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With little room to move and nothing to do in the cage, Zelda slept. They had been expelled from Meroe, and Rafique had to take her with him at least until they were well out of sight of the city. She knew he wouldn't hesitate to push her and the cage back into the water as soon as he thought it was safe, but for now, she was stuck in the cage. Within the covered cage, she could have easily heard Rafique ply the other half of his trade if she cared, but she didn't, so she slept.
The argument between Rafique and the other men woke her, and it quickly became clear that Rafique was arguing with a small group of sailors who didn't want any part of him, the cage, or her. From the argument, it seemed the sailors felt compelled to take this job and would only be as trustworthy as Rafique and Pisser were diligent.
Once she was loaded aboard and the sailors had secured the supplies, Zelda began looking for a quiet moment to speak with one or more of the sailors. She found the opportunity while Rafique and Pisser were busy getting all the other slaves onto the side of the boat away from the pier. “I have unfinished business with Rafique, and if you interfere, I will finish that business with you instead. He will throw me over as soon as he can. Do nothing, but look for me right here at the next sunrise, then decide where your interests lie.”
The sailor Zelda spoke with was so frightened by Zelda’s veiled threat that he nearly soiled himself. Zelda had no idea how this would all work out, but she hoped it would somehow. Maybe some fool would buy her and expect three wishes if he let her out. Like in the tales of Aladdin, her father had told her. It might be a silly idea, but until something else presented itself, that was all she had.
As the afternoon shadows grew longer, making the boats to their west hard to see, Rafique, Pisser, and the two remaining enforcers lifted Zelda and the cage over the side and dropped her into the water. As the water closed around her head, she surfaced in a small lagoon, in a different world with Anpu.
“Stretch yourself and treat my home as your own. I will join you for dinner. Until then, I have other obligations to attend to.” Anpu led Zelda to the steps that led from the water to the garden and the home she had explored on her last visit. Once she was out of the water, Anpu quietly vanished.
The garden and the house were empty during her last visit. Today, there was a woman slightly taller than herself, talking to and stroking a large snake on her lap. As Zelda approached, the snake left her lap and became a young woman. “I am Kabecht, and this is my mother Anput. We welcome you to the house of my father, Anpu. We don’t see the living here very often. My father tells me that you cannot change your form. Is that true?”
Yes.
“That seems very strange to me…” As Kabecht spoke, she led Zelda along a path to a well. Her casual manner quickly put Zelda at ease as they chatted about the silly things young women have always talked about. Together, they returned with the water to the rooftop kitchen, where Anput explained that the house would provide whatever she wished, but when guests were coming, she wished to cook for them.
As the day progressed, people started to gather and talk. Some came as animals and transformed into humans upon arrival. A few kept their animal heads, but almost none kept their skins or tails. Zelda quickly lost track of everyone she had been introduced to. Anput stayed close to her kitchen on the roof and was always ready to chat with any guest who came up.
“The magic of this land is convenient, but Anput insists on taking a hand in cooking for our guests.” Said Anpu as he reappeared next to Zelda as if he had never left.
“I have little else to do, and it pleases me to do it.” Anput looked at Zelda for a moment, then at her husband, and asked him, “How should we do this? She cannot change, and some, like Toth and his clan, cannot eat much of what I cook with a beak?”
“Thank you, dear. I will speak to our guests.” Then to Zelda, “Most of them are in the gardens.” Anpu moved from group to group, explaining that Zelda could not cross the river to the lands of the west and that this was her only form. He asked them not to think her rude for remaining as she was.
In one of the later groups in the garden, they met another man with the head of a jackal. His skin and the fur on his head were a copper brown instead of deep black like Anpu, and he had the look of a warrior, while Anpu seemed more like a scholar than anything else. Aside from that, the two could easily be brothers. “This is Wepeawet, my brother, opener of the way. It was he who asked Anwar to open his heart.”
