by Overton, Max
"If I release the Khabiru, will you make the flies go away?"
"Yahweh will see your deeds and relent," Yahmose said.
"How can he promise that?" Khu whispered.
Scarab leaned close and spoke behind her hand. "The puddles are drying up and the bodies of fish and frog are all but gone. I think the plague will lessen in the next few days anyway."
"So you will stop the plague?" Horemheb insisted.
"If you release the Khabiru, then yes."
"I would allow a few days for the flies to go," Scarab said. "Remember that they have to go somewhere and that is a big task, even for a god."
Horemheb nodded. "Three days, and if the flies are gone, then the Khabiru may leave."
"Considerably lessened rather than gone," Scarab said firmly. "There are always flies in Kemet."
"Agreed. Now get out of here and tell your god to stop his mischief."
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Chapter Thirty-Seven
The situation had already changed by the time they were on the river again. The black clouds of gnats and mosquitoes were being shredded by swallows and swifts, wheeling and darting over the water. Even as they watched, more birds flew in from upriver and from the cliffs to the west. On the eastern bank, insect-eating birds were hard at work, decimating the swarms around the villages. The men of the Pillar cheered, though the problem had by no means gone away. They waited in their camp for another two days and watched the swarms shrinking as the insects died. By the morning of the third day, there were not many more insects around than normally, and the flocks of insectivorous birds were seeking more productive places.
"It is the third day," Jesua said. "The Khabiru are free to go."
"Rejoice, for Yahweh has us in his hands," Yahmose said. "We must go and tell them the joyous news. Let us leave immediately." He got up and set off, not waiting for the others.
Merye ran to stop her father. "Wait. It will take time to pack up camp and besides, you are going in the wrong direction." She brought him back to the camp fire.
"We need a plan," Scarab said. "I think our first destination must be Iunu. It is near at hand and there is a small number of Khabiru there. We can free them and get them to help spread the word. Then we send groups to the other cities and have everyone meet at Zarw in say, a month's time."
"We should send for the rest of the Pillar too," Khu said. "We will need every man we can get to help move a whole nation out of Kemet."
"How many Khabiru are there?" Abrim asked.
Scarab looked around to see if anyone knew the answer and then shrugged. "I do not know but I would estimate maybe a thousand to fifteen hundred men. Add in women and children and there would be around six thousand."
"And all their wealth," Jesua added. "Thousands of cattle and sheep, goats and camels."
"Tents and carpets and jewellery too," Abrim said.
"Yes, it is a major undertaking," Scarab said. "So that is a good reason to plan everything carefully. For instance, which route are we going to take? There has to be enough water and pasture along the way. The last thing we need is to antagonise the villagers as we go."
"We have the Eye of Geb and the power of the Nine should anyone seek to hinder us," Jesua said. "Mere peasants are not going to cause us any trouble."
"I will not use my gifts to harm people who are only protecting their families," Scarab said reprovingly. "You know that, Jesua, so do not claim otherwise."
Jesua glowered but said nothing. They packed up their camp and set off along the military road to Iunu. Two days later, on the outskirts of the holy city, riders overtook them.
The men were official messengers riding fast horses, and they swept past the group on the road before wheeling and dashing back. One of them slid from his horse's back and strode towards Scarab, brushing dust from his clothing.
"Lady Khepra, known also as Scarab? And the man who styles himself Yahmose? I bear a message from King Horemheb, may he live a million years."
"I am Scarab, and this is the Prophet Yahmose. Show me your message." She held out a hand.
"I am to recite the King's words," the messenger said. "There is nothing written."
"Say on then, messenger."
"Hear then: King Setepenre Horemheb Meryamun greets his subjects Lady Khepra and the man calling himself Yahmose, and bids them return to their dwellings and remain there. The king accuses them of conspiring to perpetrate a falsehood, namely the elevation of the false god Yahweh, and also of conspiring to steal the king's property, namely the Khabiru slaves of Kemet. Lady Khepra and Yahmose are to return to their tents and await the king's pleasure."
