The Women and the Boatman

by Mark Gajewski

  Ma–ee and his sons descended to the foot of the dais and festival attendees began streaming forward to present their offerings. I studied Abar, sitting by herself atop the dais, watching them. She’d never looked more regal or beautiful or alone. My heart went out to her. I’d known her for a quarter of a century and I loved her like a sister and after today I’d never see her again. I’ll pull her aside during the festivities tonight and offer to take her north with me. She’ll refuse. She’d tell me she has to stay in Nekhen so Shery can succeed Ma–ee and together they can undo whatever damage Ma–ee does in the coming years and then continue to pursue Dedi’s quest. Losing her was going to be awful. We’d gone through so much together, relied on each other so much, come so close to making her Nekhen’s ruler. How different the lives of everyone gathered in this court would be right now if we’d succeeded. I was going to miss her very much – her smile, our conversations, her friendship. I loved her and I always would. I prayed to the falcon god to protect her from Ma–ee in the coming years. For no one else would.

  Presentation of the people’s offerings took hours. After, Ma–ee slew an unprecedented number of cattle and goats and sheep; the feast this evening would be massive. People watched hungrily as the carcasses were dragged outside the oval court to be roasted. Everyone had been on minimal rations for far too long. The killing of Ma–ee’s wild animals followed, the slaughter lasting until late in the afternoon because so many tasted the knife. Last to die were Ma–ee’s lions. He slew them himself. I could see how much it pained him to sacrifice them. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

  Ma–ee stood over the body of the second lion, drenched in blood, raised his flint knife with its decorated handle high. “My people, to ensure the coming inundation is a good one I have sacrificed all of my wealth. I have even slain the lions from which I draw my power, and whose name I have taken. I have held nothing back – on your behalf. Surely the gods will notice, and reward me and you.”

  There were scattered nods of approval and a few supportive shouts from the crowd. But I noted a definite lack of enthusiasm. Nekhenians and the valley’s farmers were rightly skeptical about Ma–ee’s promises and his ability to control our world. What he’d just done hadn’t convinced them anything would change. Only a good flood would do that. Empty bellies outweighed grandiose promises every time. Several of the leading men were whispering to Hemaka, glancing sideways at Ma–ee as they did. It appeared a faction opposed to Ma–ee had indeed formed under the leadership of Amenia’s uncle. Were the conspirators about to make a move of some kind against Ma–ee? I calculated the distance from me to Abar, how long it would take me to cover it. If anything happened I was going to do everything in my power to keep her safe.

  “Chaos has stalked this valley for too long,” Ma–ee continued. “Two nights ago, as I slept, the reason for this chaos was revealed to me in a dream.”

  Murmurs swept through the court. Dreams were powerful, not to be taken lightly. Ma–ee had piqued the crowd’s flagging interest.

  “I summoned the magicians. They confirmed my understanding.”

  What magicians?

  Ma–ee gestured. Two guards dragged a woman from the portico entrance towards the dais, grasping her under her armpits to hold her upright. Her head was bowed and her long hair had fallen forward and covered her face. Two more guards led the way, roughly shoving men and women aside to clear a narrow path through the midst of the crowd, which immediately closed behind the prisoner as she passed. She stumbled several times, clearly unable to walk normally. Her wrists were bound behind her with a leather thong. She’d put up a struggle at some point; her skirt was rent on the right side nearly to her waist and was caked with dirt and blood. There was fresh blood too on her elbows and forearms and knees. Her back and shoulders were purpled with the stripes of a beating. The guards halted directly in front of Ma–ee, on the blood–soaked ground between the corpses of the lions.

  The gold in her hair proclaimed the woman was Amenia.

  Immense rage and sorrow filled me in equal measure. I wanted to rush at the smirking Ma–ee and make him pay for what he’d done to her. I wanted to take Amenia in my arms and comfort her. I wanted to take her away from this humiliation.

  The murmurs in the crowd grew louder. People began pressing closer to Ma–ee to get a better look at the captive.

  He held up both hands for silence. “The chaos that has resulted in three poor inundations and brought hunger to this valley was caused by the death of Sanakht, the supposed grave robber,” Ma–ee announced. “So the gods told me in my dream.”

