The Quest (Novels of Ancient Egypt)

by Wilbur Smith

  Then he turned to Meren, who still lay prostrate before him. Tentek offered him a second silver tray. Pharaoh took from it another scroll and displayed it to the gathering. ‘By these presents, let all men know that I have elevated Lord Meren Cambyses to the nobility, and donated to his dignity three river units of fertile land along the banks of the Nile above Assuit. From henceforth Lord Meren shall be ranked marshal general of the army of the Lower Kingdom. Furthermore I bestow upon him as a mark of my special favour the Gold of Praise and the Gold of Valour. Arise, Lord Meren.’

  When Meren stood before him, Pharaoh placed the heavy gold chains of Praise and Valour over his shoulders. ‘Embrace me, Lord Marshal Meren Cambyses!’ he said, and kissed Meren’s cheek.

  With his lips close to Pharaoh’s ear, Meren whispered urgently, ‘I have news of Taita, which is for your ears only.’

  Pharaoh’s grip on Meren’s shoulder tightened momentarily, and he replied softly, ‘Tentek will bring you to my presence directly.’

  While the entire assembly prostrated themselves, Pharaoh took his queen by the hand and led her from the hall. They passed only a few paces from where Taita and Fenn stood unseen. Meren waited until Tentek reappeared and spoke quietly to him. ‘Pharaoh bids you to his presence. Follow me, my lord marshal.’ As Meren passed, Taita took Fenn’s hand and they fell in behind him.

  Tentek ushered Meren into the royal presence, but when Meren would have made another obeisance Nefer Seti came to him and embraced him warmly. ‘My dear friend and companion of the Red Road, it is so good to have you back. I only wish you had brought with you the magus. His death has struck me to the heart.’ Then he held Meren at arm’s length and gazed into his face. ‘You were never good at concealing your emotions. What is it that disturbs you now? Tell me.’

  ‘Your eyes are as sharp as ever. They miss nothing. I have tidings that I shall relate to you,’ Meren replied, ‘but before I do I must caution you to prepare yourself for a great shock. What I have to tell you is so strange and wonderful that when I was first presented with it my mind could not encompass it.’

  ‘Come now, my lord.’ Nefer Seti smote him a blow between the shoulder-blades that made him stagger. ‘Speak!’

  Meren drew a deep breath and blurted out, ‘Taita lives.’

  Nefer Seti stopped laughing and stared at him in astonishment. Then his features darkened in a scowl. ‘Jest with me at your peril, my lord marshal,’ he said coldly.

  ‘I speak the truth, mighty King of Kings.’ In this mood Nefer Seti struck terror into the bravest heart.

  ‘If this is the truth, and for the good of your soul, Meren Cambyses, it had better be, then tell me where Taita is now.’

  ‘One more thing I must tell you, O majestic and magnanimous one. Taita is much altered in appearance. You may not recognize him at first.’

  ‘Enough!’ Nefer Seti’s voice rose. ‘Tell me where he is.’

  ‘In this very chamber.’ Meren’s voice cracked. ‘Standing close to us.’ Then, under his breath, he added, ‘At least, I hope he is.’

  Nefer Seti placed his right hand on the hilt of his dagger. ‘You trespass on my good nature, Meren Cambyses.’

  Meren looked wildly around the empty chamber and his voice was pitiful as he spoke to the empty air: ‘Magus, O mighty Magus! Reveal yourself, I beseech you! I stand in peril of Pharaoh’s wrath!’ Then he let out a cry of relief. ‘Behold, Majesty!’ He pointed across the room to a tall statue carved from black granite.

  ‘That is the statue of Taita, carved by the master sculptor Osh,’ Nefer Seti said, in fury. ‘I keep it here to remind me of the magus, but it is only stone, not my beloved Taita in the flesh.’

  ‘Nay, Pharaoh. Look not at the statue but to its right-hand side.’

  Where Meren pointed a shimmering and transparent cloud appeared, like a desert mirage. Pharaoh blinked as he stared at it. ‘There is aught there. It is light as air. Is it a djinni? A ghost?’

  The mirage became denser, and slowly took solid shape. ‘It is a man!’ Nefer Seti exclaimed. ‘A veritable man!’ He stared in astonishment. ‘But it is not Taita. This is a youth, a comely youth, not my Taita. Surely he must be a magician that he is able to mask himself in a spell of concealment.’

