The Cult of Sutek (25 page)

Andrasta swore. “How does he know all this?”

Rondel shrugged. “I wish I knew. Back in our youth, he used to tell stories about his mother being a famous seer. Maybe there was truth to those stories and he shares a smiliar talent. Regardless, I’ve never known him to be wrong.”

“What else did he say?” asked Jahi.

“He said it wasn’t going to be an easy journey. I expect Mount Sekhmet will be heavily guarded.”

“So, how do we get in?”

“He also said the journey would be bloody. That’s the key. There must be a back entrance to the headquarters through The Blood Forest which borders the other side of the mountain.”

Jahi paled.

“Is there any good news?” asked Andrasta.

“Well, he did say there were riches to be had. That one I’m not sure about, but it could mean that the money they stole from Horus is there. Or all the money the cult has ever stolen.”

Andrasta grunted.

Rondel smiled as he noted his partner’s satisfaction.

“Anything else?” she asked.

“Yes.” Rondel nodded ahead as five mounted men came down the road toward them. “He spoke of extra mounts in addition to our own. What he was really saying is that there were already people watching us. He just wasn’t sure if the number was four or five. Now we know.”

Andrasta drew her sword. “Good. I really want to kill something.” She looked to Jahi “Let’s see how much you’ve improved.”

The woman kicked her mount into a gallop, screaming. Rondel followed as a rock zipped past his head and cracked the closest cultist in the temple. The man careened off his mount. A ball of flames flew between him and Andrasta next. It set another cultist on fire.

The three survivors looked less confident as Andrasta reached them, engaging the two on the right. Swords clashed as Rondel took the last one on the left.

Three quick moves and his man died.
Gods, I’m getting better.

Andrasta finished the last of the two she fought, saw his success and gave him what looked like a nod of approval.

Jahi joined them. “Well? How’d I do?”

Rondel looked at the two dead cultists Jahi took down, one bleeding from a hole in the head, the other smoldering.

“I definitely see an improvement.”

* * *

“Hello,” Dendera said again while staring at the servant as he busily laid out their food. More than half a dozen did the work, but she chose to speak with the youngest one, a boy near Jahi’s age.

Besides the many loaves of bread, the long table contained bowls of dates, plums, olives, and grapes along with salads of lettuce, beans, peas, and lentils. As usual, plates of cooked meat were brought in last. Even though no one ever touched the meat, they continued to supply it.

Her stomach rolled when thinking about those plates.

“My name is Dendera. I’ve noticed you doing such a good job and just wanted to tell you so.” The boy kept his head down without even the smallest acknowledgement of her efforts. “Would you like to sit and eat with me? I’d be more than willing to share . . .”

The boy finished his work and hurried out the open door where two armed guards waited. He didn’t look back.

A hand rested on her shoulder. “I told you to give it a rest. It won’t work,” said Oni.

“How can I? How can you? We’ve got to find a way to escape.”

Dendera hadn’t realized her voice was rising until she looked around and saw the eyes of everyone else on them. She bowed her head. “I apologize, Princess.”

“It’s nothing. But remember, we tried already to escape.”

Dendera recalled the story Oni had told her early on. After months in the chamber, several of the young women grabbed the tan-robed servants and threatened to kill them unless the guards allowed them passage outside.

“Of course we had no intention of killing the servants,” Oni had said. “It was all a bluff. But it didn’t matter.”

Without a word, the guards had walked into the chamber and stabbed each of the servants through the gut, making sure they died slowly. The bodies were only removed when the last of the servants died three days later.

The message had not been lost on the young women.

“As I told you,” said Oni. “It’s hopeless. There is one door to this room. It’s small and always guarded. We are underground, inside of a maze. Even if we managed to leave the chamber, could you find your way out?”

“I don’t know, but—“

“And then there is the idea that all one hundred of us could actually escape unnoticed.”

