The Valerian emissary drummed his bony fingers on a low table while watching the sundial. The shadow its black granite arrow cast had drifted down half an hour’s angle since he had arrived at this Agyptian watering hole, and his correspondent still had yet to appear.
Despite the shade the palm-thatched awning cast over the establishment’s rear veranda, the southern sun had sunk to a low enough angle to tan his complexion a darker shade of olive, with sweat from the heat sticking to the tunic under his toga. If he had to wait a full hour, he would become almost as dark as the locals blabbering around him.
What was taking the emissary’s correspondent so long? Was that accursed fool more loyal to the whore he called Pharaoh than he should have been?
Surely, nobody in her court could have approved of her recent dalliance, given their customary attitude toward foreigners meddling in their affairs. These were supposed to be the proud and glorious people who had beaten back hordes of invaders over the ages. Any of them should have shown more indignation, more outrage, more than enough to storm over here without a second’s hesitation. Even more so with the promise of gold.
Besides, the less time a gentleman of Valerium had to spend around these stinking Agyptian nigri, the better.
At long last, a man of Agyptian stock approached the emissary, wearing a fine white robe of pleated linen beneath a bejeweled collar and a wig of curled black locks. The Valerian exhaled through his nose with relief and straightened himself up on his stool.
The correspondent addressed him in Ellenic, the language of commerce, with a melodic Agyptian accent. “Apologies for having you wait, my Valerian brother. I’ve been working harder than usual.”
“I imagine being the Pharaoh’s physician would be taxing work, Khaheru,” the emissary said. “Call me Claudio, representing the triumvir Actavio Kesare. But don’t call me ‘brother’.”
Khaheru chortled with a full-lipped grin. “We Agyptians call every man ‘brother’. But what on the gods’ earth is a ‘triumvir’? Is that some Valerian word?”
“Correct, it means one who oversees a third of a nation. Now, how much do you know about Valerian politics?”
“I’ve overheard a little at court, but not much,” Khaheru replied with a shrug.
Claudio cleared his throat. “Ever since our civil war, the Valerian republic’s territory has split threefold, each third under the control of one of its finest generals. Kesare, as triumvir, governs the central provinces where Valerium itself lies. Marco Lepido governs the provinces annexed in the west, and the triumvir of the east is none other than Julio Antonio.”
Khaheru’s eyes widened. “You mean the man Pharaoh’s been courting the past two years? I swear by Ma’at’s feather, I don’t know what she sees in that pale-arsed barbarian!”
“You’re far from the only one who disapproves. I daresay the majority of our ‘pale-arsed’ citizens back home find their affair outrageous, most of all Kesare. Not only did Antonio divorce his sister to be with your Pharaoh, but my triumvir has good reason to fear their allied forces will come ramming down Valerium’s door itself.”
“You Valerians can never resist warring with one another, can you?” Khaheru snickered.
“Moving on, I believe you had some business to offer me? You did offer a generous price.”
Claudio dipped his head toward Khaheru’s ear and spoke in a whisper. “We need Julio Antonio eliminated.
“How so? I’m no stealthier than an elephant and have little training with a dagger…unless you count my surgeon’s blade. Oh, I could poison the man, but I warn you, Pharaoh has almost as many tasters as she has guards.”
“You’re the finest physician in all Agyptos, aren’t you? You must know every form of magic out there, not just poison.” Claudio scratched his chin in thought. “For example, aren’t you Agyptians good with animals? Because, while Antonio may be a distinguished fighter of men, he’s not so much known as a beast slayer.”
A light sparked in the royal physician’s black kohl-lined eyes. “If it’s magic you want me to use, I know not only how to control beasts, but how to create them as if I were Ptah the creator himself. Pharaoh’s menagerie supplies me with all manner of animal parts. By mixing together the parts of different creatures in a potion and enchanting it with Ptah’s blessing, I can bring to life a monster of my own design!”
“Impressive. Are you able to have it track down and attack a specific man?”
“Of course! It won’t even be difficult. Our barber can provide the hair cuttings I’ll need to train its nose on.”
“Excellent to hear, my Agyptian amico.”
Claudio took out his purse and poured out a shimmering pile of gold coins. Khaheru pinched one up and let its yellow gleam reflect in his eyes.
“You almost didn’t have to pay me, brother,” Khaheru said. “I would’ve been more than happy to rid our court of that barbarian interloper at no cost whatsoever.”
“So why haven’t you done it already?” Claudio asked.
The Agyptian physician cackled with greed with scooping the coins on the table toward himself with his arm. “On second thought, I might have needed just a little more incentive.”
Julio Antonio leaned onto the balcony’s alabaster parapet and inhaled the fragrance of palm fronds with a contented hum. All the country he had once known as Agyptos, which its own people called Khumet, glowed before him under a golden sunset. The happy songs of farmers retiring to their huts beside the Iteru River provided lyrics to the rumble of street musicians’ drums, as did the whooping cries of ibises and the bellowing of hippos.
