Page 80 of Queen Takes Checkmate
He backed up a step, before catching himself. He grabbed his golden sun disc and held it up at me.
It took every drop of Isis’ blood in my veins to keep from flinching, or quickly averting my gaze.
“Cooperate, witch. You know what I’m capable of.”
“Queen,” I said firmly, refusing to look away. “And you know damned sure whatI’mcapable of.”
“Not without your Blood.”
I let one corner of my mouth quirk suggestively. “I can find new Blood, though I tend to go through them rather quickly. Who are you people? Where’d Huitzilopochtli go? I have a few things I’d like to say to him,” I finished with another snarl, as if I was pissed at him.
They looked at each other, as if trying to decide whether to indulge my curiosity or not. I ignored them and slowly walked around the temple like I was an invited guest.
Massive golden pillars soared overhead, draped with white linens. But no ceiling. A single glance up at the sky, even with my hand shading my tender eyes, made me want to recoil into a dark room for a year. Ra’s power blazed overhead like a sun that hung entirely too close to the earth.
The floor was polished like a golden mirror, making the sunlight radiate right back up into my face. My exposed skin was red and hot, as if I’d been sunbathing for hours.
The bald one finally answered me. “I’m Greatest of Seers, High Priest of His Imperial Majesty. This is High Lord Vizier Amun. Per the Hummingbird’s request, he was given leave to worship Ra and beg for a boon.”
Amun-Ra. Another name for Ra after the sun god had absorbed Amun.
The vizier smiled again, that indulgent fatherly smile that pretended to care about me, a complete stranger, whom he hated with every fiber of his being. I smiled back at him. I was going to be sure to kill him too. Though I didn’t think I’d need the red serpent for it. “Take me to His Imperial Majesty.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Why in heaven above would I do that, witch?”
I allowed the smile to slide away into a flat stare. I didn’t say anything immediately, but only stared back at him. In ancient times, the vizier had been second only to the pharaoh.
I didn’t fucking care who he thought he was.
When he averted his gaze to the priest, frowning like it was his fault, I finally answered. “Because I’m breeding, and I intend to bear Ra a queen.”
33
Shara
I’d never seen a pompous windbag move so quickly. The vizier stared at me, his mouth falling open, for a count of three. Then he whirled around and strode toward the rear of the temple. “Prepare her. I’ll inform His Imperial Majesty.”
Greatest of Seers, the high priest, stared at me like the heavens had opened up and dropped an angel at his feet. Only this angel was coated in feces and smelled like death warmed over. I was everything his god yearned for and hated at the same time. No wonder he didn’t know how to talk to or act around me. He was terrified of refusing or insulting me, if I might truly become his god’s mistress, or concubine, or whatever the hell Ra would deign to call me.
His hand started to rise toward his scar again, but he caught himself and gave me a glare. “I have powers you can’t possibly comprehend. I won’t be as kind as the High Lord.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Sure. Go ahead and kill the last breeding queen to walk the earth. I’m Ra’s last shot at siring a queen and you know it. So shut the fuck up and take me where I need to go.”
Despite a dark scowl, he led the way after the vizier. At the rear of the temple, we stepped through what seemed to be wispy white clouds or fog.
The three giant pyramids of Giza shot up to the heavens, only these were surely two or three times as high. It was hard for me to guess, since I hadn’t seen them in person yet, but I could barely see the golden triangle at the top of the largest one’s peak. Bloody tears tracked down my cheeks again from trying to look up beneath the punishing sun.
The priest led me to the smaller pyramid. I couldn’t suppress a soft sigh of relief as soon as we stepped inside.
Dark and cool, the pyramid was a relief after the blaring sun outside, though everything was still solid gold and luxurious. Gold and purple curtains hung on the walls to create separate rooms. The walls themselves were painted with intricate hieroglyphs. At a glance, I made out enough to recognize the “Adoration of Ra,” an ancient poem dedicated to him that often appeared in theBook of Coming Forth By Day.
Otherwise known as theBook of the Dead.
Slaves rushed forward, beautiful young men and women that were mostly naked, their skin marred with whips and burns like Vivian’s back. I clenched my jaws, fighting down my rage. Many of these marks were old, and these were young people. Mostly human, I thought, though I sensed a spark in them that spoke of a goddess’s heritage. They probably contained enough Aima blood to see and know things most humans couldn’t. Just enough to attract the attention of Ra’s minions.
Who’d snatched them up young and brought them here to live a life of misery.
A young man bowed low before me, lifting up a pitcher of water. I grabbed it and drank my fill of sweet, delicious water. Maybe I was doomed now, like Persephone after she’d eaten the pomegranate seeds, but I couldn’t help it. My body’s physical reserves were shot. I could easily regain my strength and power if I tapped my bonds…
