rescuing him from the Hyksos camp. Additionally, this brave, smart woman was gaining an ever-growing space in his heart. His brother warriors would laugh themselves sick at the idea of him falling for a dancer. Glancing at the sky, Kamin saw a highly unseasonal flash of lightning skipping through the clouds in the distance. Thunder rumbled as Ptahnetamun made his first throw, advancing one pawn onto the fifteenth square. Marked with a golden ankh, this was the gateway to the game.
Kamin sent Horus a silent prayer to watch over Nima, although in truth his patron wasn’t known to be intimately involved with senet. Or women. Spilling a bit of the wine as a sacrifice, he hoped Nuit, goddess of the night sky, might find herself intrigued by the game and favor Nima as a fellow female. Or maybe Renenutet, given the amulet Nima wears. The Snake Goddess is said to have a taste for fine wine.
This had to be an ancient board, looted from some tomb of the earliest pharaohs perhaps. There was a half-obliterated cartouche on the side closest to him. Who knew how Ptahnetamun had come into possession of such a treasure? Fit for a pharaoh, this set. Maybe the board and pawns carried magic along with the weight of the ages. Perhaps his prayers would do some good. I certainly can’t help Nima in any other way right now.
Nima threw all black sides, forfeiting the turn. Grinning, her opponent swept the painted sticks up and blew gently on them. “This may be a short game, lady. Perhaps I should send the serving girls to prepare my bed for us now.”
“We’re a long way from reaching the final five squares, either of us,” Nima answered, her face calm, unconcerned. Raising one eyebrow, she sipped at her wine. “Are you going to throw sticks or talk?”
For answer he tossed the counters on the table, coming up all white sides, garnering five points total. Pondering strategy for a moment, he advanced the first pawn off the ankh, moving three spaces with it before shifting his second pawn to the gateway space. Nima threw the same score and got her first pawn onto the board, sharing the ankh space with Ptahnetamun’s as the rules allowed, using up two points. Rapidly, she tapped her white, round pawn across the next three spaces, however, sending his second pawn back into limbo as she arrived on the same square.
Frowning, the caravan master made quick work of his toss, two black, two white sides, banishing her single gleaming mother-of-pearl pawn to the staging area of the board again.
Nima got all white on the next throw, earning an extra point. She put two pawns on the main portion of the board, saying as she did so, “Did you know these game pieces are sometimes known as dancers? And as I am a dancer by trade, good luck for me.”
“Now you tell me,” Ptahnetamun grunted, contemplating his next move. Clearly, he wasn’t as yet impressed with her as an opponent.
They battled on, each finally getting all their pawns onto the board but then advancing, falling back, regaining ground or suffering a loss as dictated by the throw of the sticks. As closely as he was watching, Kamin couldn’t decide whether the sticks were cheats or not. Certainly the white sides seemed to be falling to Nima’s advantage now as often as Ptahnetamun’s, much to the latter’s displeasure. Nima kept up a light chatter, sipped her wine, seeming unfazed by any temporary setback. She was first to send one pawn all the way through, even past the last five special squares, throwing a two as needed to get her marker out of the House of Re, square number twenty-nine, and safely into the Afterlife. Swearing loudly at her small victory, the caravan master managed to capture her fifth pawn with a victorious roar, sending the game piece back to square fifteen, the House of Rebirth. There the iridescent pawn sat in lonely splendor, obscuring the golden ankh symbol. Doomed to restart its journey through the phases of the game, the white piece seemed to
Kamin sent Horus a silent prayer to watch over Nima, although in truth his patron wasn’t known to be intimately involved with senet. Or women. Spilling a bit of the wine as a sacrifice, he hoped Nuit, goddess of the night sky, might find herself intrigued by the game and favor Nima as a fellow female. Or maybe Renenutet, given the amulet Nima wears. The Snake Goddess is said to have a taste for fine wine.
This had to be an ancient board, looted from some tomb of the earliest pharaohs perhaps. There was a half-obliterated cartouche on the side closest to him. Who knew how Ptahnetamun had come into possession of such a treasure? Fit for a pharaoh, this set. Maybe the board and pawns carried magic along with the weight of the ages. Perhaps his prayers would do some good. I certainly can’t help Nima in any other way right now.
Nima threw all black sides, forfeiting the turn. Grinning, her opponent swept the painted sticks up and blew gently on them. “This may be a short game, lady. Perhaps I should send the serving girls to prepare my bed for us now.”
“We’re a long way from reaching the final five squares, either of us,” Nima answered, her face calm, unconcerned. Raising one eyebrow, she sipped at her wine. “Are you going to throw sticks or talk?”
For answer he tossed the counters on the table, coming up all white sides, garnering five points total. Pondering strategy for a moment, he advanced the first pawn off the ankh, moving three spaces with it before shifting his second pawn to the gateway space. Nima threw the same score and got her first pawn onto the board, sharing the ankh space with Ptahnetamun’s as the rules allowed, using up two points. Rapidly, she tapped her white, round pawn across the next three spaces, however, sending his second pawn back into limbo as she arrived on the same square.
Frowning, the caravan master made quick work of his toss, two black, two white sides, banishing her single gleaming mother-of-pearl pawn to the staging area of the board again.
Nima got all white on the next throw, earning an extra point. She put two pawns on the main portion of the board, saying as she did so, “Did you know these game pieces are sometimes known as dancers? And as I am a dancer by trade, good luck for me.”
“Now you tell me,” Ptahnetamun grunted, contemplating his next move. Clearly, he wasn’t as yet impressed with her as an opponent.
They battled on, each finally getting all their pawns onto the board but then advancing, falling back, regaining ground or suffering a loss as dictated by the throw of the sticks. As closely as he was watching, Kamin couldn’t decide whether the sticks were cheats or not. Certainly the white sides seemed to be falling to Nima’s advantage now as often as Ptahnetamun’s, much to the latter’s displeasure. Nima kept up a light chatter, sipped her wine, seeming unfazed by any temporary setback. She was first to send one pawn all the way through, even past the last five special squares, throwing a two as needed to get her marker out of the House of Re, square number twenty-nine, and safely into the Afterlife. Swearing loudly at her small victory, the caravan master managed to capture her fifth pawn with a victorious roar, sending the game piece back to square fifteen, the House of Rebirth. There the iridescent pawn sat in lonely splendor, obscuring the golden ankh symbol. Doomed to restart its journey through the phases of the game, the white piece seemed to
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