The Mummifier´s Daughter - A Novel in Ancient Egypt

by Nathaniel Burns

  They entered the mayor’s estate, silently approaching the house. Shabaka glanced about, and sent a few of the guards to collect the servants, for a moment wondering if they were not exaggerating the situation.

  If there was any problem, none of the servants seemed perturbed when the guards ordered them out, simply shrugging their shoulders when asked about the scream.

  “They don’t seem too concerned,” one of the guards spoke up as they looked over the group of servants.

  “I don’t think they really want to know,” another close to Shabaka replied.

  “Who sees to the master’s rooms?” Shabaka asked glancing out over the group.

  A few looked at a maidservant, who finally stepped forward and meekly replied, “I have been charged with that duty.”

  Shabaka looked at her for a moment, before asking, “Is there anyone with him this evening?”

  The maidservant looked about her for a moment, ringing her hands before nodding her head, “Yes, a young woman.”

  Shabaka looked at her, wondering just how young the woman was, before commanding, “You will take us to his rooms.”

  The maidservant looked about to protest, but then simply agreed, replying, “This way.”

  As they neared the bedroom, the familiar copper tang hung in the air, causing Neti and Shabaka to look at one another. Shabaka pulled the servant back, indicating that she be silent and return to the others, assigning a guard to accompany her.

  They watched as they left, and then visibly steeled themselves for the scene they were about to enter, as they stepped past the rich drapery.

  Neti halted dead in her tracks, feeling the bile rise in her throat as the man crouched over the woman lifted her still-beating heart over his head. A delirious giggle escaping his lips, as the blood ran in rivulets down his forearms.

  “Thoth!” she exclaimed in disbelief, shaking her head slightly in denial.

  He turned his head to look at her, and she felt a bolt of shock jolt through her body, immobilizing her to the spot. Even Shabaka seemed shocked. Neti felt her knees quake as the realization struck that her best friend had … that she had cleaned his hands afterwards … that he had …

  Thoth looked at her for a moment, his face lighting, until he recognized the man standing next to her. Shabaka yelled for the guards and Thoth, swearing, leapt from his position and ran for the small window, wriggling through it, clasping the heart in his one hand as he landed outside. He glanced around, looking to see where the other guards were before setting off for the secret entryway.

  Shabaka leapt forward in the hope of catching the man, but halted on reaching the window, which was too small for him to pass through. He turned towards the others, who had arrived in the doorway, commanding, “Catch him! Don’t let him get away!” He turned back to look at the scene before him. The young woman’s chest was hacked open, her blood lying in a pool around her, while the mayor lay motionless to one side. Shabaka moved over to the mayor before turning his gaze to Neti, calling, “Neti. Neti!” until the second shout released her from her stupor, as he continued, “Can you tell me if he is alive?” indicating the naked body before him.

  Neti looked towards it and then turned her gaze away, causing Shabaka to look down at the body, noting its condition before realizing why she had averted her gaze. He pulled a sheet from the bed and covered the lower region of the man’s body, before once again calling her to have a look.

  Neti stepped closer, mumbling, “Now I’ve seen more of him than I care to.”

  Shabaka smiled in response, before answering, “You should be used to it by now.”

  Neti sank down to her haunches, before replying, “I am. But there are some things in life that are best left unexplored.” She placed her hand on his chest, adding, “His body is one of them.”

  She tilted her head slightly and moved her hand a bit, waiting a few moments before she raised it, holding it over his mouth. “He is alive,” she finally noted, adding, “not awake, but alive.”

  Shabaka nodded in response, stepping past her toward the door, “I’m going to see if they caught him,” adding, “I will have a healer sent for,” and then he disappeared behind the drapery.

  Neti looked around the room, noting the amount of blood, and the trail of bloody footprints, and swallowed.

  Shabaka momentarily reappeared in the doorway, calling, “Neti,” causing her to turn and look at him, before asking, “Will you be all right alone?”

