The Eye of the Pharaoh

by Roger Hurn

  ‘Well, it certainly isn’t because you’ve got a kindly heart. No, you wanted them out of the way while you drugged Theoman, took his key and stole the Eye of the Pharaoh. And you’re far too clever to leave any incriminating evidence lying around so you cleaned the goblet when you returned the key.’

  Ahketnan turned to Ramenha. ‘My Lord,’ he said beseechingly, ‘Heaven knows, I am a patient and understanding man, but how much longer must I be forced to listen to these terrible and hurtful lies? Have you no regard for my feelings or do the false accusations of shabby tricksters count for more than your loyal uncle’s honour?’

  ‘Of course not,’ answered Ramenha, ‘Take them to the prison.’ He made a dismissive gesture and the Captain of the Guard and his men hustled Ashkala and Kaheb out.

  When they had gone and Kaheb’s cries for mercy had finally faded, Ramenha said thoughtfully, ‘I wonder why Kaheb suddenly changed his story like he did? It doesn’t make sense. What did he think he could gain from this sorry business?’

  ‘Perhaps he was drunk,’ suggested Ahketnan. ‘But at least you’ve put him and that nasty little priestess where they can do no more harm, drunk or sober.’

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Ramenha. ‘But, although he’s not as clever as he thinks he is, I’ve always thought of Kaheb as completely trustworthy. And, as my judgement is rarely wrong in these matters, that’s why I chose him to be my secretary.’

  ‘I expect Ashkala led him astray,’ said Ahketnan firmly. ‘Some men will do anything a powerful woman tells them, especially when she has a certain attractiveness.’

  ‘Hmm …’ murmured Ramenha. ‘But I thought of him as a friend.’

  ‘Sadly, Pharaohs can’t afford the luxury of friends,’ said Ahketnan decisively. ‘But, don’t worry, My Lord, you can always rely on me. After all, blood is thicker than water.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  In a dimly lit room in a secluded part of the palace, Salen crouched over a brazier on which he had placed the Eye of the Pharaoh. He muttered a series of incantations and tossed a handful of powder onto the smouldering coals. Thick, sour smelling smoke swirled up, the jewel gave off a pulsating, blood red glow and slowly a dark shape began to form in the shimmering air. Two gleaming points of brilliant vermillion light appeared in the shadowy face and, suddenly, the ghostly apparition became solid. The temperature plummeted and Salen’s breath came pouring out of his mouth in an icy mist. Sebek, a creature honed for destruction, stepped from out of the air.

  Salen couldn’t help noting that the old tales were wrong, Sebek did not have a lizard’s head. Instead the creature was tall with the skin the colour of a fish’s underbelly. His mouth was a thin slit framed by bloodless lips and his eyes burned with the promise of violence. An intense cold radiated from his body and, when he spoke, his voice sounded as bleak and empty as the space between the stars.

  ‘Who dares to summon me?’

  Salen had a rapturous expression on his face as he answered, ‘I did, mighty one.’

  Sebek appeared to notice Salen for the first time. He took a step towards him and a wave of chilled air swept over Salen cutting into the marrow of his bones like an assassin’s knife. Fear twisted Salen’s guts. ‘Why have you brought me here, little man?’

  Salen was finding it hard to breathe. His lungs felt as if they were filling with sharp particles of ice. ‘To do my bidding.’

  Sebek’s lips curled back from his mouth revealing teeth that were as cruel and pointed as a shark’s. ‘To do your bidding?’ He spoke quietly but his voice was thick with murder. ‘I think not.’

  Salen could feel his confidence slipping away like sand through his fingers but he forced himself to speak.

  ‘But you must obey me,’ he croaked. ‘I have the Eye of the Pharaoh and whoever has the jewel and wields it in the service of evil controls you.’

  Sebek laughed and the sound was like ice scraping over rock. ‘The jewel is nothing but a gateway between worlds. Yours is warm and bright; mine is icy and dark, but you called to me and so I came.

  Salen saw his dream fading before his eyes but he made one last attempt to hold onto it.

  ‘But you need me.’

  Sebek’s face twisted into a ghastly smile. ‘Well, perhaps I do. I need to feed on the energy you humans call souls – and yours shall be my first meal.’

  Salen fell to his knees and sobbed pitifully. ‘No, please, Master, I beg you. I will lead others to you if you’ll only spare me.’

