“You need take nothing but your immortal soul,” the high priestess replied. “All else will be provided for you at the Great Temple. Now come. I have already tarried too long. The goddess awaits.”
Neff shook her head. It was all happening too fast. Her house, her sleeping mat, the little paddle doll she kept from when she’d been a baby… would she see any of them again? And what about Henhen and Istara? The stall at the market? Who would help her father run it? When she’d left home this morning, she never thought it would be for the last time.
She turned to her mother. “Mamet?” she said, a quaver in her voice.
“Oh, my sweet girl.” Her mother gathered Neff into her arms. “You must take care of yourself, all right? Always wear your sandals outside, and watch for snakes, and remember how I taught you to keep your hair shiny, yes?” Her eyes brimmed with tears.
“Mamet.” Neff hugged her mother’s small body against her own. “I’m scared. I don’t want to leave you.”
Neff felt her father’s hand against her head.
“Don’t you see?” he said as she turned to him. “This is wonderful news, my girl. Wonderful! I was angry when you stepped out of the crowd, but now I see you were led by a divine hand! Now when the people come to our stall in the market, I will tell them all about you.My Neff, chosen by the goddess to do great things. I’ve always known it. Always. When you were born, I told your mother. Didn’t I, Ahura?” He turned to his wife, and she nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. “I told her: ‘Name her Nefermaat.’Beautiful truth.That’s you. You’re going to make us proud. Do you hear? They’ll come to see me from all over Bubas, from all over the kingdom, just to hear your story.”
“But—”
“Go on now,” he broke in. “Can’t keep the goddess waiting, can we?”
But I thought you were already proud, Neff wanted to say. Instead, she took a deep breath, pressed her lips into a thin line, and said, “No, Yati, we can’t.” She turned to face the high priestess.
“Are you ready?” the woman asked, gesturing toward the sleek vessel that rocked gently in the current.
“No,” Neff whispered, her lip trembling. “I’m not.”
She stepped onto the boat.
3
Rae
“Two!” an old man shouted, thrusting two fingers into the air.
Raetawy pressed up onto her palms and spit a mouthful of bloody dust onto the ground. Panting, she leveled a gaze at her opponent. He was circling her, smiling for the crowd who had assembled to watch—and wager—on the matches of the day. He was tall and fast, his long arms allowing for a strong reach. But he was scrawny too, and his arrogant swagger made him careless.
“That’s one throw for Rae, and two for Buto!” the old man announced. His face had a lumpy quality, his nose crooked from being broken too many times. He clutched a sweaty scrap of papyrus with dozens of bets marked down in a hurried scrawl. “First to three wins!”
Get up, Rae told herself, ignoring the pain in her foot where it had twisted beneath her.Give them nothing.
Rising to her feet, Rae adjusted her belted tunic and smoothed her shoulder-length black hair, which had come loose from the simple linen strip she’d used to tie it back. The crowd quieted when they saw her move into a fighting stance and wait for the next round to begin.
“You want more?” Buto said. A couple of his friends in the crowd jeered. “I’ll give you as much as you want.”
Rae narrowed her eyes. “Oh,” she growled, “I don’t think you have that much in you.”
The crowdoohed at that, and Buto scowled. “In a minute I’ll have you on your back again, where you belong.” He lunged.
Rae ducked under his arm, sliding on one knee and graspingher opponent around his legs. With a shove of her head against his hip, she cinched his knees together and drove him to the ground.
The crowd whooped in surprise.
“Two for Rae!”the old man shouted over the din. “The score is tied!”
Buto was up on his feet in an instant, red-faced. “Does your father know you come here, eh, Rae? Does he know that his daughter rolls on the ground with every man in the city, like a whore?”
Rae’s face flushed with sudden heat. “Watch your mouth.”
Buto smirked. “You’d think he’d try to put a stop to that. Or did they cut off hisballstoo?”
With a roar of fury, Rae barreled toward Buto, ready to knock the smile off his face. But instead, Buto grabbed her by the arm and wrist, turned his back, and flipped her over his shoulder. Her stomach churned as the world turned upside down with a sickening lurch. She landed hard on her back, and every bone in her body sang with the impact.
