the priest to be brought before me. The priest I had executed, and my uncle will live out his life exiled on one of his estates. Then I rushed back to Menfi to take up my life and duties.” He brushed fingers across her forehead. “Mostly I rushed home to be with you. My
ka
remembered being with you, and what you had done to save me. I feared you might have died when you broke the spell.”

She was gratified at his concern, but shocked at what she had heard. “The vizier was only exiled? For such a crime?” She was too tired to properly show her outrage.

“Officially, he has retired from public life for the sake of his health.” Pepi looked very stern when he added, “It would not be wise for any word of what was done to Pharaoh to be known.” He kissed her hands again. “You, I know will never tell. Neither will I.” He glanced at the dog, who looked up at him worshipfully. “And I think our secret will remain safe with Nebshedd as well.”

The dog responded to this attention by jumping up on the bed. It was not that large a bed, and Nebshedd took up quite a bit of space. Pepi laughed, and pushed him back down on the floor. “Oh, no, my spoiled brother, ” he said, and looked at Ipuit with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “The only one of us who will be sleeping in Ipuit’s bed from now on will be me.”