Chapter 16: Ahneith and Setesh

Ahneith and Setesh stood on opposite ends of a dueling circle, the hot sun beating down from a clear sky and baking the sand beneath them. The palace walls provided some shade for the trainees who hoped to earn their place in the pharaoh’s palace.

“Aren’t you getting a bit slow, Ahneith?” Setesh mocked her.

“Come now, aren’t you just getting faster? You’ve been training harder than me,” Ahneith reasoned.

Setesh smirked and held her wooden sword aloft. “Right. I have to be the faster one to protect my little sister, don’t I?”

Ahneith took a defensive stance. “Not always. I can protect you, too. You always took on the strongest bullies to protect us in Siwa. I’m glad I can do the same for you here.”

Setesh launched herself at Ahneith, and the two continued their duel. “Who would have guessed that our meeting near the oasis would lead us here? Two orphans destined to meet Anubis before we could hope to grow old now have a chance to guard the pharaoh.”

“Perhaps Ra has plans for us. We are destined to protect those who carry his blood and defend his home,” Ahneith mused. She tried to keep pace with Setesh, but it was clear she was being pushed back.

“Well, let us renew our old pact: whichever one finds a place of comfort invites the other to be with them. This way, neither of us must sleep outside again,” Setesh offered. She knocked Ahneith off balance for a moment and pressed her attack. “Seeing as how I’ll be the winner here, I will invite you to sleep on my sofa when I become a royal guard.”

Ahneith disarmed and tripped Setesh in a single fluid movement. “I would at least offer you a room and bed of your own in my home,” she joked. She feigned weakness and goaded Setesh into attacking, all to turn the tide on her. Ahneith offered a hand to help her up. “Don’t take your opponents too lightly, Setesh. Even if they look defeated, treat them as though they can end you on a moment’s notice.”

Setesh sat up, propping herself up with one arm behind her. She smirked and pulled her dear friend on top of her. Ahneith caught herself before she fell too deep, hands and knees set on either side of Setesh, and her face precariously close to her friend’s. “Please heed your own advice, Ahneith.” The two immediately laughed like old friends. Their laughter carried as Elise’s blade scraped against Setesh’s outside her high school.

The ground quaked beneath them, and a terrible light blinded the area. Elise heard a bone-chilling hiss echo through the area. Once the light subsided, she saw the large cobra that made the sound that would haunt her nightmares for a while.

Ptahmose appeared on top of the cobra, wielding a was sceptre. “Tonight, Egypt will have a new pharaoh. The world will have a new king,” he proclaimed. “I have seeded catalysts around Boston. They will absorb the life force of over six hundred thousand souls after this child of Apophis rains chaos and devastation upon them!” He looked down at Neferu. “Yours will simply be my dessert, and a symbol of my final victory against your father.”

Julia drew his sword and aimed it at the cobra. “I want the big one. It’s been ages since I fought a giant…anything.”

“Nope, I’m cutting in. This’ll net me a promotion and bonus at work,” Chloe told her. “I got a future stay-at-home wife to support.”

Elise rolled her eyes and handed Chloe her bow. “Don’t miss.”

Chloe grinned and accepted it. “I never do.” The bow felt warm in her hand and radiated magical energy.

Neferu rose into the air and floated at the same level as Ptahmose. “Julia told us that it was impossible to kill you in the past, that you would heal from even the most grievous of wounds. That will not save you this time.”

“Nor will your pet guard and inept father,” Ptahmose fumed. “I thank you for presenting yourself to me. I swear on my soul, I will bring glory to Egypt as its new pharaoh.” He flew above the cobra and issued his command. “Kill them all, O child of Apophis!”

Elise left the serpent and his cobra to her girlfriends and resumed her duel with Setesh. She was becoming fast and strong enough to put her opponent on her back foot. She grabbed Setesh’s hand to avoid getting cut in two, then headbutted and kicked Setesh away from her.

Setesh recovered and gave her a look of pure, feral rage. “A wasted effort. I was always stronger than you, Ahneith. You lived only because I showed mercy, ever since I found you dying of hunger and thirst. You always needed my protection from bandits and slavers,” she spat. “I will prove myself as the greater royal guard and help Pharaoh Ptamose rule over a stronger Egypt.”

Elise winced in pain as the past unfolded before her again. She stood on the training grounds and shook hands with another guard. “It was a good match. You’ve certainly improved, Harkhuf.”

“Thank you, Ahneith.” He was relieved to hear such praise. “I thought letting that thief escape me would have spelled my demise. That you caught him and covered for me, truly, you are as merciful as the gods.”

Ahneith lightly chuckled. “Think nothing of it, friend. I merely ask that you continue to train and improve yourself. Your strength is the pharaoh’s strength.” Harkhuf bowed to her and charged at a training dummy.

She heard Setesh nearby and went to chase after her. They hadn’t spoken in days after a particularly heated argument, and she missed her friend. Ahneith planned what to say in her mind to make amends, and she couldn’t wait to see Setesh’s smile. She stopped in her tracks and hid behind a corner when she saw Setesh waiting for someone else.

Setesh was meeting with Ptahmose in secret. “You will be one of the pharaoh’s personal royal guards, my dear. It is where you belong,” Ptahmose promised. “Ahneith stole your glory by seducing that weak and immature Princess Neferu.”

“I know. She only ever cared about herself,” Setesh growled.

“Indeed. Now, go and warn that fool Pharaoh Kheperkare of an attack coming from the East by the Nile. He will want to mobilize his forces and send them out as quickly as possible, and make sure he does. Impress upon him the threat that is coming for his people,” he ordered her. “Most importantly, locate his crook and flail. Their simplicity hides a great power.”

Ahneith never truly trusted the priest Ptahmose, and now he spoke poisoned words to her dear friend. She wanted to cut him down then and there, but it would do her no good, not if she intended to convince Setesh of the truth. She quietly left the area to find the one person she could turn to for help.

Neferu sat on a bench and read a book in the palace courtyard, looking as divine as ever. Ahneith dismissed the guards and approached her. “Neferu,” she called out.

Neferu smiled and set her book aside. “Ahneith, my love.” Her smile faded when she saw Ahneith’s grim expression. She stood up and walked toward her. “What is wrong?”

“I fear Ptahmose is scheming against your father, and he is using Setesh. He ordered her to report an attack coming from the East and promised to make her one of Pharaoh’s personal guards. I believe he means to make himself pharaoh,” Ahneith reported.

“These are serious accusations. He is the High Priest of Ptah,” Neferu warned her.

“I stake my life on what I saw and heard.”

“I know, and I trust you with mine. Let us wait for Setesh to make this report. I will convey your warning to my father.”

Ahneith took her hand. “Please leave Setesh to me. Ptahmose has turned our friendship into poison. I must save her from him.”

Neferu smiled and placed her hand over Ahneith’s. “Very well. If she is a victim of his schemes, then she will be spared.”