  She regarded him for a moment, almost nodding her head in reply, but then at the last moment shook it, shrugging her shoulders.

  “We’ll get him,” Shabaka professed. Neti merely inclined her head in response.

  Shabaka had just stepped from the house, when one of the guards approached him, “I don’t know how he got away, but we cannot find him. There are too many dark places for him to hide.” The other guards then joined, awaiting instructions.

  “Take some of the men and search Ma-Nefer’s property, everywhere, including the trading post. I don’t care who is woken or disturbed. If there is a problem, detain them. We must find him.” Shabaka watched the man go, then turned to one of the recruits, “Go summon Suten Anu, tell him his assistance is needed here.” He looking at the recruit next to him, “Go summon a healer. The mayor is still alive.”

  Both turned from him, setting off as fast as they could, before he returned to address the others, commanding, “I do not want any of the elders on the property. You two,” Shabaka added, pointing to two men in the group, “will seize all the documentation you can find, and have the scribe go over it.” He added, “I will tell him what to look for once he gets here.” The men nodded and moved toward the house.

  Shabaka then looked toward another recruit, commanding, “Return to the guardhouse and have them prepare my chariot, and then have it brought here.” The young man nodded his head before turning and setting off. Shabaka then pointed to another group, “You four, make for the gates and tell the guards that no one is to leave Thebes until I say so.” He then turned his attention to the rest, “The rest of you keep people out of here,” he ordered before returning to enter the house.

  He entered the room a short while later, to find Neti carefully stepping along the bloody footprints. He watched her for a moment, before saying, “He managed to get away, but the guards are out looking for him.”

  Neti nodded her head, and turned to look at him when his hand gently landed on her shoulder.

  “How are you?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure,” she honestly replied, shaking her head. “He is mad, completely possessed.”

  Shabaka squeezed her shoulder gently, and she offered him a weak, watery smile in response.

  Just then, a healer entered the room, his eyes bulging at the scene before him, exclaiming, “By Amun-Ra! What happened here?” He turned to look at Neti and Shabaka, nodding in greeting, before carefully moving to the mayor’s side and checking the man’s vitals.

  “You should send for Marlep, and have her body removed,” the healer said, indicating to the young woman.

  “I’ll send someone,” Shabaka replied, before turning to Neti, beckoning, “Come, I have sent for Suten Anu. You could possibly help him go over the documents, but you do not need to be here now.” He returned his attention to the healer, “I will have a guard sent, to ensure that you are not disturbed.”

  The healer inclined his head in acknowledgement, replying, “He can help me move him onto the bed then.”

  Thoth once again checked over his shoulder, wanting to ensure that he was not being followed, knowing it would only be a matter of time before they discovered his means of escape, and would then follow him. He needed to get back to the chamber. He would be safe, and no one would think to look for him there.

  He slipped down the narrow alleyway, once again glancing behind him before moving down it and stepping into the chamber. He moved over to the platform first, placing the heart on it before he returned to the door to collect
the lamp. Striking the flintstone, he lit it and moved it into position. He gathered up everything he needed, the familiar feeling of power filling him as he once again picked up the heart, holding it over the basin so he could wash it with the wine.

  From a darkened corner, Ma-Nefer watched as Thoth processed the heart, smiling in glee. He dropped his voice as he asked, “You have taken the heart requested?”

  Thoth halted for a few moments, looking around him, before answering, “No.”

  “What!” Ma-Nefer demanded, stepping closer, “Then whose heart is that?”

  “The girl’s,” Thoth gleefully replied, “Neti found me before I could take his, and that dark man was with her.”

  “You were supposed to take the mayor’s heart, not some slave girl’s!” Ma-Nefer started, lifting his hand, and then suddenly realizing he did not have his whip with him, fumed. “You useless piece of flesh.”

  “I did not have time,” Thoth calmly replied as he placed the heart in the jar, causing Ma-Nefer to look at him in disbelief.

