Spell Bound (A Fairy Retelling #3) (6 page)

He looks back at her pale face. Unshed tears pool in her dark eyes like ink. He doesn’t blame her for being upset with him. He hasn’t been completely forthright. If the situation was reversed, he might feel much the same way. “Aniya, I’m sorry. I didn’t...Look, I’m not going to let it happen. I’ll come up with a plan, something. I’ll help you.”

“Do you promise?” she asks.

“Yes, I promise,” he answers. “I just need some time to think of a plan.”

Aniya places a hand on his arm. Electricity that has nothing to do with magic runs through him. “Please, Nehi,” she begs, “My family is counting on me to return. I can’t leave them.”

“I won’t let that happen,” he says, believing his own promises. He takes the fan from her hand and holds it together with the golden sandals. “I’ll find a place to hide these. I won’t let Rahotep know what you’re capable of, and somehow we’ll get you out of here.”

Aniya’s eyes darken. He knows she doesn’t trust him. Not anymore.

The fan is easy enough to hide under his belt, but the sandals - there is nowhere to hide them until he is able to get to his room. Nehi does the best he can, holding them next to his side, trying to both hide them and look as natural as possible as he makes his way through the halls of the palace. Just a few more steps and he’ll be in the servants’ wing.

He turns a corner and collides head on with a young boy. Though Nehi keeps his footing, the boy falls, dropping a basket of clothing on the floor. Nehi recognizes him. Rahotep sent this youngster to fetch him the night Aniya first arrived at the palace. Although the boy is not one of the high priest’s initiates, Rahotep uses him often to do small errands.

“So sorry.” Nehi extends a hand out to the boy and helps him retrieve the basket.

The boy gives him an understanding smile and accepts the apology. “What’s that?” He points to the sandals in Nehi’s hand. “I’ve never seen sandals of gold before. Are they real?” His fingers reach out to touch them but Nehi conceals them behind his back.

“These are nothing. However,” Nehi pulls the small, golden fan from his belt and holds it out to the small boy, “this can be yours if you’ll help keep them a secret.”

The boy snatches the fan and examines it briefly before shoving it beneath his own belt. “Keep what a secret?” he says, lifts the basket from the floor and walks away.

Nehi shakes his head and grins as the boy disappears around the corner. He glances right and left. Few servants are walking through this part of the palace, and those that are don’t seem to be interested in him. It seems the way is clear. He takes the fastest, most direct route to his own chambers and is nearly there when he hears a familiar, deep voice ring through the hall.

“What do you have there, boy?”

Nehi comes to a stop. It would do no good to run or try to hide. There is nowhere he could hide from Rahotep.

“Just a pair of sandals, master.”

“Ah, the weaver girl. Show me.”

Nehi sighs in defeat. He could not defy his master even if he wanted to. His hands raise even before his brain has the chance to send the signal of compliance through his body. Nehi tries to struggle against the force that makes him obey, but he knows from years of experience that there is no disobeying the direct orders of the high priest.

“Did the slave girl make these?” Rahotep questions. “Tell me.”

The high priest’s magic loosens Nehi’s tongue. “Yes, master.”

“I thought you said she didn’t have any ability for magic.”

“It seems that I was wrong.”

Rahotep takes the sandals into his hands and rubs his fingers over the tightly woven gold. “Did she siphon the magic from you?”

“Yes, master.”

“And she was able to turn them completely to gold...interesting.” He thrusts the sandals back at Nehi, and Nehi clutches them to his chest. “If this girl has this much ability, let’s see how much magic she can hold. Tonight at sundown, bring her to me.”

Nehi tries to fight against the words, but they come anyway. “Yes, master.”

“With this much magic, who knows what might be possible?” Rahotep says to himself as he walks away.

Nehi’s eyes drop to the golden sandals that have sealed Aniya’s fate.

“Back again, are you?” the guard asks as Nehi arrives outside Aniya’s cell door.

