As they walked, Oshay told Sekhmet more stories and legends of their people. He seemed content to let her rattle on. Sometimes, when she stopped talking for a bit, he would even ask her a question to get her started again. She thought it strange that he knew none of this. “Uncle. Where have you lived that you don’t know what every child of the clan would know?”
Perhaps it was time to tell her. “Those warriors we fought yesterday. Didn’t you feel anything when you were near them?”
“Yes! What was that? It reminded me of the blood bond between Kataran—though not as strong.”
“That is because there is a tie of blood between us and those snake-men. They are the H’ris. And they are our distant cousins.”
“Those…things?”
“My father was one of those ‘things’. And so was the father of your beloved Children of the Dragon.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I am called Sekhmet now, but I was born S’kmet. My younger brother and sister were named K’taran and M’sara.”
“The pronunciation is odd, but you and your siblings were named after the legendary Children.”
“No. We were not. My brother and sister were the ‘Kataran and Mimsara’ of your legends. Time has merely altered the names slightly.”
“The Kataran founders were your…brother and sister? But…that would mean… You’re Semket? The Semket from the stories? I could tell you were old, but you must be…ancient. Um, I mean…how… You really knew them? I…” Oshay lowered her head, trying to control her stammering. “Forgive me. I just can’t believe…this is…I’m in the presence of, of…”
Sekhmet smirked. “A legend? When you called me ‘Uncle’, you were closer than you knew to the mark. My brother, or perhaps sister, was your ancestor. My brother and I were much alike. My sister looked more like the warriors we fought yesterday.”
“My branch traces its lineage directly back to Kataran. Or K’taran, as you call him. The stories say that Mimsara was an exotic beauty with delicate green scales. Scaling sometimes showed up in our people, but I imagined her…differently, somehow.”
“Her coloring wasn’t so green and her scales were finer than the H’ris. The most striking difference was in the way she moved--like a human. She was emulating K’t and I. When I was younger I moved in a more reptilian manner like my father. Being the oldest, I had no sibling to imitate. When I noticed how different that made me from the village children, I forced myself to act more human, hoping that would make them accept me. But nothing we did could change the way they felt about us.” Sekhmet walked quickly away, forcing Oshay to hurry to catch up. He said nothing more a long time. Oshay did not pry.
Oshay could not believe it! She was walking with The Semket…Sekhmet! The brother of her great ancestor. She silently thanked Hypnos and Thanatos for the greatest gift she had ever been given—a relative…and a legendary one at that! Tears pooled in her eyes, but she forced them back.
Sekhmet was still bothered by something. Why had Oshay looked so familiar to him? Yes, she reminded him somewhat of his sister, but it was more than that. Had he met her somewhere else? No, surely not. But something she had said still nagged at him. She had mentioned Anubis in a…personal way. “Oshay?”
He had been so quiet, Oshay almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. “Yes?”
“Where are the rest of your people?”
Her face became like stone. “They’re all dead.”
“How did they die?”
“Anubis killed them.” She said nothing else.
Sekhmet stopped in his tracks as Oshay walked stiffly past. That was it! That’s where he knew her from! He had watched Talpa trick Anubis into accepting the Armor of Cruelty all those centuries ago. Sekhmet remembered Anubis’s fiancée, a lively young girl with bright green hair. At the time, he’d thought it odd to see a group of people with eyes and hair like his own, but Talpa’s influence had pushed aside such musings. Thoughts that were not related to serving Talpa or spreading evil were always overwhelmed and swept away by Talpa’s control. As soon as such ideas would come into his head, they were swamped by other, darker thoughts. After Anubis joined them that day, he never gave the girl and her people another thought. Of course not. It would not have been in Talpa’s interest for him to learn his brother and sister had lived! Then he might have found the strength to resist Talpa’s power over him. Sekhmet took a deep breath and hurried to catch up to Oshay. He would never understand the ways of the universe. Talpa had destroyed a family Sekhmet had never even been aware of. Anubis had almost married his many-times-removed niece. And now he was walking with her centuries later, on his way to a home he had forgotten for so long.
For the rest of the day, the two of them walked in silence. When they stopped to make camp, Sekhmet was the first to speak. “Do you hate him then…Anubis?”
Oshay watched the blood-red sun sink below the horizon. “Yes. No! Sometimes. Most of the time I’m just confused. I don’t understand how everything could’ve gone so wrong. We were so happy and then it…Could we not talk about this part? Not yet.”
“As you wish. But I must warn you that if you insist on following me around, you will have to deal with Anubis again. He and I…worked together for a long time. We still meet on occasion.”
“What?! You and Anubis? But how? When?”
Oshay had told him much about herself and her life. Perhaps it was time for him to reciprocate. That evening as they sat by the fire, it was Sekhmet who did most of the talking. He told her about his childhood, the loss of his family to the H’ris, and his service to Talpa (for the full story of Sekhmet’s past, see “Poisoned Dreams”, part of SW6: Ghosts to Rest). “I will say this on the subject and not bring it up again unless you wish it. Talk to Anubis about the destruction of your people. Ask him to explain how he came to serve Talpa. And be prepared to truly listen.” He said no more as they readied for bed. He felt no hatred for Anubis over the killing of the Kataran—Anubis had been tricked by Talpa. Sekhmet had done things just as horrific, before and after he joined Talpa. In time perhaps Oshay would understand.