Jesua and the Shechite members of the Pillar roared with anger and ran forward, surrounding the king's messenger, yelling at him and jostling him.
The messenger became angry in turn and called out, "Have a care, fellows, it is death to molest a king's messenger in the performance of his duties."
"Leave him," Scarab said forcefully. "He is only a messenger. Our quarrel is with the king."
"Then let us return to him and remind him of his promise," Yahmose said. "He is foresworn."
"The king bids you return to your tents. Will you disobey him?" the messenger asked.
"I only obey the Lord God Yahweh," Yahmose declared.
"And I obey the Nine of Iunu," Scarab added.
"Then if you are determined upon your course, I will convey your words to the king." The messenger turned and mounted his horse. He and the other riders galloped away. Jesua started after them, and then turned back when he saw only a few of the men followed him.
"What is wrong? You just said we should return and hold the king to his promise."
"How will you do that, Jesua?" Scarab asked.
"We threaten him with reprisals, with more plagues. If he fights, you blast him with your power."
"We do not even know if Yahweh will deliver more plagues. Will he, Yahmose?"
The Prophet shook his head. "God is silent on that point. I must pray."
"And I need to go to Iunu," Scarab said. "You freely offer my gifts, Jesua, but I am the one who has to wield them, not you."
"So we do nothing?" Jesua spat in the dust of the road and turned his back on Scarab.
"I am going to the Iunu temple mound. I will meet you all in town later and maybe the gods will have some instructions for us. Yahmose, will you join me?"
"I will," Khu said quickly.
"I think not, sister. God is not found in temples built by men. If there was a mountain nearby, I would worship him there, for he is a god of the high places, but as there is not, I must seek out a lonely place. There I will talk to my god."
"There is a hill about five hours walk to the east," Scarab said with a smile. "You cannot miss it. Will you go with him, Jesua?"
"What? To listen to more idle prattle when we should be doing something?"
"Please, Jesua. I value your strength."
"I will go, and lend my strength," Abrim said. A half dozen other Shechites chorused their agreement, and Merye smiled at them, silently clasping her father's hand.
"If I must," Jesua muttered. He turned and stalked away into the eastern desert, and a few of the tribesmen followed, escorting the Prophet and his daughter. The rest of the Shechites headed into Iunu, seeking food and drink, while Scarab and Khu took a slightly different route that avoided the town and brought them to the temple mound and the spiral road.
Scarab visited each of the nine temples in turn, spending a short time in each offering up a sacrifice and talking with the priests and priestesses. She spent longer in the temple of Set, petitioning the god's favour on behalf of her son Seti; and half a day in the temple of Auset, where her daughter Irauset now studied. The priestess forbade her access to her daughter, but she was allowed to see the child at her studies, through a screen.
"She looks happy," Scarab said, with tears in her eye.
"Irauset is a studious child and progresses quickly
through the levels. She will be made a priestess later this year."
"May I not see her? Talk to her?"
"No." The priestess smiled gently, seeing the sorrow in the other woman. "You cannot speak with her until she has taken her final vows. Auset has claimed her for her own."
"It seems I am fated to never enjoy the presence of my children," Scarab said.
The priestess stood in the dim inner hall of the temple with her head cocked as if listening to the silence. "The Lady says you are dear to her heart and will not be alone in your old age."
Scarab shook her head and wiped away her tears. "I am nearly of an age where childbearing ceases. Can an old woman have children?"
"All things are possible for the gods." The priestess would say no more, ushering her from the precinct.
Scarab continued round the hill until she reached the temple to Atum on the summit. Khu had entered some of the temples too, but shunned the one belonging to Set and stayed outside the ones belonging to goddesses.
"I know little enough to say to women in general," he explained, "without having to try and talk to goddesses."
He came into the Atum temple though, as he had before. The priest led them through into the inner chamber with its barely discernable benben mound and left them in almost complete darkness. A single narrow beam of sunlight cut like a bar of electrum through the palpable night of the temple, falling on the pointed capstone of the benben.