  Sebek stared down at him. ‘Others? You will bring other souls to me in order to escape the bitter touch of death?’ His voice held a terrible hunger.

  Salen looked up at him with tears in his eyes and dumbly nodded his head. His tongue seemed to have frozen to the roof of his mouth.

  ‘Very well. It is a bargain but, remember, you called me into this world so your soul is mine. Serve me well and I may return it to you. Fail me and you will die a thousand deaths.’

  Even as he spoke, Sebek was fading and dissolving into a swirl of smoke. Suddenly, Salen felt the warmth of the brazier hit him and melt the iron band of ice that was threatening to crush his chest. A coughing fit seized him and when it passed he saw that he was alone in the room.

  Salen sucked hot air into his lungs and wiped the tears from his eyes. His ambition to hold the world in the palm of his hand and squeeze it like an orange was shattered beyond repair but, strangely, the look on his face was one of malicious satisfaction.

  ‘Don’t worry, Master,’ he whispered. ‘Serving you will be a pleasure.’ And, deep in his heart, a small nugget of ice began to burn with a cold fire.

  Chapter Fifteen

  While Salen was busy bargaining for his soul with Sebek, Kaheb and Ashkala were cooling their heels in a dungeon deep in the bowels of the palace. It was a dank, evil smelling place which even self respecting rats avoided. Kaheb sat on the stone floor with his head in his hands. He was such a complete picture of misery that the dung beetle running over his foot decided to look for livelier company in the next cell.

  Ashkala on the other hand regarded him with something approaching affection. Or, at least she was looking at him without her usual expression of withering contempt which, if he’d been in any fit state to notice, would have surprised Kaheb as he was expecting her to turn him into something slimy with too many legs.

  ‘Thank you, Kaheb,’ she said without the slightest hint of sarcasm.

  Kaheb looked up at her with wary eyes. ‘What for?’ he asked.

  ‘For being brave enough to speak the truth when it mattered,’ said Ashkala simply.

  Kaheb raised his eyebrows and said,’ I preferred being a coward. At least it kept me out of prison.’

  Ashkala’s eyes narrowed and her face took on the kind of never-say-die look that was meant to be comforting but made Kaheb’s heart sink.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ she said firmly, ‘we’ll soon get out of here.’

  Kaheb treated her to a weak smile. ‘Yes I know,’ he said in a doom-laden tone. ‘But when they let us out it won’t be to take a three week holiday at a Red Sea resort of our choice. We’re for the chop!’ He paused long enough to aim a kick at the bowl of slops he had been given for breakfast. ‘Though they’d better hurry otherwise we’ll be dead of food poisoning before they can execute us.’

  ‘We’ll escape before then,’ retorted Ashkala confidently.

  ‘Oh yes – a jailbreak, eh?’ said Kaheb nastily. ‘Now why didn’t I think of that?’

  ‘Oh do shut up and listen,’ snapped Ashkala. ‘While you’ve been sitting there feeling sorry for yourself, I’ve been thinking up a plan to get us out of here.’

  Kaheb sniffed loudly but went and sat next to her while she outlined what they were going to do. When she had finished she looked at him expectantly and said, ‘Well, what do you say?’

  Kaheb shrugged, but answered that they might as well give it a try as they certainly had nothing to lose, though he for one did not hold out much hope of success. At that
moment, however, the door to their cell opened and an extremely scruffy gaoler clutching a huge bunch of keys shuffled in.

  ‘’Scuse me, yer qualityships,’ he mumbled in a guttural voice. ‘But did I over’ear the two of youse plann’ ter escape from ‘ere?’

  Kaheb gave Ashkala a panic stricken glance before blustering unconvincingly at the dirt encrusted turnkey. The grubby man pulled a baffled face and proceeded to terrify the lice minding their own business in his long greasy hair by scratching his head furiously.

  ‘Funny,’ he muttered. ‘I could of sworn one of you was abhat ter clutch at yer stomach and groan in an ‘orrible manner so that when I rushed in all unsuspectin’ like ter see wot the matter wos, the uvver one, ‘oo would of bin carefully ‘idden behind the door, would of brained me with the breakfast bowl and nicked me keys.’

  ‘No,’ said Kaheb blandly. ‘Nothing could have been further from our thoughts.’