  The crowd began buzzing. Sanakht’s crime and manner of death, and the desecration of his body afterwards by Ma–ee, were still spoken of in Nekhen. In fact, since Sanakht’s mutilation no graves had been robbed in the cemetery.

  “Sanakht himself visited me in my dream, along with the gods,” Ma–ee continued. “He told me his spirit has caused the chaos enveloping us.” Ma–ee paused dramatically. “He cannot rest while those who murdered him remain unpunished and walk among us!”

  Pandemonium reigned. My face grew hot – I’d killed Sanakht. I hadn’t been punished for it. After the beating she’d just taken Amenia had surely told Ma–ee what I’d done. I didn’t blame her. I should have come forward long ago. Then she would have been spared this. Suddenly the meaning of Tentopet’s message was clear. It had nothing to do with the fleet. Ma–ee was going to execute Amenia, the person who had once been the most precious thing in my life. And then he was going to execute me. I almost admired Ma–ee for his brazenness. How could Sanakht have appeared to Ma–ee in a dream if Ma–ee had burned his body and erased his spirit for eternity, as we all believed? No one in the oval court seemed to notice the discrepancy. Ma–ee raised his hands for silence again.

  “We all believed Sanakht was killed while robbing a grave. But even at the time that made little sense to me. If someone had caught him stealing and meted out justice, why wouldn’t he have come forward to acknowledge the deed? I would have honored him for it.”

  I hadn’t come forward because I’d been trying to protect Amenia, to keep everyone – particularly Ma–ee – from suspecting her involvement in her man’s death. And to keep Ma–ee from concluding I’d killed Sanakht so I could have Amenia for myself. So I’d decided to leave his body in the cemetery. I’d made a horrible mistake. I should have disposed of Sanakht’s corpse. I could have put him on a punt, taken him far downriver, dumped him overboard. He would never have been found. Everyone would have assumed he’d simply left Nekhen for some reason of his own. The crowd was growing louder. Many discussions were going on, accompanied by many affirmative nods. What Ma–ee was saying made sense.

  “What happened was this – according to what Sanakht told me in my dream – he came upon the actual grave robbers and tried to stop them. They killed him and ran away. They left his body behind, knowing he’d be suspected of their crime. He’s dead now, but his murderers still live. As long as they tread this valley, so will chaos.”

  My heart started to pound. I glanced at Abar. She looked grim. I’d guessed correctly. She knew. Ma–ee was going to execute both Amenia and me for killing Sanakht. At one stroke he’d put chaos to rest, take back the fleet, and get his long–sought revenge against me. It was, on his part, a stroke of genius. He must have spent hours perfecting the details of his so–called dream, rehearsing what he was going to say and how to say it. I judged the distance to the oval court’s entrance. There were far too many people between it and me to try to rescue Amenia and flee. I wouldn’t try to escape by myself as long as Ma–ee held Amenia captive. Ma–ee would kill her and Bakist too if I did. I resigned myself to my death. But somehow, I had to talk Ma–ee into letting Amenia go free. She hadn’t done anything to Sanakht. I sought the words that would convince Ma–ee to show Amenia mercy.

  The crowd quieted enough for Ma–ee to be heard.

  “I will put Sanakht’s spirit to rest!” Ma–ee announced. “I will give
him justice!”

  The two guards stepped away from the woman. Ma–ee grabbed her by the hair, turned her to face the crowd, forced her to look up.

  “No!”

  Kapes was restraining Amenia’s aunt near the front of the crowd.

  “You all know Amenia. She has confirmed what Sanakht told me in my dream!” Ma–ee proclaimed. “Grave goods were found buried in her house after Sanakht’s murder. Yesterday she confessed to putting them there herself! She confessed to robbing graves! She confessed to murdering Sanakht when he caught her in the act!”

  The crowd was in an absolute uproar now. Amenia bowed her head again. She’d suffered grievously. Tears filled my eyes. Ma–ee and Senebi had beaten a false confession from her because of me, because of what I’d done. She’d only confessed to robbery and Sanakht’s murder – if she actually had, and I wouldn’t put it past Ma–ee to be lying about it – to protect me. I was the one who’d deserved the beating, not her. My eyes rose to Abar’s. She was crying. I had to act. I had to save Amenia. Otherwise, for eternity, her death would be on my hands. What could possibly hurt me more? I stood. Time to proclaim the truth of what had happened before all the people gathered here, plead for mercy for Amenia, get public opinion behind me, get the people to pressure Ma–ee to let her live. It didn’t matter what Ma–ee did to me afterwards, just as long as she was safe. I began pushing past the other elites towards him.

