Shadows of the Nile (24 page)

Tadinanefer set it down on a table.

“It's an odd colour,” she murmured, remembering the drinks mixed with sleeping drugs in the brothel.

“The redness is from berries brought from neighbouring countries and ferried along the Nile for only royal persons to drink. They'll make you healthy and fertile.”

Tadinanefer stared down at Femi. Her head was bowed and her words sounded false.

“Who sent this special drink to me?”

“The doctors. They wish to see you pregnant.”

There was a movement of a curtain in the distance so slight, and yet Tadinanefer didn't miss it. She knew it wasn't Ammon. He was never very subtle when he moved, more like a great bull, trying to avoid delicate furniture and silky drapes. Someone was spying on Femi to make sure she delivered the drink and was listening in.

“I don't feel thirsty at the moment, Femi, but if it's so good why don't you drink some of it and tell me what it tastes like. Here, come sit with me and drink.”

She held the flagon to Femi's mouth.

The servant began to cry.

Tadinanefer took the drink away and replaced it on the table. She waited for Femi to say something.

The ring was beginning to tighten. It began to pinch; the pain went straight from her finger and up her arm. She lashed out with the ring at Femi. Something came out of her ring and caught the girl's throat. Blood spurted into the drink.

“Ammon!” Tadinanefer screamed. He was with her in a moment, his dagger drawn.

“Not her!” she cried, agitated. “She's finished. We must find Thoth.”

“I'll go on my own,” Ammon said tersely. “I know the palace – the secret ways; I'll find him.”

“You must be quick. He's in the most terrible danger. Oh, hurry, hurry!”

But she knew in her heart it was too late.

The ring sat dead and lifeless on her finger. The gold seemed dull and tarnished, as tiny snake heads came from under it, their eyes wet with tears.

*

Thoth was dead.

Ammon bore her the devastating news.

“I'm sorry, Tadinanefer. It was to have been a double poisoning.” Ammon sat, trying to comfort her. “Both of you at the same time. There's nothing we can do.”

She wept for hours.

Somehow she knew happiness could never be theirs. There'd been too many people against them, powerful people who could wield money and status, especially against her.

“Thoth said his wife wouldn't destroy him,” she said lifelessly. “He said she feared him too much.”

“She had backing. Thoth's second cousin wanted him out of the way so he was closer to the throne. He'll inherit all of Thoth's wealth, his wife – and you.”

“Never me!”

“Well, at least it gives you the chance to live. He likes women. He'll treat you well as long as you obey him.”

“Oh, but how will I live, how? How can I live without Thoth? How can I bear it? And what will happen to you, Ammon?”

“He's offered me a post. I'm a good warrior and an asset to any master. I've had to change my allegiance, or face torture and death. I've no choice. I want to live. I wish things could have been different.”

“I must mourn.” There were more tears. “I wish to be in the tomb when he is incarcerated. Can you do that for me, Ammon?”

“I think so. If you swear to me right now that you'll become a willing servant to your new master. Then if you're covered from head to foot in mourning clothes when you're in the procession of the dead I think it'll be allowed.”

She thought briefly.

“I agree.”

*

Ammon left soon after. He confirmed that she'd be allowed to follow Thoth's death procession to the Valley of the Kings and into the tomb, as long as she kept herself covered. On returning from the tomb she'd no longer have any status and would be housed with the women until her new master wanted her.

*

The dreadful day dawned. Tadinanefer had cried but also she'd slept. She needed all her wits about her if she was to achieve what she'd planned. A slave brought her a heavy black shift and veil which shrouded her and revealed nothing of who she was. She was ushered along to where other women stood, similarly dressed, wailing and crying. She bent her head and made sobbing noises. She'd spent her tears for a bit and now she was determined to achieve her objective.