  ‘It is magic,’ Meren agreed, ‘but of the whitest and noblest kind. A magic wrought by Taita himself. This is Taita.’

  ‘Nay!’ Nefer Seti shook his head. ‘I know not this person, if he is indeed a living person.’

  ‘Your Grace, this is the magus made young and whole again.’

  Even Nefer Seti was speechless. All he could do was shake his head. Taita stood quietly, smiling at him, a warm, loving smile.

  ‘Look to the statue,’ Meren pleaded. ‘Osh carved it when the magus was already an old man, but even now that he is young again the resemblance is unmistakable. Look to the depth and width of the brow, the shape of the nose and the ears, but above all look to the eyes.’

  ‘Yes…perhaps I can see some resemblance,’ Nefer Seti murmured dubiously. Then his tone became firm and challenging: ‘Ho, phantom! If you are indeed Taita, you must be able to tell me something known only to the two of us.’

  ‘That is so, Pharaoh,’ Taita agreed. ‘I could tell you many such things, but one comes instantly to my mind. Do you remember when you were still Prince Nefer Memnon and not Pharaoh of the Two Kingdoms, when you were my student and ward and my pet name for you was Mem?’

  Pharaoh nodded. ‘I remember well.’ His voice had dropped to a husky whisper and his gaze softened. ‘But many others could have known such a thing.’

  ‘I can tell you more, Mem. I can tell you how when you were a boy we set pigeon decoys beside the pool of Gebel Nagara in the wilderness and waited twenty days for the royal falcon, your godbird, to come to them.’

  ‘My godbird never came to the decoys,’ said Nefer Seti, and Taita saw by the flickering of his aura that he was laying a trap to test him.

  ‘Your falcon came,’ Taita contradicted him. ‘The lovely falcon that was proof of your royal right to the double crown of Egypt.’

  ‘We captured him,’ Nefer Seti said triumphantly.

  ‘Nay, Mem. The falcon refused the decoy and flew away.’

  ‘We abandoned the hunt.’

  ‘Nay again, Mem. Your memory fails you. We followed the bird deeper into the wilderness.’

  ‘Ah, yes! To the bitter Lake Natron.’

  ‘Nay yet again. You and I went to the mountain of Bir Umm Masara. While I held you on the rope, you climbed to the falcon’s eyrie high in the eastern face of the mountain to take down the chicks.’ By now Nefer Seti was staring at him with bright eyes. ‘When you reached the nest you found that the cobra had been there before you. The birds were dead, killed by the venomous bite of the serpent.’

  ‘Oh, Magus, none but you could have known these things. Forgive me for not acknowledging you. All my life you were my guide and mentor, and now I have denied you.’ Nefer Seti was stricken with remorse. He strode across the room and enfolded Taita in his powerful arms. When at last they drew apart, he could not take his eyes off Taita’s face. ‘The transformation in you defies my powers of comprehension. Tell me how this came about.’

  ‘There is much to tell,’ Taita agreed. ‘But before that there are other matters we needs must deal with. First, there is somebody I would present to you.’ Taita held out his hand and, once again, the air shimmered, then solidified into the shape of a young woman. She also smiled at Nefer Seti.

  ‘As you have done so often before, you confound me with your magic,’ Nefer Seti said. ‘Who is this creature? Why have you brought her to me?’

  ‘Her name is Fenn and she is an adept of the right-hand path.’

  ‘She is too young for that.’

  ‘She has lived other lives.’

  ‘She is surpassing beautiful.’ He looked at her with the eye of a lusty man. ‘Yet there is something hauntingly familiar about her. Her eyes…I know those eyes.’ He searched for the me
mory. ‘They remind me of someone I once knew well.’

  ‘Pharaoh, Fenn is my consort.’

  ‘Your consort? How can that be? You are a—’ He checked his tongue. ‘Forgive me, Magus. I intended no slight nor injury to your dignity.’

  ‘It is true, Pharaoh, that I was once a eunuch, but now I am a man, whole and complete. Fenn is my woman.’

  ‘So much has changed,’ Nefer Seti protested. ‘No sooner do I solve one riddle than you present me with another—’ He broke off, still staring at Fenn. ‘Those eyes. Those green eyes. My father! Those are the eyes of my father. Is it possible that Fenn is of my own royal blood?’

  ‘Come, Mem!’ Taita chided him gently. ‘First, you complain of the mysteries I lay before you, and then you demand I heap more upon you. Let me tell you simply that Fenn stands in your direct line. Your blood is her blood, but far back in time.’

