The Cult of Sutek (16 page)

“Whoa. Enough. I know what I told her. It doesn’t need repeating. I didn’t mean for you to hear all that stuff,” said Rondel, cutting him off.

“Well, I did.”

“Obviously.” He paused, clearing his throat. “Look, it’s not for me to be the one to tell you about those things. You’ll have to learn about them when you’re older.”

Jahi grumbled. “That’s the same thing my father’s guards tell me when I hear them whispering to the servants.”

Andrasta chuckled again.

They made their way through the underground river and outside of the city without incident.

Andrasta picked up the trail of Dendera’s captors after talking to a few people who pointed them in the right direction. The citizens trapped outside of Girga had spotted a small group rushing out of the city on horseback just before the guards closed the gates.

Running down the road beside Rondel, Andrasta finally spoke. “Did you mean any of the things you told that woman?”

“Gods, no. I know I’m not half the man I once was, but she is at least twice the woman she used to be.”

“Then how did you keep a straight face? It was so . . .”

“Convincing?” Rondel snorted. “I told you I was a great entertainer.”

Andrasta grunted. “I’m beginning to see that.”

Maybe I haven’t given him enough credit after all.

Chapter 8

Jahi’s body hurt in places he didn’t know could hurt from all the running. He had never been one to play physical games with boys his age. They never worked out well, him being the son of a king. One of two things would happen—the boys he’d play with wouldn’t try very hard, and therefore let him win, or worse, they’d look for ways to beat and humiliate him. He had learned that it was best to just focus on his studies.

He enjoyed those more anyway.

He was not so lazy to forsake all physical activity though. His father made sure he participated in combat drills led by the captain of the guard. He never expected Jahi to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with men in battle. However, Horus made the point many times over that a ruler who appeared too soft or frail would not be respected in the same way as one who at least maintained the illusion he could fight.

Seeing the wisdom in his father’s words, Jahi had trained religiously each day. Often he felt good, almost refreshed, when the sessions ended, a welcome break to the hours at his books.

Just a day ago, Jahi would have considered his conditioning to be good, definitely above adequate. However, after running beside Rondel and Andrasta through Girga and then outside the city, he realized his conditioning paled in comparison to theirs.

Are my father’s guards inept? Or have they been going easy on me all this time?
Jahi knew the answer and it stung.
They didn’t think I could handle the training. How many jokes have been told at my expense?

After hours of travel Andrasta finally called for a rest. The woman’s breathing appeared labored but not as ragged as Jahi expected, especially since she wore armor and carried most of their supplies. Even Rondel appeared to be in better shape than Jahi would have expected. He bent over for a few moments to catch his breath, but stood quickly and walked around the clearing, performing a series of odd stretches.

It took Jahi much longer to stand, having collapsed once his legs stopped moving. They began to seize on him. Cramps had him groaning between heaving up the contents of his stomach.

Too much rich food last night. Gods, I’m going to die.

He felt an arm slide under his, hoisting him to his feet. Despite his muttered protests, Andrasta forced him to walk in circles.

“Be quiet. Focus on your breathing,” she said. “Stopping, no matter how tired you are, will only make things worse.”

Jahi winced with each step as lances of pain ran up his legs.

“Give him some of this,” Jahi heard Rondel say.

A skin of water touched his lips. He turned away as his stomach rolled. “No. I’ll just throw it up.”

Andrasta grabbed his head and jerked it backward. “You need to drink. Do it slowly.”

Jahi opened his mouth. A splash of cool water brushed across his lips and rolled down his throat. His stomach convulsed, but he managed to keep it down. He took a few more steps and was rewarded with another sip of water. The process repeated several more times until he felt better.

Andrasta sat him next to a tree, then went to speak with Rondel in private. Eventually, she walked away into the woods. Rondel sat beside him.

“Is something wrong?” asked Jahi.

“We had a disagreement, but it’s been taken care of.” Rondel kneeled next to him. “I’m going to rub your legs to help with the soreness. You’re probably going to feel awful for several days, even at your age, but this will help.”

