Page 142 of Conspirators' Kingdom

Mereruka shook his head.

“Only family may enter, Serfka.”

“Then, Your Most Just, please allow me to take your place.” Serfka stepped through the threshold and bowed to Betrest.

“Do bring the scroll with you when you leave, wife,” Khety drawled.

“Scroll?” Serfka asked.

Khety pointed to the very one.

“Itet swore to reveal the kingdom’s secrets if I didn’t comply with her threats,” Khety answered smoothly.

Without even looking at the broken seal, Serfka picked up the scroll and passed it to Betrest with a warm, reassuring smile and a pat on her hand. Damned fool. How had Mereruka missed this before, this affection between them? Betrest walked towards the barrier and passed through, until the scroll caught her. Try as she might to pull it through, the item wouldn’t budge. She looked to Khety, confused and pleading. His scowl dripped with scorn.

“Radjedef, the scroll,” Khety intoned.

“But—”

“Now,” Khety hissed.

Cowed, Radjedef stepped across the threshold, allowing Betrest to pull the scroll through at last. Khety took the item and clutched it in his hand, relief obvious. Betrest forgotten, he surveyed the trap into which all three of his brothers had walked. The calculation that followed was brutal, but expected. He barely spared Radjedef a glance, though his eyes tightened at the sight of his exceedingly competent vizier. But when Mereruka met his stare, only the predator in Khety shone out.

Before he could speak, a small section of the roof of the chamber parted. Khety and Betrest craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the mechanism, while Mereruka and his brothers stared upwards, wary.

Mereruka’s heart sank. A thick metal grate made of iron barred the ceiling, outlined by a multitude of torches burning in the chamber above. No need to search the dreaded stuff out then.

Itet glared down into the trap, her blue eyes wild.

“Where is that fucking monster, Khety?!” she shrieked. She prowled along the edges like starving jackal, growling when she surmised he was nowhere to be found. “Three out of four isn’t bad. Just need to kill him the old fashioned way,” she muttered. Itet spared her three prisoners a hateful glare. “Goodbye, brothers. May you rot in the deepest of hells, where you belong after what you did to Inky,” she hissed.

“Itet! Please!”

“You dumb cow, I—”

Itet silenced Serfka and Radjedef with an enraged scream. She spat at Mereruka.

“At least you have the decency not to protest, you slimy bastard! As for the two of you, neither one of you lifted a gods-damned finger to save Inkaef from Khety! You deserve to die as much as he does.” Her ominous tone was punctured by the spiked club she hefted over her shoulder.

Now that Mereruka looked closely, she also had a bow and quiver strapped on, and a tangle of protective amulets strung about her neck. She wore her armour, polished to a high sheen. Khety was her prey tonight. Good.

His relief quickly vanished when several holes opened in the remaining roof of the chamber. Torrents of water gushed out, accompanied by the briny scent of the sea.

“Serfka!” Betrest cried.

Mereruka turned his attention to the queen. A slab of rock rose from the ground at her feet, the better to seal the chamber, no doubt. Mereruka cursed. Calculation complete, Khety smiled genially at his panicked brothers.

“Never fear, brothers, I shall deal with this predicament. Come along, Betrest,” Khety said as he tugged her nonchalantly from threshold.

“Hurry, brother! We won’t have long before the chamber is entirely flooded!” Serfka called as the slab sealed them inside.

Mereruka looked back up at the grate, but Itet was already gone.

“It’s fine. Khety will find her and put an end to this madness,” Serfka said.

Mereruka wasn’t certain if he said it for their benefit or his own. Radjedef rounded on Mereruka and punched him squarely in the jaw, knocking him to the floor.

“This is your damned fault! We’re going to die in here because of you!” Radjedef roared.

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