by David Adkins
“That does not surprise me,” I replied. “The man is known for his strength. How did you capture him? Did you harm Akhenamun?”
“Akhenamun unwittingly played into our hands. He was still having his violent fun at the brothel and he sent Metos on ahead to secure the boat for the crossing back to the west bank. The hour was very late and he must have wanted to be sure of a quick boat back. We overpowered Metos as he was approaching the pier. If anyone saw it they turned a blind eye but there were a few people about at that time. He was strong as you say but there were many of us and his resistance was quickly overcome. He was blindfolded and brought back to the camp and bound and put in that hut. I am not sure whether he knows where he is or not.”
“What of Akhenamun?” I asked.
“When he made his way to the pier he was shocked to find that there was no Metos and no boat waiting for him. I had him watched. He waited for the rest of the night and some of the morning in a state of extreme agitation and then secured a boat to take him back across the river.”
“I saw him arrive back at Malkata,” I confirmed.
“I have had some men question Metos and they have tried to persuade him to be forthcoming, but to no avail. He is a stubborn man but he must have a weakness and I will find it. The problem is whether to make myself known to him for I dearly wish to question him myself.”
“Have you decided on this?” I asked.
“I think I will,” he mused.
“Should I?” I asked.
“If I make myself known to him then you know what must happen and so you can also do so if you wish.”
I realised the enormity of his words. If Metos learnt the identity of his captors then he had to die. “If he knows he is to die anyway then surely that might ensure his silence.”
“Not if death is a release or if I promise him his life for his co-operation. He must realise that with the army behind us we have every chance of success.”
I blew into the air. It seemed that if Thutmose was to be avenged then I must become pharaoh. “Give me time to think about this. We are plotting the overthrow not only of my brother but my mother too.”
“Either way Tiye will still be the pharaoh’s mother,” he reminded me. “It is only Akhenamun who will die.”
“What if our interrogation of Metos suggests that Akhenamun is not guilty?”
“Then we will not kill him but instead kill whoever was responsible.” He spoke the words but they did not ring true.
“And Metos will have died,” I said.
“Metos deserves it, we both know that.”
I nodded. “He is a vile and vicious man. Give me a short time on my own please, Coreb. I need to think on this.”
“Of course, Smenkhkar. Sometimes in this world we have to do things that we do not like. You will find that even more true if you become pharaoh.” He patted me on the back and left me to my meditation.
I sat there for some time staring into space. Was this what I wanted? It seemed I would be virtually challenging Akhenamun for the throne of Egypt. He was the older brother and legitimate heir. I would split my family, though I thought most of them would support Akhenamun. I was sure my mother and Sitamun would side with Akhenamun. I was not sure about Nebetah who loved everyone. Perhaps Iset would be the only one to support me because she had designs on being chief wife and that would be the price of her support.
This had initially been about revenge on the killer of Thutmose, but the death of my father had changed everything. I still wanted to keep my promise to Thutmose and send his murderer to the bottom of the Nile and deny him entry into the afterlife, but it was not that simple. I had envisaged dragging Metos to my mother where he would confess his guilt and the guilt of Akhenamun and she would disinherit Akhenamun and charge him with murder and then my job would be done. I had been naive and now I knew that this was not going to happen. Coreb had seen all along that if Akhenamun was guilty he would have to dispose of him and I would then be declared pharaoh with Coreb as my general.
I wondered, if Akhenamun’s guilt was proven, whether he really could be discreetly murdered as Thutmose had been. That way my mother would be left in charge and could make whatever regime change she wanted. This course of action was risky and would be challenged by Coreb, of that I was certain. My dilemma was insoluble and so I decided to bide my time. We would see what Metos had to say and I would make my decisions after that. There was still the slim chance that Akhenamun was not responsible for the murder of Thutmose.
I rejoined Coreb. “I am ready to interrogate Metos.”
“Are you sure, for he will not break easily?”
I flinched. “I am sure.”
“I intend to make myself known to him right now,” he said.
“Then so will I,” I replied.
We entered the hut and I looked at Metos sitting bound to a chair, bloodied and beaten.
After a few moments he looked up. “I might have guessed that you two reprobates were behind this madness.” He grinned defiantly through reddened teeth as blood trickled down his chin from a swollen lip.
Coreb went over to him and kneeled down in front of him and they locked eyes. I watched in fascination. “You came to my camp and recruited Antosh to murder Thutmose and so pave the way for your lord and master, Akhenamun, to cede to the throne of Egypt.”
“That is not true as I told your thugs last night,” retorted Metos.
“Then why did you make a rare visit to the army camp just before Thutmose was murdered?”
“Akhenamun sent me to get a feel on how much support you had among the men. He was worried that when he became pharaoh he might not be able to rely on your loyalty. He was right,” Metos scowled.
Coreb sighed. “It is too much of a coincidence that you were here the day before Thutmose was murdered.”
“I understood it was an accident,” said Metos.
“The death of Thutmose was no accident,” sneered Coreb. “You will have found out from your snooping that the army is totally behind me.” He looked at Metos for confirmation.
Metos did not reply.