  “But you killed him?” Ma-Nefer demanded

  “I do not know,” Thoth replied reaching for the natron and filling the jar.

  “You fool! Do you know what you have done! They now know who you are! They are going to come looking for you, and they will kill you!” Ma-Nefer lividly exclaimed, adding, “I’m now going to have to move the gems, before their location is discovered!”

  Thoth looked after Ma-Nefer as he left the chamber, and then glanced at the jar before him, placing the lid on it before following the man, thinking that as a god he had a right to all the gems. He was not going to let this man steal them from him.

  Back at the mayor’s house, Suten Anu periodically glanced sideways at Neti. After his arrival and their disclosure of events, he had kept her close to him and ensured that no one disturbed her. Her head was down while she scanned scroll after scroll, casting some aside and adding others to a small pile.

  Shabaka was pacing, irritable, and periodically glanced towards Neti, before resuming his pacing.

  One of the recruits entered the room, breathing hard. “A traveler was seen to be moving along the northern road towards Karnak. He is bulky and appeared to move with haste,” the recruit reported between gasps, and then bent forward struggling to regain his breath.

  “No one travels in the dark,” Suten Anu replied. “It is too easy to fall prey to vagabonds and bandits.”

  “Unless you are one of them, and trying to hide something,” Shabaka replied, turning to the guard, commanding, “Ready my chariot, call together as many men as you can and follow.” The guard nodded his head in reply, and left.

  “Take Neti with you,” Suten Anu said as Shabaka prepared to leave.

  “It is too dangerous,” Shabaka replied, shaking his head.

  “If it is Thoth, he will listen to her, and come to her if she calls him,” Suten Anu explained, “He always has.”

  Shabaka looked towards Neti, then acknowledged, beckoning, “Come, we must go.”

  Shabaka and Neti stepped out of the mayor’s house, Neti halting at the sight of the two gray horses, stepping back as one tossed its head and the other snorted before pawing the ground.

  “Come, they will not hurt you. They are well trained,” Shabaka replied, guiding her round the horses. “I forget that Egyptians are not yet used to horses.”

  He indicated for her to step onto the chariot, and she looked at the half-round carriage with its overly large wheels in suspicion.

  “It is safe, and much faster than running.”

  Neti swallowed hard as she got on the platform, immediately stepping back when she saw the horses’ quarters, her body slamming into Shabaka’s as he too stood on the carriage. His arm snaked around her holding her in place, assuring her, “Relax, you will be fine.” He then collected up the reins and commanded the horses to set off.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The cooler evening air blasted across Neti’s face as the horses cantered along the road, kicking small sand and stone particles that stung as they struck her skin. Her eyes watered from the unaccustomed wind force.

  Shabaka’s arm tightened around her as the horses turned the corner. The sudden jolt as the chariot once again straightened caused her to shriek slightly. Her gaze dropped to the pair of quarters before her, causing her to pinch her eyes shut and visibly swallow, while pushing back against Shabaka, her heart pounding as fast as the horses’ hooves.

  Dogs and cats scattered to get out of the way, and citizens that were still about turned to look at them in disbelief as the chariot rushed past them, and on towards the Northern Gate.

  Shabaka checked the horses as they approached the gate, where the guard was already moving into position to detain them, until he recognized the chariot and the occupants and moved out of the way.

  “Close the gates after the guards, no one leaves!” Shabaka commanded as they passed, before turning his attention back to the road.

  A short distance from the gate some hyenas scampered over the road, barking excitedly as the horses rushed past.

  On Shabaka’s command, the horses once again sped up, and Neti, who had not thought they could go any faster, gripped the frame of the chariot so hard that her knuckles turned white.

  The chariot bumped and jolted as they made their way along the dirt road, only slowing slightly as they crossed the bridge over the channel.

  The horses’ hooves continued to mercilessly pound the moonlit road, diminishing the distance between Thebes and Karnak.

