by Diana Wilder
He turned to the man standing beside him with his arms folded on the ramparts of the fortress. “Another splendid day drawing to a close. We can start for Uronarti in the next two days. The soldiers are ready.”
No answer; his friend was staring north and east, his clear features somehow frozen. As the other watched him, his brows came slowly together in a puzzled frown.
The man hesitated, eyeing the stiffness of his friend's stance. “What is wrong, Seti?”
Seti, King of Egypt, turned, still frowning. “We must start back,” he said.
Intef, Vizier of Upper Egypt, nodded. “We can certainly do so if you wish,” he said. His voice was calm. “When do you want to leave?”
“Quickly,” Seti said. “Can we sail tomorrow?”
“We can if you command it,” Intef replied.
Pharaoh looked down at his hands, gripped together on the battlements. “I command it.”
“What is it?”
Seti's dark eyes raised to meet Intef's. “I need to return to Memphis. As soon as I can. Nakhtamun was...troubled when I left. I thought he would settle in, since Nebamun's at his shoulder... But...”
Intef pushed away from the battlement. He knew that expression. “A feeling?” he asked.
Seti folded his arms and frowned down at his feet, a stance Intef remembered from their campaigning days. The frown had eased when he looked up. “Something is badly wrong. I must get back at once.”
Intef nodded, his broad face expressionless. “I will order a galley. We will have the current and the oars working for us.”
About The Author
Diana Wilder grew up in a military family that traveled throughout the United States and spent generations in the orient. The constant travel honed her love for people-watching and gave her plenty of material for stories, whether set in the present or in the distant past. She has published four novels set in ancient Egypt and one set in the American civil war. Currently, she is working on a fourth novel in her Egyptian cycle and another civil war story. In between these, she is polishing a novel in two parts set in France of the 1830's and two non-magical fantasy novels.
When she is not writing, Diana is showing cats, working in graphic design and trying to knit.