“Yes, but it was she who led the leopard back to the man, allowing him to travel west with his memories.” Wepeawet bowed slightly to Zelda. “My brother is far too generous with praise for his family and just as quick to take credit for himself. He did get your name from a Valkyrie, but she was my date. My brother has asked that I help him look after you, but from what I have seen so far, I think he would be better off if you helped me look after him.”
Throughout the rest of the afternoon, either Anpu or his brother stayed close to Zelda as she briefly spoke with a menagerie of guests, most of whom now had the heads of animals. Keeping track of names was impossible, but she learned that families often used similar animals and had similar roles. During dinner, most, but not all, took on fully human form. After dinner, the crowd quickly dispersed. Some walked away, others vanished, and still others evaporated like mist, convincing Zelda she was in the land of the jinn.
“The ancients of your realm have tried to name us all and understand our family ties. It is they who gave us the forms you see today.” The speaker was a woman with a feline shadow. “May I sit down?”
No one had ever asked Zelda for permission to do anything before, and she hesitated before standing to offer this woman her seat.
Thank you, but I wanted to sit beside you. Please sit with me. I am not Bastet, but I have a similar role in life, and like my sister, I protect people whenever I can. With a fool trying to kill you every night, it is easy for Anpu to bring you here and wash away the worst of your pain and fear, but that won’t last.” Gently touching Zelda on her chest, “You will still need support. Long ago, we became too involved in human affairs and were asked never again to go to your realm, but I will send whatever help I can. Someone has something in mind for you, but it is not for me to know what it is.
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The woman vanished, and along with her went the gardens and home of Anpu, replaced by the cage and deck of a small ship on the Nile. The sound of conversation was replaced by a terrified scream from a man Zelda did not wish to know. He was one of the sailors, frozen in place by his fear. She debated with herself before speaking to him. “I am not for you, and I cannot harm you unless you interfere with the one who brought me. It is he whom I shall claim.”
Talking to the sailor restored his ability to move, but it left him with a dilemma. Should he pray first or wash and then pray? He decided to pray first, then wash and pray again.
This set the pattern for the trip down the Nile. No matter how often they threw Zelda into the water, she would reappear on the deck of the boat each sunrise. While she slept in her cage, Rafique and Pisser couldn't move or disturb her, and they did try. Since the sailors wouldn’t touch the cage, Zelda could sleep peacefully until dusk. Then back into the water, each time with the faint hope that she would stay.
Usually, only a few people would be in or near the house. From time to time, individuals would appear in the lagoon where Zelda first appeared. Then, a household member would wade out to meet them, help them cross to the far shore, and guide them on the journey ahead. She would rarely be there alone, and never for long.
During one of the few times she was alone, Zelda noticed a very discouraged-looking figure wading upstream in knee-deep water. At first, she thought it was Anpu, but then she realized this figure was dressed as a woman. Despite having black skin, which had so far been unique to Anpu, the figure had a feminine physique. In all her time here, Zelda had never seen anyone arrive without being greeted, yet no one approached. Remembering how lost she felt when she was driven from her home, Zelda waded into the water to meet the woman. “Let the water wash away your burdens. You are pure.” Zelda mimicked what she had seen so many times, gently turning the woman around and guiding her down into the water, her hands behind the woman’s head to lower her. “Let me help cleanse the burdens from your soul. You are pure. Give your burden to the river and let the water carry it away. You are pure.”
The woman relaxed completely into Zelda’s hands and seemed to dissolve into the water as Zelda knelt and lowered her into it. As the woman settled into the water, her maternal features shifted to the gentle yet strong features of Anpu. “You do not have to do this, but thank you. When there are plagues, most of the dead are children. I don’t want to frighten them, so I come for them as their mother might, instead of the great hound of death.” He seemed lighter in her hands as Zelda held his head above the water. “It has been a very long time since anyone has washed away my burdens and cleansed my soul.”