  Shabaka steered them away from the Avenue of Rams, past the entrance to the Opet Temple and onwards to the Avenue of Sphinxes that led towards the forecourt of the temple of Amun-Ra.

  He checked the horses again, bringing them down to a trot as they turned onto the sandstone path, slowing them, their hoof beats sounding sharper on the hard surface. The chariot’s movements suddenly smoothed, causing Neti’s grip to loosen, as she watched the horses as they pulled the chariot up the slight incline.

  Entering the first pylon, the sound of the horses’ hoof beats became overwhelming, filling the walls with a hollow clonking sound. The smell of horse-sweat filled the air, with the horses breathing hard as they continued on to the forecourt. The hoof beats again altered, this time echoing off the vast walls, with the horses snorting loudly and tossing their heads.

  Shabaka again tightened his arm around her before asking, “Where do you think they would go?”

  Neti looked about the large courtyard noticing how the lamps around the forecourt flickered faintly, the light playing on the nearby carvings. “I don’t know,” Neti finally answered before asking, “Did your men not follow them the last time they came?”

  “They were only recorded entering. The guards were not allowed to interfere with proceedings.”

  “I see,” Neti thoughtfully replied, adding, “It’s difficult. There are several temples here, all devoted to different gods. Unless one knows which divinity they came to worship, there is no telling. They also got a head start on us,”

  “Horses travel faster than humans. If they came to collect the gems then they should still be here.”

  Shabaka halted the horses near the Ramesses statues, leading into the second pylon, and got off the chariot, stating, “Come, we’ll search for them on foot. The horses will alert them of our whereabouts and make it easier for them to avoid us.”

  “The horses will not run away?” Neti asked in surprise.

  “They have been trained to stand,” Shabaka replied, looking about the area, adding, “We should go to see the priests. They may have heard or seen something.”

  Neti nodded her head and fell into step beside him, looking about them, then suddenly reached for his arm, “Shabaka, look!” she gasped, pointing in a direction.

  Shabaka peered into the direction she indicated, and tried to see what she was referring to, when he finally made out a shape moving along the wall, almost undetected.

  “Halt!” he ordered, “
in the name of Rammeses the Second I command you to stand.”

  The figure halted, “And who is he who dares to command the priest of Amun-Ra? Who takes in vain the name of our divine Lord Rammeses?” His voice was clear and cold.

  Shabaka jogged over to where he stood. He looked at the gold ornaments on the man’s bare chest and the head-dress, and then lowered his head to address him, “Oh, mighty priest of the Gods, I crave your forgiveness if I have offended.”

  “What is it you seek? the priest asked, his voice cold.

  “I seek a man who came this way who has done great injustice to the pharaoh. I have been sent to collect him.”

  The priest in turn bowed his head. “The divine Pharaoh is our Lord and master. What wrong has this man done to him?”

  “Oh, mighty priest, the man I am looking for has killed several of the pharaoh’s subjects and taken their hearts. I must put an end to it.”

  The priest looked at him for a while before answering, “Whilst doing my evening rounds of the temples, I noticed two men enter. One from the South Gate, who went to the sacred lake to wash. The other entered through that gateway,” the priest indicated the pylon they had entered through, “and went into the Hypostyle Hall. Now go and do as the Pharaoh has commanded thee.”

  Shabaka bowed low and returned to Neti. He looked at her for a moment before stating, “Thoth would have gone to the lake, and it will be a while before the guards arrive. We should seek Ma-Nefer first.”

  Neti nodded her head, and followed him back to the second pylon, to move through it and on to the Hypostyle Hall.

  The lamps along the main pathway were all lit. The colossal pillars rising up to the ceiling were covered in colorful hieroglyphics that seemed to come to life in the flickering flame. The pillars beyond those were all cast in shadows. The hall was eerily silent, only the sound of their footsteps could be heard as they moved along the passage.