Sean snatched the letter, crumpled it into a ball, and let it drop to the floor. “I don’t want to hear your lies! She will tell me the location of Ra’s secret name before the sacrifice at dawn, one way or another! And by noon tomorrow, you both will be nothing more than a tragic headline!”
Seth gritted his teeth, his fury raging into a wildfire inside of him. He tried to keep himself planted to the very spot where he stood, knowing he wouldn’t be any use to Natti if he got himself killed here in the hospital.
Sean jerked the Glock toward the door. “Come along, Son. We don’t want to keep the lovely Natara waiting any longer, now do we? We’ll take your car.”
Mandy took the hospital gown, folded it, and placed it with the other personal items the hem-netjer had brought with the sacrifice. She and four of her sisters were summoned to work in the purification chamber, charged with duty of preparing the offering to enter the kingdom of Set. Mandy helped three other servants draw water from the sacred lake, carry it to the chamber, and fill the sunken, mud brick basin. Another girl Mandy knew as Anna gathered several beautifully ornate perfume bottles, lining them along the bath.
Mandy and her sisters walked to the unconscious girl and carefully lifted her from the slab. Stepping into the cool water, Mandy laid the sacrifice’s lower body carefully into the purified water. Anna rested the girl’s head on her lap, running her fingers through the beautiful locks of hair. The other sisters stepped away and took their place along the wall with flutes, lutes, and harps in hand. They played soft, rhythmic music, singing hymns to Set and of the forthcoming day of his return.
Mandy took a sponge and poured the fragrant lotus and myrrh oil into it. Holding out the offering’s arm, she scrubbed the oil into the girl’s skin with long smooth strokes. Anna took another bottle of perfumed oil and massaged it into the sacrifice’s scalp. They worked in silence, refraining from speaking per their master’s command.
Mandy glanced up at the serene face before her, studying it for the first time. It seemed familiar to her, pulling at her mind to try to remember something. A word? A name? Yes, the girl’s name; she was sure of it. She could hear it echo from deep inside. It lay only on the tip of her tongue, a haze veiling it from her memory. She tried to focus on the thought, not wanting to lose it. It gave her a sense of consciousness, a little piece of hope.
Since the day Mandy gave herself to Set, she couldn’t think clearly or hardly feel emotion. Her body wandered the halls of the temple, feeling like she was nothing more than a hollowed-out shell. Her mind and heart locked away inside with no control of her actions. The power that imprisoned her came from a simple anklet tied around her leg. The seven knots bound her to her god and the temple. There was no freedom, no escape. Touching the anklet only brought agonizing pain. So, after days of struggling, she finally allowed herself to fall victim to the wab priests.
As she grasped at that the memory of the girl’s name, two cold, turquoise eyes flashed before her vision. The same eyes that watched her every waking moment, haunted her dreams, and seduced her in her own bed. Even at that moment, she could feel his hands tracing her body, and his lips against hers. An overwhelming lust filled her heart and soul. She was pulled into her urges, her mind letting the memory slip from her grasp.
When the power reached its pinnacle, Mandy shivered, rolled back her head, and let out a soft moan. A moment later, the lust had vanished, once again leaving her cold and empty. A hand rested on Mandy’s bare shoulder. She opened her eyes to look at Anna’s sympathetic smile. Mandy lowered her head, disappointed and ashamed. Without another thought, she returned to her work and scrubbed every inch of the sacrifice’s flesh, the oils seeping into every pore.
Finished, Anna and Mandy carefully raised the offering to the stone slab and dried her with a fresh linen towel. Anna presented a pure white sheath dress, and Mandy glanced down at her own clothing. In the temple, she and her sisters were only permitted to wear short, modest linens draped from their waist. She had nothing to cover her chest or sandals to protect her feet.
Mandy’s attention snapped back into focus when Anna slid the offering’s legs through the collar of the garment. Mandy carefully raised the girl’s thighs and back from the stone surface, allowing Anna to pull the soft fabric over the bare skin. They looped the thin straps over her arms and placed them on her shoulders.