In the aftermath of nine devastating plagues that ravaged ancient Egypt, a high priestess desperately seeks to prevent the impending tenth plague. Still, her efforts fail, leaving her at the mercy of an enraged pharaoh. Meanwhile, the pharaoh's son...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Rai winced when the bronze comb snagged her hair for the third time.
"Idiot! What's wrong with you?" Rai snapped as she glared at the reflection of the servant in the mirror. The girl muttered a shaky apology before resuming her duty more carefully.
Much to Rai's surprise and initial disbelief, after a week the Pharaoh had sent guards to release her from the prisons. When the guards arrived before dawn, panic had sent her into a hysteric episode. She had kicked and screamed, sputtering threats and curses as the guards dragged her from the cell.
When they shoved her into the richly furnished chamber, her hair was a tangled nest and her breathing was harsh and loud. It had taken some time to truly relax and convince herself that the Pharaoh was not ready to kill her just yet.
The room had suited her taste with its vibrant hieroglyphic painted walls, limestone floor and large ornate ceramic vases at each corner. The floor had been polished to such perfection that she could see an outline of her reflection on its glossy surface. How she loved luxury.
Even though Rai sensed Quatesh's presence from the moment she was shoved into the room, he was silent and out of sight. She remained alert for his voice all the while the maids helped scrub the filth off her skin with a generous amount of swabu soap. Her skin still felt tender from all the scrubbing but it was necessary. The filth of the cells still haunted her. And those rats—
When the comb tugged her hair once more, Rai gripped the maid's wrist. Digging her nails into her flesh, she pulled her forward. "Did I not warn you to stop yanking my hair, you... you daughter of a Nile toad." Rai glowered at the whimpering ugly girl.
"S-sorry, mistress," the maid stuttered, eyes wide and pleading.
"Give your apology to your household gods," Rai spat before muttering a dark variation of heka spells.
Rai watched, unmoved, as the girl gripped her neck with her free hand and began coughing violently. The veins of her neck and face stood out as she staggered away from Rai's grip, eyes scrunched shut as thick lines of blood dripped down her nostrils. The second maid screamed as the girl fell to her knees, vomiting blood and doubling over.
"Continue your task or you will be next!" Rai hissed at the frozen maids. The maid who screamed disregarded Rai's command. Instead, she wept as she knelt beside the convulsing girl, gripping her head and trying in vain to straighten her twisting neck.
"Sister...no. Please." The girl begged as she hugged the maid, wailing prayers and pleas.
Rai watched the irritating display from the mirror with a scowl. She hadn't killed the girl, so why the drama? In two days, the girl will recover, but all her life, she will be plagued with coughing fits.
"Nofret... sister!" The second maid cried as she shook the now limp body of the maid.
Rai had not expected her to react so strongly to the spell, but it still suited her purpose well. Now the rest would understand why she was the most feared priestess in all of Egypt and spread the news of her power.
"Cease your noise. Your sister isn't dead. Remove her from my sight and clean this mess!" Rai barked before refocusing on her reflection.
The weeping maid lifted her limp sister, staggering under her weight as she pulled her out of the room. Rai crushed the seed of guilt the sight brought.
"Well, that was quite entertaining," her reflection said with that smile on her face.
Rai jolted in surprise but anger immediately took over. "You left me," Rai spat at the smirking image in the mirror.
"Yes mistress, are you speaking to us?" a maid asked with a trembling voice.
"No. Shut up and face your work." Rai earned a frightened whimper from both girls as they resumed braiding her hair.
"You left me, why?" Rai asked in a calmer tone.
Her reflection shrugged at her comment. "How else did you expect the pharaoh to react? But look at you now, free as a bird and in the king's favour. Do not tell me a little suffering has broken your spirit."
Rai avoided the green serpentine eyes in the mirror. Her days in the dungeon had been the worst moments of her life. She looked down at the little red marks on her fingers and shivered at the memory of the rats biting at them. The maids would have to stain her fingers with henna to hide the unsightly marks.
"But master, it was horrible," Rai said in a small voice. "The walls and the rats—"
"Stop your whining and listen carefully," her reflection hissed.
Rai flinched at the sharp reprimand. The sense of power she enjoyed mere moments ago fizzled to nothing. "I'm listening, master Quatesh."
"Did you meet any other person at the dungeon? Say, a woman?" her reflection seemed to lean forward as she asked.
Rai thought for a while before frowning. "Yes, I do recall hearing a woman having a conversation with herself. Her cell was not directly opposite mine so I could not make out her appearance."
The reflection's eyes turned sharper as she leaned even closer. "What did she speak of? Are you certain you heard no one other than her? You are a human with the gift of the eye, how come you saw no other being?"
Her reflection's eyes darted about as though she was calculating something.
"Master, I think the woman was mad. If there was a spirit present, I would have seen—"
"You would not have." Her reflection cut in swiftly before mumbling to herself, "What are they up to?"
Rai remained silent. When she noticed the girls were through with their task, she sent them to go prepare the henna mixture. When she focused on her reflection once more, Rai noticed her fingers were devoid of rat bite marks. In fact, her reflection looked more perfect, absolutely flawless. She gritted her teeth as jealousy rose within her.
"Make sure to tell Ramesses whatever I tell you to. I'll take care of the woman."
With those words, Rai's reflection turned normal. The serpentine green eyes were no more and when she lifted her hands, she scowled at the bite marks reflected.