“In other words the power is with Smenkhkare. The army will make Smenkhkare pharaoh.”
“A puppet pharaoh with you pulling the strings,” Metos smiled contemptuously.
“A strong pharaoh backed by a strong general. Akhenamun has no chance against the army.”
Metos shrugged. “We will see.”
“You need not die. You have one chance to live. Admit your guilt and Akhenamun’s guilt to Queen Tiye and Smenkhkare will guarantee your safety.”
“And will you guarantee it?” asked Metos.
“I will guarantee it too,” replied Coreb.
“I do not believe you.”
Coreb drew his face closer to the bruised and battered face of Metos. “You are a tough man, Metos. I accept that we cannot break you. I know that only too well. We tried last night but you gave nothing away. You are very loyal to Akhenamun and you even accept death rather than tell us the truth. However, there are many ways to die and one death may scare a man more than another. I wonder what death scares you the most, Metos.” He paused and grinned. “I think I know.”
Coreb called over one of the guards and whispered something in his ear. The guard left our presence and for the first time I sensed that Metos was frightened. “Is there anything you would like to ask Metos, your majesty?”
I walked to towards Metos and paused. I had seen the fear of this unknown death on his face and I decided to play on it. “A short time ago, Metos, we sat by the lake at Malkata and you threatened me. Do you remember?”
“I did not threaten you.”
“Ah, but you did,” I corrected him. “You warned me that people fall out of boats and into the Nile. You implied that my fate lay in the jaws of a crocodile. I wonder if that is what Coreb has in mind for you.”
I read his fear.
“You could be dangled over the great river and eaten bit by bit by jumping crocodi
les.” I was surprising myself, but I hated this man with a vengeance. He was a beater of helpless whores.
His eyes widened with fear and even Coreb looked surprised at my words.
I continued. “Of course I could spare you that fate if you do as Coreb has requested.”
“I know nothing of the death of Thutmose,” he insisted. “I really do not know anything about it. I am telling you the truth.” He was starting to sound desperate.
I shook my head. “I am afraid I do not believe you.”
Coreb joined me. “Do you not agree, Metos, that Smenkhkare has described an awful death? The idea of being eaten alive by crocodiles certainly seems to frighten you. It is certainly one option if you do not tell us the truth, but I think I have an even more frightening one in store for you.”
Metos was deeply worried. His composure under stress had vanished. “I have told you everything I know. To my knowledge Akhenamun did not have Thutmose murdered. I played no part in the death of Thutmose. It is the truth. I have told you the little that I know.”
The guard returned with a wicker basket and placed it on the floor several palms away from Metos. The lid hid from our eyes that which was contained inside the basket. “Do you recognise this basket?” asked Coreb.
Metos shook his head. “No, I do not,” he said hesitantly.
“They are very cheaply bought in the market at Thebes. Smenkhkare showed me one just like it.”
Metos did not reply.
Coreb continued. “I have this theory, Metos. It is that the death one fears the most is the death one wishes to inflict on one’s deadliest enemy.”
Again Metos did not reply.
“Does the fact that you work for Akhenamun mean that you have easy access to all parts of the royal palace?”
“You know it does,” Metos replied.
“Smenkhkare showed me a basket just like that one. It was left under his bed in his inner chamber. I think we have just agreed that you could gain easy access to his inner chamber.”
“I have never been in his inner chamber,” Metos protested.
“What do you think is in that basket?”
Metos looked terrified at the question. “I do not know.”
“I think you do,” continued Coreb. “The same thing is in that basket as was in the basket left under Smenkhkare’s bed.”
Metos looked at the basket in horror.
“Why are you looking so scared, Metos. Do you know what is in there?”
“I do not,” he croaked.
“What I intend to do is to remove the lid and then we will wait outside and leave you bound to the chair and the basket and its occupant will keep you company. What do you say to that?”
“I say you are mad,” he swallowed. “Take the basket away.”
“Let me tell you a story before I go. I was talking to two of my guards the other day and they had been out walking with a third guard. They had been on duty at the valley of the dead and they were returning to the army camp. Suddenly a snake jumped from behind a rock and bit one of them. The poor fellow was unlucky because the snake was the king of snakes, a large cobra. Well, of course, he died but what really struck his two comrades who watched his prolonged death was the awful amount of pain that he suffered. It is said that the most painful of all deaths is meted out by the king cobra.”
By now Metos was white with fear. “I know nothing. I did nothing,” he pleaded.
“That was the death you intended for Smenkhkare. It is funny how things come back to bite you.” He grinned and shook his head at Metos. “Of course if you change your mind then give us a shout and we will try and save you.”
“You cannot do this. I work for Akhenamun the new pharaoh.”
“Everybody out!” ordered Coreb and I left the hut with the guards. I caught sight of Coreb kicking the lid off the basket as he quickly followed us.
We waited outside and there was silence within. “If the snake kills him then he will not be able to talk,” I said to Coreb.
“He is terrified of the creature for it is his weak spot. If this does not make him talk then nothing will. The cobra will probably slumber in the basket for a while before it emerges. If it does it will give him time to think about his impending death. I am confident he will break and tell the truth.”
