Shaking, she touched a finger to her face, to the track of tears she could feel still falling from her eyes. It came away shining, bright as carnelian.
Neff’s heart was in her throat as someone shouted, “Gods preserve us! The girl cries tears of blood!”
***
News of Neff’s encounter with Bast swept through the assembled crowd, and people closed in so that they, too, could catch a glimpse of her. The noise and press of bodies was terrifying, and Neff clutched at the high priestess for protection.
Raising the sistrum high in the air, the priestess shouted,“Enough!”
Cowed by her fury, the crowd fell back and quieted.
“You dare disrespect the goddess on her day of worship? Goback to your homes and places of work. Speak not of this, lest you are willing to bear divine judgment for the carelessness of your words.” There was a pause as she turned in a circle, as if to encompass every soul within her sight. “Do you heed me? Now, go!”
With a low murmur, the crowd dispersed. After sharing a word with the litter bearers, the high priestess turned back to Neff, who still sat on the dusty road. Her face, which had been imperious a moment before, softened. “Come with me, child,” she said, reaching out to Neff.
Hesitant, Neff took her hand, and the priestess pulled her to her feet.
The high priestess turned to Neff’s pale-faced parents, who huddled nearby, and said, “You will accompany me to the river.”
It was not a request, but a command.
Neff’s mother and father nodded, and followed them to the riverbank without saying a word.
There was a large boat and crew waiting there, ready to carry Bast and her protectors north to Thonis for the festival that night.
“Go and cleanse yourself in the river,” the high priestess told Neff. “I must speak to your parents.”
Why?The word sat on Neff’s tongue like a small stone. She’d wanted to ask it, but it remained heavy behind her lips, held there by the high priestess’s imposing gaze. Obediently, she knelt at the edge of the riverbank.
She felt strangely numb as she dipped her hands into the cold water and watched the blood swirl away. When she was done, she cupped her hands and splashed water against her face. She gasped as the cold drove the cloudy feeling from her mind. Suddenly, she became very aware of what had just happened—aware and afraid.
What if Bast took offense to my question?she wondered.Has the goddess cursed me? Perhaps the high priestess is telling Mamet and Yati of my fate. What if I have doomed them as well?
Tears began to well in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away, terrified she would find more blood. But they were clear, normal tears. Whatever had happened to her before was finished. It felt unreal, like a dream. Yet unlike her other dreams, the images the goddess showed her hadn’t faded. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the lamb, and heard its ominous voice.
I remember now, Neff realized. For better or for worse, the goddess had answered her prayer.
Neff glanced back at her parents. She couldn’t hear what the high priestess was saying to them, but she could see its effect on their faces. Her mother’s eyes were wide, and she had both hands pressed to her mouth. After a moment, she dropped them into a pose of supplication.
“Please,” her mother said, loud enough for Neff to hear. “I’m begging you. You can’t. She’s our only child.”
“Ahura! Control yourself, woman,” her father scolded.
He took her mother’s hands in his and quietly apologized to the high priestess. His expression was stony, serious—totally unlike the smile he always wore for his customers. But he didn’t look horrified. In fact, he seemed… excited?
With a curt nod to Pepi and Ahura, the high priestess concluded her discussion. She turned from them and met Neff’s gaze. “You may join us now.”
Neff rose on wobbly legs and approached them. Her eyes darted from one person to another, trying to anticipate what was about to happen. The pride in her father’s expression confused her, and the sorrow in her mother’s filled her with dread. The high priestess’s face was unreadable. When she spoke, it was without preamble.
“You have been touched by the goddess, Nefermaat,” she said, and Neff’s name had never carried such weight. “Your life now belongs to Bast and the gods of this land. I have spoken toyour mother and father, and it is agreed that you will accompany me upriver to Thonis, where you shall be prepared for the priesthood.” She paused to allow her words to sink in.
Neff stared at her, speechless. “B-but,” she stammered, “I’m not—”
“It is not an easy life,” the high priestess continued. “Not for a girl, not for anyone. But it is the life chosen for you by the divine. Obey their decree, or suffer the consequences of their displeasure. Do you understand?”
Neff swallowed, trying and failing to catch hold of the thoughts and questions that whirled through her mind.
“What about my things?” she blurted. “I have nothing but the clothes on my back.” She looked down at her white dress and was mortified to see bloodstains down the front of it.
