by Wilbur Smith
‘Pharaoh, one more instant of your gracious presence,’ Taita cut in, before he could disappear.
‘You have been here but a moment, and already you have wrung fifty favours from me. Your powers of persuasion are undimmed. What is it you still need?’
‘Your permission to cross the river and pay my respects to Queen Mintaka.’
‘If I refused, I would place myself in an invidious position. My queen has not lost her fire. She would treat me mercilessly.’ He laughed with real affection for his wife. ‘Go to her, by all means, but return here before midnight.’
As soon as Demeter was safely ensconced in the palace Taita summoned two of the royal physicians to attend him, then called Meren aside. ‘I expect to return before nightfall,’ he told him. ‘Guard him well.’
‘I should go with you, Magus. In this time of want and starvation even honest men turn in despair to brigandry to feed their families.’
‘Ramram has given me an escort of guardsmen.’
It seemed strange to mount a horse, rather than a boat, to cross a river like the Nile. From the back of Windsmoke, Taita gazed towards the Palace of Memnon on the west bank and saw that many well-trodden paths led through the mudbanks between the turbid pools. They rode out along one. A monstrous toad hopped across the path in front of Taita’s mare.
‘Kill it!’ the sergeant of the escorts snapped. A soldier couched his spear and rode down on the toad. Like a wild boar at bay, it turned ferociously to defend itself. The soldier leant forward and drove the point of his spear deep into its pulsating yellow throat. In its death throes the hideous creature clamped its jaws on the spear’s shaft so the soldier had to drag it along behind his horse until it released its grip and he could pull his weapon free. He fell in beside Taita and showed him the shaft: the toad’s fangs had scored the hard wood deeply.
‘They are savage as wolves,’ said Habari, the sergeant of the guard, a lean and scarred old warrior. ‘When they first appeared, Pharaoh ordered two regiments to scour the riverbed and wipe them out. We slew them in their hundreds and then in their thousands. We piled their carcasses into windrows, but for every one we killed it seemed that another two rose from the mud to replace them. Even great Pharaoh realized that he had set us a hopeless task and now he orders that we must keep them confined to the riverbed. At times they swarm out and we must attack them again,’ Habari went on. ‘In their own foul manner they serve some useful purpose. They devour all the filth and carrion that is thrown into the river. The people lack the strength and energy to dig decent graves for the victims of the plague and the toads have assumed the role of undertakers.’
The horses plunged through the red slime and mud of one of the shallow pools and rode up the west bank. As soon as they came in sight of the palace the doors swung open and the gatekeeper came out to meet them.
‘Hail, mighty Magus!’ He saluted Taita. ‘Her Majesty has word of your arrival in Thebes, and sends joyous greeting to you. She waits eagerly to welcome you.’ He pointed to the palace gates. Taita looked up and saw tiny figures on top of the wall. They were women and children and Taita was uncertain which was the queen, until she waved to him. He pushed the mare, and she jumped forward and carried him through the open gates.
As he dismounted in the courtyard, Mintaka raced down the stone staircase with the grace of a girl. She had always been an athlete, a skilled charioteer and an intrepid huntress. He was delighted to see her still so lithe, until she reached up to embrace him and he saw how thin she had become. Her arms were like sticks, her features drawn and pale. Although she smiled, her dark eyes were haunted by sorrow.
‘Oh, Taita, I do not know how we have done without you,’ she told him, and buried her face in his beard. He stroked her head, and at his touch her gaiety evaporated. Her whole body shook with sobs. ‘I thought you would never return and that Nefer and I had lost you also, as we have lost Khaba and little Unas.’
‘I have been told of your bereavement. I grieve with you,’ Taita murmured.
‘I try to be brave. So many mothers have suffered as I have. But it is bitter to have my babies taken from me so soon.’ She stood back and tried to smile again, but her eyes were welling and her lips quivered. ‘Come, I want you to meet the other children. Most of them you know. Only the two youngest have never met you. They are waiting for you.’
They were lined up in two ranks. The boys in front, the princesses behind them. All were stiff with awe and respect. The smallest girl was so overcome by the stories of the great magus her siblings had told her that she dissolved into tears as soon as he looked at her. Taita picked her up and held her head against his shoulder while he whispered to her. She relaxed at once, sniffed back the tears and wrapped both arms round his neck.