  “Amenia’s crime was particularly heinous,” Ma–ee continued, “because she was the priestess of the falcon god. Is it any surprise the falcon god has turned away from Nekhen?”

  People were shouting and shaking their fists at Amenia now. Wenher heaved a hand–sized rock. It struck Amenia in the ribs. Amenia screamed. A red gash appeared. Wenher shouted in triumph. More rocks pattered at Amenia’s feet. Several more hit her.

  Ma–ee raised his hands, waited for silence, spoke once more. “Amenia has confessed that her uncle, Hemaka, was her accomplice! He helped her rob graves! He helped her murder Sanakht, his own brother!”

  I stopped dead in my tracks. Ma–ee had indeed made up Amenia’s confession – every bit of it. Guards seized Hemaka, sitting a few seats from me. He cried out in protest, vehemently denied killing his brother, struggled furiously and fruitlessly to free himself from the guards’ grasp. I glanced at the section of the crowd where the families of the elites were standing. More guards had hold of Hemaka’s woman and daughters and Yuny and Nekauba and their families. Nekauba was fighting the guards like a demon, his face red, shouting something at Ma–ee I couldn’t hear over the roar of the crowd. In the midst of Ma–ee’s household servants a guard had hold of Nebet, Hemaka’s daughter. Ma–ee and Senebi had well–orchestrated this.

  Ma–ee climbed to the top step of the dais. “These people are the source of the chaos affecting us all!” he shouted. “Until they are brought to justice, chaos will continue!” Ma–ee raised his bloody flint knife high. “And so, tomorrow, at dawn, I will execute Amenia, and Hemaka, and his entire family. I will decapitate them and burn their bodies and throw their ashes into the river as an offering to the god of the inundation. And then the waters of the inundation will flow as never before and fully renew our fields and bring an abundance of life to our valley. Chaos will end! Order will prevail, forever and ever!”

  Ma–ee’s proclamation was greeted with a roar. Those closest to the newly–named criminals began pushing them and taunting them and mocking them and screaming at them and striking them and spitting at them. Senebi’s guards watched, bemused, doing nothing to protect their prisoners.

  I studied Ma–ee’s self–righteous face and then I understood. What was happening here in the oval court had nothing to do with dreams or fighting chaos or Sanakht’s death or grave robbing or justice. Hemaka was Ma–ee’s most outspoken critic. I’d heard rumors for years he was conspiring against Ma–ee, that he’d formed a group of followers to take action against our ruler. Today’s events were a sign the rumors were true, that Ma–ee had somehow learned about the conspiracy. He’d decided to snuff it out in the most permanent way possible. My unfortunate discovery of Amenia at the farm had enabled Ma–ee to resurrect the mystery surrounding Sanakht’s death and given him a convenient pretext to eliminate a potential rival without publicly acknowledging the conspiracy Hemaka was leading existed. The sentencing of Hemaka’s family to death was a message from Ma–ee to each of the elites of what would happen to their family – be they potter, brewer, metalsmith or craftsman – if they challenged him or his rule in any way in the future. By their grim faces, the elites weren’t missing Ma–ee’s message.

  “Take them all away,” Ma–ee summarily commanded, and his guards wrestled Amenia and the others through the crowd and out of the oval court. Hemaka’s women were crying, their children terrified, the men struggling, kicking up dust as they fought against their captors. As they disappeared from the court it was obvious the crowd had turned completely against them.

  Ma–ee raised his hands for silence yet again. “Our troubles began when the woman who represented the falcon god – or claimed to – abused her power and turned away from him. Not only did I receive a dream from Sanakht, but I received one from the falcon god as well.”

  There were suitable murmurs from the crowd. For a god to visit a man was impressive.

  “The falcon god told me from now on he will speak directly to me, and to the rulers who descend from me. No more will he be represented by anyone but Nekhen’s ruler. No longer will he accept offerings unless given by Nekhen’s ruler.”

