by Overton, Max
Less than an hour later, all three stood on the western side of the outcrop as the column of soldiers trotted toward them. Abruptly, Nebhotep guffawed and pointed, followed by Khu's chuckle. Scarab, who had been standing with her head bowed in angry defeat, looked up and broke into a disbelieving grin.
"Huni, by the gods, it is you," Scarab cried. "But who are these men with you?" A sudden thought hit her and she stepped back. "You have not come to capture us for Horemheb, have you?"
"He'd get a spear in his back if he tried it," drawled a voice behind the squad leader. Sepi stepped forward and Hapu was close behind. "Huni's been making friends and his squad wanted to come with us."
"Well, most of them," Hapu added. "The others have got sore heads."
Huni turned to face his men. "This is Lady Beketaten, sister to Djeserkheperu Smenkhkare, rightful king of the Two Lands. On your knees, men, and swear obedience to her or you'll feel my wrath."
Scarab stepped forward as a few men knelt but others hesitated. "Do it of your own free will or not at all, soldiers of Kemet. I will have no man in my service unless he is there willingly. If you do not want to swear, return to Horemheb. None here will hinder you."
"Begging your pardon, lady," said a grizzle-haired older man. "But none of us has anything to go back to. We would have joined your royal brother last time if we'd had the chance. Now we have and we want to throw in our lot with you." The man got down slowly and put one hand on his chest and the other on his forehead. "Amenope's the name, lady. I ask all gods to witness I offer my service freely to you and your royal brother." Behind him, the other men knelt and in a mixed chorus, stated their names and swore service.
"Thank you," Scarab said simply. She introduced her companions before confirming Huni in his position. "You were Leader of Five; you are now Leader of Ten. Sepi and Hapu, you are both made Leaders of five. These men are your officers; obey them as you would me."
Huni grinned and nodded, quickly organizing his men into two Fives. He assigned Hapu's Five as rearguard and Sepi's as vanguard. "We need to move on quickly, Lady. I imagine the General is somewhat angry this morning. We caught glimpses of several patrols but we outran them. They may not have given up."
"Do you have any food, Huni?" Scarab asked. "Or water? We are going to need both."
"A little." Huni called up a man burdened with a hemp sack and another with a bulging flask, issuing bread and water to Scarab and her companions.
After a quick meal, the band set off, running southward. Sepi's Five led, spreading out across their intended route several hundred paces in front, far enough ahead to give warning of any danger but not so far they lost touch with the others. Hapu's Five followed a similar distance behind, keeping a wary eye out for any of Horemheb's patrols. Huni, Scarab, Khu and Nebhotep traveled in the middle, Huni and Khu carrying the food and water to give the men freedom to fight if the need arose.
They ran all day, taking brief rests every couple of hours, and by nightfall were back at the scene of the battle, where Smenkhkare had met an unknown force. Huni ordered a camp for the night, and they huddled for warmth in lieu of a fire which Huni felt would be foolish in the circumstances.
"For the moment we must believe every man's hand against us," the Leader of Ten said. "I don't believe Horemheb will pursue us this far, but we don't know who the king fought either. It might be dangerous to advertise our presence with a fire."
They slept cold and rose shivering with the dawn. It had not rained in the night, but lightning played to the south and the distant grumbling of thunder made their sleep uneasy. A quick mouthful of bread and a gulp of water and they set off once more, slowly at first until the stiffness in their limbs eased. Within an hour they passed the furthest reach of Horemheb's army and they entered unknown lands. Huni pulled both vanguard and rearguard in closer and slowed their pace to a jog. The morning crept by, the sun slipped over its zenith and eased toward the west and the land steadily unfurled beneath their feet.
A storm hit in the late afternoon and the blinding rain prevented any further progress. They huddled together, soaked within seconds, to wait it out. The sun was nearing the western hills when the storm slipped northward and they set off splashing through the rapidly disappearing puddles and the mud, determined to make up some more ground before sunset.
"Do we know where we are going?" Khu asked as he picked himself up after slipping in the mud.