They walked a long way, following a procession of priests, other mourners and guards. The only person carried in a chair was Thoth's wife who was dressed in a long black shift with her head barely covered. She doesn't mourn, Tadinanefer thought. She's pleased with herself, having helped to bring about Thoth's downfall. But Tadinanefer didn't give much for her chances of survival. She'd destroyed one royal. She was dangerous. She'd be stopped before she had the opportunity to destroy another. Her days were numbered.

When they came to the tomb the guards moved out, forming a line along the sides of the route. Only the priests and the mourners were allowed to walk down the long dimly lit corridor to the room at the end where the sarcophagus stood. With her heart almost at breaking point, Tadinanefer watched the coffin lowered in and the heavy slab put carefully on top. She nearly screamed out but held her mouth so no sound could emerge. The ceremony went on for some time. She watched carefully. There was a room at the back where some of Thoth's furniture had been stored. She had to get to it, but how? Anyone would see if she forced her way through mourners and priests. She was beginning to despair. Her plan was being put into jeopardy. There was nothing she could do. Any moment she'd be forced back to the outside and not be able to regain entrance.

Silently she began to weep, twisting her ring in anguish. And then it happened. A great wind rushed down the corridor from the outside and all the torches were extinguished. Quickly, she recovered her senses; she pushed herself forward in the darkness, guided by her senses. She stumbled against mourners or priests, she didn't know which, and found herself at the back of the sarcophagus. Feeling for the far wall, she found the room where, using her hands in the blackness, she found a large piece of furniture and crouched down behind it. Someone relit one of the torches.

She could see the panic. They'd all thought they were about to be imprisoned. Thoth's wife quickly kissed the tomb and backed away. The mourners followed her, and the priests mumbled something more, before abandoning their task and exiting.

It became very quiet, with only a little light from the one torch. She heard the heavy slab nearby crash down. Then she heard slab after slab coming down, as the tomb was sealed forever.

She was on her own. But she didn't care. She was with Thoth. They'd look for her. They'd think she'd escaped into the sands somewhere. No one would believe she'd shut herself in the tomb. They'd never reopen the tomb. They'd never find her.

She took off her outer robe and stood dressed only in her shawl, which was knotted round her waist, concealing only her lower half. Her ring glittered in the dim light. She knelt next to the tomb, feeling it and somehow sensing a strange warmth coming through from Thoth's body. Then she looked up. She knew Anubis would come. She saw him descend, like a giant, through the walls. She watched him shrink in size until he was only a little taller than her.

“Anubis.” She bowed her head.

“You, Tadinanefer, should not be here. You are not dead. You have not been prepared for the afterlife. How can I use my spells? They will be useless.”

“I beg you to forgive me. It's my destiny to live and die with Thoth. I'm his for all eternity.”

He looked at her.

“You are the snake woman, a servant of the great Goddess. It is true it was written you should die with Thoth. But you live, and I cannot kill you. Neither can I use my spells to take Thoth to the afterlife because you are here and your presence stops me. The only thing I can do is to leave you both in limbo to sleep for thousands of years. I will burn the Ankh into your back to protect you. And then I will wake you in a much safer time. You will both grow to adulthood before you meet. Then in order for you both to live on together in that world you will have to face a trial, and fight the evil which brought you to this. If you don't succeed you will both die instantly.”

The torch light flickered. “You must sleep now, Tadinanefer. Sleep for a long time. You are brave and beautiful, and worthy of a great man.”

“Anubis. Thank you.” She pushed herself as close as possible to the tomb, and, with her head leaning against it, settled down to wait.

Anubis moved back into the shadows.

She felt it growing colder. The light dimmed. A snake slowly wound itself around her, comforting her with its warmth, as she peacefully fell into a deep, deep sleep.

“Wake up, child.”

Aline felt the shawl lifted from her face.

