Desert God Read online

  It was almost sunrise the next day before we had towed the ships across the plain and moored them at the entrance to Mamose’s tomb. The men were exhausted so I ordered Zaras to issue them with extra rations of dried fish, beer and bread, and let them rest through the hot hours of the day.

  I walked back along the towpath of the canal to the temple. The priests seemed to have recovered from the strenuous rituals, devotions and prayers of the previous evening. They rowed me across the river in the temple skiff. I was on my way to report on the success of our expedition to Pharaoh.

  This was a pleasant duty to which I was looking forward immensely. My devotion to Pharaoh is exceeded only by that I had for his mother, Queen Lostris. Of course, it is futile to compare superlatives so I deliberately do not mention my royal princesses in this equation. Let it suffice to say that my devotion to the royal family extends to all its members.

  My tame priests landed me on the steps below the bazaars of the waterfront of the city, which were already thronged despite the early hour. I set off through the narrow streets towards the palace gates. Under my battered helmet and filthy face mask nobody recognized me, although a gang of small ragamuffins danced around me calling me vile names and throwing stones at me. I caught one of their missiles in mid-air and returned it with considerably more force than I received it. The urchin who was clearly leader of the gang screamed with pain and clutched at the wound in his scalp, which was fountaining copiously, and he led his followers in the flight for safety.

  When I reached the palace gates I removed my disguise, and the captain of the household guards recognized me at once. He saluted me respectfully.

  ‘I must see Pharaoh!’ I told him. ‘Send a messenger to tell him I am waiting on his pleasure.’

  ‘I offer you my apologies, Lord Taita.’ I did not correct him. I was becoming accustomed to my new title. ‘Pharaoh is not in Thebes, and we do not expect his imminent return.’

  I nodded. This came as a disappointment, but as no real surprise to me. Pharaoh spends the greater part of his time and energy in prosecuting the interminable campaign against the Hyksos in the north. ‘Then take me to the chamberlain, Lord Aton.’

  When I reached his private rooms Aton rushed to embrace me at the door. ‘What tidings, old friend?’ he demanded. ‘How went our venture?’

  ‘Grave tidings indeed.’ I assumed a gloomy expression. ‘The treasury of the Supreme Minos in his fort at Tamiat has been plundered, and King Beon has been murdered.’

  He held me at arm’s length and stared into my face. ‘You jest with me, good Taita,’ he accused me. ‘All honest men must weep to hear it told! Who would commit such heinous crimes?’

  ‘Alas! Both committed by the same hand, Aton. One that you might recognize, mayhap?’ And I held up my right hand before his face. He stared at it with cleverly feigned mystification. To have survived so long in the role of royal chamberlain one had to be a gifted thespian.

  Then he shook his head and began to chuckle, softly at first, but the volume of his mirth built up swiftly until he was snorting and hooting with glee. He staggered around the room bumping into the furniture and laughing. His belly and every other part of him were shaking with laughter. Then abruptly he stopped laughing and fled to the adjoining closet. There was a moment of silence, but before I could follow him there came a sound like the flooding of the Nile through the cataracts. It went on for some considerable time before Aton returned to where I waited. Now his expression was once more serious as he adjusted his robes.

  ‘You are fortunate, my dear friend, that I reached the pot in time, or you might have been drowned like King Beon.’

  ‘How do you know Beon was drowned?’

  ‘I have ears and eyes other than those you see in my face.’

  ‘If you know so much, then tell me about the treasure of the Minos.’

  ‘I have heard nothing of that.’ He shook his head ruefully. ‘Is there aught you might have learned about it?’

  ‘Only that you were wrong.’

  ‘In what way was I wrong?’

  ‘You told me that the treasure might amount to a hundred lakhs, did you not?’ He nodded and I went on:

  ‘You sadly miscalculated.’

  ‘Can you prove it to me?’ he demanded.

  ‘I can do better than that, Aton. I can let you weigh it,’ I assured him. ‘However, I must get a message to Pharaoh before we leave the palace.’

