By accident rather than design, Trueth - one of the last European witches - finds herself in an ancient Egyptian civilisation. It isn't quite what she has expected - for one thing this place is as full of magic as it is lacking in decent showers.
...
Bent-Anta waved for one of her priestesses, a robed spectre, who floated across, took the king's blood and stored it in an alabaster phial.
'What else do you require?'Bent-Anta asked.
Damian had closed his eyes and counted with his fingers. 'We have to be outside. I need earth. Some water. Wood would be good. Trees give strength. Otherwise, it is just what we do and how we use it. But we can't be in a place built of stone.' He opened his eyes and tapped once against the nearest column.
Metjen nodded and was already half-way through the colonnades. 'Fine, then let's go. We have plenty of water in the Nile, and there's more than enough mud on the banks. No woods but loads of palm trees. You'll have to make do with that.'
A small procession wound its way outside, led by the high priests guarding Pharaoh in their midst. Bent-Anta, Trueth and Myrtle were following Seisi's recumbent shape as Selket's high priestess gently floated him along a hip-height. The scraggly assembly from Avebury shuffled after them. Accompanied by the occasional ping and rattle of the priests who followed behind, they were quietly pointing out the sights to each other.
Trueth prepared herself for the glare of the sun and was surprised to find the mellow hues of dawn reflecting on the calm surface of the eternal river.
Bent-Anta pointed towards the ground and Seisi gently landed on the fertile black soil that had given Kemet's its name. Above, the fronds of palm trees rustled in a fresh breeze. The high priestess crossed her arms in front of her chest, drew up her legs and took a position in the air close to Seisi's prone body. Damian's eyes grew wide behind his glasses, but he said nothing.
'Do your magic,' hamster said before he and the rest of the circle members got airborne as well.
Damian swallowed. 'Trueth, stay close Seisi, please. And I need one of you guys to accompany me,' he pointed at his fellow villagers. He got no response. 'Well ideally, I would need another healer, but we don't have one.'
'The dog?' Metjen asked.
'Huh?' Damian said.
Dog had slumped next to her master but raised herself on her paws and padded across towards the landlord and growled at him.
'Shush, it's all right,' Jack said.
Dog grabbed his trouser leg and growled again. The landlord looked down at the little animal who was now backing up, trying to pull him towards Trueth.
It was time to get involved. Trueth lowered herself onto the soft ground next to Seisi's resting place. 'I think she wants you to help us.'
Jack's mobile eyebrows contracted. 'How? I haven't got any beer.'
Bent-Anta regarded him quizzically, floated across and made the circling movements Trueth had seen Seisi execute many times when he wanted to get a feel for things. 'You're a healer, you know.'
'Yes, beer is good for you.' The landlord said, balling his fists.
'Not that, my good man. I sense healing powers in you. It is not much. Not like the talents our canine friend has shown today. Certainly not as strong as Trueth's. But you have them.'
Jack stared at the animal who had released his trousers and lifted an entreating paw. Dog's pink tongue lolled from the black muzzle like an exclamation mark. He ran his big hands through his greying hair and sighed. 'Fine, seems I'm outnumbered. But I won't be brewing any funny broths just to please you!'
He did not need to.
Instead, he traipsed behind Damian, who was measuring every step he took, slowly marking out a figure on the ground. A pentagram of course. Every time they reached a tip of the five-pointed star, Damian carefully dropped a tiny amount of the blood onto the soggy ground, every time they passed a tree, he lovingly stroked the rough stem of the palms. Trueth could not understand the words he was chanting under his breath, words nobody had uttered for millennia. Not Latin this time, that much she could guess. As Damian wove the spells of a dead people into foreign soil, green grass sprouted on the ground, rushing towards her. Out of nowhere came a faint stirring in her mind. It was accompanied by the metallic freshness of lightning.
The grass reached her, and a surge of power was tickling the soles of her feet. Not unlike the floods of the Nile it rose through her veins towards the center of her being. She heard voices in the wind rustling the fronds as palms became forests and mudflats turned into the fertile soil of the north, the sands of the desert, the ice of the arctics. The people around her retreated into the distance, became nothing more than a comforting presence. Somewhere, a dog barked, a child cried, and a whole planet shared its strength. What more did she need?
'I am home,' Trueth thought and bent down to flow her regained healing power into her lover.
The sun launched itself from the leafy tops of the palms just as Seisi opened his eyes and smiled.
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Oh allright. As requested, some romance is restored. Happy now???
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This chapter is dedicated to @user65821302 thank you very much for reading!
Top Image is from DeviantArt copyright lukassowada
Cotswold cottages is from DeviantArt copyright cronylude
Bottom image is from DeviantArt copyright Thenightshedieed