  The gaoler squinted at him for a second then hawked and spat in a stomach churning manner at a rat that had foolishly strayed into the cell. ‘Oh well then, in that case, I’ll jus’ ‘ave ter imagine I ‘eard yer groanin’, all right?’

  ‘You can imagine Pharaoh wears pink frilly drawers under his kilt as far as we are concerned,’ said Kaheb. ‘Your imaginings are a matter of complete indifference to us my good fellow.’

  The turnkey cocked his head to one side and leered at Kaheb. His teeth were blackened and Kaheb would have bet a year’s salary that the man had not been in close contact with soap and hot water for at least a month. No, in Kaheb’s book, the gaoler was not the kind of person one would wish to spend much time with in an enclosed space – which was of course exactly where Kabeb was now. Life, he thought sadly, certainly knew how to kick you when you were down.

  ‘Fair do’s then,’ said the gaoler. ‘So let’s imagine, purely for the sake of argument you unnerstan’, I come rushin’ in, trip over me own ‘uge feet, bang me ‘ead on that there wall ‘n knock meself unconscious. You two, ’ardly able ter believe yer luck, whip orf aht the door and leg it ter the nearest convenient ‘idey ‘ole sharpish like. OK?’ He beamed happily at them.

  ‘But why should you help us?’ Ashkala didn’t trust this man.

  The gaoler shrugged. ‘Aven’t ‘elped yer, ‘ave I?’ the man replied a shade testily. ‘Just knocked meself aht, that’s all.’ He then collapsed theatrically to the floor and lay still.

  Ashkala hesitated but, for once, Kaheb took the lead. He grabbed her by the arm and said urgently, ‘Come on. Let’s escape first and ask questions later!’

  Ashkala shot a quizzical look at the gaoler but then allowed Kaheb to rush her out of the door. When they had gone and their footsteps were only faint echoes down the corridor, the gaoler sat up and grinned a lop-sided grin. ‘Good luck, friends,’ he said. ‘I think we’re all going to need it before we’re very much older.’

  Chapter Sixteen

  For a few panic stricken seconds, Kaheb and Ashkala dashed headlong through the twisting, turning passageways that honeycombed the lower reaches of the palace. Then Ashkala grabbed Kaheb’s arm and dragged him to a halt. ‘This is no good,’ she gasped. ‘We’re racing about like headless chickens. We’ve got to stop and think.’

  Kaheb’s heart was pounding and it was all he could do to stop his stomach coming up to his mouth for a look at the scenery, so he collapsed against a wall and stared at Ashkala with the kind of look that was all the rage with freshly landed fish. Once again it was up to Ashkala to provide the ideas for action. She shrugged and forced herself to review the events of the past twenty-four hours as calmly as she could.

  ‘Right, we’ve got to find out what Salen’s up to,’ she declared. ‘It stands to reason that Ahketnan wouldn’t have dared to enter the Tomb of the Kings without the kind of protection only someone well versed in the ways of the sacred mysteries could provide and the only person, apart from myself and Theoman, qualified for that task is Salen.’

  Kaheb nodded in agreement.

  ‘So, let’s go to his quarters and see what we can discover because, unless I miss my guess, Salen’s got the Eye of the Pharaoh hidden there.’

  ‘What makes you so sure?’ queried Kaheb.

  ‘Because Salen, once he got his grubby hands in the Eye, would be terrified of letting it out of his sight for any longer than he had to. It would be no use to Ahketnan. He wouldn’t have a clue as to how to use it and, anyway, once its loss has been discovered he’s got a vested interested in it never been seen again. No, take my word for it, Salen’s got that jewel and he won’t be content until he’s used it for his own foul purposes.’

  ‘OK, you’ve convinced me,’ said Kaheb. ‘But where does the little rat hide out? I mean he’s got an official apartment but he’s never there and I should know because I can never get hold of him when I need him. He always seems to just appear and disappear when he feels like it.’

  Ashkala smiled a secret smile. Kaheb groaned inwardly. He knew that she was about to dazzle him with her superior knowledge again. ‘Tell me,’ he said.

  ‘We Priestesses of the Moon would be failing in our sacred duty if we didn’t keep a close watch on all rival sects and so, naturally, we’ve had our eye on Salen for some time. I know exactly where that rodent has his bolt hole. In fact, it’s just down the corridor by some abandoned storerooms. Nobody ever goes there so it’s the perfect spot for Salen.’