“And if he doesn’t?” I asked.
“Then he dies.”
I grimaced. “It is a cruel way to die.”
“Do not forget, Smenkhkare, that it is the death he intended for you. He causes suffering wherever he goes so do not feel sorry for him.”
I nodded. “If he dies we have lost his possible testimony.”
“If he dies then we would never have got it anyway. He cannot live for he has seen both of us. Look on it as justice.”
“That is what I am doing,” I said.
I heard screaming. “The snake is out of the basket!”
“Stop screaming and shout when you are ready to talk,” yelled Coreb.
The screaming stopped and all went silent again. I looked at Coreb and he shrugged. The minutes passed by and then we heard from Metos again. “I am ready to talk!” he screamed.
Coreb nodded to his guards and they withdrew their swords and quickly entered the hut. It was too late, the fangs had done their deadly work and the venom was in his blood. A swift cut from a sharp blade dispatched the snake, but Metos was already incoherent.
“The fool called out too late,” sighed Coreb. He put his ear to the mouth of Metos but it was a waste of time for the man was already in his death throes. “He is lucky for death is coming to him quicker than is usual after a bite from a cobra.”
“So not as bad a death as you described,” I commented.
“The cobra is deadly but I exaggerated. Now we must decide what to do next.”
“Coreb, what has occurred here has shaken me badly. I need to get back to the palace and have time to consider.”
“Your brother will soon be pharaoh. He might have lost Metos but that is hardly going to stop him. He is almost certainly responsible for the death of Thutmose and probably responsible for the snake under your bed. Did you see how Metos reacted to the basket? We cannot dally on this. We have had some years of peace and made allies of the Mitanni and Nubians, but the Hittites are pressing gradually south and there will come a time soon when they must be stopped and I will have to leave Egypt. If you want to bid for power then my army is behind you but we must act now. If you want to avenge the death of your brother then Akhenamun must be stopped and he must pay for his foul deed.”
“I know, but Akhenamun is not pharaoh yet and will not be for two weeks. I will consider my options and return to you in a few days with a decision. You must realise that I will be going against my entire family and that does not rest easy upon me.”
He nodded understanding. “In a few days then, Smenkhkare. Farewell your majesty,” he said.
Murat came over to join me and we walked towards the great river in silence. Murat must have been curious but he asked no questions about what had occurred at the army camp. I was grateful for his silence for my mind was in turmoil.
Chapter 9
By the time we returned to Malkata it was early evening and Nebetah was waiting for me in my dressing room. “Brother, there you are at last, where have you been?”
“I have been taking part in exercises at the army camp,” I informed her.
“Mother has been trying to hold another family meeting but both you and Akhenamun had disappeared.”
“Where is Akhenamun?” I asked.
“He was last seen leaving Malkata with some of the palace guard. I suppose they have gone to search for Metos in the city.”
“Why would they be searching for Metos?” I tried to look puzzled.
“He has disappeared too,” she replied shaking her head. “It is all very strange.”
“So Akhenamun has mislaid his henchman on one of their midnight forays,” I retorted.
“Smenkhkare, you must
stop attacking Akhenamun in this way,” she advised.
“Why, sister?” I asked.
“He is wild but he is a good man and he will look after all the family when he is pharaoh.”
“That is your opinion, Nebetah,” I responded.
“Mother is with Sitamun, we must go and collect Iset and join them.”
I nodded. “Then let us go.”
We knocked at the door of her chambers and Iset emerged from the apartment grinning. “I see, sister, that you have managed to find one of the men.”
Nebetah smiled back. “I thought we should see if mother wants to go ahead with the meeting now, as Smenkhkare has returned.”
Iset looked at me. “What have you been up to, little brother? The palace has become so much more fun since you grew up.”
“Just some army training,” I replied and Nebetah gave her grinning sister a dirty look.
The three of us trooped into our mother’s apartment and entered her private audience chamber where Tiye, Sitamun and Ay were waiting for us. “Smenkhkare has returned, mother, but there is still no sign of Akhenamun,” Nebetah informed her mother.
Tiye sighed. “We will go ahead without him and I will speak with him later privately. I wished to speak about our visit to the valley of the dead when we pay our respects to your father and celebrate the final journey of Thutmose to the afterlife and the sealing of his chamber in the tomb. First I want to reprimand Smenkhkare for his recent behaviour and as it is about Akhenamun it is probably better that he is not here.” All my sisters looked at me and I groaned inwardly.
My mother continued: “Smenkhkare, you have been under a great strain recently and I understand that. I know how much you loved your brother, Thutmose, as we all did but you must pull yourself together and stop making wild accusations. Akhenamun has been deeply offended by what you have been saying to your sisters in and about the palace and it has to stop.”
Sitamun then began to speak: “Brother, Smenkhkare, I know you are hurting. I have in the past shared, at times, your dislike for Akhenamun. His morals in the past have been in question but when he becomes pharaoh he has promised to mend his ways and serve his country. We must give him the opportunity to do so for he is now the legitimate heir.”