Shards of Ankh

Chapter Forty

Thea.

Her eyes sprung open. Had she been dreaming? It sounded like someone had whispered directly into her ear. She turned over in the bed, allowing her eyes to adjust to the near total darkness. She could see the rise and fall of Ankh's chest as he slept.

"Ankh?" she whispered.

He snorted in his sleep, licked his full lips a few times, and then rolled over. Deciding she must have been dreaming, Thea closed her eyes again.

Thea.

Thea bolted upright and looked around the room. She couldn't see the source of the voice. Once she was sure they were indeed alone, Thea quietly slipped out of bed. Grabbing a robe, she pulled it around herself and made her way to the window.

It was less of a window and more of an opening that led out of the palace. After scanning the grounds briefly, Thea touched one of the large stone pillars for support and climbed out. With such a large, easily accessible area, guards were posted there. As soon as she emerged they both looked at her, hands on their weapons. Upon seeing it was her, however, they relaxed.

Blushing, Thea brought the robe around her body closer. She was sure she had accidentally flashed them, but they seemed undisturbed by it. The nakedness was still an aspect of this new life she would have to get used to.

"Are you alright?" the guard on the left asked.

"Yes," Thea whispered back. "I just, um, had a nightmare and needed some fresh air."

The guard hesitated. "Where are you going? It is our duty to protect you as well."

Thea.

Abou twenty feet away stood a tree. The voice seemed to come from that area. If fact, Thea caught a glimpse of someone standing by the tree. That someone looked very familiar.

"Just by the tree," Thea said, pointing. "Is that alright?"

Both guards made a visual sweep of the area. When completed, the guard on the left gave a curt nod. Thea smiled at him and inclined her head. "Thank you."

"We will be here, keeping vigilance."

Thea walked down the two steps, trying to stop herself from running to the tree. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to herself. As she approached the tree, a man loomed in the shadows, seeming to filter in and out of the darkness itself.

"Aqen!" she greeted quietly, excitedly.

"Let us sit, Thea," the God said with a smile. "The guards cannot see us."

Thea sat. To the guards, it merely looked as though Thea was on the ground, her back against the tree. Aqen was but a shadow to them, and they spoke in soft murmurs that were scattered by the breeze.

"I've missed you," Thea said sincerely.

Aqen smiled, and once more he seemed more like Ahmed than a God. "As have I, Thea."

Thea's brow furrowed. "What are you doing here?"

The smile slipped away. "I have come to warn you."

Thea's heart sped up in her chest.

"You are in danger."

"I know," Thea replied, trying to sound lighthearted (but failing).

For a moment, Aqen merely looked at Thea. Then the God spoke..

"I have a story to tell you.

"One day, I was going home after delivering the shen to Ra. However, I heard something clear as a clarion. It was a young man. This young man was in turmoil, unlike anything I had yet heard.