The Feared Goddess-Teaser I v.2

This is a short story based on the novel I'm writing. I can't give away too much info., but I can tell you that it takes place during a war in Upper Egypt before the Old Kingdom. The main character is a young woman who is fleeing from an attack with her younger sister.


The Feared Goddess-Teaser

Maya inspected her iron blade for any cuts on it's edges. She knew there would not be any, but her weapons instructor had trained her to take good care of her weapons. Since he was now dead, killed by the invaders, she decided to honor him by finally obeying him.

"Manute called Baruti, I owe you everything." she kissed her blade. "Thank you."

She gestured at a patch of reeds in the Great River, and a girl no older than twelve peeked out cautiously, then waded out of the water as quickly as she could.

"You killed them all?" asked the girl, looking at all the bodies and body parts that littered the ground, staining the soft ground with red unseen in the night.

"Yes, Nathifa. None of them remain in this world. Search them for food. They must be carrying barley bread or at least some red beer."

She wiped soot and sweat from her already dark skin and feared it would be a continuous habit. She was tired, but not tired enough to sheath her sword. There would be more soldiers coming this way to the river, hoping to stop any Upper Egyptians from escaping north on boats. She couldn't allow any more of them to get past her.

The girl looked visibly shaken. " Maya, they're bloody, all of them. They're so bloody..."

Maya was enraged. " I'm trying to save us all, and you're complaining about blood?! This is not the last time you'll see me rip it from a body and send a heart to Ma'at's judgment! Collect your senses and-" she heard battle cries. "Get back into the reeds, sister!"

Nathifa scurried into the reeds as fast as she could, not even bothering to lift the hem of her linen dress up over the water. Soon, a group of ten men rushed out of the sycamore forest onto the riverbank. They all wore signs of their rank as Nubian soldiers, with their leather kilts and jangling rings of iron that they wore around their necks. Maya could see the many lines of scars on their faces, a testament to their victories in battle. When they saw Maya, they assumed from her appearance that she was on their side. This could not be any further from the truth. Baruti had taught her well.

" So the Queen did send some of her warriors ahead of us! I thought it was just a rumor!" the men exclaimed happily. " We have won! The Queen's spies never fail on a mission! See, she's even dressed like one of those Egyptians!"

The boldest one, the leader of the band approached Maya. "You've already been to the palace I see. Who did you kill to get that?" he asked, referring to the large round ruby she was wearing on a simple leather cord around her neck.

Maya smiled knowingly. "It was a gift."

The leader laughed. "You Daughters of The Queen are so skilled! Were you offered the jewel in exchange for someone's life? "

"It was a gift." Maya repeated.

The soldier laughed, shaking the thin circles of Warriors Iron around his neck. " You jest well for one so young! Have you even killed an enemy yet?"

" I had my first kill today." she told him honestly.

The man was happy. " I give you my congratulations. Will your mother give you your first Killing Scars? "

Maya's eyes smoldered. "She is dead."

" Then your father will."

"No. He too is gone."

The soldier grew somber. "Then a relative surely will take their place and perform their duty to you."

"No. All my relations have been lost to me."

The soldier put both of his hands on her shoulders, a familial gestures. "Then I will perform it. And offer up a gift to your ancestors."

Maya cut him quickly, but with great strength, separating his shoulders and neck from his body to create a grotesque bust."Your blood will be sacrifice enough." she whispered. Maya heard the soldier's iron circles clatter on the ground, but she did not look down at them. Her attention was fixed on the remaining nine men, even as she could feel the man's blood pool under her toes. The remaining soldiers tried to spear her all at once, but she was too fast. She clipped each and every spear point off, regardless of their material.

The soldiers didn't waste time worrying about their spear points. They were well trained fighters, and could use staffs well. But even so, Maya was too fast. Their thin wooden poles were soon reduced to sticks fit for torches. When Maya saw them without weaponry, she then felt comfortable enough to show her true power.

Maya slid the flat of her curved blade over the gem, and it sparked and caught fire. No sooner had she done this, than a sniper got off an arrow shot. Maya stopped the arrow from piercing her left shoulder with her flaming sword, the red flames working the projectile into an unusable lump of iron and ash. This was when the men decided to run, not realizing that this woman would never allow them to escape her. Without moving a foot, she calmly slashed the air in front of her one time.

"Nathifa." she said calmly to her sister still waiting in reeds. "Get out of the river." The girl knew from experience it was best to trust her older sister, so she obeyed. Maya flicked her sword hand as if she was batting a tetsi fly, and extinguished the flames on her sword. She squinted her eyes in the moonlight, looking for nine flashes. Soon enough, she saw them. They were the soldiers, still alive, but not for long. Maya had lit them alight as if she had thrown them into a cooking fire, and they were running to the river to extinguish the flames, their screams almost as intense as the red fires that surrounded their bodies.

Maya moved Nathifa behind her, and then raised her sword again. When they all were not five feet away, she swiped in front again, and they fell, their legs now lost to them.

"Goddess! Goddess of Vengeance!" yelled a voice from a sycamore. No doubt it was the sniper. Maya heard him drop down from the tree and run off.

"Will he die too?" asked Nathifa, still crouching behind her.

Maya smiled and wiped the soot from her ebony face. "Later. Someone has to tell the King I still live."