Magic of the Nile (2 page)

 
But Tyema barely registered any of details of the chariot itself, as she focused on the team of horses. “May I pet them?”

Eyebrow raised, Sahure said, “Of course. This is Nahkti and his partner is Senbi.”

“Oh you’re so beautiful,” she crooned, as the dapple gray sniffed her hand. Stroking his velvety nose while the other horse nudged her shoulder, she said, “I should have brought them a treat, shouldn’t I?”

“Next time,” he said, untying the reins from a handy post.

“I’ve never ridden in a chariot,” she confided as he handed her up into the vehicle. She clutched the side as he stepped into the driver’s position and the chariot rocked a bit on the axle.

“A war chariot is hardly the normal mode of transport for a lady,” he agreed. Raising the reins, he set the horses into motion. Wheels rumbling, the chariot rolled faster and faster down the broad dirt road. The horses tossed their heads, making the feathers on their harness dance. At first the team trotted but as they reached the main road to the village, Sahure glanced at her for permission. Seeing her nod, he set the team into a gallop and the chariot shot forward as the powerful animals responded to his command.

Hair flying, Tyema laughed in sheer pleasure. “This is wonderful! Oh to be able to move so fast through the world!” She reveled in the ride, knowing all too soon they’d be at their destination. Deciding this was a night for daring, working up her courage, she said, “May I drive?”

“In the twilight, on an unknown road? Hardly the place for me to teach you to handle a high spirited team,” he demurred.
 

“When will I ever have such a chance again? You must be one of Pharaoh’s best charioteers, surely? Who better to learn from?”

Glancing at her face, which must have shown her disappointment despite her wheedling tone, he laughed, drawing the horses to a halt in a cloud of dust. “I can’t resist such a charmingly worded request. All right, as a compromise, you can hold the reins with me, if you’d like.”

He stood back as she sidled to a position in front of him and he folded the leather reins into her hands, never actually releasing them himself. “You wanted to drive, lift the reins and click your tongue so they know to run.”

 
Tyema was exhilarated as they flew along the road in the moonlight. Fear was the farthest emotion from her heart right now, which was a blessed relief. Keeping her balance with difficulty, she yelled, “We’re moving so fast, like gods!” Only the sense of invulnerability that swept over her at the height of conducting a major ceremony for Sobek rivaled this feeling of rushing through the world like a goddess. So much sheer power harnessed to do her bidding!
If I had a chariot and a team, I could experience this joy, this freedom from daily fear and boredom whenever I wished. And I don’t need anyone else to participate, only the horses.
Although Sahure standing so warm and close behind her was also a pleasant sensation, her body tingling where they touched as he supervised her driving. She wished the trip could last forever but moments later the captain was extricating the reins from her grasp, pulling the team into a slower gait as they approached the town gates.

Trying to smooth her hair into some semblance of order as the chariot rolled past the guards, Tyema laughed from sheer pleasure. “Thank you, handling the reins was wonderful! I might have to get one of these myself.”

He looked at her askance. “A chariot? For a temple?”

“Why not?” She’d tasted the glory of traveling with the speed of the wind and she craved more, enthralled by the idea of escaping the confines of her normal life any time she pleased, going so fast no one in the nome could ever catch her.

“Keep in mind you’ll need a groom, a proper stable—horses are expensive to feed.” Sahure waved his hand at Nahkti and Senbi, now walking docilely down the crowded road. “They’re beautiful but they eat their heads off. Your head priestess might not like the idea much.”

Tyema laughed. “Oh there’s no problem there, I assure you.”

They rode farther into town, through the square and past the temple of Horus, stopping at the inn she’d recommended to him. A small squad of soldiers waited with their gear in the side yard.

“I see my men already found the place on their own,” he said.

A grizzled sergeant came to take the horses’ heads, eyeing Tyema with open curiosity as he saluted the captain. “Good evening, sir.”

“We’ll stay here while we’re in the area,” Sahure declared. “The priestess highly recommends it.”

He helped her descend from the chariot. Suddenly feeling shy, Tyema stood to the side as he gave the sergeant more orders.
Does this Sahure collect a new woman in every town they visit?
She hoped none of her family members would come outside the inn and see her standing with a stranger. The questions and sly gossiping would be endless.