  Aton pointed to his writing case, which lay open in a corner of the room. ‘Write your message and Pharaoh will have it in his hand before nightfall,’ he assured me.

  My message was short and cryptic. ‘Please be patient with me,’ I begged Aton as I handed it to him, ‘but I have not bathed or worn fresh apparel for almost two moons. I must visit my own quarters here in the palace before I return with you to the tomb of Mamose.’ I did not think it worth mentioning that neither had I seen my two little princesses since my return.

  As soon as I reached my quarters I sent one of my slaves to the quarters of the royal women to convey a message to Their Highnesses.

  The two of them arrived with the force and fury of the khamsin wind out of the desert just as I was stepping into my hot tub. They are the only ones in all the world that I allow to see me unclad, except for my slaves. However, my slaves are all eunuchs as am I, so they are of no account.

  Now Tehuti and Bekatha perched on the marble surround of my tub and pestered me with questions. They took no notice of my nudity. Once many years ago Bekatha had spoken for both of them on the subject: ‘You are just like me and Tehuti; all three of us look so much neater without all those dangly things hanging in front of us.’

  Now she paddled both her neat little feet in my tub and complained, ‘It’s been so boring since you went away. Whatever were you doing that took you so long? You must swear that next time you will take us with you.’ I poured a pitcher of hot water over my head to avoid taking the oath she had set for me.

  ‘Did you bring us a present, Taita? Or did you forget?’ Tehuti took over the interrogation. As the elder sister she has a firmer grasp on the intrinsic value of things.

  ‘Of course I brought you both something. How could I ever forget you two little pests?’ I replied, and they clapped their hands with delight.

  ‘Show us!’ Bekatha chirruped.

  ‘Oh yes, darling Taita,’ Tehuti agreed. ‘Please show us. We do so love you.’

  ‘Then fetch me my pouch.’ I pointed to where it lay on my couch in the adjoining room, and as always Bekatha was first to reach it. She came dancing back to me, brandishing the leather pouch. Then she flopped down on to the marble slabs with her legs crossed under her, and the pouch in her lap.

  ‘Open it!’ I told her. With my princesses firmly in mind, I had selected two pieces of jewellery from the loot we collected from the Minoan officers whom we captured at Tamiat.

  ‘Is there something in there wrapped in red cloth?’ I asked and Bekatha squealed with excitement.

  ‘Yes, my best and most lovely Taita. Is it mine? Is the red one mine?’

  ‘Of course it is.’

  Her hands were shaking with excitement as she unwrapped the small parcel. As she held up the golden necklace her eyes filled with tears of delight. ‘It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!’ she whispered.

  Suspended from the chain were two golden figures. Although they were tiny they were complete in every exquisite detail. The largest was an image of a charging bull. Its head was lowered ready to butt with its viciously curved horns. Its eyes were tiny green stones that glittered angrily. Its humped shoulders epitomized brute strength and fury. It was attacking the other figure: the slender form of a beautiful girl. She seemed to dance just beyond the reach of those deadly horns. There was a garland of flowers around her head, and the nipples of her breasts were red rubies. Her head was thrown back as she laughed at the raging bull.

  ‘She is so quick that the bull will never catch her.’ Bekatha bounced the nec
klace between her hands to make the figures dance.

  ‘You are quite right, Bekatha. She is the charm against danger. While you wear it danger can never catch you. The bull dancer will keep you safe from all harm.’ I took the necklace from her hands and fastened the clasp behind her neck. She looked down at it and shook her shoulders to make the figurine dance against the lustrous skin of her boyish chest. She was lovely when she laughed.

  Tehuti had waited quietly for me to give her my attention, and I felt a little guilty as I turned to her. I don’t like to show favourites. ‘Your present is in the blue cloth, Your Royal Highness.’

  She unwrapped it carefully and gasped as the ring sparkled. ‘I have never seen anything shine so bright,’ Tehuti cried.

  ‘Place it on your middle finger,’ I told her.

  ‘It’s too big. It just slides around.’