"South," Huni said with a grin. He pointed at some faint marks on the ground in the relative shelter of a small bush. "We're following a large body of men that came this way. The trouble is, with every passing storm we lose a bit more of the evidence. That's why I'm pushing the pace."
It rained again that night and the following morning a light rain continued well after sunrise, obscuring the landscape with misty veils of grayness. Their progress was reduced to a walk as Huni and his men now had to search for the trail. At midday, Huni called a halt and gathered everyone together while he explained the situation.
"We've lost the trail. They have been heading almost due south but we won't know if they veer to one side. We could just head south and hope for the best, or...well, there is no 'or'." Huni looked at Scarab. "You are the leader, Lady. What do you want us to do?"
Scarab turned away to hide her indecision. She prayed to the goddess Nut, one of the Nine of Iunu, for guidance. Hers was the body of the night, and Hers the cardinal points of the compass. If anyone could help them it was Nut.
"Help us Nut, help us Holy Ones of Iunu. We are in your hands," she murmured. As she stood with arms and head raised to the heavens, the cloud cover broke far to the southeast and a single patch of sunlit ground shone out in the distance. "There," Scarab cried. "The gods have shown us the way."
The men knelt in awe, both of the power of the gods and in the favour they showed to Lady Beketaten. Huni felt the power himself and let the men bask in it for a minute or so before calling them to attention once more.
"The gods have spoken through our Lady, men, and it would not be right to keep them waiting. Let's go." Huni led the men off at an angle, toward the still glowing land to the southeast.
The land to the southeast fell away in a long gentle slope toward the distant river. As they descended, they passed by degrees into denser stands of vegetation--areas of grassland, thickets of vines that oozed a milky-white, bitter sap when cut with a blade, and at last, low scrubby trees. Herds of game wandered the plains, standing and staring at the approaching men before stampeding off when they came too close.
Far from being cooler in the mottled shade, however, the still humid air sapped the strength and made bodies run with sweat. Huni called repeated halts to allow everyone time to recover. Water ran low as they succumbed to thirst and the skin that Khu carried grew lighter by the hour. At the same time, muscle cramps increased, forcing further breaks. In one of these enforced rests, Nebhotep wandered off, poking at the earth with a sharpened stick. He only returned when Huni sent two men to look for him, and he came bearing a load of earth in his kilt.
The physician dumped the damp earth in front of Huni and shook his kilt out before donning it again. "Eat some if you can," he said. "Or at least suck on it." He demonstrated by picking up a handful and putting it into his mouth a pinch at a time, grimacing, but swallowing.
"Explain to me, physician," Huni growled, "Just why we should eat dirt."
"You have cramps," Nebhotep replied. "Have you not noticed that you get these after exertion when it is hot? It has something to do with sweating. Anyway, if you eat some soil it will ease the pain."
Scarab tried some of the soil but spat it out. "It's salty."
"Yes, only salty earth works for some reason."
"Well, thank you for the thought, physician," Huni said. "But I think I'll refrain from eating it. I'd rather have the cramps."
Scarab frowned, and picked at the small pile of earth in her cupped hand. "It really works?"
"Such has been my experience."
"Then we will all eat a handful," Scarab said decisively. "No," she added as a chorus of protests arose. "In this you will obey me. Nebhotep is physician to the king and I know his cures work."
With many looks that matched the diet, the soldiers each took a handful and, under the watchful eyes of Scarab and Nebhotep, ate the soil.
They resumed their march southeast, spitting out grains of sand and bits of debris and while the incidence of cramps did not cease, the sufferers made less complaint for fear of being forced to eat more earth.
A little later, as they marched through somewhat denser scrub, Huni dropped back alongside Scarab. "I do not want to alarm you, Lady, but have you noticed there are almost no animals here? Very few birds too, except kites."
"I hadn't," Scarab admitted. "What do you think is the reason?"
"I don't know. I'm hoping it is just that your brother's army has been through here recently. I don't want to think about the other possibility."