Rondel’s knuckles massaged his legs with varying levels of intensity. Jahi bit his lip when it became too much, but refused to cry out.

He suspected he had been the reason for the disagreement, and the last thing he wanted was to cause more problems. “It was about me, wasn’t it?”

“Sort of. Andrasta has this bad habit of thinking that everyone can do what she does and with her level of skill. Don’t worry about it.”

Jahi grimaced in frustration. “What are we going to do? Just hours into our journey and I’m useless. We’ll never catch up to Dendera like this.”

“We wouldn’t have caught up to them without horses anyway. We just needed to get far from the city as fast as we could before your father’s guards found us.”

“Where did Andrasta go? Was she angry?”

Rondel chuckled. “She’s rarely not angry. She spotted the traces of a morning campfire. I swear the woman has eyes like a hawk. Anyway, she went to see about getting us some horses.”

“That should make the journey much easier.”

“How do you think you’re going to feel after a full day of riding?”

Jahi’s eyes widened. He hadn’t considered that.

* * *

Jahi tensed as noise sounded in the woods beyond. Rondel rose quickly from his slumber and drew his short sword with one hand and rubbed at sleepy eyes with the other.

Andrasta emerged from behind two sycamore trees, leading three horses by their reins. Each mount held supplies strapped to the backs of their saddles.

“That worked out well,” said Rondel, sheathing his sword.

Andrasta handed him the reins of one of the beasts.

Jahi rose gingerly. His legs screamed in anguish, making him wish he had tried to stand sooner. He forced himself to straighten while limping toward Andrasta.

“How much did all this cost?” he asked.

She handed him the reins of a speckled young mare. “Nothing.”

“You stole them?”

“You think I’d pay for these?”

“But I gave you money. You could have used some of it.”

“The money is mine. I’ll spend it when and where I like.”

“You mean ours,” coughed Rondel.

Andrasta shot her partner a look. “Get in your saddle. We have much travel left for the day.”

“But the people you took all this from,” called Jahi. “What if they need it?”

“They still had two horses left. If they need more, I’m sure they’ll take it. They were bragging that’s what they had done last night. Robbed some family on the way to the festival of your goddess.”

Jahi stared at Andrasta’s back as she edged her horse over the rough terrain toward the road. The woman showed glimpses of kindness as when she helped ease the cramping from his legs, but mostly came across as cold and distant.

Why is Rondel even with her?

“Better climb up,” said Rondel. “She won’t wait long, even if you are the one paying us.”

Jahi grimaced as he climbed in his saddle, feeling all his muscles pull and tighten. “I don’t understand how she can be so nonchalant about all of this. Stealing from people as if it’s no big deal, even if they deserved it. It shouldn’t be like that. You agree, right?”

Rondel winced at the question, and Jahi wondered if he had said something wrong.

The former minstrel worked his jaw. “You’re probably right. But that’s just the way the world is. Don’t fool yourself into thinking things are different among the nobility. You know what happened to your father. The rich steal, cheat, murder, and scheme. The only difference among the nobility is that the stakes are higher.” He paused. “Your father knows that. He’s a good man, better than most, but he’s done his fair share of questionable things. In his eyes it was warranted because of who he did those things to. In the eyes of the person he did those things to, he’s probably no better than how you perceive Andrasta. The severity of a crime depends on what side you’re standing on. The sooner you understand that, the easier it will be for you to succeed at the life you’re going to be involved in.”

Jahi scowled. He had not expected a lecture in morality. “I don’t want to play by those rules.”

“Then you won’t have a long life. Certainly not a rich one.”

“I don’t believe that. It’s possible to do the right thing and still live a long life.”

He snorted. “Let’s talk in ten years.”

“Hurry up!” Andrasta called from the road.

Rondel kicked his mount forward, leaving Jahi in thought.

* * *

Jahi no longer felt each bump tighten the muscles in his lower back and buttocks or the saddle chafe his inner thighs. He had grown numb from the chest down, not long before the sun dipped below the horizon.

