Infinite Sacrifice (6 page)

They seize his thin, frail frame
and drag him into the court screaming.

“Silence the prisoner!” the vizier
demands.

One of the guards grabs a wool rag
and stuffs it into the slave’s mouth.

“Are you Nun, slave of the house of
Sokaris?”

Nun tries to spit the cloth out to
answer.

The vizier shouts, “Nod or
shake!”

Nun quickly nods with his eyes wide
in fear.

“Have you entered the Temple of
Serapis, even though it is forbidden by the Pharaoh?”

He again tries to spit the cloth
out.

The vizier screams, “Nod or shake,
slave!”

The vizier’s slaves fan him
furiously to cool his reddened face.

Nun pauses here, hangs his
shoulders, and looks around at me, eyes narrowed.

“Do you understand the question?”
the vizier shouts.

Nun turns back and nods.

“Answer, then! Have you entered the
Temple of Serapis, even though it is forbidden by the Pharaoh?” he
shouts louder as though Nun is deaf.

Nun looks again at me, this time
defeated, and nods his head. The court is buzzing.

The vizier then asks, after the
noise dies down a bit, “Have you wronged Serapis, committing a
crime against him, violating his Royal Daughter?”

Nun seems torn by this statement,
and I smile inside, knowing that the wording is auspicious. He
shrinks further in defeat and nods. The room explodes with
noise.

“Silence, or I will have the court
closed!” The vizier turns to his guards. “Bring out the
girl!”

As soon as Bastet looks around, she
takes in Nun standing there in front of the courts. I hope she
understands, but she appears confused. I hold my breath and pray
she will know what to do.

“Bastet, do you know this
man?”

“Yes.” She looks perplexed until
the vizier speaks again.

“Is this the man who violated
you?”

She meets my eyes, comprehending,
and then looks back at the vizier, her eyes full of
tears.

She cries out, “Yes! That is the
man who forced himself on me in the temple of Serapis!”

I exhale with pride at her drive
for life.

“Why did you not tell a priest or
your mother, Nebu, that this violation occurred?"

She thinks fast and cries to great
effect, “I knew the violation would bring shame upon my family and
my position at the temple would be disgraced. He threatened the
lives of my family if I did not obey his demands!”

Everyone in the court is quiet in
disgust, leering at Nun while he juts his chin out in simmering
anger.

“Is this true?” he shouts at
Nun.

Nun doesn’t even reply with eye
contact, simply stares at the floor.

The vizier picks his teeth, then
speaks. “I have no choice but to sentence you, Nun, slave of the
house of Sokaris, to death by spear. You will be executed tomorrow
in the public courtyard at dawn, before our morning rituals, to
amend the betrayal you committed upon the gods.

“Bastet, you are free to return to
your family and have your child. Your shame, even though it was not
willed by you, makes you unfit for temple duties.”

She bows her head in
acceptance.

The vizier finishes, “It would
serve you and the soul of your child well to make an offering of
forgiveness to Serapis tomorrow, after the execution of your
violator.”

She agrees again and bows in
thanks. The guards take Nun away and set Bastet free.

Chapter 5

I wish to run to her but know I
can’t. I give her a quick wink across the room when no one is
looking and leave. I pass Khons’s crippled form assisted by
Aapep.

“Justice always prevails,” I say to
Khons.

Khons looks up oddly and says, “Has
it really, Sokaris?” as he limps past.

I hesitate mid-bow, unsure of what
he means, but nothing can get in the way of what has happened. The
gods have smiled down on us! As the sun fades, I walk home through
the cluttered city, past all the peasant houses, stacked upon each
other wherever they find space to build, to my temporary dwelling,
all the while trying to figure out a way to see Bastet again. In
Nun’s absence, the fires and lamps are not lit that night, but in
the darkness what unnerves me most is not having Sehket’s presence.
Tomorrow, I’ll send another slave from my residence to bring
her.

Hoping to see Bastet before she
returns to her father’s house, I need to stay in the city. I
calculate how long I’ll have to wait before I can take her as my
second wife. I smile, thinking of the large dowry her father will
give in light of her great disgrace. How auspicious this all came
to be! I pull my sheets back ritualistically and accept that I will
have to go to sleep with dirty feet that night.

Khons’s hunched and twisted form
walks in front of the courthouse. As he watches me coming, he lifts
up a deep goblet of dark red wine and spills it down his throat.
Then the heavens rain down upon only me, soaking me through to the
skin, while leaving Khons perfectly dry. In anger, I lunge at Khons
with a spear but upon inspecting his body, see a dead ox. I refill
Khons’s spilt goblet with its blood and drink.

Even though the sun hasn’t risen
enough to shed light, I reach for my satchel and dart out of bed in
the direction of the Temple Library. I slink into the scribes’
study, and the deaf old man doesn’t even stir at my entrance. I
creep up behind him while he affixes his seal to the letter he’s
just completed.

I say right behind his head, “What
has you working so early, Khons?”

He jumps and drops the wax he’s
holding above the candle and gasps.

“Oh, so sorry to frighten you. You
must have been deep in thought.”

I walk around to the side of the
desk so I can see his face, but he continues to look down.
Trembling, he tucks the letter into his robe’s deep
pocket.

