Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen: A Strange Craft
Kiya woke at dawn to see an enormous crocodile lying on the island. It was so close that its head nearly rested upon her feet. She sat up in shock, but the scent of water lilies filled her nostrils and she knew it was Sobek.
He raised his head, when he saw that she had woken. “What a stupid blunder you have made. I expected you to be half way to Nubia by now, but here you are, stuck in the second cataract.”
“Many men have died,” she said.
“I know.” He smacked his lips with horrid satisfaction.
Kiya heard a movement behind her and she turned to see Yidini standing on the bed of branches with his sword drawn. “Stop,” she shouted. “This is no crocodile. He is the god Sobek.” Yidini hesitated and Kiya turned back to the animal. “Quick,” she said. “Change your appearance, the Cretans have star-metal weapons that can pierce even your thick hide.”
With a sigh, Sobek morphed into the god. His body shrank and changed into that of a muscular young man, but his head remained that of a crocodile, ugly and too large for the body that supported it.
Yidini gave a cry of amazement, which was so loud that it woke Ana. She screamed when she saw the immortal and cried out in Cretan. Yidini once more tensed, ready to do battle to protect his mistress.
“Stop, don’t hurt him,” shouted Kiya. “This is Sobek, He sent me on this mission and is here to help us.” She turned to Sobek. “I presume that is why you are here?”
“I suppose so,” sighed Sobek. “You certainly won’t get very far without me.”
Ana had quickly recovered her composure. “Can he get us to the shore?” she asked.
“I am hoping he can do more than that,” said Kiya. “Without a boat we can go no further. If he wants my mission to continue he will have to give us a lift all the way to Nubia.”
“How?” asked Ana.
“Upon his back.”
Ana looked at Sobek doubtfully than gave another scream as the god morphed into a giant crocodile.
“Hurry up and get on board,” said the crocodile.
Ana was the first to mount the broad back. Yidini tried to protest but Ana ordered him to take his place behind her. Kiya picked up her spear and climbed up last. “We are ready to go,” she called to the crocodile.
“Hold on tight.”
Kiya crouched down and clung to the scaly ridges that ran down either side of Sobek's back. Without their support, the rocking movement of Sobek’s body as he climbed down into the water would have dislodged her. For a moment she was blinded by spray and then she opened her eyes to see that all of them had managed to maintain their positions on the enormous beast.
They were soon through the rapids and onto a calm stretch of the river. Sobek swam with wide strokes of his muscular tail and they sped through the water faster than even a felucca with the wind behind it.
“This is wonderful,” said Ana. She stood on Sobek’s shoulders, looking like a goddess herself in her short Cretan tunic and leather chest armour. Yidini sat behind her, nervous of this strange method of travel.
The river looped west and then south again. They were no longer in a valley. On either side of them stretched the desert, a parched contrast to their watery highway. It was hot in the sun and they splashed water over themselves to keep cool. Ana scooped some from the river and drank it.
“Don’t drink water from the Nile,” cried Kiya. “It will make you ill.”
“Not here,” said Ana, “for there are no people to pollute it.”
Because of her thirst, Kiya drank the water and it tasted pure.
Another cataract lay ahead of them. They were now confident riders on Sobek's back and surmounted the churning waters without difficulty.
The river looped east and there was another cataract before they reached open savannah. The three of them gazed at the endless grassland in disbelief. “I have never seen such a wonder,” said Ana.
“There are so many trees,” gasped Kiya, for the land was dotted with groves of fine mature trees, enough to make all the roof beams and ships Egypt would ever want.
Groups of grey boulders stood among the grass. One of them raised a head and Kiya realised that it was an animal. It bellowed, lifting its trunk and exposing long, curved tusks on either side of its head.
“Ivory,” breathed Ana. “You can let me off here, Sobek.” But the crocodile seemed not to hear her and continued to swim.
After another cataract, the river became more crowded. They saw several villages of reed huts. As they went by, people ran from their huts and prostrated themselves on the ground, worshipping the giant crocodile. After they had passed, Kiya looked back to see them pointing in wonder at the three humans riding Sobek’s back.
They approached one village and saw an old woman being helped into the water by a man who could have been her son. Kiya was shocked and expected her to struggle but she stood and held out her arms to Sobek as if beseeching him to eat her. Sobek ignored her plea and swam on.
Soon there were no more villages. Far ahead of them, across the grassland, was a barrier of stone cliffs. Beyond and above the barrier a whirlpool of clouds, swirled ominous and black against the blue sky.
“That is my destination,” said Kiya.
“We would never have reached this far with the feluccas,” said Ana.
Sobek was swimming more slowly and Kiya realized that he must be tiring.
Ahead of them the Nile broadened into a lake. The area around was beautiful, with sandy beaches, green grass and silver acacia groves. Sobek climbed onto a beach.
“This is as far as I go,” he said. “You can make your own way to the cliffs from here.”
He laid his belly on the ground so they could slide from his back.
Kiya climbed down first and asked, “What should we do for food?”
“There are plenty of fish here,” said Sobek. “Personally I am going back to the villages. They say that a person’s soul is reunited with their ancestors if a crocodile eats them.”
“That is nonsense,” said Ana, who had climbed down with Yidini and now stood beside Kiya.
Sobek licked his lips, “Who am I to deny such a belief?”
“Don’t leave us here, we still need your help,” cried Kiya. But Sobek turned, slid into the water and was gone.