As the sun rose and the notes of the priest’s chants flowed from the temples Kashe strolled toward the village. Namose walked at his side. How were they going to gain entrance to the temple to rescue Tira and Merin? His brother thought he knew where the pair were held. Kashe groaned. He should have gone last night instead of sleeping so deeply he still felt groggy.
He held up his hand and pressed against a brick wall of a house. A group of men and several women left the village and walked toward the temple. The chanting ceased. The sounds of the village arose. When he and his brother reached the house where Namose had been held prisoner Kashe halted.
“Why?” Namose whispered.
“To hear what happens when he learns you’re gone.”
“Where is he?” The nomarch’s voice boomed. “Who freed his hands? Who allowed him to escape?”
A chorus of denials arose.
“What would we have done if we’d known he was gone?” a gruff voice asked. “You remained at the temple where we wouldn’t have been admitted.”
The nomarch growled. “You could have left a message with the gate guard.”
“Who searches after dark?” another man asked.
“Torches could be used.” The nomarch growled. “There will be punishments. I must return to the temple without my youngest son. The priests wanted to question him along with the warrior of Bast they captured.”
Kashe’s hands formed fists. He had the answer he feared. He grasped his brother’s wrist to warn him not to speak. Kashe moved away from the house.
“What are we going to do?” Namose asked.
“Trail them. Find a way into the compound. Free Tira and Merin.”
“How? Father has eight men and four palanquin bearers.”
“The bearers won’t fight.” Kashe touched his mace. “If I must confront them I will. Horu Ka will help.”
Namose drew a deep breath. “We can sneak past the guards if we climb the wall. I bet I can find the women’s court.”
“There might not be enough time. You heard him say the priests intended to question Tira. Are you sure they would put her with the other women. They might fear what she would tell them.”
Namose frowned. “They have little respect for women. There is also a house where the chief priests live. I know where that is. Do you think a rescue is hopeless?”
“We must try.” Kashe led the way past the house. Namose was right to think they should climb the wall. Once inside the compound there were two choices. Which one was right?
They skirted the village and reached the road. An eerie screech sounded. Kashe looked around. Where had the noise arisen? He pressed against a palm tree. Namose huddled beside him. When the sound died Kashe unfroze.
“What was that?” Namose asked.
“I don’t know but I think it came from the temple. I’m glad we weren’t close.”
Namose nodded. “Might have broken our ears. Do we still go to the temple?”
“We must. This is how we’ll proceed.” He explained how they would move from tree to tree until they reached the wall. Before they had progressed past three trees Kashe heard his father shouting for the bearers to hurry. Kashe ducked down to peer into the road.
A camel burst through the temple gates. The animal left the road and tore through the planted fields. Kashe had to push his brother back before he was trampled.
“That was Merin,” Namose said.
Where was Tira? “Was anyone with her?” Kashe helped his brother to his feet. The camel and rider clattered across the bridge over the canal.
“She was alone.”
Where was Tira? If Merin had escaped surely Tira was also free. He crept closer to where his father and his party had halted. The bearers lowered the palanquin. The nomarch rose and straightened his clothes.
A chariot shot from the temple. Kashe crept closer to the road. Namose followed.
The priest Hebu, beloved of Aken Re pulled the chariot to a stop. “Where did that rider go?”
The nomarch pointed. “Over the bridge.”
The priest laughed. “And your lost ones are found. They’re near the trees.”
The nomarch turned. Kashe grabbed his brother but he was too late. “Namose, Kashe, come here.”
The years of obedience caught Kashe by surprise. He took several steps and halted. He grasped his brother’s arm. “We can’t go to him. We’ll lose our chance to free Tira.”
“They’ll stop us. I bet the priest knows why we’re here.”
“So you freed your brother,” the nomarch said.
Kashe pushed Namose behind him. “Run to the barge.”
“And leave you to face father and the priest. I won’t go.”
“They’ll attack if we don’t obey. I will fight as long as I can. If they take me to the temple I’ll escape.”
“So will I.”
The priest stepped to the nomarch’s side. “Kashe of Mero, I demand you take the place your father has sworn you will have. You will command the army we have gathered. Even now more men are coming from the eastern desert to swell our ranks.”
Kashe drew his knife and tightened his grip on the mace. The amulet heated against his skin and infused him with strength. Horu Ka circled overhead. The bird swooped and landed on Kashe’s wristband. “As you see my loyalty is to Horu. I have no desire to serve an alien god.”
The guards muttered. The bearers crouched behind the palanquin. The nomarch raised his fist. “Kashe, you will obey or I cast you off. You will no longer be my son. I am sworn to Aken Re, the true and only god. Do you want your mother to grieve for a lost son?”
“If she grieves the decision is yours.” Kashe raised his arm. In a flutter of wings and a screeching cry the hawk flew.
The nomarch lowered his hand. “You are no longer my son.” He repeated the phrase three times. “Take him. Bind him. Drag him to the temple. Let the priest deal with him. Kashe, no longer of Mero, you are not my son.”
Though Kashe’s goal had been to discover a way into the temple grounds he refused to go as a prisoner. The hawk screamed and swooped to claw one of the guards. The man stumbled causing two others to fall. Kashe and Namose moved as a unit. Namose struck a guard using the skills Tira had taught him. The man stumbled and fell onto the palanquin.
Kashe swung his mace in a wide arc and connected with two men. They slammed into the man behind them. Shouts, thuds and cries of pain resounded. With the mace in one hand and the knife in the other he used every trick Tuten had taught him. He and Namose were driven apart. In desperation to reach his brother Kashe charged and butted an opponent in the gut with his head.
When he had a moment to catch a breath he counted four guards still on their feet. Exhaustion caused his arms to tremble. How long could he continue to fight?
“Kashe, help!”
His brother’s terrified scream distracted Kashe. Namose struggled with the priest. Hebu pulled the youth into the chariot. They raced past Kashe who lunged in an attempt to grab the horse, missed and sprawled on the ground. The chariot tore through the barley field and clattered over the bridge.
Kashe struggled to rise. Three of his father’s men surrounded him. “Father, call off your men.”
“Will you obey me?”
“As long as you oppose the Three I must not.” Kashe pointed to the fleeing chariot. “Hebu has taken my brother. Where are they going?”
“No,” the nomarch bellowed. He dashed toward the bridge. “Return my heir.”
The chariot vanished. He turned to Kashe. “He said he would take you.”
“Where? They’re not heading toward the temple.”
“Hebu, beloved of Aken Re was meeting some men.”
“The ones from his land?”
Before the nomarch could respond, Tira called Kashe’s name. He watched her climb from the wall. She sprinted past the nomarch to reach Kashe’s side.
He glared. “Where were you?”
“Captured. There’s trouble in the temple compound. The jaguas are there.” She grasped Kashe’s arm. “Nomarch, your son, Pian and the priest known as Oris are dead. The goddess wearing the body of the sacred cat killed them.”
The older man slumped on the ground. His hands went to his head. He keened.
Kashe ran to him. No matter what had happened this was his father. “I’m sorry.”
The nomarch moaned. “What have I done?”
“Only you can answer that.” Kashe helped his father stand. “Go home.”
“Come with me.”
“I can’t.
“With Pian dead and Namose carried away by the priests you are my only son.”
Kashe sucked in a breath. For years he had wanted to hear those words but in this instant they met nothing. He didn’t trust his father. “You disowned me. Three times you spoke the words.” He sheathed his knife and took Tira’s hand.
“Where will you go?” the nomarch asked.
“Wherever Horu sends me.”