“We must hurry,” urged Anubis. “We have only some minutes left in which my spells will work. When you both lost your lives thousands of years ago you, Tadinanefer, were not properly prepared for the afterlife, and that imperfection affected Thoth, so he too remained in limbo. I have brought you back to life, but with a limited time span, and that will soon be over. For you both to live now you must fight the powerful evil which once more threatens to destroy you, and to do that I have brought you back to the tomb. My power is great but this is something you have to do on your own. If all else fails I will use my book of spells to send you off together into the afterlife. That is all I can offer you.”

“We will live or die together,” Thoth murmured.

“Very well. Thoth, you are rightly attired in your royal regalia. Tadinanefer, you must disrobe, and knot your shawl round your waist so you are dressed as you were when you were entombed; make sure the Ankh symbol on your back is clearly visible. You are to hold Thoth's right hand with your left, so he is in contact with your ring. Then stand together facing me. Do it quickly.”

They both obeyed him immediately and Aline stood tightly clutching Thoth's hand.

“Now, whatever happens you must not let go of one another.”

He touched both their foreheads as if joining them in life and in death.

Aline felt the ring start to tighten; she felt the Ankh begin to burn into her back, and the shawl become alive, with its tiny snakes rearing their heads. The fight was about to ensue.

Strange red light filled the tomb, like the dawn of day, and then the sun appeared brightly, then it waned and it became very dark and the moon came out and shone in the sky; and the pattern repeated itself as day after day, year after year, century after century followed in quick succession. A wind raged through, trying to tear the lovers apart, but Aline felt Thoth cling steadfastly to her. Strange sights appeared – pyramids, the Nile, and boats from long ago. She saw Ptah spearing a fish; she watched her mother on her white horse gallop to meet her father; Masika, her adopted mother, walked in front of her; Chione followed, holding herbs and scrolls; Eboni smiled at her; Ammon strode across holding his sword high. Then the scene faded and changed.

Out of the darkness Nephthys appeared, with a cruel smile on her face, holding one of her beaded collars, which she tried to put round Tadinanefer's neck.

“She's not really there,” Aline said. “She's just an image. It's one of her tricks not to appear herself. Don't let go of me, Thoth.”

“Oh, but I am here, aren't I?” Nephthys taunted. “I'm always in your mind, because I'm more powerful than you are. You'll always be my slave. I told Thoth's wife, just before I died, how easy it would be to get rid of you. I told her which poison to use, I even made it up for her, and she kept it until the opportunity came to get rid of you both.”

“She lies,” said Thoth.

“Do I? I deliberately goaded Ptah into killing me so I could wait in limbo for you both. I knew Tadinanefer wouldn't drink the poison, but you, Thoth, are so gullible you'd believe anything; I knew you'd think it would make you very fertile and so would drink it all! I knew Tadinanefer would be stupid enough to bury herself alive in the tomb with you, and you both would have to be kept in limbo because Tadinanefer wasn't properly dead. What was it like, my sweet Tadinanefer, to bury alive all that beauty you had, and die alone in the cold with all that sand above you?” She laughed. “Then finally Anubis brought you back to life. That's something I'd waited for. I brought myself back at the same time and now I can finally finish you both off with my powerful spells. There'll be no afterlife for you. You'll float in a pit of darkness forever. I have waited for this moment, planned it for all time. I will take all the power given to you by the Snake Goddess and I will absorb it. She will become weak. She will serve me.”

Aline suddenly felt Thoth's anger and in that anger he slightly loosened his grip on her.

“She's trying to part us,” she said. “If you let go of me we'll die. Forget your anger, Thoth, she's not here. She's just an image.”

“Oh, but Thoth,” Nephthys continued to taunt, “I'm very much alive and in your present life. You've both seen me. I have powers to challenge your snake woman.”

Aline guessed at any moment Thoth would go after her. She bent and kissed the ring. It responded by quickly spreading itself onto both their middle fingers so they were joined together. She took the shawl from her waist and wound it round their hands. The little snakes were spitting venom at Nephthys.

“Leave her to me,” Aline murmured.

“Be careful.”

