‘Wise Setatmeh, gods of streams and waterfalls, you who control the crops and the rain and bring the barren to ripeness, accept this offering as your holy reward,’ he prayed, and scooped her into his arms. Pilos walked forward until he was thigh-deep in the river, a thrill of religious fear raising the hairs on his arms. She was fighting hard as he lowered her into the water and held her head down while she thrashed.

The offering was accepted.

A form glided through the water to Pilos’s side and he suffered the exquisite terror of looking it in the eye. ‘I honour you, god,’ he said. It wrapped webbed hands around the girl’s waist and Pilos let go and stepped back. ‘Take your prize, sacred spirit,’ he added and the offering shrieked again as the black claws bit into her back. The holy Setat dragged her away from shore, and then it tore open her belly and vanished with her beneath the water, trailing bubbles and thick streams of blood.

‘Blessed are the Setatmeh, and glory to the Singer,’ Atu murmured from the bank.

Pilos echoed his words and saw the shadow of awe in Atu’s face as he exited the river. He managed a grimace, making no effort to hide the trembling of his hands. To be so close to one of the gods was to know fear and rapture in their purest forms – there was no shame in shaking afterwards. Besides, there was another loop of river to cross before they reached the heart of the city and the great pyramid, and an offering would be required there too, in thanks for a victorious return to the Empire.

‘To finally meet the Singer himself,’ Atu muttered as they resumed their march. ‘The thought of it frightens me more than facing the enemy ever has,’ he admitted as the next offering was passed forward. This one began struggling straight away, knowing what awaited him.

‘We come to report victory,’ Pilos assured him. ‘The Singer will be pleased with us.’ Despite his words, he felt a flicker of unease. The council was a nest of vipers. The High Feather needed to be on his guard.

As always, the palace never failed to exact its toll in awe. A great tiered pyramid of seven pale stone levels and a grand central staircase that led all the way to the summit, with its precious songstone cap. There was one entrance off the main staircase, halfway up, that led into the pyramid’s interior and then to the very source. Brightly coloured images were carved and painted on its sides, and each level was green with cultivated gardens.