He had been grateful to see that pink and purple sky, knowing at any moment Andrasta would call for a halt to make camp. However, she kept going, and hours later when Jahi asked when they would stop for the night, the woman looked at him like he was mad.

“They are still far ahead of us, and I promise you they have not stopped yet.”

Jahi frowned. He was ready to fall off his horse, but given their goal he could not say anything.

Once the numbness truly set into his limbs, Jahi no longer cared about the pain. He could travel for days without feeling anything.

He was surprised when Andrasta finally called for a halt with the moon at its highest.

“We’re stopping now?” He slurred the question.

Andrasta swung off the saddle, her movements as fluid as if she had gone for a short evening ride. “The horses need rest. I don’t want to push them anymore without knowing if we’ll be able to find fresh mounts.”

Jahi dismounted. When his feet hit the ground, his legs fell out from under him. Footsteps sounded. Rondel appeared in his line of sight.

“Are you all right?”

“I can’t feel my legs. Tired from all the running and riding, I guess.” His voice sounded so much weaker than it did in his head. “I’ll be fine after some sleep.”

He closed his eyes, intent on sleeping right where he landed.

Andrasta walked up and hissed a curse. She grabbed at his legs. If he hadn’t been so exhausted he might have blushed at his trousers being pulled down, but modesty was the last thing on his mind.

He opened his eyes to Rondel staring at his legs, shaking his head. Andrasta swore again and went back to her horse, searching through their gear.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jahi.

Rondel sighed. “Why didn’t you tell us you were hurting this bad?”

“I didn’t want to be the reason we were unable to reach Dendera.”

“You’re bleeding. Blisters are running up and down your legs. Bruises everywhere. I guess your legs were too tired from running to sit in the saddle properly.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we aren’t going anywhere for a while. Andrasta is getting some stuff to put on the blisters. That should speed the recovery, but they will need time to heal before we can travel again.”

“No. We can’t wait. Think of Dendera.”

Rondel laid a hand on Jahi. “I’m thinking of you. It would do no good to kill one of Horus’s children in order to save the other.”

“But they’re just blisters. . . .”

“Which can become infected.”

“Can’t we do anything more?”

“Not unless you know some healing spells.”

“No. I don’t have talent in that area.”

“Then we wait. Close your eyes and go to sleep. We’ll wake you if there’s a need.”

Jahi wanted to protest further, but the mention of sleep made his eyelids feel as heavy as a basket of bricks. He felt his body being lifted off the ground and then eased onto a patch of leaves. Hands rubbed a cool salve onto his thighs. A blanket fell over him, and he slept.

* * *

Jahi woke chilled despite warm sunlight on his face. A hand coaxed his jaw to relax and warm spoonfuls of broth ran down his throat. After several minutes of feeding, he opened his eyes, but saw nothing more than dark blurs wherever he turned.

Thankfully, his ears worked fine.

“His fever isn’t getting any better,” said Rondel.

“What do you want me to do? You’re the one that knows herbs.”

“And what I’m doing isn’t working. Feel his skin. He’s burning up.”

“Do we cut our losses, then?” asked Andrasta.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

“What? You’re no saint. We’ve both done—”

“I’ve done nothing like what you’re thinking of. Find the nearest town with a healer. Tell them what’s going on and get whatever it is you need for however much it costs.”

Andrasta snorted. “I could just ride off and leave both of you behind. I have the money.”

“But you won’t. Despite what you pretend, you’re not that cruel.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.” There was a long pause before Rondel spoke again. “Go. It can’t be more than a few hours ride.”

Jahi couldn’t make out Andrasta’s muttered response. He began to grow tired once more. The last sound he heard before drifting off was fading hoof beats.

* * *

The next time Jahi woke he felt like a new person. A weaker person, but one much better off than what he last remembered. He sat up slowly, noticing the crick in his back as well as the taste and texture of dried leather in his mouth.

“Hey! He’s up,” said Rondel.

He and Andrasta sat by a small fire. The woman looked his way.

Rondel got up and brought Jahi a skin of water and a small heel of bread.