  ‘You said that she has lived other lives. Was it in one of those other lives?’

  ‘Even so,’ Taita agreed.

  ‘Explain it to me!’ Pharaoh commanded.

  ‘Later we will have time for that. However, you and Egypt are still under threat. You already know of the witch, Eos, who stopped the waters of Mother Nile.’

  ‘Is it true that you destroyed her in her lair?’

  ‘The witch is no more, but one of her minions is still at large. His name is Soe. He is a dangerous man.’

  ‘Soe! I know of a man by that name. Mintaka spoke of him. He is a preacher, the apostle of a new goddess.’

  ‘Spelt backwards his name is Eos. His goddess was the sorceress. His purpose was to destroy you and your bloodline, and to usurp the double throne of Egypt for the witch.’

  Nefer Seti’s expression was horror-struck. ‘This Soe had the ear of Mintaka, my principal wife. She believes in him. He converted her to his new religion.’

  ‘Why did you not intervene?’

  ‘I humoured her. Mintaka was demented with grief for our dead babies. Soe gave her comfort. I saw no harm in it.’

  ‘There was great harm in it,’ Taita said. ‘Harm to you and to Egypt. Soe is still a terrible threat. He is the last adherent of the witch, the last remaining vestige of her presence on this earth. He is part of the Great Lie.’

  ‘What must I do, Taita? As soon as the Nile began to flow again, Soe disappeared. We do not know what has become of him.’

  ‘Before anything else, I must capture him and bring him to you. Queen Mintaka is so deeply in his thrall that she believes all he tells her. She would have given you over to him. She will not believe evil of him, unless the confession of that evil comes from the mouth of Soe himself.’

  ‘What do you need from me, Taita?’ Nefer Seti asked.

  ‘You must take Queen Mintaka away. I need to have the freedom of the Palace of Memnon on the west bank. Take her to Assuit to make sacrifice at the temple of Hathor. Tell her that the goddess appeared to you in a vision and demanded this of you both for the sake of your dear babes, Prince Khaba and his little sister Unas, who are now in the underworld.’

  ‘It is true that I have felt the need to make sacrifice to Hathor. The queen and I will leave by royal barge in five days’ time, on the night of the new moon. What else do you require of me?’

  ‘I need Lord Meren and a hundred of your best fighting men. Meren must carry your Hawk Seal, which gives him your unbridled authority.’

  ‘He shall have these things.’

  No sooner had the royal couple embarked on their barge and sailed away than Meren and Taita, with the escort of guardsmen, crossed the Nile to the west bank. They rode up the hills to Mintaka’s abode, the Palace of Memnon, and arrived with the dawn.

  The household was taken by surprise. The palace vizier, with a detachment of the household guards at his back, tried ineffectually to oppose their entry. The palace guards, though, were soft from a life of good eating and high living. Nervously they eyed the hundred hard warriors that faced them.

  Meren held up the Hawk Seal: ‘We are carrying out the orders of Pharaoh Nefer Seti. Stand aside and let us pass!’

  ‘He bears the Hawk Seal.’ The vizier capitulated and turned to the captain of the palace guards. ‘Take your men back to their barracks and keep them there until I send you word.’

  Meren and Taita marched into the entrance portico of the palace, their nailed sandals ringing on the marble slabs. Taita was no longer covered by the spell of concealment. Instead he wore a breastplate of crocodile skin and a matching helmet, the visor drawn down to cover his features. He cut a formidable and menacing figure. The palace servants and Mintaka’s maids fled before him.

  ‘Where do we begin the search, Magus?’ Meren asked. ‘Is the creature still hiding here?’

  ‘Soe is here.’

  ‘You are so certain.’

  ‘The foul reek of Eos is heavy in the air,’ Taita told him.

  Meren sniffed loudly.

  ‘I can smell nothing.’

  ‘Keep ten of your men with us. Place the rest to cover all the doors and gates. Soe has the ability to change his physical shape and form so nobody must leave this palace, neither man, nor woman, nor animal,’ Taita told him. Meren relayed his orders and the men marched away to their posts.

  Purposefully Taita moved through the huge, magnificently appointed rooms, Meren and his detachment following closely, swords drawn. At intervals Taita stopped and seemed to test the air, like a hunting hound following the scent of his quarry.

