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21

Rae

The sun rose on a new day.

Rae woke at home in the late morning, bleary-eyed and sore. At first, her thoughts drifted to the normal rituals of bread and beer and cattle tending. But then she felt the heaviness of the winged armor she still wore and saw the sekhem scepter lying next to her, and it all came rushing back. She sat up abruptly.

We really did it.

Rae remembered cleaning the scepter at Omari’s workshop, washing the blood from its paddle-shaped head, and from her hands and forearms too. She had a vague memory of walking home after that and collapsing onto her sleeping mat without even changing her clothes.

She scanned the house for her father, but he was already gone—out to care for the zebu, probably. She rubbed her eyes. Her body ached from the blows she’d received, and the wounds on her back throbbed. But the pain drove the cobwebs from her mind. The shock and guilt she’d felt the night before had dissipated with the sunrise, leaving a fresh emotion in their wake.

Triumph.

Maybe the tide is turning for Sakesh , she thought, staring out onto the bright, cloudless day. What she’d done had been extremely risky, but she’d made it back home, unscathed.

This is what Omari felt last night .

They’d grown up believing their world was solid and unchangeable, composed of varying degrees of injustice, whose inviolate rules had been decided by people older and wiser than they.

Last night they struck that world a heavy blow. And sure, the damage was only a crack. But that crack proved one very important thing.

A crack meant the world could be broken.

And what could be broken could be rebuilt. Remade.

Rae changed into fresh clothing and wrapped the armor and scepter inside her dark robes before stowing the whole bundle in the woven chest where she kept all her things, including the gold ring the Jackal had given her. Then she washed her face and was out the door, waving at her father before making her way to the city for her morning chores. She was eager to avoid any deviation from the norm.

Strange that Father didn’t try to interrogate me before I left , she thought as she walked the river road. Maybe he’d been so tired from the farmwork that he hadn’t noticed she was out late last night.

Or maybe, he simply didn’t want to know.

***

There was something different about the city’s energy that morning. Rae noticed it right away—there was a charge in the air, like during one of Khetara’s rare lightning storms. She saw groups of women whispering to each other on the street, huddled so close together that the baskets of goods balanced on their heads bounced gently against one another, as if they were sharing secrets too. She saw bright-eyed vendors handing out fresh loaves of bread to the old soldiers who usually had to beg for their breakfasts. Was it possible that everyone already knew about the raid? News did travel fast in Sakesh… If so, it was clearly having quite an effect.

Maybe we accomplished more than just a blow to the High Khetarans , Rae thought. Maybe we’ve given people hope.

Rae picked up her daily beer and bread and was passing by the nomarch’s estate on her way to the weavers’ workshop when she saw the brewer coming out of the nomarch’s main gate.

What is he doing there? she wondered, slightly alarmed. She hurried to catch up to him as he began walking back toward the brewery.

“The falcon sails across the sky,” Rae said as she sidled up next to him.

The brewer cast a glance her way, his eyes narrowing when he saw who it was. “We shall meet him on the horizon,” he replied in a low voice. “What do you want, Raetawy? We shouldn’t talk out in the open like this.”

“What did the nomarch want with you?” Rae asked. “I saw you coming out of his house.”

The brewer blinked. “Oh, that was nothing. A delivery. Have to keep up appearances, you know.”

Rae sighed with relief. “Thanks be to Ra. I was worried you’d been brought in for questioning. Did you hear anything important while you were inside?”

The brewer hesitated, then motioned for her to continue walking with him. “The nomarch was in a rage. I heard him say last night was a disaster and that he couldn’t believe his men allowed it to happen on their watch. Every weapon except the ones his soldiers kept in their beds was either stolen or destroyed in the fire, and they have no clues to the identities of the attackers.

“In response, he’s sending a troop of men upriver to Thonis to refit with fresh arms. They won’t return for several days. Meanwhile, most of the other soldiers are either being treated for burn wounds or are repairing the damage to the building. It’s a mess. A total mess.”

