Page 4 of Hex You

“Oh! Tee!” Meryt rushed to her son. “How badly are you injured?”

Mercy had stood from one of the many huge pillows Meryt used as chairs. She stared at Khenti, who was covered with blood andflecks of rancid flesh. She started toward him and then stopped—not sure what to do with so much blood.He’s gotta be hurt really bad!“Do you have a first-aid kit or any medical supplies?” she blurted, and then realized the ridiculousness of the question. Meryt wasdead.She couldn’t get hurt. Why would she have a first-aid kit?

“Tee! Here, let me help you sit.” Meryt moved to take her son’s arm but he avoided her grasp.

“Muta, no, do not touch me. Let me wash this blood and gore from my body first.” Khenti smiled. “And do not worry, either of you. This”—he used his scarlet-spattered weapon to gesture at his offal-covered body—“is not mine.”

“Did you kill all of those zombie baboon things?” Mercy wrinkled her nose as the smell of the disgusting yuck on Khenti’s body reached her.

“Yes. I discovered a whole pack of them not far from here and killed them all, but they will return.” Khenti’s smile faded. “I also killed an Ikenty, and I fear when it revives it will return with many more of its kind as well.”

Meryt shivered. “Ikenty are terrible things. I have not seen one in quite a long time, but I have heard their yowls. When I do I remain here, where I am safe under Hathor’s protection.”

“What’s an Ikenty?” Mercy asked.

“May I tell you as I wash? Ikenty do not have a rancid smell, but In-teps reek of the grave—and now I do as well.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. You are really stinky.”

“Come, Tee, where the stream pools is an excellent bathing spot.” Meryt went to a lovely tapestry that depicted her patron goddess, Hathor. She held it aside so that Khenti could enter the enormous room beyond without touching and soiling the fabric, then she and Mercy followed the warrior.

“I love this room so much.” Mercy paused just inside the entrance to draw in a deep breath that was filled with the scents of flowers and fertile earth.Roomwas an understatement. The chamber seemedlimitless—and because it was magic gifted to Meryt by Hathor, it might actually be. The huge place appeared to be a field filled with flowers and vegetables, mature wheat and trees bursting with fruit. The ceiling was domed, and even though Mercy logically knew they were inside a cave, above them a warm sun beamed life-giving rays onto the cacophony of plants. She let her fingers brush the tops of fragrant lavender as she followed Meryt and Khenti deep into the magic chamber to a wide stream that tumbled over smooth rocks. It wound around a grove of mango trees and then pooled in a perfect bathing place dotted with lotus that bloomed with ballerina-pink flowers.

Khenti didn’t hesitate. He waded in, sandals, spear, and all, without taking off the short leather military loincloth-like clothes he wore. He sank down into the crystal water and dunked his hair several times, wrung the water from the dark length of it, and then began taking handfuls of sand and scrubbing himself. As he washed he explained, “An Ikenty is a demon with the body of a large bird of prey and the head of a black cat—with unusually long teeth and eyes that glow red.”

“Sounds completely bizarre,” said Mercy as she sat beside Khenti’s mom on a simple wooden bench that overlooked the bathing area. Next to Meryt was a neatly folded piece of cloth that looked a lot like a bath towel.

“They are nasty creatures.” Meryt shivered. “Their talons are particularly deadly because they purposely encrust them with rot, dirt, and feces.”

“Isn’t that overkill? I mean, everyone who isusuallyin Duat is already dead, right?” Mercy asked.

“Correct,” Khenti said from the pool. “But Ikenty demons also guard the graves of mortals, where those poisoned talons make short work of grave thieves.”

“Ugh. And you’re sure the Ikenty and In-tep things are going to come back?” Mercy chewed her lip as her mind whirred.

“Absolutely. I tried to cover my tracks returning here, but it is only a matter of when, not if, they discover us.” Khenti emerged from the pool, shook so thoroughly that Xena would have approved, and then joined them at the bench. “Thank you, Muta.” He grinned at his mom when she handed him the towel, but his expression sobered quickly. “I am worried. As long as Mercy and I are here you are in danger. When the demons discover exactly where we are they will converge on this place. I will not be able to hold off a flood of them—and flood us they will.” His dark eyes met Mercy’s. “Has your sister made contact yet?”

Mercy purposefully refused to let her eyes wander down the warrior’s mostly bare, glistening-wet, muscular body.Get it together Mag! It doesn’t matter how hot he is—I do not want us to die here!“No. No, she hasn’t, but she heard me. Hunter will figure out how to help us. We just need to be sure she has the time she needs.”

Mercy glanced down at her chest and her stomach heaved. Hathor’s mark, the henna image of the goddess’s horns framing a large sun disc, continued to fade. There were currently no horns left at all, and the disc looked more like a crescent moon than the full, round sun. When the image completely disappeared it meant Mercy must leave the Egyptian Otherworld—or die there.

“Remember, time passes differently in Duat.” Khenti’s kind voice drew her gaze back to his. “Hathor’s mark is fading, but I believe the goddess is watching. She has already blessed you. I cannot believe she will allow her mark to disappear before you find a way to return to your world.”

“We,”Mercy insisted. “You’re coming with me. You’re not dead yet, either.”

Khenti’s gaze went to his mother, who smiled sadly up at her son. “No. I cannot come with you, Tee. Iamdead, my sweet son. Idobelong here.”

“You donotbelong in Duat! This is not the afterlife you deserve.It is a lonely eternity you were tricked into by Father. If Osiris knew he would not allow this travesty of justice.”

“Then leave this place with your Green Witch, Tee. Find a way to get to Osiris. That is the only way I can escape this eternity,” said Meryt.

“Okay, so we need time.” Mercy’s fingers drummed on the bench as she thought. Then she straightened and grinned at the verdant plants that thrived around her. “I think I can get us some time! Meryt, is there any chance you have some black candles?”

“I may. That would be up to Hathor,” said Meryt.

“What does that mean?” asked Mercy.

“Hathor blesses me with things—fabric I fashion into clothes, wine and such things I cannot grow here—and candles. They appear in a wooden box. We shall simply check the box for black candles. The goddess often knows what I need before I think to prayerfully ask,” Meryt said.