Satisfied that there was nothing more of value in the room, he turned to go. Something wet seeped through his sandal. “Ech,” he grunted, lifting his foot. A bit of water from an underground spring, probably. He wiped it with his hand, but stopped when he saw the red, sticky smudge it left behind.
Karim directed the torch at the floor where he’d been standing near the base of the statue. Oozing from beneath the pedestal was a thick pool of what looked like—
“Karim!”
Karim’s heart jolted as Djet’s cry shattered the silence. “What?” he shouted, stepping back from the statue and nearly tripping over a hundred tiny soldiers.
“Did you hear it?” Djet’s voice was shrill with terror.
“Hear what?”
And then he heard it.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Karim sighed. “Stop fooling, you goose. We don’t have time for it.” He tried to keep his tone light, but the crimson pool had unnerved him. What was Djet playing at?
“I’m not doing it.” Djet’s voice was quieter now, more a sob than actual words. “It’s… it’s coming from the coffin.”
“It’swhat?”
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A chill shot down Karim’s spine. No, it was impossible. It couldn’t—
A breeze scented with wine and honey blew across his face. His torch guttered and went out.
In the suffocating darkness, Karim heard wood cracking and splintering, and then something heavy crashing to the ground.
Karim stood rigid in the darkness, not moving, not breathing.
Then came a gentle rustling, so soft Karim could barely hear it over the thundering of his heart.
Another sound exploded so loud and searing that Karim couldn’t believe it didn’t light up the entire tomb with its brilliance.
It was the sound of Djet screaming.
5
Neff
The sun had passed its zenith by the time Bast’s boat reached the outskirts of Thonis. The current carried it swiftly downriver with no need for oars or sails—as if the Iteru itself knew the goddess had an important appointment to keep.
Neff had washed the blood from her dress in the river, and it had already dried in the afternoon heat. It wasn’t clean, really, but it would have to do. She leaned against the side of the boat, watching the capital grow from a distant smudge to a sprawling, vibrant city, spread out on land so flat that her view of it was unbroken.
First there were the green fields and the farms, crawling with workers and long-horned cattle, then came the flat-roofed mud-brick houses, not much different from her own. But there were somanyof them. Most were shabby and poorly constructed, but as they drifted deeper into Thonis, the houses grew in size and quality. Instead of the standard brown mud brick, the fine houses boasted white limestone walls that seemed to glow under the desert sun. Ornamental paintings decorated the doorways with geometric patterns in red and yellow ochre and malachite, and flowering bushes and trees grew everywhere, adding pastel patterns of pink and orange and cream. The roads were not lined with gold as her friends had claimed, but the city was wondrous nonetheless.
They passed huge trading ships unloading cargo from distant kingdoms—ostrich feathers and animal pelts and fragrant spices whose scents were carried on the wind. Neff sniffed the air, and the smoky, intoxicating smell of whatever emerged from that shipreminded her of magic.
And that reminded her of home.