The more time Julio spent in Khumet, the more he thought of it as his own more than his native republic. Those pyramidal tombs rearing high as mountains beyond the Iteru’s far bank were already ancient when Valerium was young, yet they dazzled of smooth white limestone and gold summits as if anew. The kingdom’s power may have swelled and sunk over the centuries, but never would it lose the splendor it had cultivated since the beginning of time.
That assumed, of course, that Actavio Kesare did not get his clutches of bloodstained iron on it.
Julio’s heart sank in his chest beneath the burden of guilt. He too had come to Khumet in the name of his ambitions. His hope had been that, with the wealth and manpower of humankind’s oldest civilization backing his forces, he could claim the entire republic of Valerium for himself and then expand over the entire world. To realize such a dream, he would have to spill an ocean of blood and smear the heavens gray with smoke from innumerable razed cities.
Were Kesare in that position instead, he would inflict the very same iniquity on Khumet and its people. That was what made Julio shiver the most. Sometimes a man’s worst rival could be his very own reflection.
Slender fingers caressed Julio’s shoulders from behind. Neferkaret, Pharaoh of Khumet, had removed her vulture crown for the evening, letting the long coils of her black hair catch the sunset’s light like her jewelry of gold and colorful gems. The linen of her kalasiris gown was thin enough for the curves of her dark-skinned figure to show through. As she slid her arms around Julio, she pressed warm and moist lips against his cheek.
“Is something troubling you tonight, my love?” Neferkaret asked.
Julio pressed his lips together into a thin line. “My queen…if you don’t mind me asking, why are we here?”
The Pharaoh furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…it couldn’t have been only my dashing Valerian comeliness that made you approach me.” Julio brushed a hand over his curly dark hair. “You had something more on your agenda, didn’t you?”
“You haven’t figured it out already? In all honesty, yes, I approached you for protection. Who better to help defend against the Valerians than one of their own?”
“In doing so, didn’t you suspect I’d use you in turn to conquer the republic for myself?” Julio waved a fist to the air. “Or is that what you want as well?”
“Why, no, not at all! Khumet does not need to rule the world. A lioness is better off defending her own pride than taking over others!”
Julio sighed as he turned to face the northern horizon, toward which the Iteru flowed. “That’s what I’ve come to think too. Painful as it is to cast my old ambitions aside, they aren’t worth the carnage. Still, aren’t you worried my enemies will come here after me? They’d have all the pretext they needed to put your people to the sword!”
Neferkaret paused in thought. “You’re right, but remember why we came to one another in the first place, my love. Together, we are stronger than we are apart. And together, we will face him.”
Their puckered lips sailed toward one another until the screaming of men interrupted the mood. On the pavement far below the balcony lay a spatter of blood, severed human parts, and discarded guards’ weapons. The scraping of claws against stone announced that an enormous creature was bounding upward like an ape between the obelisks and colossi outside the palace. With a crash through the parapet, the beast landed onto the balcony right in front of Julio and Neferkaret, its splay-toed feet cracking the tiles underneath.
Julio and Neferkaret screamed like terrified children.
Above crocodilian jaws lined with sharp tusks, the monster’s bright green eyes locked on Julio with a ravenous radiance. He and his lover sprinted back to the doorway with their inhuman attacker’s hand grasping at their heels. Once they were back in the Pharaoh’s bedchamber, Julio threw the door shut and pressed his body against it.
“I don’t think you can hold it,” Neferkaret said. “That thing’s big as an elephant!”
“Which is why it shouldn’t be able to get through,” Julio replied.
The door burst open with a splinter of wood, letting the beast’s brawny arm thrust through while shoving Julio across the room. Neferkaret yanked him away from the sweep of its claws and handed him his trusty gladius. The chop of the blade in his hand tasted not the creature’s scaly hide but empty air when the giant arm withdrew as fast as it had lunged in.
The bedchamber quaked with a thunderous smash. A web of cracks spread across the outer wall’s surface with each subsequent ramming until it crumbled into rubble to reveal the monster outside.
Having obtained her traditional bow and quiver, Neferkaret shot an arrow into the beast’s broad chest. It reared onto its stumpy legs with a guttural roar and flung its claws at her, but Julio was able to pull her out of their slashing path. Together, they raced out of the bedchamber down a columned hallway with the creature crashing close behind. So immense was the long-armed reptile that the mere brushing of its shoulders and tail against the columns toppled them.
The monster picked up a chunk of shattered masonry and hurled it into Julio. It struck him down with his sword spinning out of his hand across the floor. On all fours, he scrambled to retrieve his weapon until a big scaly fist clenched onto his leg and plucked him up. While he dangled above the creature’s gaping jaws like a fish on a hook, the fetid fumes of its hot breath drowned out Julio’s consciousness.
Another of Neferkaret’s arrows pierced the beast’s hide with a thunk. Its hold on Julio loosened, letting him drop to the floor. Overcome with pain from the impact, he could only sit there and watch his beloved Pharaoh dash around the ruined hallway, harrying the pursuing creature with her bow. The monster’s frustrated roar echoed between the walls and columns over the bowstring’s twanging.