She didn't have to be warned; she was at her most vengeful. She believed everything Nephthys had said. She believed Nephthys had goaded Ptah into killing her so she could put herself into limbo and wait for this moment. She believed Nephthys had talked Thoth's wife into planning their downfall. Because of her calculating ways she was responsible for poisoning Thoth, sending him to his death and burying her alive in the tomb. She now realised why. Nephthys was using her to destroy the Snake Goddess. It was time to take her on. She would fight Nephthys, tooth and nail, and she was determined to finish her off, once and for all.

They stood together, bound by the snake cloth and ring, Thoth in all his wealth and gold and Aline, her body unclothed, with power exuding from every pore. White beams of light started to circulate from the Ankh. Still Nephthys looked on, clearly confident she was about to annihilate them, and apparently not in the least bothered about them being tied together; she would finish them off in one fell swoop with her evil ways. She started to chant.

Anubis stood quietly. He hadn't made a sound or tried to interfere.

Someone moved silently near to Aline's side.

Aline held out her hand to her.

“Come, Tadinanefer. We are now almost completely joined. We know what happened. Now let's take our revenge.”

The beautiful young girl stepped forward. She held up her hand, showing the ring on her finger.

“You had my finger cut off, Nephthys,” Tadinanefer murmured. “And you thought the ring disappeared with it. But they were both returned to me soon after by the powerful Snake Goddess. The ring has been entombed with the great Thoth and with me, and it has grown in power over thousands of years. You feared it then. You have even more reason to fear it now.”

Nephthys stared aghast at the ring.

Tadinanefer moved right up to Aline; still she came closer; strange lights played around the tomb; Tadinanefer put her arms round Aline and moved into her image. Slowly, effortlessly, they merged into one being.

Now she was stronger and far more powerful than she had ever been.

“You destroyed my life and my happiness, Nephthys,” Aline said. “I'm no ordinary person. I was born the daughter of a High Priestess of the Stones, who had been brought here by Wadjet, so that I should serve Thoth and bear him children. You stopped that. You planned the murder of a powerful and noble cousin to the Pharaoh. You challenge the power of Wadjet. You are wicked. I'll take away all your evil and make you live a good life. That will be a living hell for you, Nephthys.”

“Try,” Nephthys snarled. Clouds of black smoke came from her and swirled around them all. Ugly shapes formed, and hit out at the couple, trying to fill their mouths and eyes with filthy ashes. Aline, strong now, and taking courage from Thoth, stood her ground.

“You wicked, bad woman,” she hissed at Nephthys. “I'm going to finish off your disgusting evil ways, once and for all.”

Something moved under the shawl. Then a very large cobra emerged. It slid round Aline's waist and stared at Nephthys. Its head was poised and its eyes dark.

“That isn't a real snake,” Nephthys said sneeringly. “It's an image from thousands of years ago. You'll have to do better than that!”

“You're right. It's no ordinary snake. It's thousands of years old and it comes straight from Wadjet herself. You've presented yourself here as an image, so I've asked for an image to finally destroy you.”

Aline saw total fear cross Nephthys's face. She started to back off. But she was too late. The snake slid quickly over to her and in a flash struck high, latching onto her neck; blood poured out.

Nephthys screamed out in pain and disbelief. The screams echoed round, reverberating.

Then the whole scene suddenly shattered before them. There was no snake, no black ashes and no Nephthys. The tomb had returned to normal.

“It is done,” Anubis spoke at last. “You are free of her.”

Aline felt the ring shrink back onto her own finger. She pulled the shawl away.

She looked at Thoth. He was no longer wearing his royal regalia but normal everyday clothes.

“Dress now,” Anubis said to Aline. “And go from here as quickly as you can. The time portal is closed forever and so is this tomb.”

Aline threw on her things. Then, putting the shawl over her head, she knelt in front of Anubis and bowed her head.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

“It is good.” He touched her forehead.