Complete silence reigned and Scarab realised she had been holding her breath, waiting for something to happen. Time passed, and the beam of silver-gold light narrowed and went out, leaving only a pearly glow around the capstone. It was several more minutes before she realised the glow had nothing to do with the sunlight. The rock itself seemed to glow from within, bathing the mound in a lambent light.
"Scarab." The voice lacked the warmth and roundedness of a human voice, seeming breathless and whispered as if created by scales rubbed over a tightly stretched hide.
Scarab knelt in the darkness and felt Khu kneeling beside her.
"I heard him this time," he whispered. "Is it the god?"
"Shh. I am your servant, Great Atum."
"Chosen One, your actions are pleasing to the Nine of Iunu. Are you prepared to continue in your service?"
"I am, Great Atum. Command me as you will."
"Do you have the token I gave you?"
"Yes, Great Atum."
"Place it on the floor in front of you."
Scarab did so, the golden scarab clicking softly against the stone. She heard soft scraping noises emerging from the blackness in front of her, getting fainter as if the cause of the sounds was getting further from her. Then in the faint glow from the benben mound she saw her golden carving walking across the floor of the chamber, its thin carved insect legs scraping and slipping against the smooth surface. The scarab reached the benben and merged with it, disappearing into the apparently solid rock.
"Am I to lose my gifts again, Great Atum?"
"Would that dismay you?"
"As my lord wants."
"You have a question you want to ask, companion of Scarab?" asked the voice, tinged with amusement. "I can see it in your mind."
Scarab tapped Khu on the arm. "He's talking to you. Answer quickly."
"Er, um yes, Great Atum. That is...well...I, er, don't want to say..."
"The answer is 'yes', son of Pa-it, but I counsel patience. It will come sooner than you think."
"Th...thank you," Khu stammered.
"And you, Scarab? You too have a question?"
"Yes, Great Atum. My brother Akhenaten still lives and now worships a new god called Yahweh. He says that this Yahweh acts against Kemet by bringing plagues on the land. He also thinks that Yahweh is...is just an aspect of the Nine--that when Yahweh acts it is as if the Nine act. Great Atum, is this true?"
"Yahweh is not a god of Kemet, nor is he an aspect of any god of Kemet, individually or severally. However, it sometimes transpires that the purposes of two or more gods may agree."
"Then the Nine supports the plagues of Yahweh?"
"The Nine does not disagree with Yahweh's claim for the Khabiru."
"And the plagues?"
"The Nine will not interfere."
"Then I may support my brother Akhenaten and offer him..." Scarab remembered she no longer had Atum's token. "...such protection as I can?"
"Yes. The grain has been harvested and the threshing floor prepared. Soon, the workers shall be in position. Do what you must, daughter of Nebmaetre."
The glow from the benben mound dimmed and the shadows closed in. The silence grew as the light diminished, and presently Khu nudged Scarab's arm.
"Is it over?" he whispered. "Has the god gone?"
"I think so. We should go." Scarab started to rise but the voice of Atum or his priest stopped her.
"Pick up my token, Scarab."
She knelt again and felt around in the darkness and after a few minutes, felt the reassuring shape of the carved beetle on the floor. Scarab hugged it to her and stood.
Outside the inner chamber, in the dimness of the hypostyle hall, Scarab asked Khu what his question had been. He did not answer, but blushed furiously. Scarab did not ask again.
"I really thought my token had been taken from me."
"Why would you think that?"
"When I saw it crawl away and enter the benben I thought Atum was reclaiming it."
"Are we talking about the same thing?" Khu asked. "You put it on the floor and picked it up later. It was pitch dark in there and I doubt even you could see anything, so why say it was crawling around?"
Scarab shook her head, realising that once again, Khu and her had seen different things in the audience chamber of Atum. "Never mind. Let's go and find the others. I want to find out what my brother learned from his god."