Scarab looked sideways at the Leader of Ten. "That sounds ominous. You'd better tell me what you suspect," she murmured.
"I think we are being watched. Twice, I thought I saw something in the bushes, and certainly there have been no animals or birds around for the last hour."
"That's not necessarily bad, is it? It could be my brother's men."
"It could be," Huni admitted. "But this is the territory of a warlike tribe, the Suri. If they decide to contest our passage, we...oh, fornication." Huni stopped in his tracks as the bushes and trees around his squad came alive with armed men. The others in the squad automatically drew into a huddle, arms at the ready and waiting for a command.
Half a hundred men surrounded Scarab's tiny group, great gleaming bodies clad only in short kilts of animal hide and feathered headdresses. The unsmiling tribesmen carried great bull-hide shields and held short stabbing spears at the ready.
"Do not offer any resistance," Scarab said clearly, so that her own men and the tribesmen could hear, though it was by no means certain the waiting warriors could understand. "We come in peace to these lands and ask only that we be allowed to journey through them."
A tall man stepped out from the surrounding ranks. Aside from his size and armbands of soft fur that encircled his bulging biceps, he was identical to the other tribesmen. "Who are you?" he called in the trading patois of Kush. "What do you seek?"
"Tricky," Huni murmured. "If these are the ones who recently fought your brother, we will not be welcomed."
"We must take the chance," Scarab said quietly. "Remember the goddess led us here. We are in her hands." She raised her voice and called back to the waiting warrior. "I am Lady Beketaten, sister to king Smenkhkare, and these men are my escort. We seek the king's presence."
The tribesmen murmured and nodded one to another. "We know of this king of yours for our brothers fought a great battle with him." The tall man smiled grimly. "Come. We will take you to him."
"Is he far? My men are weary."
The tall man looked up at the sinking sun, gauging the time. "We will be there by sunset." He rapped out a command and his warriors shepherded Scarab's men together and started forward again, at a rapid trot, drumming the hafts of their spears on their bulls hide shields and chanting a warlike song.
"I don't like the look of this," Khu panted as he ran.
"Neither do I, lad," Huni agreed. "They are Suri and they admitted they fought the king. What do they mean to do with us, I wonder?"
Scarab turned her head and smiled. "Have faith in the gods. They have led us here for a purpose."
"Or to our deaths," Khu muttered.
Return to Contents
* * *
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ay has aged , Horemheb thought.
The General stood in the Hall of Justice in the palace on the western bank at Waset, waiting patiently for the Tjaty to finish the public business of the day. When he had entered the hall unannounced, Ay had looked up and paused momentarily in his judgment before continuing as if nothing had happened. Now that the last of the petitioners had been heard, he consulted with his scribes, reading over their entries, correcting some, dictating additions to others, and finally clapping his hands as a signal that the audience was at an end.
Ay waited until the last of the court officials had left the chamber before turning to Horemheb with a cool word of welcome. "When did you sneak in?"
"I made no secret of my arrival, but neither did I see the point of shouting my presence from the temple pylons. Besides, I have no doubt your spies keep you well informed."
"And your army?"
"I left the bulk of it at Sehotep-Neteru. It was drawn from the province after all, and I saw no reason to weaken it further."
Ay grunted and looked out of a window at the harsh light of noon. Ripples of reflected light moved on the sandstone walls and ceiling of the hall, evidence of the floodwaters that stretched over the plains as far as the outer palace walls.
"It is noon and I am hungry," Ay said. "Will you join me?"
Horemheb inclined his head politely. "Thank you."
Ay called a servant and sent him scurrying off to send food and wine to the king's chambers. The two older men followed more sedately. The Tjaty showed his age of nearly seventy floods, his once taut body slackened into wrinkled skin over fat, his white hair untidy and his hands trembled slightly. Only his dark eyes showed the energy and hardness that had brought him as high in the land of Kemet as any man could rise who was not of the royal line. Horemheb was only twelve years younger, but looked half the older man's age. Fat had not yet stuck to his muscular frame and his skin, though scarred and torn, was still as taut as a younger man's.
