Shadow of the Sun (The Shadow Saga) (60 page)

The Apepi! She had summoned the Apepi to consume my soul and deny me the Eternal bliss of Amentii. That was the most despicable act. This evil woman called forth the monster of the underworld to steal my essence.
Oh, Aten, if this is my soul’s end, I beg you make it painless
.

The Dragon of the Darkness undulated in a chaotic pattern and shrieked, rattling the skies. I strained to keep my hands by my side and felt the pouch. What was this? I opened the flap. The sliver of the moonstone fell out. I grabbed it and the colors burst forth. Sit-Amun stepped upon the rocks.

“Seize her,” she commanded the dragon. “Consume the very essence that gives her life. Doom her to imprisonment in the Duat for all time.” Its terrible gnashing teeth chopped the air to shreds. The Apepi aimed right at me. No escape. Sit-Amun raised her hands, and lightning pierced the firmament, followed by rolling thunder. She stepped closer, calling forth the insidious beast. The protective lion pounced and hit her square in the back, knocked her face first into the watery abyss. Great spears of lightning brightened the night as she thrashed about.

The green snout of a crocodile surfaced from the depths. The big croc clamped down those sharp teeth and bit her in two. Sit-Amun’s face turned into a death mask as her owl eyes froze in terror. The croc turned and dragged her bloody mass down into a watery grave.

The Apepi screeched toward me. What had my father and Pentu done to protect us from this all-consuming soul seeker? I called down the blue Cosmic rain of protection to encase me.
No one can ever hurt me again
, I thought as I touched the moonstone in my pocket. Then it dawned upon me that I didn’t need its magic. I had faith. I let the token fall into the water.

From the mire, an outline rose up. Sit-Amun returned. Her ghost floated up, confirming that she had indeed wested. Her dark essence tried to find its way into Amentii. The Apepi opened his mouth. In that same moment, her helpless, polluted soul rose, blocking my path like a black butterfly hurled about in the wind. The serpent, set to devour me, instead latched on to Sit-Amun’s soul and sucked the energy from it.

The Apepi, now sated from the consumption of the one who Called It Forth, departed back to the shadows of the underworld. Sit-Amun had sealed her own fate and had joined Mery-Ptah after all.

* * *

I
knelt beside the bed of my Meti and brought her back from her slumber.

“Meti, you must rise now,” I said. The baby cooed softly in my arms.

“Merit-Aten, is that you? I had a terrible dream that I had lost my akh.”

She pulled herself up and rubbed her sore empty abdomen, remembering the truth of her dream.

“Meti, there is someone here to greet you.”

“Who?” she asked. Her eyes flew open, and I knew she searched for the face of General Horemheb. She sagged back against the pillow, disappointed.

I showed her the baby. “This is the child of Rennutet, a Neophyte in the Aten Mystery School and daughter of one of the Royal Ornaments, a granddaughter of Grand Djed Amunhotep III. She conceived at the Ra Temple at Heliopolis and received the Cosmic Light her entire pregnancy.”

“Is it a boy?” Meti asked with only the slightest interest.

“No, a girl. The baby’s first sound was S, so I named her Setepent-Ra in honor of the mother of my friend. I must repay the karmic debt I incurred by saving this akh earlier.”

“And you plan to claim and raise this child?” asked Meti with a sniff.

“I knew if I left you with your sisters, your maternal longings would emerge.”

I shook my head. “No, you will raise her.” I held out the small bundle to her, but she folded her arms against her chest. Undeterred, I laid the baby on her lap. I firmly repeated and continued. “In return, I will keep your secret of the child you lost.”

Meti paled. “You think you can bargain with me? I already have five girls. I wanted a boy.”

“You will raise her,” I firmly repeated. “And love her. And I will keep silent about the General.”

She glared. “You and I both know it is my right to produce heirs any way I choose. No one can stop me from taking a lover. Besides, the General has already gifted me and no one has dared say a word.” The baby squirmed and began to fuss. Meti picked her up reluctantly.

“What do you mean?”

“Ankh-es-en-pa-Aten. The child is not your father’s.”

I gasped and covered my mouth. “Why?”

“Your father needs me. True enough. But the General wants me, craves me. After easting five children, he still makes me feel desirous. He does not look at me like a breeder. Besides, the HeMeti always has the last say. If you wish for me to raise this child, then accept my bargain.” She now cradled the baby in her arms, rocking her, to entice me, to manipulate me, I knew.

“What bargain?” I asked warily.

“I accept that you have chosen the path of initiation. I shall not stand in your way. Perhaps I was not meant for that path. The Sesh chose me while the Aten has chosen you.”

Finally, we spoke as one woman to another. I released the pain she had caused me. I did not wear her crown nor have to make her choices.