“I’ve brought lunch for the girl. Sad, isn’t it? They feed her better than they feed us.”

“Really?” the guard asks, his interest now piqued.

“Yes. Take a look,” Nehi says, holding up a plate of food for the guard’s inspection. “Honeyed date and walnut cake for a prisoner? Don’t get me wrong, the girl is nice. But cake?”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” the guard says, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I agree,” Nehi says. He leans in close to the guard and whispers, “Say, you’ve been working really hard, and have been very accommodating. If you want, you can have this slice, and I’ll go back later and get another for me, too.”

“What about the girl?” the guard asks, casting a glance at the door.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure she really deserves cake. She is a prisoner after all. Go ahead, I won’t tell anyone,” Nehi shrugs.

“Sounds good to me,” the guard says, grabbing the cake and shoving it whole into his mouth. “Thanks,” he says as crumbs drip off his chin.

“No problem,” Nehi says with a conspiratorial wink.

The guard opens the door with a sly grin and winks back at him. Nehi enters the prison cell and closes the door behind him.

“Thanks for the lunch,” Aniya says as he hands the plate to her, “but did you come up with a plan for getting me out of here yet?”

“Yeah, I did,” he answers as he sits down beside her on the floor.

“Great, what is it?” she asks as she plucks at a piece of bread.

“Run.”

“What?” she says, the food hanging forgotten in midair.

“You have to run away.”

“Wait a minute. You told me that wouldn’t work. If I run, Rahotep is going to come after me and my whole family.”

“Yes, he will,” Nehi agrees. “So all of your family will have to leave the city.”

“I can’t just uproot my entire family at a moment’s notice and leave.”

“You will if you want to live,” he answers, his voice flat.

“What are you talking about?”

“Rahotep saw the straw sandals you turned into gold. I tried to keep them from him, but he has methods of persuasion that...Anyway, he knows about your ability with magic. He won’t be selling you into slavery after all.”

“Well, isn’t that a good thing?” she asks.

“No, what he has planned for you is much, much worse.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He knows you can hold magic. Sometimes he finds people like you, and when he does, he fills them with so much magic that they burn alive. No one is meant to be a conduit for that much magic. The human body can’t take it. It burns up. I’ve seen it before.

“You’re different, though. He knows you can manipulate magic as well - better than he can. He wants to see how much magic he can pour into you before he drains it away for his own use. He will kill you. You have to leave right away.”

“How? I’m stuck in this dungeon. How am I going to escape?”

“With magic,” Nehi says, holding his hands out to her.

“Can I?” she asks, reaching for him. Nehi nods. She holds her hands above his and smiles as the magic flows into her. “Okay,” she says after a moment. “I hope that’s enough.”

“Take it all,” he tells her.

“Are you sure?”

Nehi nods. “I’d rather you have it than Rahotep. He’s already taken as much as he can use for awhile. It tires him out to use the magic. He has to space it out over several days, weeks sometimes. It doesn’t seem to bother you, though, so take it all.”

“Nehi, I…” she leans in close and Nehi grabs her hands in his. The magic streams out of him leaving a cool tingling in his hands where his skin meets hers.

“Thank you,” she says when he pulls his hands away.

“Don’t thank me until we get you out of here,” he says and stands next to the door. “Let’s see if it’s time,” he says, holding a hand down to help her up. Aniya gives him a quizzical look. Nehi raps his knuckles against the door. There is only quiet.

He knocks again. “I’m ready to come out now. Guard?”

No answer.

Nehi nods to Aniya. “It’s time to use some of that magic,” he says and stands aside.

Aniya smiles and places a hand against the door. The tumblers lift and the lock turns on the other side of the wall. The door hangs open and invites them to freedom.

“What happened to him?” she asks as she walks into the hallway and spots the guard lying on the floor.

“Sweets don’t agree with him, I guess,” Nehi answers with a sly grin.