  ‘That’s because it’s a very special stone. You must never show it to a man, except …’

  ‘Except what?’

  ‘Except if you want him to fall in love with you. Otherwise you must keep it concealed in the palm of your hand. Remember that the magic will only work once. So be very careful to whom you show the ring.’

  She wrapped her fingers tightly around it. ‘I don’t want any man to fall in love with me,’ she replied firmly.

  ‘Why not, my sweetling?’

  ‘Because if they do, then they try to put a baby inside you. When the baby is in, it does not want to come out again. I have heard the women in the harem scream, and I don’t want that.’

  ‘One day you may change your mind.’ I smiled. ‘But the stone has other qualities that make it special.’

  ‘Tell us. Why is it so special, Taita?’ Bekatha was not deterred by her sister’s silly scruples.

  ‘One reason is because it is the hardest thing in the entire world. Nothing can cut it, and nothing can scratch it, not even the sharpest bronze dagger. That’s why they call it diamond: “the Hard One”. Water cannot wet it. But it sticks to the skin of the woman who owns it like magic.’

  ‘I don’t believe you, Taita.’ Tehuti looked dubious. ‘It’s another of your made-up stories.’

  ‘You just wait and see if what I tell you is true. But remember …’ I wagged my finger at her sternly. ‘… don’t ever show it to a man unless you love him very much, and you want him to love you forever.’ I will never know why I told her that, except that the girls love my stories and I never like to disappoint them.

  I stood up from the tub and called for Rustie, my head slave, to bring a towel to dry me.

  ‘You are going away again, Taita,’ Tehuti accused me. She has a grown woman’s instincts. ‘You come back for just an hour, and then you are gone again. Perhaps this time it will be forever.’ She was close to tears.

  ‘No! No!’ I dropped the towel and embraced her. ‘That is not true. I am going only as far as your father’s empty tomb on the east bank.’

  ‘If you are telling the truth, then let us come with you,’ Bekatha suggested.

  ‘Oh, yes please! Let us come with you, dear Taita,’ Tehuti insisted.

  I paused to consider the suggestion, and I found that it appealed to me as much as it seemed to do to my girls.

  ‘There is just one problem with that idea.’ I feigned reluctance. ‘What we are going to do is a big secret and you will have to swear not to tell anyone else about what you see and what we do there.’

  ‘A secret!’ Bekatha cried and her eyes sparkled at the thought. ‘I swear, Taita. I swear by all the gods I shall never say a word to another living soul.’

  The three treasure ships were still moored alongside the wharf at the entrance to Pharaoh Mamose’s tomb when the princesses, Aton and I arrived there.

  Zaras and his men had worked well in my absence. Following my instructions they had rigged screens of reed matting around the tomb precincts to prevent us being overlooked from the surrounding hills. I was determined to work all night to get the triremes offloaded. However, Hyksos spies might creep in closer under cover of darkness, and of course we would have to work by torchlight. The screens would be vital in maintaining our secrecy.

  Using the experience I had garnered at Tamiat, I had worked out in detail how I should best proceed with the offloading. Now I supervised and instructed Dilbar and a gang of his men as they fashioned heavy pallets of dressed timber which they prised up from the deck of the first trireme. These were eight cubits square and would fit into the hatches of the holds. Then on the upper deck of each ship I rigged tripods and pulleys over the hatches. From these my men lowered the pallets into the hold, where other teams of workers packed the chests of bullion on to them.

  Then the chests were hoisted up to the deck in batches of twenty, swung outboard and lowered to the wharf.

  ‘What is in those chests, Taita?’ demanded Tehuti. I touched the side of my nose in a conspiratorial gesture.

  ‘That is the big secret. But very soon I will show you what it is. You will just have to be patient for a little longer.’

  ‘I never like having to be patient,’ Bekatha reminded me. ‘Even for a little longer.’