“Just as Asim had hoped,” Rae said, her mind buzzing.

The brewer nodded. “The old soldier had fortune on his side this time. I still think it was a foolish plan.”

“Think what you like, it doesn’t matter now,” Rae remarked, stopping at the corner where they would part ways. “Don’t you see? This new information—we have to tell the others about it. The Horizon should strike again while the Medjay are weakened and few in number. We must make another plan right away, before reinforcements return from Thonis. Maybe the weavers could pass along a message to Asim to arrange a meeting?”

The brewer scoffed. “You’re lucky to be alive after what happened last night. Running another scheme so soon after the first is a fool’s errand. You’ve had your fun playing rebel. If you were smart, you’d go home and focus on finding a good husband to take over your family land. Stick to what you’re good at, Raetawy. Leave the rest of it to the men.”

Rae’s temper flared. “Perhaps you should stick to beer and cowardice. That seems to be what you’re good at.”

“I’m protecting my family,” the brewer snarled. “Which is more than I can say for you. Your poor father, after everything he’s been through—”

“Don’t speak about my father.”

“I’ll say what I want to say, not that you’ll listen.” He waved a hand at her dismissively. “Go ahead, call your meeting. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Rae watched him walk away, her cheeks burning with anger. The brewer had a talent for saying just the right things to get under her skin. You’ve had your fun playing rebel. Leave the rest of it to the men. Your poor father …

Steaming, she made her way to the weavers’ workshop. She hoped to see Tamerit, though it was unlikely they’d have the opportunity to talk. Still, after the kiss they’d shared the last time they were together, simply seeing her would brighten Rae’s day after that infuriating encounter.

It was busy as usual inside the workshop, and filled with the hum of women’s talk as they bent over their looms and spindles. Rae scanned the room for Tam, but instead saw someone unexpected in the corner, talking quietly with Mamet Mut.

“You bring up the cat, and it comes jumping,” Rae said as she approached. “Hello, Asim. I was just talking about you.”

Asim glanced over at her. His gray-speckled beard had grown unruly, and though there were bags under his eyes, they sparkled with excitement.

“Good morning, Raetawy.”

Mamet Mut looked between them, curious. “You two know each other?”

“The girl has certain skills that have recently come to my attention,” Asim said wryly.

“Too young for you,” Mamet Mut scolded, misunderstanding Asim’s meaning. “Besides, if the young carpenter had any brains, she’d already belong to him.”

Rae smirked, choosing not to mention that her heart already belonged to someone else, as the older woman was called away to fix a snag on one of the looms.

“Have you spoken to Omari this morning?” she asked Asim. “Did your friend survive the night?”

“He’s alive, thanks be to Ra, though we’ll have to keep an eye on that wound. But he’s a lot like you, Rae. Stubborn. We’ll probably have to tie him down to get him to rest.”

Relieved, Rae relayed the brewer’s story. Asim’s eyebrows rose at the mention of the nomarch sending many of his men upriver to resupply.

“This is our chance!” He bristled with excitement. “We can wrest power from the nomarch while he’s vulnerable. By the time the men return, we’ll have already struck another blow.”

“That’s what I thought too!” Rae exclaimed. “As soon as I heard, I came to tell Mamet Mut to pass a message along to you. I thought the Horizon should meet tonight to discuss plans for our next attack.”

Asim chuckled. “Perhaps I underestimated you. Not a kitten after all, but a lioness! A few lessons in military strategy and you’ll be battle-ready, Raetawy.”

The mention of battle reminded Rae of something she’d been wanting to ask him since the night they met. “You were a soldier in King Rahotep’s army, weren’t you?”

The sparkle in Asim’s eyes dimmed at the mention of the dead king’s name. “I was.” She thought he wasn’t going to say more on the subject, but then he added, “A captain, in fact. My father was a member of the royal house.”