  ‘One question, Ashkala,’ said Kaheb. ‘Have you, or your priestesses, ever spied on me?’

  ‘Of course not,’ replied Ashkala. ‘We only keep tabs on important or interesting people so you are quite safe from our attentions.’ She smiled sweetly and then slipped like a shadow towards Salen’s secret hideout. Kaheb ground his teeth in fury but he had no choice other than to follow her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ashkala picked the lock on Salen’s door with practised ease and they crept into the room. It was empty but no sooner had they entered when they heard footsteps echoing along the corridor outside. They hid themselves behind some dusty drapes and waited with swiftly beating hearts to find out who was about to arrive.

  A key turned in the lock, the door swung open and Ahketnan swept into the apartment. He tossed the key onto a table and called out for his partner in crime. There was no reply. A look of impatience stained Ahketnan’s baby face.

  ‘Where is the fellow?’ he muttered to himself. ‘Heaven knows why he sent me a message saying I had to meet him here in this gods forsaken place. And why the urgency? Ashkala and that idiot secretary are under lock and key so the plan’s coming together nicely.’ Ahketnan shook his head. ‘Oh well, I suppose he has his reasons.’ This thought seemed to mollify him and he lowered his bulk delicately into a grimy chair. He sat drumming his fingers for a few minutes and then he sighed in exasperation and pushed himself up and out of the chair.

  ‘This is intolerable,’ he said. ‘Why bother to send for me if he can’t organise himself well enough to turn up? Oh I’m going.’

  He was marching towards the door when it opened and Salen walked in. His eyes lit up when he saw Ahketnan.

  ‘My, my, we are impatient tonight aren’t we? What’s the matter? Too high and mighty to wait two minutes for your old chum?’ The last two words were spoken in an accurate parody of Ahketnan’s languid drawl.

  Ahketnan was visibly flustered. ‘No, of course not,’ he snapped. ‘But I must say that your note had me a bit worried. Nothing’s gone wrong with our plan has it?’

  Salen rubbed his hands together gleefully as he replied, ‘Well, that all depends on what you mean by our plan. You see, it was never part of my plan that you should live to become Pharaoh once the Eye was stolen.’ He grinned with all the warmth and sincerity of an undertaker at a plague victims’ outing.

  Ahketnan was shaken but he tried to bluff it out. ‘Is this some sort of joke you’re playing? he rasped.

  ‘Yes,’ said Salen bluntly. ‘I do so hope you’ve got a sense of humour, Ahketnan, becaus
e you’re going to need it to laugh this off. You see, the joke’s on you. Remember you once told me I could have the Eye of the Pharaoh as it was nothing more than a useless trinket? Well, I have used that trinket to summon Sebek to this place. He is going to eat your soul.’ Salen’s expression was a strange mixture of insane pride and abject fear.

  Ahketnan felt relief flood through him. Salen has finally gone over the edge into madness, he thought. Well, that was nothing a knife between the ribs couldn’t cure. ‘You’re bonkers,’ he chortled. ‘You could no more use the Eye of the Pharaoh to summon up some bogeyman from the land of the dead than I could swallow a camel.’

  ‘Prepare for indigestion, Ahketnan,’ replied Salen, ‘because there’s a bogeyman from the land of the dead I’d like you to meet.’

  Chapter Eighteen

  ‘What on Earth are you burbling about?’ Ahketnan was definitely beginning to regret going into partnership with a madman like Salen.

  ‘Watch this, my aristocratic friend. Watch this and be amazed.’ Salen produced the jewel from a pocket in his kilt. He mumbled an incantation whilst rolling the ruby between the palms of his hands. Brilliant red light bled into the air making it shimmer like a heat haze in summer. Ahketnan screwed up his eyes. He was sure he could see a shadowy figure in the haze. Suddenly, the figure stepped forward and the room was filled with an intense cold. It was Sebek.

  ‘Master, I haven’t failed you. I have brought you your first victim.’ With a flourish he pointed to Ahketnan who was standing transfixed by the sight of the creature before him.

  Sebek moved towards Ahketnan. However, before he could claim his prey, Ashkala leapt out from behind the curtain. Holding an Ankh made of moonstone she placed herself between Sebek and Ahketnan.

  ‘In the name of the Goddess, I command you to be gone from this place!’