“But,” Meti continued, “in order for me to pronounce Setepent-Ra the newest akh of royalty, you must choose a consort and also produce an heir.”

“Impossible.” I shook my head. No, Meti had to do this for me. I owed it to Rennutet, and, I as a Neophyte, I could not raise the child.

She glared and thrust the newborn back at me, the dear daughter of Ra and child of my only friend. Then it occurred to me that if Rennutet could go through the initiations and receive the light, perhaps, so could For the sake of the baby, I was willing to try. “I accept.”

“Make your sacred oath,” Meti demanded and narrowed her eyes.

“I pledge to choose a consort and produce an heir,” I said with two fingers to my heart.

She pulled the baby close again and kissed the top of her little head.

“Another girl. Your father will be so proud.”

* * *

B
one weary, I grabbed my shawl and left, knowing that no one could comfort me. I had lost my only friend. I made my way to the water. I felt alone, yet I welcomed the quietude that now penetrated my soul. The thousand outstretched arms of the Aten embraced me as the glory of the sun rose upon the horizon and mirrored the Nile shore. My home.

“Merit-Aten,” called out Archollos.

I turned with a start.

He strode forth, his hair the color of gold. My heart skipped a beat.

He led a stallion, a strong prancing animal white as a marble statue.

“I searched for you all night.” His voice cracked. “I feared Sit-Amun hurt you. May that vile woman rot.”

My eyes teared. “Let us not judge her so harshly for life has already done that. I now understand why she turned her back on her family.”

Archollos gazed at me curiously. “I did as you asked of me. I found the General, and he sent his soldiers to protect the Per Akh. We just discovered the top half of Sit-Amun’s corpse floating in the crocodile pit.”

His beautiful eyes were intense. “Everyone was so worried about you. The General assured me that you were all right, and he wishes for you to accept this gift. He told me to thank you for saving your Meti’s daughter.” I held my hand out to the white horse. Its lush tail rippled in the breeze and its green eyes twinkled in the morning light while muffling my palm.

“My white horse, my treasure, you have returned.” I started to sob and hugged that powerful animal’s neck.

“Praise be to Aten you live,” Archollos said, his voice rough with emotion. He pulled me from my horse to his heart. “I will not lose you.”

I returned his loving embrace. He tilted my face to his and as the Atenic Light permeated our very beings with orange and red fingers caressing us, he kissed me.

I let him. Ego. Salvation. Revelation.

GLOSSARY

Aba Scepter: Golden paddle like scepter

Abdi-Ashirta: An unscrupulous king of Amurru in the coastal plain of Syria

Abydos: (Ab.bye.dos) A Temple on the Nile dedicated to Osiris

Akh: (Ak) The Egyptian word for child, the shadow of his/her mother

Akhemenu ritual: (Ak.men.nu) The ritual where a priest would penetrate the anal orifice of a boy when the priests release their seed mixed with a hallucinogenic tincture, these drug induced boys become prophetic

Akhenaten: (Ak.eh.na.ten) Born Amunhotep IV, son of Queen Ti-Yee and Pharaoh Amunhotep III; name translates as Shadow of The Wesir

Akheru Shentiu: (Ak.hair.roo Shen.tea) The Art of Divine Celestial Utterance

Akhet-Aten: (Ak.et At.ten) The Horizon of the Aten: Where Pharaoh Akhenaten moved his capitol. Present day Tel-Amarna

Akhet Hetep: (Ak.ket Hea.tep) “Empowering horizon” carved stone plaque covered in gold with Amun secret inscriptions used as a power object in Amun Temples

Akhmim: (Ak.mem) On the east bank of the Nile across from Soltag lies the town of Akhmim. It is an ancient town, known as Ipu or Khent-Menu to the early Egyptians and Panopolis to the Greeks.

Akhu Ashauru Aten: (Ak.hoo Ah.shar.roo) The Liturgy to Aten Alabaster: (Al.ah.bas.tar) 1. A compact fine-textured usually white or golden translucent gypsum often carved into vases and ornaments. 2. A hard calcite or aragonite that is translucent and is sometimes banded in oranges, ambers and brown.

Amaret: (Am.ar.et) The Lady of Two Eyes—the blind mystic Amarna: (Ah.mar.na) The current name for Akhet-Aten, where Pharaoh Akhenaten moved his capitol. Present day Tel-Amarna. Am Duat: (Ahm.doo.at) The Book of how to navigate the Netherworld

Amentii: (Ah.men.tea) The Heaven plane Amun: (Ah.moon) The god of the air. Imn means “The Hidden One” and was the state god of Thebes in the 18th Dynasty. Amun is also the fifth stage of the sun, when the earth falls into darkness. Greed, superstition and fear dominate the populace.