‘I would never have believed it if I did not remember the winning ways you have with children and animals.’ Mintaka smiled at him, then called the others forward one at a time.
‘I have never laid eyes on such beautiful children,’ Taita told her, ‘but, then, I am not surprised. They have you as their mother.’
At last Mintaka sent them away and took Taita’s hand. She led him to her private apartments, where they sat beside the open window to catch the faint breeze and look out over the western hills. While she poured sherbet for him she said, ‘I used to love to gaze out over the river, but no longer. The sight breaks my heart. Soon the waters will return, though. It has been prophesied.’
‘By whom?’ Taita asked idly, but his interest quickened when for answer she gave him a knowing, enigmatic smile, then turned the conversation to the happy times, not long past, when she was a beautiful young bride and the land was green and fruitful. Her mood lightened and she spoke animatedly. He waited for her to finish, knowing that she could not long resist returning to the mysterious prophecy.
Suddenly she dropped the reminiscences. ‘Taita, do you know that our old gods have become feeble? They will soon be replaced by a new goddess with absolute power. She will restore the Nile, and rid us of the plagues that the old, effete gods have been unable to prevent.’
Taita listened respectfully. ‘No, Majesty, this I did not know.’
‘Oh, yes, it is certain.’ Her pale features glowed with fresh colour and the years seemed to drop away. She was a girl again, suffused with joy and hope. ‘But more, Taita, so much more.’ She paused portentously, then went on in a rush of words, ‘This goddess has the power to restore all that has been lost or taken cruelly from us, but only if we dedicate ourselves to her. If we render to her our hearts and souls, she can give back to us our youth. She can bring happiness to those who suffer and mourn. But, think on this, Taita – she even has the power to resurrect the dead.’ Tears started in her eyes again, and she was so breathless with excitement that her voice shook as though she had run a long race: ‘She can give me back my babies! I will be able to hold the warm, living bodies of Khaba and Unas in my arms and kiss their little faces.’
Taita could not bear to deprive her of the solace that this new hope gave her. ‘These are matters almost too marvellous for us to comprehend,’ he said solemnly.
‘Yes, yes! It has to be explained to you by the prophet. Only then does it become clear as the brightest crystal. You cannot doubt it.’
‘Who is this prophet?’
‘His name is Soe.’
‘Where is he to be found, Mintaka?’ Taita asked.
She clapped her hands with excitement. ‘Oh, Taita, this is the very best part of it,’ she cried. ‘He is here in my palace! I have given him sanctuary from the priests of the old gods, Osiris, Horus and Isis. They hate him for the truth he speaks. They have tried repeatedly to assassinate him. Every day he instructs me and those he chooses in the new religion. It is such a beautiful faith, Taita, that even you will be unable to resist it, but it has to be learnt in secret. Egypt is still too steeped in the worthless old superstitions. They must be eradicated before the new religion can flourish. The common people are not yet ready to accept the go
ddess.’
Taita nodded thoughtfully. He was filled with deep pity for her. He understood how those driven to the extremes of suffering will clutch vainly at the air as they fall. ‘What is the name of this wonderful new goddess?’
‘Her name is too holy to be spoken aloud by unbelievers. Only those who have taken her into their hearts and souls may utter it. Even I must complete my instruction with Soe before it is told to me.’
‘When does Soe come to instruct you? I long to hear him expound these wondrous theories.’
‘No, Taita,’ she cried. ‘You must understand that they are not theories. They are the manifest truth. Soe comes to me each morning and evening. He is the wisest and most holy man I have ever met.’ Despite her bright expression, tears began to stream down her face again. She seized his hand and squeezed it. ‘You will come to listen to him, promise me.’
‘I am grateful to you for the trust you place in me, my beloved queen. When will it be?’
‘This evening, after we have had supper,’ she told him.
Taita thought for a moment. ‘You say he only preaches to those he selects. What if he refuses me? I would be distraught if he did so.’
‘He would never turn away anyone as wise and renowned as you, Great Magus.’