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Chapter Thirty-Eight
Tjaty Paramessu ruled from the palace at Waset as king in all but name. As Crown Prince and heir to King Horemheb, he knew that one day he would mount the throne of the Two Kingdoms and his own son and grandson would follow him. The king was over seventy summers and could not be expected to last much longer. Paramessu's prime concern as Tjaty of Ta Shemau was to maintain the security of the Southern Kingdom, making sure the borders were well guarded and that ample supplies of gold and building stone flowed north from the mines and quarries. He still had to perform all the functions of the absent king, though, from dispensing justice to leading the prayers at dawn and dusk, and overseeing a hundred duties controlled by court functionaries.
When he had first been made Tjaty, he had thought he would be Tjaty of the whole of Kemet, but Horemheb had become suspicious of those nearest to him once the crown was firmly on his head. He suspected all men of ambition, and Paramessu more than most, so had given him suzerainty of Ta Shemau only, giving the Northern Kingdom, Ta Mehu, to Nebamun, the nephew of the priest of Asar in Ineb Hedj, Wenennefer. Paramessu was angered, but only for a short time, for as he came to grips with the reality of the position, he appreciated how overwhelming the combined position would be. He had bent his back to the work and governed well, and Horemheb had rewarded him with gold and land, and after the death of the Queen in childbirth, had raised him to the status of son and made him heir.
The elevated position did not bring him peace, however. Horemheb had raised him to this lofty status and he could just as easily cast him down again. What Paramessu had to do was make sure that if that evil day ever fell, he had the resources to successfully rebel. Intrigue was ever a part of court life and Paramessu was determined to master the technique. Accordingly, he elevated his son Seti to General of the Southern Army and steadily built up the strength of the legions at his disposal--the Amun, the Set, the Sobek, and the Asar. The Geb legion, under Djedhor, had gone north when Horemheb returned to his northern capital.
An army in peacetime loses its edge, so Paramessu and Seti kept their legions in al
most constant conflict. Menkure still lived, as did Kashtare, though nobody could say for sure whether the young Nubian was truly the son of Smenkhkare or of Menkure. Either way, he was a plausible threat to the Ma'at of the Southern Kingdom, so the legions were kept busy pursuing him.
A year before, the floods had not eventuated, but Paramessu had managed the kingdom well; the city and temple granaries were full. Then the flood had failed again and there was little grain to be had. When harvests failed along the Great River, for whatever reason, grain could sometimes be bought from the northern nations, but those supplies would come in via the Northern Kingdom. Paramessu sent messages to Ineb Hedj, petitioning the king for grain, but the few barge loads sent upriver had barely fed the citizens of Waset for a month. As the famine bit deeper, the Tjaty ordered the king's herds culled, conserving the available feed for the remaining cattle, and ensuring adequate sacrifices for the temples with enough left over to feed the legions. Unrest grew among the hungry populace, but Paramessu ruled with a bronze fist, allowing no complaints to be voiced. What few supplies became available was strictly rationed.
Rumours came south of wonders following hard on the heels of hunger, tales of a river turned to blood, of frogs covering the land, and of flies so thick men could not breathe. Next, an official document arrived bidding Tjaty Paramessu make haste to attend upon the king at Ineb Hedj. He sent for his son immediately.
"The king has sent for me," Paramessu told his son.
Seti ruminated on this for a few moments. "You think he suspects?"
Paramessu's mouth lifted briefly on one side. "I'm sure he has his spies. I never thought we could hide the strength of our legions from him."
"What will you do?"
Paramessu turned the question back on his young general. "Advise me."
"What was the wording of the command?"
Paramessu passed across the papyrus scroll.
Seti scanned the columns of glyphs, ignoring the honorifics and empty phrases to get to the meat of the message. "It says very little. A summons to appear, but no reason given for it. I think one can take heart from the absence of a phrase like 'to explain such-and-such'. There is also no indication of who should or should not accompany you. Was there a verbal message with the written?"