He grabs her hand and leads her through the dark halls of the dungeon out into the dazzling daylight of the upper halls. Aniya’s hand grips his tightly as he pauses at every corner, looking for anyone who might spot them and give them away. The few servants that see them are too busy with their own duties and simply give Nehi and Aniya a polite nod as they pass.

Nehi pushes aside a curtained door and walks inside a small room. Aniya follows. Bedding mats sit on the floor. Other than that, the furnishings are sparse and the room is austere except for a beautiful woven dress lying on top of the bedding.

“I stole it from the wash,” he says, his cheeks turning red as Aniya reaches down to stroke the fine linin. “I think it belongs to a visiting dignitary. Or maybe to one of Pharaoh’s wives.”

“One of the queens?” Aniya squeals, snapping her hand back. “Did you steal this from a queen?”

“I don’t know,” Nehi answers, “but keep your voice down. I don’t think it belongs to Queen Nefertiti,” he says, referring to Pharaoh’s first wife. “She’s too tall to wear this. It might belong to Queen Kiya. She’s shorter.”

“Why do you have it?” Aniya says, her trembling fingers finally reaching down to touch the fine garment.

“For you, of course. You can’t look like a slave when you leave here. In fact, you’ll have to look like a noble woman. I’ll pretend to be escorting you out of the palace until you can get away.”

“I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not,” she says with a frown.

“Look, I don’t know how much magic you’ll be able to use at once. Maybe you’ll be able to walk right out of here without a problem. But, why chance it? You’ll look less like an escaped slave and more like someone who belongs in the palace if you put this on. Besides, what you’re wearing is really starting to smell.”

Nehi reels from the punch Aniya gives his arm, but she’s smiling at him.

“Fine, I’ll wear it. Now turn around so I can put it on.”

Nehi returns the smile and obeys. “There’s some water and a cloth in that basin on the floor. You might want to wash off a little. You’ve got dirt all over you.”

“Well, I have been stuck in a dungeon for the past three days,” she says as she sponges her hands and face clean. “I was bound to get dirty in there.”

Nehi’s nervous energy makes him jittery. He runs his fingers through his hair as his plan races through his mind. He hopes he hasn’t forgotten anything. “The sandals on the floor are yours. Put them on and take the golden basket. Maybe their worth can help you and your family escape. And try to do something with your hair, too. There’s straw in it.”

“I had no idea you were so critical,” Aniya teases. Nehi smiles at the jibe, but doesn’t miss the tremble in her voice. They’re both nervous.

“I’m just trying to help.”

Aniya shakes the straw out of her hair and slips out of her clothes. The room is so small she can’t help bumping into Nehi. He tries to ignore it, but the touch of her skin on his sends tingles throughout his body. He fights the temptation to look and keeps his eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

“Okay,” she says finally, “I’m done. Do I still look like a runaway slave?”

Nehi turns around. His mouth opens, but no words come out.

“What?” She runs her fingers through her hair for any remaining bits of straw. “Did I miss something? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Aniya,” Nehi says when he finds his voice again. “You’re beautiful. You could be a queen of Egypt.”

Aniya’s pale cheeks flush with the heat of her embarrassment. “Thank you.”

“Let’s get you out of here, your highness.”

“What do I do?” Aniya asks when they reach the main hall and near the palace doors.

“Use the magic to convince the guards to let you go through the doors and out into the city.” Nehi answers.

“Can I do that?”

“I think so.”

“You think so?”

“Well, I don’t know for sure. I’ve seen Rahotep use magic to manipulate Pharaoh before, so you should be able to do the same with the guards.”

“Okay, I use the magic to get past the guards. Then what?”

“You get yourself and your family out of Waset before sundown.”

“Why before sundown?”

“Because that’s when I will help bring you to him.”

Aniya grabs Nehi’s arm and pulls him behind a towering statue of Pharaoh. “Bring me to him? Why would you do that?”

“I won’t have a choice. If he tells me to do something…I just...have to do it.”