下载辰思小说免费APP
“PerhapsitisbecauseIlovehimthatIwishtodie。IhavegivenhimallIhavetogive；thereisnothingleftofmypoortreasureexceptwhatwillbringtroubleandmisfortuneonhishead。Thereforethegreaterthelove——anditismoregreatthanallthosepyramidsmassedtoone——thegreatertheneedthatitshouldbeburiedforawhile。Doyouunderstand？“
Heshookhishead。
“Iunderstandonlythatyouareaverystrangewoman，differentfromanyotherthatIhaveknown。“
“Mychild，whowasslainwiththerest，wasalltheworldtome，andI
wouldbewhereheis。Doyouunderstandnow？“
“Youwouldleaveyourlife，inwhich，beingyoung，youmayhavemorechildren，tolieinatombwithyourdeadson？“heaskedslowly，likeoneastonished。
“IonlycareforlifewhileitcanservehimwhomIlove，andifadaycomeswhenhesitsuponthethronehowwilladaughterofthehatedIsraelitesservehimthen？AlsoIdonotwishformorechildren。
Livingordead，hethatisgoneownsallmyheart；thereisnoroominitforothers。Thatloveatleastispureandperfect，andhavingbeenembalmedbydeath，canneverchange。Moreover，itisnotinatombthatIshallliewithhim，orsoIbelieve。ThefaithoftheseEgyptianswhichwedespisetellsofalifeeternalintheheavens，andthitherIwouldgotoseekthatwhichislost，andtowaitthatwhichisleftbehindawhile。“
“Ah!“saidJabez。“FormypartIdonottroublemyselfwiththeseproblems，whofindinalifetemporalontheearthenoughtofillmythoughtsandhands。Yet，Merapi，youarearebel，andwhetherinheavenoronearth，howarerebelsreceivedbythekingagainstwhomtheyhaverebelled？“
“YousayIamrebel，“shesaid，turningonhimwithflashingeyes。
“Why？BecauseIwouldnotdishonourmyselfbymarryingamanIhate，onealsowhoisamurderer，andbecausewhileIliveIwillnotdesertamanwhomIlovetoreturntothosewhohavedonemenaughtbutevil。
DidGodthenmakewomentobesoldlikecattleofthefieldforthepleasureandtheprofitofhimwhocanpaythehighest？“
“Itseemsso，“saidJabez，spreadingouthishands。
“Itseemsthatyouthinkso，whofashionGodasyouwouldwishhimtobe，butformypartIdonotbelieveit，andifIdid，Ishouldseekanotherking。Myuncle，IappealfromthepriestandtheeldertoThatwhichmadeboththemandme，andbyItsjudgmentIwillstandorfall。“
“Alwaysaverydangerousthingtodo，“reflectedJabezaloud，“sincethepriestisapttotakethelawintohisownhandsbeforethecausecanbepleadedelsewhere。Still，whoamIthatIshouldsetupmyreasoningsagainstonewhocangrindAmontopowderinhisownsanctuary，andwhothereforemayhavewarrantforallshethinksanddoes？“
Merapistampedherfoot。
“YouknowwellitwasyouwhobroughtmethecommandtodarethegodAmoninhistemple。ItwasnotI-“shebegan。
“Idoknow，“repliedJabezwavinghishand。“Iknowalsothatiswhateverywizardsays，whateverhisnationorhisgods，andwhatnooneeverbelieves。Thusbecause，havingfaith，youobeyedthecommandandthroughyouAmonwassmitten，amongboththeIsraelitesandtheEgyptiansyouareheldtobethegreatestsorceressthathaslookedupontheNile，andthatisadangerousrepute，myniece。“
“OnetowhichIlaynoclaim，andneversought。“
“Justso，butwhichallthesamehascometoyou。Well，knowingaswithoutdoubtyoudoallthatwillsoonbefallinEgypt，andhavingbeenwarned，ifyouneededwarning，ofthedangerwithwhichyouyourselfarethreatened，youstillrefusetoobeythissecondcommandwhichitismydutytodelivert