Suddenly there was a rumble.

“Go, now. Hurry!” he urged.

The ground swayed, threatening the very foundations of the building. The walls started to crack. Thoth grabbed Aline's hand.

“Come on,” he shouted. “Run!”

The huge figures carved into the walls started to crumble and fall. Stones littered the pathway in front of them and the burning torches began to go out one by one. There was complete darkness behind them but there was still some light from the entrance.

Aline stumbled. “Oh no,” she gasped. “Look at all the fine drawings, they're disintegrating. Look at the colours – they're fading.”

“Forget it all,” urged Thoth. “It's all thousands of years in the past now. We must get out of here.”

Even as he spoke a huge section of the ceiling collapsed in front of them.

Thoth stopped. “We'll have to climb over it. I'll go first. Follow me.”

As she took a step, another boulder fell onto the end of her shawl, trapping it.

“My shawl,” she cried.

“Take it off,” shouted Thoth. “Leave it.”

“I can't leave it. It's part of me.”

“No, it's part of what was.” He deftly unwound it from her body.

She had one last try to pull it out from the masonry but it was secured fast under the weight.

Thoth grabbed her hand once more. He pulled her over the rubble. There was dust everywhere and as she tried to wipe her eyes she let go of Thoth. One minute he was there. The next he was gone.

“Thoth,” she shouted, frightened.

“I'm here.” He sounded a long way away, and yet he could only have been a very short distance in front of her.

“I can't see you.” She began to panic. She too, like the shawl, was trapped. She'd lost her sense of direction. If she moved she could go the wrong way, back into the tomb. Then she'd never get out.

“I'm here!” Thoth shouted. “I'll come back for you.”

“No!” she shouted back. “No! I'm coming. Just wait there.” She had to save him. Even if she was about to perish he must live. “Go on, I think I can see you. I'll follow you.” She tried to keep the panic out of her voice. Now she could see nothing. The atmosphere was so thick with dust she could hardly see the ring on her finger. She stared at it hard. It gleamed. It was like a torch to show her the way. It was loose, far looser than it had ever been. It was ready to come off. She slipped it over her knuckle, and it came away. She held it in her palm. As with the shawl she knew she no longer needed it. She kissed it, then threw it with all her force into the air. It went straight up, and then circled, and flew straight through the greyness, creating a path of light as it did so. She could see Thoth. She clambered through to him as fast as she could and held him.

“Come on,” he said gently.

After a few more minutes they reached the entrance. She glanced back, looking for the ring. But it had disappeared.

“My ring has gone too,” she murmured.

“You have me for all time instead,” Thoth smiled at her.

The ground began to shake beneath their feet. They ran as fast as they could towards the gates at the top of the valley. When they reached them they stopped and looked back.

The moon had come out, bathing the whole area in an eerie light.

“Look at that,” Thoth said.

Where the tomb had been was a huge hole. Everything inside it had disintegrated and crumbled to dust. Now a sudden strong wind blew; it swirled around the valley collecting volumes of sand and depositing it into the chasm. Then it was filled and flat, and looking as if nothing had ever been there. The wind stopped. It was deathly quiet.

Aline realised they were free. It was hard to believe that at long last Nephthys's evil had gone, and whatever remained of her in this life should be harmless. The past was well and truly buried. Anubis had helped them move into another world, where they could live out their lives in a normal way. They could experience each day, watch the seasons change, see their children grow, and then their grandchildren. It was all there for them. Life.

*

Several times in the night after they had made love Aline had slept and then woken in Thoth's arms. She looked at him and touched him to make sure he was real and he was there. Sometimes he'd stir and they'd make love once more, but sometimes he remained asleep and she would trace his whole body with her fingers. She never had to worry about losing him again. He'd always be with her until their time was over, and then they would pass into the afterlife. She knew she'd had to fight for him and wait for thousands of years to be once again in his arms. But it was worth it. They had something really precious in their love for each other.