Kiya and the God of Chaos

  Chapter Thirteen: An Ill-Considered Decision

  Kiya hesitated. She should leave now. She had been too late to explain the situation to Dennu and she risked capture if she stayed. The silence was broken only by the ragged sound of the boy’s breathing. He groaned and stirred. Despite her misgivings, Kiya resolved to check on him. She pushed open the concealed door, walked over to the bed and stood looking down. Something must have alerted him to her presence, because he opened his eyes. They were slow to focus and his pupils were enlarged.

  “Kiya!” he gasped. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come to rescue you,” said Kiya, making an instant decision. Only one person had the skill to counteract Massui’s poison. If she could get Dennu to Laylos, he might be saved. She reached down and told him to hold onto her hands. He obeyed, too dazed to protest. She pulled him into a sitting position.

  “Ouch! Be careful of my back!” gasped Dennu. “I feel unwell. Can I lie here for a while?”

  “No! You must come with me.”

  Dennu allowed Kiya to haul him to his feet and half-carry him across the room into the passageway. She propped him against the wall and shut and bolted the door behind them. She felt for him in the darkness. Briefly, they embraced like lovers, then they stumbled along the passage. Dennu was becoming heavier and more clumsy. Kiya struggled to support him, and feared the amount of noise they made might alert the guards.

  At last, they reached the end of the tunnel and she felt the ladder in front of her. Kiya made Dennu hold onto the ladder, while she mounted the steps and opened the trap door. She half expected that guards might be lying in wait but, as she blinked in the sunshine, she saw that the clearing was empty.

  “Come on!” she called to Dennu. No movement came from below and when she glanced down she saw that he was stretched out on the floor. Oh no, she groaned. Perhaps he was dead already. Kiya climbed down the ladder. Dennu was still breathing and his skin was warm. He was alive. Her relief was short lived, for how could she get him out of the passage?

  “Dennu, Dennu,” she whispered urgently and slapped his face. He opened his eyes. “We must get out of here,” she said.

  With her help, he struggled to his feet and leant against the ladder. He managed to climb two rungs then started to topple backwards. Kiya strained against his weight and then it was gone. She gazed up and saw a pair of hands haul him into the open.

  “Now,” said a man’s voice. “Are you going to come out, or will I have to come and get you?”

  Kiya gazed up into the face of the man her aunt had called Huy. He was looking at her with an expression that was half surprise and half amusement. He did not seem about to kill her, so Kiya ascended the ladder.

  Huy indicated the boy’s body sprawled on the grass. “What have you done to Dennu?”

  “I have done nothing to him,” protested Kiya. “I watched his father make him drink poisoned beer.”

  “Poison? Surely not!" Huy knelt beside Dennu and raised one of his eyelids. "By Horus, you are right! I know Dennu was going to be punished for helping a girl escape... but this?” A thought struck him. “Are you the girl? What in Thoth’s name are you doing here? Massui will have you killed.”

  Laylos had been right, Kiya thought. It had been madness to return to the palace. “Please let me rescue Dennu," she pleaded. "My aunt may have an antidote.”

  “Your aunt?” He peered at her. “Do you mean Laylos the medicine woman?” Kiya did not reply and he nodded. “Yes, you have her look about you.” He paused in thought, then said, “Massui has gone too far this time. I will let you take the boy to Laylos, although I take a risk in doing so. I will deny ever having seen you. Understood?”

  “Yes. I promise not to tell anyone.”

  “How are you going to get him there?” He scanned the surrounding bushes. “Have you a donkey cart hidden away somewhere?” She shook her head. Huy sighed. “I suppose you expect me to help you.”

  Kiya stared at him. Such a thought had never occurred to her. Her sudden hope turned into doubt – surely it must be a trap. “No, thank you, I’ll manage.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “You are a stubborn as your aunt. Wait there.”

  Kiya watched him hurry away. Had he gone to get reinforcements? Surely he would need no help in arresting her. She felt Dennu’s pulse and raised one of his eyelids to see again the extended pupil of his drugged eye. She should make her getaway, but could not bear to abandon him. The sound of hoof beats made her dive behind the nearest bush. She peered out between the branches to see that Huy had arrived on horseback. He reined in his horse beside Dennu’s body, dismounted and turned to her inadequate hiding place.

  “Come out of there, you silly girl, and help me get Dennu onto this animal’s back.”

  Kiya emerged from cover and hurried to help him. She held the reins of the horse while he heaved Dennu’s body over its shoulders. Then Huy leapt up, swinging a leg over the animal’s haunches. Kiya stared up at him. The horse’s back seemed as insurmountable as a cliff.

  “Hurry up and get on,” said Huy. “We have no time to waste.”

  “I’ve never ridden a horse before,” said Kiya. She made a futile effort to mount, but her long shift made such a manoeuvre impossible.

  Huy gave a sigh of exasperation. then bent over and hauled her up by the arms. “Ouch!” protested Kiya and gave a little yelp as she teetered dangerously before sitting behind him with both legs to one side.

  “Hold on to me and try to keep your balance,” he said.

  Kiya clasped Huy’s waist, while he took hold of the reins, kicked the horse in the ribs and directed its head towards Ankhis. The horse’s back was smooth and slippery, and the ground a long way down. Despite her fear, Kiya hesitated to hold on to Huy but when the horse began to canter she clung on as tightly as a mummy’s wrapping.

  As they cantered through the village, Kiya saw that the door and stones had been removed from the body of the traveller and people were staring at the corpse. Many of them looked up at the sound of hooves and transferred their interest to the newcomers, their curious faces turning to fear as the horse rode across the square without slackening its pace.

  Kiya clung on desperately, nearly overbalancing as they swerved around the gathering and headed towards the river. Indeed, she was so tightly locked around Huy’s waist that, when they reached home, she stayed, frozen in position.

  “Come on, girl, you can let go now,” he said pulling her arms apart. He dismounted and reached up to help her from the horse.

  She felt stiff and bruised and was grateful for his support as she slid to the ground. With tottering steps, she hurried to the stockade. “Laylos, it’s me,” she called. “I have come back!”

  The door in the fence was flung open and Laylos stared at Kiya. Then her eyes slid beyond her to where Huy was pulling Dennu from the horse. She paled. “Have you come to arrest us, Huy?”

  “Not yet,” he said.

  “Huy has helped me rescue Dennu,” said Kiya. “His father forced him to drink poison and I think he is dying.” She felt tears in her eyes and blinked them back, caught unawares by the strength of her emotion.

  “Bring Dennu in,” said Laylos and opened the stockade door wide. “Lay him here under the awning.”

  Huy entered the stockade with Dennu in his arms. Kiya followed and saw a luggage-laden donkey tied to a tree in front of the house.

  “What’s that donkey doing here?” she asked as she helped Laylos unroll the mattress.

  “I bought him from Nenwef, the farmer,” said Laylos. “He gave me a good price because I recently cured his wife of worms. Now lay the boy here and I will get an emetic.” She hurried into the house and could be heard rummaging among the jars.