The brute rose onto its legs and slammed its fists onto the floor, unleashing a tremor that kicked Neferkaret off her footing. Instead of picking her up to eat her like he expected, the horrific animal turned away from her to gyrate on its forelimbs after Julio. A desperate wave of terror launched him across the hall to where his gladius lay. When he bent over to pick his weapon up, the monster’s talons grazed his back from above. In a rush of aggravated fury, Julio drove his blade deep into the adversary’s low knee.
The high-pitched cry that escaped the injured creature’s maw hammered against Julio’s eardrums. It tottered in circles until it collided with a standing column. As the beast collapsed, bringing the column down with it, hunks broken off the ceiling pelted the thing’s hide. Bones cracked, and the metallic odor of blood effused from the creature’s crushed body to mingle with the dust’s earthier smell. After releasing one last breath, the abominable animal lay dead.
Julio helped Neferkaret back onto her feet and embraced her with a kiss. “By Diopadre, what was that monstrosity?”
The clouds of dust thinned before a man’s silhouette. It was Khaheru, the royal physician, who stood there paralyzed in shock.
“What are you doing here, Khaheru?” Neferkaret asked.
Khaheru stammered unintelligibly. “I-I heard something and wanted to see what happened. By the gods, what is this thing? It looks like a cross between a gorilla and a crocodile, but bigger!”
“Almost like a creation of sorcery,” Julio said. “Wait a moment, you’re the royal physician. Who else would know how to make such a creature but you?”
He pointed his bloodied sword at Khaheru, who scoffed in response.
“Don’t you dare throw such an unfounded charge at me, brother!” Khaheru yelled while jabbing his finger back at Julio.
“It’s not unfounded at all, Khaheru,” Neferkaret said. “Out of all my subjects, you’re in the best position to bring to life a monster like this. Who else in all Khumet has that knowledge but you?”
“And who else could release it on the palace grounds?” Julio added. “A common witch or rogue wouldn’t have been able to sneak in so easily.”
“It—it could have been anyone at court,” Khaheru said. “Please, I swear by Ma’at’s feather, it wasn’t me!”
“Anyone at court who could create an unnatural monster, and yet it wasn’t you?” Julio shook his head. “You’re barely even trying.”
After a frantic scratch of his wig over gritted teeth, the physician threw up his arms in defeat. “Gods be cursed, you’ve caught me. I should’ve thought to hide, but I wanted to make sure my creation carried out its task.”
“What task would that be?” the Pharaoh asked. “And is anyone else involved?”
“I’d prefer not to name them, Your Majesty.” Khaheru directed his accusatory finger at her.
“What I will tell you is that your affair with that Valerian barbarian is nothing less than an affront to our people and to all our gods! As Pharaoh of Khumet, with the blood of the gods in your veins, you ought to know better.”
“That explains why it went after me,” Julio said. “But wait, if there are others involved…”
Neferkaret stormed toward her physician and pricked the skin on his neck with her bow’s pointed tip. “We’ll track down his fellow conspirators in due time. For now, Khaheru, I’ll have you thrown to the crocodiles. Guards!”
“Please, my Pharaoh, spare me and I’ll tell you everything you need to know,” Khaheru whimpered.
“Then who had you do this for them? Answer me!”
Khaheru’s eyes darted side to side. The faint clapping of sandals on the floor from outside anticipated the incoming of the palace guards in their leopard-skin skirts, armed with spears and giraffe-hide shields.
The physician gulped. “Very well, it was this Valerian emissary named Claudio—”
“Claudio Marcello, I know the man!” Julio said. “He works for Actavio Kesare.”
“Then that settles it,” Neferkaret said. “Khaheru, not only are you stripped of your title, but you owe the treasury whatever this Claudio Marcello offered you. Withhold even a single coin and I will have you thrown to the crocodiles. Carry him away!”
On their Pharaoh’s order, the guards closed in on the disgraced physician and dragged him out of the hall. As they did so, Khaheru glared back at Julio through narrowed eyes above a sneer.
Julio panted with exhaustion. “I wouldn’t keep him around if I were you. You never know what he might plot next.”
“Oh, I’ll always have my eyes on him,” Neferkaret said.
“Even so…now that we know Kesare is after me, I fear war may lie on the horizon.”
Neferkaret wrapped her hand firmly around Julio’s. “At least we have each other, then. Remember what I said? We are stronger together than we are apart. And it is together that we will face Kesare.”
Julio stared down the length of the hall, taking in all the devastation the creature had wrought “It’s a shame your chamber lies in ruins. Where will we sleep tonight, my queen?”
The Pharaoh batted her eyelashes with a toss of her hips. “We shall resolve that later. For now, let me nurse your wounds, and then follow me to the garden. It may not be the most private place, but nobody else should be out watching at this hour, and the scent of certain flowers can make anyone amorous.”
Julio beamed at her with a warmth rising between his loins. “Daring, aren’t we? But that’s why I love you, Your Majesty.”
Neferkaret pressed a kiss on his lips. “The same to you, my love.”
