by Overton, Max
"Gods of Kemet," Ramesses muttered. "Do we have grain to spare?"
"We could find some," Horemheb said, "But it would mean the north going hungry too. We will have to buy from the Hittites and Chaldeans again."
"How far downriver did the swarms spread?" Ramesses asked. "Seti does not say in his letter."
"A good point. The intermediate farms may be unaffected by either hail or locust." Horemheb sent for the messenger to attend upon the kings again, and smiled on the nervous man as he prostrated himself before the thrones. "Come, tell us what you saw. How far north did the swarms destroy?"
"O Great Kings--Setepenre and Menpehtyre--we travelled beneath them for seven days north of Waset, and the fields were bare, stripped of vegetation, and the cattle called out in distress from the fields and the children cried out their hunger from the villages. On the eighth day we outstripped the swarms, arriving here on the twelfth day."
"That would be around Akhet-Aten then," Ramesses calculated. "If the crops are intact from there north we might just be able to manage."
"When you outstripped the swarms on the eighth day?" Horemheb asked. "Which way were they moving?"
"North, Great One. Always north."
"Then they will be here soon." Horemheb thanked the messenger and dismissed him. "What are we going to do?" he asked Ramesses.
"There is little we can do. Send word to the people of Ta Mehu to gather as much food and fodder as they can in the time we have. Send ambassadors to the nations to buy grain. Have the priests din the ears of the gods."
Horemheb nodded. "All those things." He called over a scribe. "Take down the words of Menpehtyre Ramesses and have the orders sent out at once."
A day later, a cloud appeared to the south where the river became small in the distance. The cloud grew slowly, yellow and gray in colour, a faint noise as if millions of tiny twigs were being tapped and rubbed together penetrating the silence. The noise faded at nightfall but resumed at first light, becoming louder as the swarm approached Ineb Hedj. Now the sound of rushing water overlay the clacking and scraping and mingled with the cries of horror from the people watching.
Sharp commands, backed by the staves of the soldiers, sent men scurrying to gather up food and shut windows and doors against the imminent invasion. Priests in the temples blew on trumpets and banged drums, shook sistra, and shouted, but to no avail. The cloud of locusts blotted out the sun as it swept over the city and descended on the farmlands along the river. Vegetation bent and broke under the weight of insects, transforming the fields into a seething mass of legs and rustling wings and champing jaws. Countless bodies were swept down the river or died as men beat at them with any object to hand, but millions more took their places.
A few hours later, the swarm lifted into the air again with a terrible rushing sound and flew north into the green pastures of the Delta. It left behind a denuded landscape with scarcely a hint of green. Men and women ran out to collect what they could, but another swarm swept in from the southwest, eating everything left behind by the other locusts. When it lifted, nothing grew in the farms around Ineb Hedj.
The people of the city and country ate fish from the river and slaughtered starving animals to ward off their hunger. Some had vegetables or fruit stored against lean times, and if the locusts had not found their caches, the populace consumed them quickly. Ten days passed and the children and elderly started dying, but it was ten more before the first grain ships arrived from the cities of the Great Sea. The people mobbed the ships and Ramesses was forced to send in his soldiers to beat back the starving populace until the grain could be offloaded and rationed.
More ships arrived, filled with grain bought with the kings' gold, and some were sent upriver with orders to put in only at specific cities. Peasants poured into the cities from farms where not a single thing grew, looking for food. There was not grain enough for all and ships' captains and grain merchants became rich from bribes until Ramesses made examples of a few.
Twenty days after the last locust swarm, the earth shook in the night. There was no damage to buildings but the people ran out into the streets, crying and screaming. The temples were packed, and even the kings led many more prayers and services than normal.
"What does it mean?" Ramesses asked the Hem-netjers of the major temples in Ineb Hedj. "Why does the earth shake?" The gods were angry, the priests declared, but would not be drawn out on what might have angered the gods.
"Geb is the god of the earth and growing things," said the High Priest of Geb. "His worship has been neglected of late."
Unfortunately for the priest of Geb, mention of the god's name brought to mind the phrase 'Eye of Geb' in the mind of Ramesses and he left the meeting abruptly, taking his thoughts to King Horemheb.
"It is that bitch," he complained. "The priest as good as said it. She is behind all our troubles."
"Scarab, you mean?" Horemheb asked mildly. "I doubt it. She would never act against the common people. Against kings maybe, but never the peasants. Her brother Smenkhkare taught her that."
"If not her, then whom? That blasphemous brother of hers? They are all carved with the same copper chisel."
"Yet they are very different, Ramesses. Do not let your hatred blind you to the real enemy. It is that foreign god that has brought this woe on Kemet."
"How do we fight a god?"
"We cannot. All we can do is reach an accommodation. We must seriously consider acceding to this god's demands."
"What? You would release the Khabiru from bondage, letting a good portion of Kemet's wealth go with them? And just because Akhenaten says so? I thought you hated the heretic."
"I do, and all he stands for, but I am King of Kemet, as are you, Ramesses. We must control our personal feelings for the greater good."
"There is another way. We destroy worship of that god in Kemet."
"How do we do that? I hear he has no temples, just being worshipped wherever one of his followers exists."