‘I would not want to take that chance, my dearest Mintaka. Would it not be possible for me to listen to him without disclosing my identity just yet?’
Mintaka looked at him dubiously. ‘I would not wish to deceive him,’ she said at last.
‘I plan no deception, Mintaka. Where do you meet him?’
‘In this apartment. He sits where you now sit. On that self-same cushion.’
‘Are there just the two of you?’
‘No, three of my favourite ladies are with us. They have become as devoted to the goddess as I am.’
Taita was studying the layout of the room carefully, but he kept asking his questions to distract her. ‘Will the goddess ever announce herself to all the peoples of Egypt, or will her religion be revealed to only those few she chooses?’
‘When Nefer and I have taken her deeply into our hearts, renounced the false gods, torn down their temples and dispersed the priesthood, the goddess will come forth in glory. She will put an end to the plagues and heal all the suffering they have caused. She will order the Nile waters to flow…’ she hesitated, then ended in a rush ‘…and give my babies back to me.’
‘My precious queen. How I wish with all my heart that this will come to pass. But, tell me, has Nefer been made aware of these events?’
She sighed. ‘Nefer is a wise and excellent ruler. He is a mighty warrior, a loving husband and father, but he is not a spiritual man. Soe agrees with me that we should reveal all to him only at the appropriate time, which is not yet.’
Taita nodded gravely. Pharaoh will be moved to learn, from his own beloved wife, that his grandfather and grandmother, his father and mother, not to mention the holy trinity of Osiris, Isis and Horus, are to be summarily renounced, he thought. Even he is to be stripped of his divinity. I think I know him well enough to predict that it will not happen while he lives.
That idea loosed in Taita’s mind a swarm of terrifying possibilities. If Nefer Seti and his closest councillors and advisers were no longer alive to keep her in check, the prophet Soe would be left in control of a queen who would carry out his commands without question or resistance. Would she accede to the assassination of her king, her husband and the father of her children? he asked himself. The answer was clear: yes, she would, if she knew that he would be restored to her almost immediately by the nameless new goddess, along with her dead babies. Desperate people resort to desperate expedients. Aloud he asked, ‘Is Soe the only prophet of this supreme goddess?’
‘Soe is the chief of them all, but many of her lesser disciples are moving among the populace throughout the two kingdoms to spread the joyous tidings and prepare the way for her coming.’
‘Your words have lit a blaze in my heart. I shall always be grateful to you if you allow me to listen to his testament without him being aware of me. I will have with me another magus, older and wiser than I will ever be.’ He raised a finger to silence her protest. ‘It is true, Mintaka. His name is Demeter. He will sit with me behind that zenana window.’ He pointed to the intricately carved screen from behind which, in former times, a pharaoh’s wives and concubines had given audience to foreign dignitaries without exposing their faces.
Mintaka still hesitated so Taita went on persuasively, ‘You will be able to convert two influential magi to the new faith. You will please both Soe and the new goddess. She will look upon you with favour. You will be able to ask any boon of her, including the return of your children.’
‘Very well, Tata. I will do your bidding. However, in return, you will not reveal to Nefer any of what I have told you today until the time is right for him to accept the goddess and renounce the old gods…’
‘As you order, so shall it be, my queen.’
‘You and your colleague Demeter must return early tomorrow morning. Come not to the main gates but to the postern. One of my hand-maidens will meet you there and lead you to this room where you can take your place behind the screen.’
‘We will be here in the hour after sunrise,’ Taita assured her.
As they rode out through the gates of the Palace of Memnon Taita checked the height of the afternoon sun. There remained several hours of daylight. On an impulse he ordered the sergeant of his escort not to take the direct road to Thebes, but instead to make a detour along the funereal way towards the western hills and the great royal necropolis, which was hidden in one of the rugged rock valleys. They rode past the temple in which Taita had supervised the embalming of the earthly body of his beloved Lostris. It had taken place seventy years before, but time had not dimmed the memory of that harrowing ceremony. He touched the Periapt, which contained the lock of her hair that he had snipped from her head. They climbed up through the foothills past the temple of Hathor, an impressive edifice that sat atop a pyramid of stone terraces. Taita recognized a priestess who was strolling along the bottom terrace accompanied by two of her novices, and turned aside to speak to her.