“I didn’t say we could. But if no one else, then perhaps you can make it out alive. Once free, your father can attack Menetnashte and free any survivors.”

And Father would jump to his aid. Even if I die, at least I’d be avenged.

“You aren’t the first to make such a suggestion, my lady.”

Dendera recognized Nailah’s voice and turned to the taller woman with the square jaw. Before her capture, Nailah had worked on her father’s farm and the hardness of her muscles attested to that.

“It took us a few weeks to convince our princess it was the best choice, but eventually she agreed to our plan.”

“Which was?”

“That I try to seduce one of the guards,” said Oni. “It was humbling, and took a great deal of time, weeks in fact. But it worked. We had the whole thing planned out. He came to the chamber in the middle of the night. We were just slipping out the door when Nizam appeared. He grabbed the man by the throat and broke his neck with one hand.”

Dendera blinked. “Did they hurt you too?”

“No. But they made their point again. Even with careful planning, our cause was hopeless. There is no escape.” She paused. “Some took that realization harder than others. More than a dozen girls killed themselves that next morning at breakfast. Slitting their wrists on the utensils they gave us. They replaced all of the girls within a week. However, we can now only eat with our hands.” Oni grabbed her plate of food and began to walk away. “I’m sorry Dendera. But there’s no way to escape. The sooner you realize that, the more peaceful your last moments before the Heka will be.”

Dendera looked around at the girls grabbing their food and going off to eat in silence. Their distant eyes seemed more vacant than ever.

Their souls are already dead. Already given to Sutek. Will they even fight when they come to take them for the Heka?
She clenched her firsts, digging her nails into her palms.
Or will they spread their legs like whores for these dogs? I won’t be taken that easily.

Nailah stepped into her line of sight. “If you can think of a way out of here, I’m with you. I know others would join as well. No one likes it here, but we’re lost on what to do.”

“And if I can’t think of a way out?”

Nailah shrugged. “Then I ask that you say a prayer for me when it’s my turn to die.”

Chapter 14

Galloping behind Andrasta, the wind whipped Rondel’s face, making his eyes water. With each breath he tasted the dust in the air.

A smile crawled across his face as he considered once more how quickly they had dispensed of the riders blocking their way out of Meir.

Jahi is definitely coming into his own. An asset.

Months ago he had been a prisoner with no hope of escape. Weeks ago, he had been useless to his partner, the fear of her abandoning him had hung over everything he did.

But things are finally changing.

By no means did he consider himself as skilled as Andrasta with a weapon, but after their last several scuffles, he no longer felt like a complete liability. He had also proven himself useful by tending his partner’s wounds, helping Jahi with his sorcery, and giving them a solid lead on how to find Dendera.

A moment of desperation and the fearfulness of being alone had coaxed him into suggesting a partnership with Andrasta.

Oddly enough, his new life seemed normal.

Despite the dangers they had faced, he knew far worse was to come. A part of him didn’t care. The excitement of the unknown gave him a rush he hadn’t felt since performing before the lords and ladies of the world.

Who would have thought that Rondel the Minstrel would actually enjoy a life not surrounded by riches, fame, clothes, and women?

I believe I’ve finally moved on.

* * *

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” said Oni.

Dendera adjusted the extra silks she had wrapped around her arms and legs to protect her skin. “I refuse to give up,” she said while walking over the pile of pillows she had positioned on the floor.

Frustrated by Oni’s attitude and encouraged by Nailah’s, Dendera thought of different approaches out of the large chamber. Several dozen came to her as she lay on her back staring at the ceiling. She eliminated all of them after working through each scenario in her head.

It was only then that she realized there were several large holes near the top of the chamber more than forty feet up. From the floor, she couldn’t tell if they led anywhere which was why she had decided someone would need to make the climb to each one.

She talked to Nailah about doing so, thinking the girl could scale the rock face easily with her strong arms and shoulders.

Just my luck the girl is afraid of heights.