"We kill his followers, the Khabiru," Ramesses said. "Without worshippers, he is nothing."
"There are thousands of them."
"Mostly unarmed. We could slaughter them in a day with the legions, or we could just tell people who is responsible for their suffering, and let righteous indignation take over. The people would rise up and kill them; man, woman and child."
Horemheb looked uneasy. "I'm not sure I could countenance such an action."
"The only alternative is to give in to his demands."
"Is it even possible to kill all the Khabiru? What of Scarab and her protection?"
"She cannot be everywhere at once. We kill Khabiru wherever she is not." Ramesses snapped his fingers as an idea occurred to him. "Invite her here to Ineb Hedj and on that day, have the legions fall on the Khabiru and kill them."
Horemheb considered his co-ruler's proposal. "How is this different from letting the Khabiru leave Kemet? Either way, they are unavailable as a work force."
"You have to ask, Setepenre? What is the standing of the Kings of Kemet among the Nations if we are seen to give in to slaves? Pride alone should prevent such an ignoble action, never mind other considerations."
"You are right, Menpehtyre. We shall stand firm against this god, for surely the gods of Kemet will not allow his dominance."
"I shall draw up plans with the legions," Ramesses said. "And when all in ready, I will invite Scarab and Akhenaten here and neutralise their threat."
As if in response to his words, the earth shook again and the kings heard, deep within the palace, the sound of screams and breaking pottery.
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Chapter Forty-One
After the locusts passed, the land recovered quickly, though starvation claimed many lives. Trees were stripped bare of leaves and herbs eaten to the ground, but the action of sun and water rapidly brought new life to the fields and within a few short weeks a fine mantle of green clung to the fields once more. In the way of all men, once the
danger was past, they forgot the hardships and looked forward to the good things in life once more.
The series of plagues that had hit Kemet--blood, frogs, flies, disease, hail and locusts--faded in the memory once food started appearing in the markets and on tables again. Even the continuing mild earth tremors were disregarded, being thought no more than a mild rumbling of discontent by the gods--discontent with the actions of the foreign god. Most people were happy to let the gods sort out their differences between them as long as they left humans alone.
The Shechite men, particularly those of the Pillar, saw the tremors as another sign of their adopted god and tried to read the future in every tiny jolt they felt. God was reminding them of his past actions, said some. Others said the tremors were just a reminder of his continued presence, while the most militant among them, led by Jesua and Abrim, saw the earthquakes as the approach of God, coming in black anger to smite the ungodly. They rejoiced, recounting lists of the people they most wanted to see destroyed.
Mose spent his time preaching to any that would listen, telling them of the God that claimed his allegiance and of the good things that would surely flow to all his followers. He kept his message positive and refused to condemn the kings of Kemet.
"The Lord God sends these plagues to persuade the kings to release his people, but he also allows the natural inclinations of their hearts to resist him. In this way the power of Yahweh is revealed to all men."
Scarab saw things slightly differently, though she only voiced her opinion to Khu when she was certain they could not be overheard. "Horemheb and Paramessu have believed in the strength of their legions so long they cannot admit they are outmuscled. Also, they are pig-headed."
"Is there ever going to be an end to this?" Khu asked.
"I hope so. I've lived my life fighting for others and had only moments of peace. I'd like to settle down even though I suppose it is too late to find a man and start a proper family."
"Only the gods know the outcome of any venture," Khu said, refusing to meet Scarab's eye.
Scarab was silent for a time. "I'm sorry, dear Khu," she murmured at last. "I have rather neglected you, haven't I?"
Khu shrugged. "I followed you willingly enough. I am not complaining."
"No, that is something you never do. You have been a good and faithful friend for many years."
"Yes, that is me--a friend." A touch of bitterness crept into the man's voice.
"Ah, Khu...after Paramessu I swore I would never get close to a man again, never be hurt again...but where has it got me? I ignored the one man who could have healed me."
Khu sat deathly still, looking down at the ground.
"Is it too late, Khu?" Scarab asked softly.
"T...too late for what?"
"For us?"
"Us?" Khu considered this word for several minutes. "There has always been an 'us', ever since you first stumbled into my father's home. The trouble is, there has never been a 'just us'. First it was your brother Smenkhkare who took up your whole life, then Paramessu, then Smenkhkare again. After that was your obsession with Ay, and now the brother you thought dead--Akhenaten--is back with another strange god for us to follow. I think that as long as you have something to fight for, there will never be a real chance for an 'us'. I'm sorry, Scarab, that's just how I see it."
"And if we could just go away, the two of us? Leave everybody we know and live in a tent or a cave somewhere?"
"I think you would come to resent me for having taken you away from all this excitement." Khu smiled wanly. "If you want to try it, I'll do it. For me, a few years or a few months having you all to myself would be bliss."
"When this is over..."
"When can it be over? There will always be another foe to fight, another enemy to overcome, and another cause to espouse." Khu swallowed and looked Scarab in the face, focussing on her live eye. "I will follow you, Scarab, I always have. I will follow you to the death and do whatever you require of me, for as long as you need me, but do not, I beg, give me false hope."
