The night was cold and clear, merciless stars glittering in the black sky. Sitefnut walked a little ways from the mouth of the mine, glancing over her shoulder. Despite all of her protestations to the contrary, the desert at night made her a bit nervous. She had spent her life in a small village cradled by trees at the edge of the Nile. The desert made her aware of exactly how small she was. How small they all were.
She settled on a rock, checking it first for scorpions and other stinging things. She ran through the instructions in one of her books in her head; this should be relatively easy. With any luck...
She closed her eyes, cleared her mind, and concentrated.
The chant was a short one, only seventeen couplets long, and it spun out of her with the force of her desire. It echoed across the rocky landscape, and faded.
The old woman waited patiently.
There was a step behind her, and she turned. She whispered four words and a spark of light appeared above her head, reflecting in the eyes of that which approached. Its head was lifted, and it stood, regarding her.
Sitefnut's mouth was dry. "Welcome," she said. She extended her hand, slowly; in it was a chunk of meat she'd talked the cook out of. She hadn't known what her spell would call, but she had gambled on it being a carnivore.
And it was. As the animal walked forward, the outline of the head and the ears came clear. A heavy jaw, round ears, stubborn muzzle, powerful forequarters. A ridge of hair spilled down its spine, and it moved with a strange gait caused by its back legs being shorter than its front.
It was a hyena. Spots rippled as it moved toward her uneasily; it was over three feet tall at the shoulder, its back sloping slightly towards its tail. Its nose worked as it hesitated, then moved forward.
A hyena. I was thinking cobra, cat, even a jackal....but a hyena? Though I have to admit that nobody messes with them. The hyena's nose came close to the handful of meat, and then gently those powerful jaws took it from her, carefully.
It tossed its head back and swallowed, and then returned to look at her. It took another step forward and rested its muzzle in her hand, looking up at her. I am Usi, it said. I answer the call. The voice was male, and strangely human.
"I called, and I accept." She laid one hand on the hyena's head. The fur was coarse under her palm. "We're an odd match, but I think we'll suit."
Usi pushed his head forward, and her hand slid down to his neck, and felt something--hard? She muttered with surprise and with a thought brought the spark closer to the hyena's neck.
It was a collar, made of what seemed to be woven gold, studded with small sparkling stones. She could feel the tingle of magic running through it. "Usi? What is this?"
My collar. The tingle spread from Sitefnut's hand to her elbow, shoulder, and then her heart. Your collar. It was created in the Dark Lands by its lord, long ago.
"What does it do?"
There was a dark laugh in that voice. You will see, Sitefnut. You will see.
She took her hand from the collar but didn't remove it from his neck. She wrinkled her nose as the smell of him hit her. "You, sir, need a bath."
I've been hunting the desert. Not many opportunities for bathing out here. That humor again, much lighter. I will take the opportunity to become more acceptable to your human noses when it is presented.
"You bet you will." Keeping her voice light, she regarded her new familiar with something like suspicion. Familiars were supposed to get more intelligent with time, but this one already sounded almost human--a reasonably intelligent one, no less. What is this I have bound myself to? she wondered.
But enough of that for the moment. "Come along, then. I'll introduce you to the others."
The others. I smelled secrets on them. Few of them are what they seem.
Her voice dropped. "You've been following us, haven't you?"
Waiting. I smelled young magic, in its first flower. The pup smells of it too, but her magic is not of my kind. Yours is.
She cackled and rose from the rock, groaning a bit as her stiff muscles and joints complained at her. "That's the first time anyone's called anything about me young in a very long time, Usi. Come on, then. Let's go show the others what they're traveling with."
The hyena fell in beside her, his bumpy gait making her stiff one look almost smooth by comparison. She rested one hand on his shoulders.
She chuckled to herself as they walked into the mouth of the mine. Mayet will have a fit. This ought to be good...
Usi's silent chuckle echoed her own.