Dendera thought about asking others, but decided that since the idea was hers, she should be the one to make the climb.

As she fought with tying off the last of the silks around her upper arm, one of the other women came up and gave her a hand.

“Thank you,” Dendera said.

It hadn’t taken long for Dendera’s efforts in readying herself for the climb to spark curiosity among others. Life returned rapidly to the dead eyes of many in the chamber. They asked how they could help and within moments Dendera had them hauling pillows under the first opening, a crude cushion to land on should she fall.

Better than nothing.

Oni remained skeptical of the whole process, but eventually her interest piqued. “What else do you need?”

Nothing else came to her. “Just prayers.”

“I can manage that.”

Dendera did not speak another word as she walked to the limestone wall.

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

She took a deep breath and focused. Every time doubt crept into her mind, she imagined how powerless she once felt and refused to let herself feel that way again.

This isn’t just about me or these girls. If Menetnashte is successful, all of Iget will suffer, including Jahi and Father.

Her hand reached up to a gap above her head. She jammed her fingers inside, found a ridge and squeezed as she brought up both her other hand and then a foot. She could already tell by the way her soft skin felt against the sharp rock, her hands would be littered with cuts and scrapes soon. She didn’t care.

It was better than the alternative.

She took her time, having already planned out her course from the ground. The climb was difficult but not overly so, and eventually she reached the opening to the first tunnel.

Scurrying up and over the ledge turned out to be the hardest part of the process. She ended up cutting through the silk on her shin as it scraped against a sharp edge.

Dendera paused at the tunnel’s opening to catch her breath while staring into the blackness ahead. She had thought the tunnels acted as ventilation shafts, but she felt no movement of air in the enclosed pace. One more breath and she crawled forward.

Dendera only made it about fifty feet before running into a solid wall. The tunnel ended sharply with nowhere to go.

Why would someone just stop digging like that? Was the rock too hard to continue?

She let out a long sigh and reversed her steps out over the ledge and down the rock face until her foot sunk into the soft pillows waiting for her on the chamber floor. Turning around, ninety-nine faces waited for her to say something.

“Nothing,” Dendera said. “But, we have four more tunnels, and I’m certain I’ll have better luck of finding a way out.”

Her encouragement seemed to soften the blow of her first failure.

“What should we do?” asked Nailah.

Dendera gestured to the next opening. “Move the pillows there while I catch my breath. Then I’ll try again.” She paused. “Oh, something just dawned on me. If I’m able to find a way out, it would be easier to follow after me if I had a rope or something I could attach to my waist during the climb. Then I could secure it once I get inside the tunnel.”

“We don’t have rope. But we do have sheets. We could tie them together and knot them to make it easier to climb.”

Dendera nodded. “That should do it.”

Chapter 15

Andrasta paused briefly at the top of a small rise still some distance away from the beginning of the Talmis mountain range. The mountains rose slowly out of the approaching horizon like the morning sun. Its jagged peaks pierced many of the low hanging clouds.

She raised a hand to block out the sun and scanned the land before her. With their course so clearly defined since Meir, they had saved days in travel.

Her gaze rested on what looked like an ocean of blood surrounded by green farmland that faded to brown, barren land at the foot of the mountain range. Behind the red splotch of The Blood Forest, stood the tallest peak in the range, the one Rondel said was named after Sekhmet, the warrior goddess of upper Iget.

Despite the ominous nature of the scene, she was taken aback by the landscape’s beauty.

She kicked her mount and descended the rise, hooves pounding the earth at a furious pace. Rondel and Jahi followed her lead.

Eventually, she reined in at the edge of The Blood Forest, studying it closely.

“An obvious name,” she muttered while staring at the sea of bright-red leaves.

“The leaves are only part of what gives The Blood Forest its name,” said Jahi.

“The beasts that call The Blood Forest home,
    
torment those who are not of their own.
    
When adventurers journey into the sea of blood,
    
their picked-clean bones will reside in mud.”