“Oh, you are shaking. Have you not
had your breakfast yet?” I notice the untouched tray of breads,
figs, and wine on the three-legged low table beside his desk. “You
have not touched a morsel.” I click my tongue twice. “We must not
spoil this offering.”

I turn back to see Khons, quaking
as he grips his desk for support, and I motion him to sit on a
cushion at the table.

He shakes his head and says, “I am
waiting for Aapep to come and assist me into the city.”

“Well, that is perfect. Have a
seat, and we can put something in our bellies while you
wait.”

He glances toward the door,
searching for some way out. I smile, knowing he can’t make his way
down the corridor without assistance. Hesitant, he hobbles over,
protecting the pocket.

“What business do you have in the
city this early?”

He coughs a few times, clearly
trying to gain time to think. “I requested permission to record the
execution of your slave this morning. I think it will be important
to document it.”

How clever he thinks he
is.

I stare at his face—so odd with its
many tiny spots—a thing of rarity among people of dark
skin.

“Oh yes, yes. Good idea. You are so
wise, Khons.”

I touch his hand, and he recoils
slightly. I draw back, place goblets in front of us, and fill them,
the scarlet liquid spinning for a moment as Khons watches the
door.

“Ah, thank you, truly a feast.
Khons, can you fetch me that knife on your desk to cut the
bread?”

As he turns his back to get the
sharp knife, I spill the contents of a small flask into his
goblet.

He returns and
says, “
I
will do
the honor of cutting, thank you.”

I smile. He thinks I might harm him
with the knife. He slices the wide flatbread, wraps the knife in
linen, and tucks it away in the satchel worn at his side. I can
hardly contain my laughter—he thinks he avoided a threat! Khons
picks up his goblet with a tremorring, spotted hand and drinks
thirstily. He replaces it and is mid-chew on a large piece of bread
when he begins to choke.

He spits his bread at me and gasps
out, “You murderer! You have Nun’s blood on your hands and now
mine!”

He reaches up, holding his neck,
gagging as frothy blood dribbles out of the corners of his
mouth.

He drops to the floor and gurgles,
“May Ra eat your heart!”

One last rattle and his eyes go
blank as his breathing ceases. In haste, I wipe his mouth, pick up
his bony body, and place it at his desk. Putting the inked reed in
his hand, I leave it propped on an empty piece of paper. Aapep will
soon be here and surmise he died alone. I drink my wine and spill
the poisoned wine into a linen cloth, wiping out any remnants. As I
am leaving, I realize I forgot the most important thing! I reach
into his robe and remove the vital scroll.

Foolish Khons.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once home, I take the letter out in
the safety of my dwelling and read his perfect writing:

Most Esteemed Vizier,

I write to you with heavy guilt
and shame that I did not have the courage or pure heart to speak
out in court yesterday. I had a difficult time deciding if the life
of a slave was equal to the life of a skilled and trusted priest.
It took a night of soul-searching and much lamenting to realize
that my heart would not be light on Anubis’s scales if an innocent
slave were put to death, wrongly accused. I was present in the
dream chamber awaiting my incubation when I overheard two lovers
talking of a secret and forbidden meeting.

The male, who I can identify as
Sokaris, Dream Magician of the House of Life, reassured the female,
the Royal Daughter, that all would be well with his slave watching
out for them. I have to confess, at risk of punishment on my own
part, that I thought little of this lustful crime. I respect
Sokaris, feel he is a valuable member to the House of Life, and
thought so little of the offense taken so seriously by the
righteous temple priests. I only felt a crime occurred when this
slave, Nun, was unjustly accused and scheduled to die this new
morning. Please spare the slave’s life and have mercy on these
young lovers’ sin.

Khons, son of Thutmose

I burn the letter in the fire and
think of how well I averted disaster as the papyrus curls in
movements that remind me of Bastet. She should be at the temple
now, getting ready to watch Nun’s execution. I have to speak to
her.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The sun is rising, and the land is
golden with its renewed energy. People are all gathering at the
temple square, as children stand on stonewalls trying to see over
tall figures. I search the crowd for Bastet, but even a diamond
can’t be found in such dull chaos. The drumming begins, and the
people part for the procession of guards. In the middle of the
guards walks Nun, his hands tied in front of him. As he passes, I
can see the brand of my family—a falcon, seared into his flesh with
its wings spread. Sokaris, the falcon god I am named after. They
lead him to the execution altar and lay him out on the
tablet.

A lector priest starts reading him
holy rites, preparing him for his death. I grow bored watching and
scan the crowd, searching for my star. In the background, the drums
start to roll and abruptly cease with the quick cracking sound of
the spear going into Nun’s head. He twitches for a few moments, and
the crowd cheers. With all the movement of the crowd, there’s no
way to find her. I decide I’ll have better luck if I go back to the
temple to meet her, but I’m distracted by a loud and piercing
woman’s scream. The sea of people surges toward the
sound.

I too go to see what happened, and
my heart beats cold as I look over the steep temple stairs to see
my diamond lying in a puddle of blood at the bottom. I rush to her
and turn her around in my arms, but she slumps lifeless in my
embrace. I pull back to see her once-flawless features ruined by a
deep gash in the middle of her forehead, from which thick blood
paints her whole face. I hold her for a few moments more until she
is gone. There is a murmur throughout the crowd that she was
pushed.