"Oh, Khu..." Tears ran down Scarab's left cheek and she brushed them away. "You must know that I have..."
"Eye of Geb! Eye of Geb, come quickly!" The voice of Dahvin cut across Scarab's confession and she and Khu started to their feet. "Eye of Geb, the prophet Mose bids you come quickly. Messengers have come from the king. He will not speak unless he speaks to both Mose and Scarab, he says."
Mose had been a half day's journey away, communing with his god when Abrim found him and brought him back to the Shechite camp where Horemheb's messengers waited under guard. He immediately sent for Scarab, and she arrived an hour later.
"I am Djeseramentu," said the spokesman for the king's messengers. "And I have a message for the woman known as Lady Khepra, also called Scarab, and the man styled Mose, the Prophet of Yahweh. Am I addressing these two people?" He was assured that his audience was listening. "I have a verbal message from King Setepenre Horemheb and King Menpehtyre Ramesses. The kings, may they live forever, bid Scarab and Mose attend on them in the palace of Ineb Hedj on the seventh day after the new moon, there to discuss the methods by which the Khabiru may be released. Give me your reply, and I will return with it to the kings."
Jesua and some of the Pillar started cheering, but Scarab stood and held her arms out for silence. "Thank you, Djeseramentu, for bringing the words of the kings to us. Please retire and take refreshment, you and your men, and shortly you will take back our reply." She waited for the messengers to go before calling the principal leaders around her. "You have heard the words of the kings. What is our answer?"
"Can there be any doubt?" Jesua demanded. "They have given in to Yahweh's demands and will release the Khabiru. We must go and lay down such terms as will give us the maximum advantage." The other Shechite leaders voiced their agreement.
"Yahweh has opened their eyes and their hearts," Mose said. "This is indeed cause for thanksgiving."
"You do not agree, Scarab?" Khu asked. "I can see it in your face."
Scarab nodded. "The plagues are long past, even the locusts, and the land is recovering. The kings brought in grain from the Nations and while people may still be hungry, there is no longer a danger of mass starvation. Why then, are the kings offering to capitulate now? I could understand it if Kemet was on the brink of collapse, but it is not. If I can put this in terms of war, you do not win the battle and then surrender."
"Who cares why," Abrim said. "I say take the offer before they change their minds."
"It is not as if we lose anything by discussing terms," Jesua said. "The Eye and Mose can look after themselves."
"Why do they want us there on a specific day?" Scarab asked. "It is enough to say, 'Come to Ineb Hedj', is it not?"
"Perhaps it is a propitious day?" Abrim hazarded.
"I do not know," Scarab admitted. "I am inclined to agree because I cannot see a reason not to, but I am unhappy about it."
"Then we agree," Jesua said.
"Yes," Mose said.
"Could we agree to a different day?" Khu asked. "That should not change anything, but if they planned a...a trap...or something..."
"Then the trap would take place on that day instead," Jesua said impatiently. "Just agree and be done with it."
"Not if you set a day a little after, say on the tenth day after the new moon and then turned up on the seventh day. You'd catch them unprepared. They could not complain, but we might snatch a small advantage."
"I like it, Khu." Scarab smiled at him. "Thank you."
"Seems unnecessary, but go ahead if it makes you happy," Jesua grumbled.
Scarab called back Djeseramentu and his companions and gave them their decision. They would be in Ineb Hedj on the tenth day after the new moon. The messengers did not look happy, but agreed to convey the date to the kings, and departed.
Several days before the agreed date, Scarab and Mose, together with a number of the Shechites, moved down the Royal Road toward the capital. Three times on the journ
ey, they stepped off the road to allow Troops of soldiers to trot past. They looked at the soldiers curiously, wondering if there had been some enemy movement on the borders they had not heard about, and then continued south. The third time, they happened upon a Troop taking a rest in the shade of a palm plantation and Khu went to draw water from the well. He saw a man with an infected eye and used it as an excuse to talk.
"I am a physician," Khu said. "Let me look at your eye."
"I have nothing to pay you," said the soldier.
"Did I ask for a fee? Show me." Khu examined the man's eye and made up a little soothing sulo'tat ointment. He showed him how to apply it and told him not to rub his eye, even if it itched.
"Feels good," the soldier said. "I is Mene. Can I offers yer a bit of bread and beef. We is 'aving a bite ter eat."
Khu joined Mene and the other men in his Ten and sat in the shade eating the stale rations.
"Where are you off to?" Khu asked. "Have the Hittites invaded?"
Mene laughed. "If they did, we'd give 'em a good seein' ter. No, we is off to Per-Bast and some others of us to Hut-waret, but I don'ts know what for. Officers don'ts tell the likes of us."
Khu took the contents of this conversation back to Scarab, who puzzled over it. "There are small garrisons in those cities, but if these soldiers were going to relieve them or reinforce them, they would know. There would be no point in keeping that secret. What other reason is there for...what, three hundred extra armed men going to those two cities? And what about the other two Troops we saw? Do they have a similar assignment?"
"Who is to say, Eye?" Jesua said. He laughed. "Should we catch an officer and make him tell us? This is talk without purpose. We should be on our way again."