“A captain…” Rae repeated. She stood a little straighter, her perception of the rebel leader altered. If the Great War had gone the other way, Asim would probably be living in the palace, admired and respected by all, and clothed in fine linen. He wouldn’t be lurking in alleys, wearing dark, ragged robes. How strange the way life can change so quickly, Rae thought, depending on the direction fate was flowing!

The river will get its way, in the end .

Rae’s fingers went to the Sekhmet amulet around her neck. Its protection had served her well the previous night. But that begged another question, and it was out of her mouth before she could consider whether she should ask it.

“How did you survive?” she asked. “Didn’t Sematawy’s men slaughter the entire royal guard when they besieged the palace?”

Asim expression turned to a mixture of pain and regret.

“I’m sorry,” Rae blurted. “I shouldn’t have—”

“I ran away,” Asim replied before she could finish. His lip curled as he spoke the words, as if they were still a fresh burden in his mind. “When they attacked, I knew it was hopeless. There was no time to assemble our forces or organize a proper defense. We were outnumbered, overrun. So I…”

He stopped and took a deep, steadying breath before continuing. “I told myself I wanted to survive so I could avenge them. The king. My brothers-in-arms. My family. But I knew in my heart those were just excuses. I ran because I was afraid. ”

Rae didn’t know what to say. She felt terrible for reopening an old wound. She hadn’t meant to cause the man pain. Around them, the weavers’ friendly chatter hummed, disguising their conversation, but some of the women glanced over, their expressions curious.

Seeing the discomfort on Rae’s face, Asim’s expression softened. “I’m telling you this, Raetawy, because it’s the reason I created the Horizon in the first place. For years, I had been living like one of those old soldiers you see on every street corner. Then one day, I realized that if I died and my heart was weighed against the feather of Maat, it would be so heavy with shame that I’d have no chance of salvation. I had to balance the scales. It won’t bring my men back, it won’t undo all the mistakes I’ve made, but… It’s all I can do. And I have to try.”

Rae spoke solemnly. “My father worked in the palace too, as a scribe. The High Khetarans took his hand, counted him among their slain enemies, but let him live. He’s always wondered why he was allowed to survive when so many others were not.”

“And what does your father think of your involvement with me?” Asim asked. “Have you told him about it?”

“Not exactly.” Rae shrugged a shoulder. “But I think he knows. He wants freedom as much as the next person. He’s just…”

“Afraid of you getting hurt?”

Rae nodded.

“The price of freedom is high,” he said gravely. “Are you sure you’re willing to pay it? I cannot promise you safety, you know that.”

“I know,” Rae answered. “And I hate worrying my father, but I’m doing this for him. He can’t keep going on like this, pushing himself so hard to keep up with the king’s unreasonable demands. He deserves better.”

“We all do.”

“It’s like you said, we need to balance the scales. I know it’s dangerous, but I still want to be part of it.”

Asim reached out to squeeze her shoulder. “Your father is a lucky man. I would be proud to have a daughter like you.”

Rae blushed.

Asim motioned for Mamet Mut to rejoin them. “The Horizon meets again tomorrow night at the Garden of the Dead,” he told her. “Spread the word.”

Rae watched him go, her heart feeling even lighter than it had that morning.

Not long after Asim left, Tam arrived, carrying a basket of flax on her hip.

Just who I wanted to see , Rae thought. Without a word, she rushed over to the weaver and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her to the back of the workshop where the rest of the flax and other materials were stored, and away from all those prying eyes.

“Hi, Rae,” Tam said. She set the basket down on the floor, a little breathless from the journey. Her round cheeks shone with exertion, and wisps of her dark hair framed her face. Her beauty was effortless, her voice like water over smooth stones.

“I didn’t know if I’d see you today,” she went on. “I heard all about the—”

Before she could finish the sentence, Rae pulled her into a kiss. She pressed Tam’s back into the wall, relishing the ample softness of her, the musky smell of her skin, the taste of her lips. When she pulled away, Tam looked at her with delighted surprise.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“Because today is a gift we might not get again,” Rae said, feeling so light, she might just float away.