  Ma–ee was adding the power of the gods to that of the ruler. He was carving out quite a niche for himself today, making his power unassailable.

  “Because Hemaka will have no remaining heirs after tomorrow, the falcon god directed me to take his pottery works for myself.”

  Greed triumphant. A warning of what would befall any elite who challenged Ma–ee in the future. The faces around me were grim.

  “Furthermore, the falcon god told me from now on every enterprise in Nekhen and the surrounding hamlets belongs to him, as well as all the land used by farmers.”

  There was shocked silence in the oval court. Every face registered utter disbelief.

  “Only by the god owning everything can its purity be ensured so he will accept our offerings and grant us his blessings,” Ma–ee said. “So, from now on, since I’m the falcon god’s priest, every item produced and every foodstuff grown will be delivered to me or one of my assistants. We will parcel those items out to those who deserve them in the proper quantity.”

  Everyone was stunned. But after what Ma–ee had just done to Amenia’s family no one dared challenge him.

  Then Ma–ee called forward several dozen men and assigned them to oversee specific enterprises and large hamlets and sections of the valley’s farmland. All of them were either his friends or Senebi’s thugs; none were current elites. I was the first to be replaced – I lost my smithy and craftsmen and Dedi’s entire operation to men without any qualifications. That afternoon Ma–ee in effect created a brand–new elite in Nekhen, a cadre of men completely beholden to him. He also called forth an additional batch of young girls and boys to serve him, all members of his new elites’ families. Hostages to keep them under control as he had the former elites.

  “And now, we feast!” Ma–ee cried when all had been arranged.

  A muted crowd followed him towards the feasting area outside the oval court. Abar looked at me sympathetically and helplessly as she passed. Her message to me delivered by Tentopet had been correct – Ma–ee had taken from me what I’d once loved most. I didn’t care about losing the smithy or my boats or my craftsmen – I’d already planned to duplicate them in the North. I sank to the ground in the oval court, overcome with grief. Amenia was going to die. All because Ma–ee was an incompetent who’d alienated the people and feared losing his position and had the resources to be vindictive. Guilt washed over me. If I hadn’t killed Sanakht, if I hadn’t drawn attentio
n to Amenia at the farm, Ma–ee wouldn’t have been able to dispose of all his rivals in one fell stroke. What was happening to Amenia and her family was my fault. I was going to have to live with it for the rest of my life.

  I sat, dazed. The sounds of people celebrating outside the oval court reached my ears. Inside its walls all was silent. The corpses of the two lions still lay where they’d been slain a few feet away, oozing blood. Flies buzzed around the other dead animals in the trench alongside the wall where they’d been dragged. The ground from one end of the oval court to the other was brightly stained with fresh blood; a narrow stream still ran from the dark pools at the end where the killings had taken place. I placed my palm flat on the ground. In the morning Amenia and everyone in her family would die, right where I was sitting. I pictured their deaths in my mind – each of them kneeling before Ma–ee, petrified, terrified, begging for mercy, him swinging his mace with all his might, shattering their skulls, him sawing their heads and limbs from their bodies with a flint knife, a river of blood reddening the ground, a crackling bonfire. It was too horrible to contemplate.

  Suddenly Bakist was kneeling at my side, her arm around my shoulders. With everything that had happened I’d forgotten she’d been standing in the crowd today along with Heth. She’d witnessed everything. She pulled me close against her swollen belly. Three weeks more or so and I’d be a father. Death tomorrow, followed by new life.

  “Save her,” Bakist commanded me softly.

  I could scarcely believe what she’d said. I looked deep into her eyes. How could she have love enough in her heart to want me to save another woman I’d once loved, and still did?

  “Save Amenia, Nykara. You’re the only one who can.”

  “I wish I could.” I rested my hand on Bakist’s stomach. “I can’t. It’s one thing for us to proceed leisurely to Maadi, as we’ve planned. To flee along with Amenia, with Ma–ee pursuing, and you so close to your time – that’s madness. I won’t risk your life by making you run. I won’t slip off with just Amenia and leave you behind either – Ma–ee will kill you. I choose you over Amenia, Bakist. I have to.”