Finally Sahure was done with giving orders. Taking her arm, he said, “Are you ready to show me the wonders of your town?”

“If you’re accustomed to Thebes, you’re not likely to find our hamlet of Ta’sobeksef more than insignificant, although I grant you the temple of Horus has its charms, with the murals and columns.”

Tyema was thinking herself an impulsive fool, but as she strolled through the streets with Sahure, she felt less on edge, more relaxed. Her heart beat more slowly and she could breathe without undue effort. Most of the people they encountered were strangers come to town for the religious festivities. She enjoyed the rare entertainment provided by the musicians, acrobats and dancers performing for deben, thinking perhaps she should arrange something similar when the next major festival day for Sobek occurred. With Sahure at her side, no one bothered her, not even the beggars. The few townspeople she met seemed startled to see her but bowed their heads quickly and moved on.

He bought roasted quail for them at one of the stalls and seated her on a nearby bench, going back for a pitcher of beer. “Your town is pleasant, welcoming,” he said, setting the container down before accepting the drumstick she handed him.

Sipping at the beer, Tyema smiled. “You’re too kind. I’m sure it must seem rural and ordinary to someone who’s traveled the length of the Nile or lived in Thebes.”

“I’ve been to the wilds of Kush, seen the mountains where the Nile is born, I’ve been many places and each has its own form of charm. Right now I can’t remember anywhere half so attractive,” he said with a wink. “I’m under the spell, of the town and the company.”

Feeling her cheeks grow hot with a blush, Tyema took another swallow of the beer, although she rarely drank. “I’m sure the glib words go well with the ladies in Thebes.”
Oh dear, he’ll take offense at my blunt speech, but he does sound quite practiced at flattery.

Sahure was unfazed, grinning, little crinkles of amusement around his eyes. “Ah, you see right through me.” Breaking apart the quail, he offered her a succulent morsel on the tip of his knife. “Most women smile and don’t examine my words like a scribe with a messy slate.”

“I—I’m no good at social chatter,” she confessed, taking the small bite in her fingertips and carrying it to her mouth. She chewed daintily, savoring the taste before swallowing. “I’m too direct.”

“We’re conversing, Lady Ema, not chattering. And I enjoy a challenge. Clearly more diligence on my part is required, to offer you only the most exquisitely crafted compliments. Or none at all.” He took a long drink of the beer. “Tell me more about the temple of Horus. I’ve been told the building hasn’t been here as long as the original temple of Sobek. From what I could see of the ruins earlier, your temple must have been established hundreds of years ago? Well, the town’s name itself says as much.”

She nodded. “We believe Sobek’s temple has been in this spot on the Nile since the time of the first pharaohs, even before the pyramids were built. The temple of Horus was erected a mere thirty or forty years ago.” Tyema felt safer, more at ease, sticking to a factual discussion of landmarks and local history. She was well versed in both. “Our new temple to Sobek was built by your uncle fifteen years ago.”

Sahure didn’t offer any more outrageous compliments during dinner. She couldn’t decide whether to be glad or sorry. Flirting was a dangerous, intoxicating novelty to her, no matter how practiced his tongue might be, so on the whole she was probably better off not trying to match him honeyed word for word.

 
After they’d finished eating, he escorted her to the square to watch a performance of the old scribes’ tale “The Shipwrecked Sailor”, put on by a traveling company. Tyema laughed and applauded along with everyone else. She couldn’t remember an evening where she’d just had fun, or felt so at ease.

“I’ve been shipwrecked and let me tell you, it isn’t nearly as entertaining as these players make it appear,” he said in her ear as they left the play. “Of course the island I washed up on had no fifty foot talking snakes, no enchanted dancing girls, nothing but scrub palms and sand.” Reaching out, he snagged a red flower from the stall they were passing, dropping a small coin in the vendor’s palm. “Stand still,” he ordered. Tucking the flower behind Tyema’s ear, he kissed her cheek before taking her hand again. “Now what, my lovely lady? Shall we go inspect the temple of Horus, compare it to yours?”

