'It is a shimmering golden light, like no other I have seen or expect to
see again. It is divine.1 Fenn glowed, and he went on, 'Therein lies our difficulty. If you continue to let it shine forth the witch will descry you in an instant and know what a serious threat you may pose to her.'
She thought about that. 'You say that the witch has overlooked us.
In that case, has she not already descried my aura? Is it not too late to attempt to conceal it from her?'
'It is not possible even for a savant to perceive an aura by overlooking from afar. It can only be done by viewing a subject directly. We saw the witch in the water as a wraith, so she saw us in the same fashion.
She could perceive our physical selves and overhear our conversation she could even smell us as we did her - but she could not see your aura.'
'What of yours? Did you conceal it from her?'
'As savants, neither the witch nor I shed an aura.'
'Teach me the art of hiding mine,' she pleaded.
He inclined his head in agreement. 'I will, but we must be vigilant. I must be certain that she is not overlooking or listening to us.'
It was not an easy task. Fenn had to rely on him to tell her how successful her efforts were. At first her best attempts caused her aura to flicker but it soon flared up as brightly as before. They persevered, and gradually, with her most valiant efforts and his coaching, the flickering became a significant dimming. But it was weeks before she could suppress it at will to a level that was not much more striking than that of Meren or any of his troopers, and maintain it at that level of brightness for extended periods.
Nine days after leaving the encampment on the plateau, they reached the river. Although it was almost a league across from bank to bank, the Nile waters flowed no more strongly than those of the mountain stream beside which they had raised the dhurra crop. The thin trickle was almost lost in the wide expanse of dry sand and mudbanks. However, it was sufficient for their needs. They turned southwards and pushed on along the eastern bank, covering many leagues each day. Elephants had dug deep holes in the riverbed to reach the cleaner subterranean water.
Men and horses drank from them.
Each day they came upon large herds of these ancient grey beasts drinking from the holes, lifting huge draughts to their mouths in their trunks and squirting them down their gaping pink throats, but at the troopers' approach they charged up the bank in a herd, flapping their ears and trumpeting before rushing into the forest.
Many of the bulls carried massive shafts of ivory. It was only with an effort that Meren controlled his hunter's heart and allowed them to
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escape unmolested. Now they met other men of the Shilluk tribe grazing their herds along the riverbank. Nontu was carried away on a flood of his emotions. 'Old and revered one, these people are from my own town.
They have news of my family,' he told Taita. 'Two seasons ago one of my wives was taken by a crocodile when she went to draw water from the river, but the other three are well and have borne many children.'
Taita knew Nontu had been at Qebui for the last eight years, and he wondered at the births. 'I left my wives in the care of my brothers,'
Nontu explained blithely.
'It seems they have cared well for them,' Taita remarked drily.
Nontu went on cheerfully. 'My eldest daughter has seen her first red moon and come of child-bearing age. They tell me she has grown into a nubile girl, and the young men have offered many cattle for her as a bride price. I must return with these men, who are my kinsfolk, to the village to arrange her marriage, and to take care of the cattle.'
'I shall be saddened by our parting,' Taita told him. 'What of you, Nakonto? Will you leave us also?'
'Nay, old man. Your medicines are pleasing to my bowels. Furthermore, there is good food and good fighting to be had in your company.
I prefer it to that of many wives and their squalling brats. I have grown accustomed to living without such encumbrances. I will travel on with you.'
They camped for three days beside Nontu's village, an assembly of several hundred large conical huts, beautifully thatched and laid out in a circle around the extensive cattle kraals where each night the herds were penned. There, the herdsmen milked the cows, then drew blood from one of the large veins in each beast's neck. This seemed to be their only food, as they planted no crops. The men and even the women were inordinately tall, but slender and graceful. Despite their tribal tattoos the younger women were nubile and pleasing to look upon. They gathered round the camp in giggling gaggles, ogling the troopers brazenly.
On the third day they bade farewell to Nontu, and were preparing for the departure when five troopers came in a delegation to Meren. Each led by the hand a naked Shilluk maiden, who towered over her escort.
'We wish to bring these chickens with us,' declared Shofar, the spokesman for the group.
'Do they understand your intentions?' Meren asked, to give himself time to consider the proposal.
'Nakonto has explained it to them, and they are willing.'
'What of their fathers and brothers? We do not wish to start a war.'
'We have given them a bronze dagger each, and they are happy with the bargain.'
'Can the women ride?'1 'No, but they will perforce learn soon enough.'
Meren removed his leather helmet and ran his fingers through his curls, then looked to Taita for guidance. Taita