‘May the divine Hathor protect you, Mother,’ he greeted her, as he dismounted. Hathor was the patroness of all women, so the high priest was female.
‘I had heard that you had returned from your travels, Magus.’ She hurried to embrace him. ‘We all hoped that you would visit us, and tell us of your adventures.’
‘Indeed, I have much to relate that I hope will interest you. I have brought papyrus maps of Mesopotamia and Ecbatana, and the mountainous lands crossed by the Khorasan highway beyond Babylon.’
‘Much will be new to us.’ The high priestess smiled eagerly. ‘Have you brought them with you?’
‘Alas, no! I am on another errand and did not expect to meet you here. I left the scrolls in Thebes. However, I will bring them to you at the first opportunity.’
‘That cannot be too soon,’ the high priestess assured him. ‘You are welcome here at any time. We are grateful for the information you have already provided. I am certain that what you have now is even more fascinating.’
‘Then I will trespass upon your kindness. May I ask a favour?’
‘Any favour that is mine to bestow is already yours. You have only to name it.’
‘I have conceived a pressing interest in volcanoes.’
‘Which ones? They are legion, and situated in many lands.’
‘All those that arise close to the sea, perhaps on an island, or on the banks of a lake or a great river. I need a list, Mother.’
‘That is not a burdensome request,’ she assured him. ‘Brother Nubank, our most senior cartographer, has always had a consuming interest in volcanoes and other subterranean sources of heat, such as thermal springs and geysers. He will be delighted to compile your list, but expect it to be over-detailed and exhaustive. Nubank is meticulous to a fault. I will set him to work on it at once
.’
‘How long will it take him?’
‘Will you visit us in ten days’ time, revered Magus?’ she suggested.
Taita took his leave and rode on another league to the gates of the necropolis.
An extensive military fort guarded the entrance to the necropolis that housed the royal tombs. Each one comprised a subterranean complex of chambers that had been excavated from the solid rock. At the centre was the burial chamber in which stood the magnificent royal sarcophagus containing the mummified body of a pharaoh. Laid out around this chamber were the storerooms and depositories crammed with the greatest mass of treasure the world had ever known. It aroused the greed of every thief and grave robber in the two kingdoms, and in countries beyond their borders. They were persistent and cunning in their efforts to break into the sacred enclosure. Keeping them out required the perpetual vigilance of a small army.
Taita left his escort beside the well in the central courtyard of the fort to water the horses and refresh themselves, while he continued into the burial ground on foot. He knew the way to the tomb of Queen Lostris, as well he might: he had designed its layout and supervised its excavation. Lostris was the only one of all the queens of Egypt to be interred in this section of the cemetery, which was usually reserved for reigning pharaohs. Taita had inveigled her eldest son into granting this dispensation when he had succeeded to the throne.
He passed the site where the tomb of Pharaoh Nefer Seti was being excavated in anticipation of his departure from this world and his ascension to the next. It was thronged with stonemasons driving the main entrance passage into the rock. The rubble was carried out by chains of workers in baskets balanced on their heads. They were coated thickly with the floury white dust that hung in the air. A small group of architects and slave masters stood on the heights above, looking down on the furious activity below. The valley echoed to the ring of chisels, adzes and picks on the rock.
Unobtrusively Taita made his way up the funereal path until the valley narrowed and branched into two separate gullies. He took the left-hand fork. Within fifty paces he had turned a corner and the entrance to Lostris’s tomb lay directly ahead, set into the cliff face. The entrance was surrounded by impressive granite pillars, and sealed with a wall of stone blocks, which had been plastered over, then decorated with a beautifully painted mural. Scenes from the queen’s life were arranged round her cartouche: Lostris in domestic bliss with her husband and children, driving her chariot, fishing in the waters of the Nile, hunting the gazelle and the waterbirds, commanding her armies against the hordes of Hyksos invaders, leading her people in a flotilla of ships down the cataracts of the Nile and bringing them home out of exile after the final defeat of the Hyksos. It was seventy years since Taita had painted these scenes with his own hand, but the colours were still fresh.