As Zelda held Anpu floating in the water, with his head cradled in her hands, she became aware of how this place fostered trust. She also became aware of his masculinity and her nudity. She had been nude for more than a month now, since Rafique had captured her and used her. This was different. She wanted Anpu to hold her, not take her, but to hold her safely and be wanted. As she felt this, she thought of Jamaani and Anput and felt ashamed.
“Why do you feel that way? Did Jamaani take anything from his first wife when he was with you? Will Anput be any less if I am kind to you?”
“I want what is not mine,” answered Zelda.
Then give what is yours to give. I will not take from you, nor will I accept what you are not ready to give. If you let me, I will hold you safe for a while,” Anpu shifted position to hold Zelda against his chest. “You have much to be protected from.”
For a moment, she was just a little girl held in her father’s arms, safe in their home as the storm raged outside. “You have a basic kindness that is being challenged.” Anpu made eye contact with Zelda and continued. “You reached out to someone in need and offered what you had to give. Try not to lose that part of yourself.”
“Tomorrow you will arrive in Alexandria. I think whoever buys you will meet a bad end. He paused and smiled. “And try to stay out of cages.”
Zelda found herself back in the cage watching the sunrise.
“If the market is large enough, there will be a buyer for anything a man might have to sell, especially if he only has one.” Rafique had no trouble selling his jinni in a cage. The price didn’t make him a sultan, but it would allow him to retire comfortably from the trade.
The buyer met him on the pier as their boat arrived, pointing at a seagoing vessel. “Please come alongside that ship.” Someone waved from the indicated vessel. “The Jinni can be transferred directly to that ship. My employer is eager to start working with the Jinni.”
With a wry smile, Rafique speculated, “Taxes are paid on everything that crosses the pier.” Either way, he was glad to be rid of the cage and all that it contained.
“I can place your payment on the pier if you prefer.”
“No need, I can take it here.”
Zelda woke as her cage was being raised. This surprised her because earlier attempts to move her cage during the day had failed. She was being taken to a different ship. When she and her cage were lowered to about eye level, a well-dressed young man approached and, speaking fluent Arabic, asked, “Tell me, what do you think I should do with you? Should I take you to my master, or should I keep you for myself?”
I believe you should set me free from this cage. I can't do anything while I'm surrounded by water or lead. Releasing me would earn my goodwill.
“If I release you, you are bound to me and will do as I instruct.” There was a tentative tone in the young man’s voice that Zelda immediately recognized.
she thought, “If you set me free, I will grant you wishes three.” The line still sounded stupid to her. What would she do when she could no longer stall and had to start delivering on the wishes?
“How do I know you will not kill me and simply leave as soon as we return to land?” The young man’s voice had a growing element of fear, but there was also a hint of excitement in it.
“Once given, the magic compels me to honor my word. You control my cage.” , Zelda thought.
The young man hesitated for a moment before gripping the bars of the cage on either side of Zelda’s head. “If I release you, then you will grant me three wishes?”
“I have promised, and I must honor what I have promised.”
Then he moved in close and whispered his next question. “Is there a way I can bind you to me forever?”
Zelda hesitated, hoping that since she was not a jinni, her answer didn’t matter, but she was unsure, given her time with Anpu and his clan. The young man was so close she could have licked him, which gave her an idea. She whispered, “Yes,” and licked him across his nose and forehead. “There’s also a way I can bind you to me forever.”
Almost immediately, the young man’s legs threatened to fail him as he backed away from the cage. He ordered it to be stowed below deck in the ship’s hold. Zelda resisted her temptation to say more as the cage was lowered onto the deck.
As soon as the cage was placed and secured in the hold, the young man mumbled some words, rubbed his hands together, and clapped them three times, creating a small shower of sparks and smoke. It was a trick her father used to impress someone with his magic, and it often left his hands quite sore for days.
Zelda looked around to see that the cage was surrounded by a ring of symbols, similar to the ones she had crossed that day when everything changed. She had seen too much magic and wondered,
