SWORD MAIDEN OF SEKHMET

Chapter 1: In the Dark Hall

Lord Anubis sat on his dark throne, in his dark hall, inside his dark palace.

No natural light penetrated inside since there were no openings in the thick stone walls to allow it to pass through. From outside, the palace presented an unbroken surface of pure black basalt on every side, like some enormous monument to the dead. Which in many ways it was, since Anubis was worshipped by the Abandoned Ones as the guardian of their tombs and cemeteries, the God who ushered souls into the afterlife.

Inside the palace, what little light there was came from many torches set in brackets. Their flickering flames revealed soaring columns of black marble, veined with grey, and walls the deepest shade of red, like dried blood.

The two messengers who now hurried towards the God's audience chamber did nothing to relieve the gloom, dressed as they were in uniforms entirely of black. They wore jerkins of black leather, reinforced in places with plates of black metal and carried helmets under their arms, shaped like the Jackal's head of their God. Ahead, two identically dressed guards carrying spears threw open the doors, admitting them into the presence of the God.

The great hall into which they passed was dominated at the far end by wide steps that led up to a throne of the deepest, purest black obsidian, on which sat the massive, brooding figure of Anubis. On either side of the throne, lay two huge Jackal dogs, growling deep in their throats.

The men halted just before the steps and prostrated themselves.

"Well, do you bring a reply to my offer?" The voice that reached them from above was deep, but with a note of sourness to it, the trace of a whine, that carried overtones of frustration and spite.

"We do, Great God," replied one, unable to disguise the tremor in his voice, extending a hand upwards in which he held a scroll of papyrus.

Anubis waved it away impatiently.

"Read it," he said in a low growl. "You may stand to do so."

The Messenger rose to his feet and unrolled the scroll, careful to keep his eyes focused on the text.

"To the Great God Anubis, Weigher-Of-Hearts, Embalmer-Of-The-Dead, Guardian-Of-The-Burial-Places, from the Goddess Sekhmet, Eye-Of-Ra, She-Who-Is-Powerful - Greetings!"

The messenger hesitated.

"Go on!" snapped the voice from above.

"Words cannot express the great honour My Lord bestows on me through His offer of marriage...."

"Good, good," interrupted the God, "Read on!"

"...I treasure His esteem most highly and return it one-hundredfold. With great regret, however, my gratitude cannot extend to a union between our two Houses. The loyalty I owe to my followers, here and in the Black Land below, together with the labours I undertake on behalf of my father, the Great God Ra, Lord-Of-us-All, would make me an unfit wife for anyone, let alone One as illustrious as My Lord. May the Great God Anubis live forever!"

As the messenger stuttered out the final words, Anubis leaped to his feet, lips curling back from the great jaws of his Jackal head in a vicious snarl that revealed his long canines and the blood-red cavern of his mouth. The two Jackal dogs also sprang up, echoing their master's snarl.

"Once more, she refuses me!" he howled. Then calming himself, he added, as if thinking out loud, "It is beyond time that this Lioness was humbled."

He turned his attention back to the messengers.

"You bring bad tidings," he boomed, taking a few steps down towards them.

The standing messenger fell to his knees and pressed his head to the floor.

"But there remains a way for you to redeem yourselves in my eyes," Anubis paused for a moment in thought, looking up into the darkness, then said quietly to himself  "Yes, that should bring her to heel." Turning back to the messengers he said:

"Listen carefully."

©Adriana Nicolas 2016