Flustered, wondering if anyone she knew had seen his bold gesture, she put a hand to the flower, pulling it from her hair. “I think I’d better be going.” She sniffed the bruised petals.

“But it’s early yet—surely the festivities will go until dawn.” He waved his hand at the crowd around them. “I see no signs of flagging energy or loss of enthusiasm. The beer still flows in rivers.”

“I have duties, rituals to conduct at midmorning.” Truth, as far as it went, she did have to sing while the effigy of Sobek was offered food and drink, before the lesser priestesses draped the statue in fine linen robes and golden jewelry set with turquoise and other gems.

Sahure made an opening through the throng and led her to a less crowded part of the main street. “If you insist on cutting the night short, we’ll go to the inn, have my horses put to the chariot and I’ll drive you back.”

“No need for me to cause you the trouble. I’ve family in town.” Tyema pointed vaguely to the east. “I’ll stay with them and walk to the temple at dawn.”

“Now that I cannot allow,” he said, gazing into her eyes, a frown on his face. “It’s quite a distance and you’ll doubtless have a full day of work.”

Twirling the flower in her fingers, she chuckled at the idea of requiring so much cosseting. “I walk back and forth to town all the time.”
Well I would if I ever left the temple grounds.
“I’m not one of your delicate Theban girls. Out here in the country we walk everywhere.”

He escorted her to her family’s home, where her oldest sister and her husband, the captain of the guard, now dwelt. He didn’t try to kiss her again, saying good night before she slipped through the gate. Tyema wasn’t sure whether she felt relieved or regretful. She waited in the deserted courtyard for a good ten minutes, before re-entering the street. Glancing over her shoulder at the house, she shuddered and pulled her shawl more closely around her shoulders.
I swore not to ever spend another night under their roof and I’m not starting now.
As always she was secure in the knowledge that no one—not human, animal or demon—would interfere with her, protected as she was by Sobek’s amulet around her neck. A deserted road in the moonlight held no terrors for her, unlike the crowded, brightly lit village. Or her late father’s old home.

***

As Tyema led the midmorning ceremony, chanting the hymns to Sobek, she was more conscious than usual of the small but attentive crowd of worshippers. Normally she blotted out any thought of the onlookers and lost herself in singing the sacred music. Today she wondered if Sahure was there in the outer sanctuary and whether he’d be upset to learn she hadn’t told him her true identity. Her anxiety wasn’t relieved any by the fact he’d appeared in at least one of her dreams as well, smiling and holding out another red flower she’d been too frightened to accept. Awakening from the dream with a gasp, she couldn’t go back to sleep, disturbed by unfamiliar thoughts and desires. Tossing and turning left her tired. By the time the ceremony was over and she was free to retreat to her office in the temple’s new wing, tension was rising in her like a wave. A small headache pounded over her left eye, spreading tentacles of pain through her head.

The temple scribe Jemkhufu was waiting in her private study, arms full of scrolls and tablets. He bowed as she entered, already enumerating the tasks ahead. “We’ve a busy morning ahead of us, my lady. Reports on the grain harvest, the tally sheets for the papyrus shipment—”

Tyema thanked her maids as they removed the complicated headdress and wig, substituting a simpler style, accented with a small circlet bearing Sobek’s cartouche in relief. As the women took the ceremonial items away to be stored for tomorrow’s rituals, she rubbed her forehead and sat in her gold—and—ebony chair. Putting her feet on the hippo shaped stool, she forced herself to ask the one thing she cared about right now. “Are there any audiences?”

Surprised, he moved his quill down the list of items on the scroll, ticking each off as he went. “Why, yes, there’s a Captain Sahure who requests a meeting.” With a satisfied sneer on his thin lips, the scribe raised one eyebrow. “I told him to wait until tomorrow as your schedule was full today.”

“I’ll see him now.”
Might as well get it over with. Last night was a pleasant diversion, but he’ll be angry I deceived him and I’ve no more time to indulge myself in foolishness. Why did I let myself be tempted into spending the entire evening in his company?
She rubbed her forehead where the ceremonial sun-disk had ridden so heavily on her head.