  They came at last to the queen’s inner garden, a spacious atrium surrounded by high sandstone walls and open to the cloudless blue sky. It was laid out around avenues of flowering trees with a central fountain, surrounded by marble benches strewn with silken cushions. Lutes and other musical instruments lay where they had been abandoned by Mintaka’s hand-maidens at the approach of the soldiers, and the lingering perfume of nubile young women mingled with that of orange blossom.

  At the far end of the atrium stood a small arbour of trellised vines. Without hesitation, Taita crossed to it, his step quick and sure. On a tall pink marble plinth in the centre stood a statue carved from the same material. Someone had laid bouquets of sun lilies at its foot, and their scent was cloying on the air. It dulled the senses, like some powerful opiate.

  ‘The flowers of the witch,’ Taita whispered. ‘I remember the odour so clearly.’ Then he studied the statue on the plinth. Life-sized, it was in the shape of a veiled woman, the folds of her mantle enveloping her from the top of her head to her ankles. The dainty feet below the hem were carved with such skill that they seemed made of warm flesh rather than cold, lifeless stone.

  ‘The feet of the witch,’ Taita said. ‘This is the shrine at which Queen Mintaka worships her.’ In Taita’s nostrils the odour of evil was more pungent now than the heavy scent of the lilies. ‘Lord Meren, have your men cast down this statue,’ Taita said quietly.

  Even the indomitable Meren was awed by the ghastly influence of the witch that filled her shrine. He gave the order in a subdued tone.

  The soldiers sheathed their swords and put their shoulders to the statue. They were brawny men and strong, but it resisted their efforts to topple it.

  ‘Tashkalon!’ cried Taita, once again turning Eos’s word of power against her. The statue moved, marble squealing on marble, like the cry of a lost soul. It startled the soldiers, who jumped back in alarm.

  ‘Ascartow!’ Taita pointed his sword at the figure of Eos, which began slowly to topple forward.

  ‘Silondela!’ he shouted, and the statue fell full length to the paving stones and shattered into fragments. Only the dainty feet remained intact. Taita stepped forward and touched each one with the point of his sword. Slowly they cracked and crumbled to piles of pink dust. The bunches of sun lilies on the plinth withered until they were black and dry.

  Slowly Taita circled the base of the plinth. Every few paces he tapped the marble. The sound was firm and solid until he reached the back wall. Here the marble emitted a dull, hollow echo
. Taita stepped back and studied it. Then he moved forward and placed the heel of his hand in the top right corner and applied a steady pressure. There was the sharp sound of some internal lever moving and the entire panel swung open like a trapdoor.

  In the silence that followed they all stared into the dark square opening that was revealed in the back of the plinth. It was just large enough for a man to pass through.

  ‘The hiding place of the false priest of Eos,’ Taita said. ‘Bring the torches from the brackets in the audience hall.’ The soldiers hurried to obey. When they returned, Taita took one and held it into the opening. By the torchlight he saw that a flight of stone steps descended into the darkness. Without hesitation he stooped through the opening and started down them. There were thirteen and at the bottom they levelled out into a tunnel that was wide and high enough for a tall man to walk along without stooping. The floor was of plain sandstone tiles. The walls were unadorned with paintings or engravings.

  ‘Keep close behind me,’ Taita told Meren, as he strode down the tunnel. The air was stale and old, heavy with the odour of damp earth and long-buried dead things. Twice Taita came to forks in the tunnel, but each time he made an instinctive choice without pausing to consider. At last a glimmer of light appeared ahead of him. He went on resolutely.

  He passed through a kitchen which contained large amphorae of oil, water and wine. There were wooden bins of dhurra bread and baskets of fruit and vegetables. Legs of smoked meat hung from hooks in the roof. In the centre of the room a thin spiral of smoke twisted up from the ashes on the hearth and disappeared into a ventilation hole in the roof. A half-eaten meal lay with a jug and bowl of red wine on the low wooden table. A small oil lamp threw shadows into the corners. Taita crossed the kitchen to the doorway in the opposite wall. He looked through it into a cell, which was dimly lit by a single lamp.

  Some articles of clothing, a tunic, a cloak and a pair of sandals, were thrown carelessly into a corner. A sleeping mat was spread in the middle of the floor, with a kaross made of jackal pelts on top. Taita took a corner of the kaross and jerked it aside. A small child lay under it, of no more than two, an appealing little boy whose eyes were large and inquisitive as he stared up at Taita.