  A long line of men received the chests as they were unloaded from the pallets. The line stretched from the wharf through the entrance to the tomb, down four flights of stairs, and then along the painted and decorated tunnels, through the three vast antechambers until they reached the four treasuries. The treasuries were sited closely around Pharaoh’s burial chamber with its empty sarcophagus awaiting the embalmed corpse which never arrived. This vast complex had been hewn from the living rock, an endeavour which had taken me and two thousand labourers twenty years to accomplish, and of which I am still rightfully proud.

  ‘You girls can be of great help to Uncle Aton and me,’ I told the princesses. ‘You can count and you are able to write, something that only one in a hundred of these other dolts are able to do.’ I jerked my head at the line of toiling half-naked men.

  The two girls entered into the roles of bookkeepers as though it were a game. They were delighted to show off their schooling.

  I had left instructions with Zaras and in my absence he had set up two heavy balance bars in the first treasury. Now Aton and I each manned one of these. As the chests were suspended from the arm of the apparatus we called the weight to the girls. Bekatha worked with Aton while I had Tehuti as my assistant. They wrote down each weight on a long roll of papyrus and kept a running total after every tenth chest.

  When the first treasury was filled it contained 233 lakhs of pure silver. I sent the men up to the surface and gave them an hour to rest, eat and drink. When we were alone in the treasury I took the respite to make good my promise to the girls to show them what the chests contained. I prised open the lid of one and took out an ingot, which I allowed them to handle and admire.

  ‘It isn’t as pretty as my necklace,’ Bekatha remarked as she stroked the charm at her throat.

  ‘Does all of it belong to you, Taita?’ Tehuti asked thoughtfully as she looked around at the stacks of chests.

  ‘It belongs to Pharaoh,’ I replied and she nodded seriously. I watched her making the calculation. She is good with figures. At last she smiled as she reached a total.

  ‘We are very pleased with you, Taita.’ She used the royal plural as if by right.

  When the men returned I put them back to work. They moved the balance bars to the second treasury chamber which was slightly smaller than the first. In this we found space to store a further 216 lakhs of silver.

  At this stage Zaras came in from the wharf to report that the first two triremes had been completely unloaded, but that there was still a substantial weight of treasure in the third and last ship to be brought ashore.

  ‘The dawn is close, Lord Taita,’ he warned me, for I had lost all track of the passage of the night, ‘and the men are almost exhausted.’ There was a trace of censure in his tone, and his expression was lugubrious. I thought to give him the sharp end of my tongue, for I am not accusto
med to being criticized by my underlings, and I was myself tired, but not exhausted. Despite my willowy physique, my stamina is greater than that of most men, but I restrained myself.

  ‘Your men have worked well, Zaras, as have you. But I am going to call upon your indulgence a little longer. I will come to the wharf with you to assess how much remains to be done.’

  At this point I made a fateful mistake.

  I glanced around at Tehuti as she squatted on her stool behind me with her head bowed over her papyrus scroll. Her hair had flooded down in a dense golden wave to screen her face. She had not found the time from her labours to comb it up again.

  ‘Tehuti, you have worked like a slave girl,’ I told her. ‘Come with me to the surface. A breath of cool night air will revive you.’

  Tehuti stood up. She tossed her head and threw the hair back from her face and she looked at Zaras. He looked back at her.

  I saw the pupils of Tehuti’s green eyes dilate in the lamplight, and at the same time I heard the dark gods laugh. It was a far-off and mocking sound, but I knew instinctively that our little world had changed dramatically.

  The couple stood as still as a pair of marble statues, staring at each other.

  I tried to look at Zaras through her eyes. Although I am a better judge of feminine rather than masculine beauty I saw for the first time that he was handsome far past the normal. Even though I knew his lineage was unremarkable, there was an imposing aura that surrounded him. He had noble poise and bearing.

  I knew that his father was a merchant in Thebes who had built up a large fortune by his own efforts. He had seen to it that his son had received the finest education that silver could buy. Zaras was clever and quick-witted, and as fine a soldier as his military rank attested. However, his antecedents were lowly and he was certainly no match for a princess of the royal House of Tamose. In any event Pharaoh would decide who would make that match, with a little advice from me.