The door to the king's chambers stood open and servants bustled within the richly furnished rooms, preparing the noon meal. Horemheb wandered through the rooms while he waited, and looked through into the bedchamber where the royal bed in carved ebony, ivory and gold, lay rumpled and untidy. As he watched, maidservants hurried in and began changing the linen, dusting and washing. The General frowned and turned back to Ay. "You are sleeping here? In the king's bed?"
Ay shrugged. "Why not?"
"You have rooms of your own and...and these are the king's."
"He is not using them and my own rooms are in the other wing and a lot less convenient. Ah, they have finished. Come and eat." Ay advanced on the laden table and picked over a joint of beef, carving off thin slivers of well-cooked and spicy meat. "Mmm, delicious. Try some, Horemheb."
The General ate lightly and poured himself a cup of chilled water, watching as Ay moved from plate to plate, sampling each dish, drinking cups of watered wine as he did so. "Your tastes have grown more extravagant, Ay," Horemheb observed. "You used to eat plain food and live plainly too. Now you live like the king himself and eat a banquet at noon."
"I do the king's work," Ay mumbled around a goose leg, the fat running down his chin. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and looked sharply at his companion. "The king shirks his duties in his pleasure palace in Men-nefer and I must work as hard as any young man. I should be enjoying a well-earned rest at my age instead of carrying the burdens of a Kingdom."
"I seem to remember a former king who tried to make you retire. You resisted the notion then."
Ay's eyes glittered. "I was not ready then. Nor am I now, truth be told, when the Two Lands depend on me."
"Then this talk of retirement is just smoke on the wind? Have you no replacement groomed to succeed you?"
"Ah, do I detect a note of greed, Horemheb? Of ambition? Would you like to be Tjaty in my place?"
"I am an army man," the General said, his lips curling into a grimace of disdain. "I have no desire to govern Kemet."
"No? Then I must look elsewhere, it seems. Nakhtmin, perhaps..."
"Nakhtmin? Yes, he is devious enough."
"I would not call him devious. Subtle, perhaps. Capable of loyalty yet he has a vision for the future. He can see what must be done."
"And
what is it that must be done?"
Ay smiled and wiped his greasy hands on a linen towel. "What any strong king does to rule the Two Kingdoms. The people must see a capable, level-headed king holding the reins of power. They look for strength of purpose, justice tempered with mercy at home, and a spear of hardened bronze with which to chastise the Nine Bows."
Horemheb walked over to the bedchamber and closed the doors on the servants within. Turning back, he stood with his back to the doors and stared at Ay. "You see yourself as king now?" Horemheb asked, his voice flat and expressionless, his eyes hard and hooded. "What of your vow to Nebkheperure? Is that as easily thrown aside as those to Waenre and Djeserkheperu? Are you a man without any honour?"
Ay laughed, his eyes cold. "Who said anything about being king?" He shrugged. "Though I am king in all but name. While Nebkheperure lazes the days away with his queen in Men-nefer, or hunting in the marshes of the Delta, I have to manage the Kingdoms. Who do the lords, the craftsmen, the priests; the merchants and the peasants come to when they want justice? Not the boy-king in his little world of pleasure--they come to me. About the only thing I cannot do is guard the borders of our Kemet. That is where you are so valuable, Lord Horemheb. There is none like you. With you guarding the northern lands, none of Kemet's enemies can threaten us."
Horemheb stared at Ay for several minutes, his mind churning. "Where does Nakhtmin fit into this?" he asked at last.
"I want him to be Tjaty after me--unless I can persuade you." Ay cocked his head inquiringly. "No, I thought not. Well, consider this then. Under my guidance, we have strong rulership, but I am an old man. What happens when I am called west? Must Kemet crumble for lack of leadership? I must groom a replacement, someone who can take over seamlessly."
"What happens if Nebkheperure grows bored with pleasure and seeks to govern in his own right? He is only a boy but boys grow up."
"Then I, or Nakhtmin, will hand over the power to him, after a suitable period of guidance."
