by Overton, Max
Scarab, my Scarab, I love you.
"Jesus wept," Daffyd breathed into the silence that pervaded the chamber as Dani finished the last column of tightly packed hieroglyphs. "That was beautiful. Achingly sad, but beautiful."
"Such love," Angela murmured. She saw the shake of Dani's shoulders. "Are you alright, Dani?"
Dani raised a tear-streaked face. "I was never in doubt," she whispered. "But it is good to hear his voice after so long."
Daffyd looked intently at Dani but said nothing, leaving it to Marc to ask, "Good to hear whose voice?" Dani did not answer.
"Well, that is a very satisfactory ending," Bashir said. "A fuller description of the tomb site, and the knowledge that the treasury was moved there."
"I thought you said your interest was scientific, not pecuniary," Daffyd observed.
"It is," Bashir assured him. "But it is handy to know that we will be looking for just one site rather than two. The treasury would yield gold but probably little of archaeological interest whereas the tomb will yield both."
"If it hasn't already been found and ransacked," Angela said. "Tutankhamen's tomb was the only intact one found, and even that had been disturbed."
"Oh, don't say that," Doris pleaded. "I can't bear to think of Scarab's mummy being...being despoiled."
"I think you can continue this discussion back at the camp," Bashir said, rising to his feet. "The account is complete and it is obvious there is nothing more to be discovered in the chambers. Nazim will make a copy of the tape, particularly the last part, and you can then transcribe it while think about my next step."
"That will rather depend on you recapturing the others, won't it?" Marc asked.
"I do not doubt they are already in custody. Now, if you would be so good as to leave the chamber."
The seven men and women climbed the shaft to the upper chambers and from there out into the cave and the fresh air. Syrian soldiers escorted the archaeological team to the mess tent, while Bashir and Nazim disappeared into the communications hut.
The cooks had prepared a meal that was now congealing in the metal trays, but Marc lifted a lid and sniffed appreciatively at the spicy meat. He dipped a finger into the sauce and tasted it before heaping a plate and tucking in. The others contented themselves with coffee and wedges of Halva cake.
For several minutes, Angela, Doris and Dani sat apart and talked in low voices about the love Scarab and Khu had for each other, and of the good things that had filled their lives toward the end. Then they dried their tears and joined the men.
Marc dabbed at the sauce caught in his beard and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "Damn, but these army cooks know how to put a decent meal together." He stifled a belch. "What did you guys think of that account of the plagues of Egypt?"
"Is that what it was?" Angela asked. "It's been a long time since I was in Sunday School."
"Sure, river turning to blood, flies and locusts and hail. All that was missing was the death of the firstborn and the Passover feast."
"That might have been a later interpolation," Daffyd said quietly. He puffed on his cigarette meditatively. "Like the parting of the Red Sea instead of a tidal wave, or tsunami as I think they are more properly called. The Bible account is more dramatic, but gives none of the background detail."
"Pharaoh still ended up 'getting drownded'," Marc said.
"I don't think anyone believed Horemheb was the pharaoh of the oppression," Daffyd said.
"And how weird identifying Moses with Akhenaten," Doris said.
"It is not a completely new idea," Daffyd commented. "A number of researchers have raised the possibility that Akhenaten, the world's first monotheist may have influenced Moses, leader of the world's first monotheistic religion. Making the two of them one person is only one more step."
"We can talk about all this at our leisure," Dani said, "But what are we going to do right now? We can't let Bashir loot the tomb."
"Agreed," Marc said, "But reasonably, how do we stop him? He's got a description of the site, he's a Minister in the United Arab Republic so has instant access to Egypt, and no doubt can call in favours too."
"Could we...well, could we get there first?" Doris asked. "We've got the description too and...and we've got Scarab's Aten beetle so maybe Dani could use it to find the tomb."
"A couple of things wrong with that, Dor," Marc said, grinning. "First, we're not going anywhere unless Bashir says so and second...well, yeah, that part might work. What do you think, Dani? Could your golden scarab find the tomb?"
Dani frowned and pulled out the carving, weighing it in her hand. "This was given to Scarab, not me, and by the ancient Egyptian gods." She smiled uncertainly. "Should I believe in them? Nobody else does."
"You found the chambers using it," Marc said.
"That could have been a lucky guess, or maybe I recognised subtle signs my reasoning mind ignored."
"Well, I think you have the power."
Dani shook her head. "You'll be telling me I'm somehow Scarab reincarnated next."
"Well, maybe not reincarnated, but what about descended from?" Daffyd asked. "Didn't you say your grandmother was Egyptian? Could she have been descended from Scarab?"
"She always said she was," Dani admitted, "But that was an awful long time ago. I don't see how anyone could trace their family back three thousand years. That's well over a hundred generations and most people have trouble going back four or five."
"All of us had an ancestor living back then," Daffyd pointed out. "Why shouldn't Scarab be yours? Particularly if your grandmother believed it. And if that is so," Daffyd went on, "Then the question is whether you can actually use the scarab. Marc, you say you've seen Dani use it to find the chambers?"
Marc nodded. "She knew where all the chambers were, one after the other. And we've all seen that Bashir is blind to its presence, like others in the account."
"You think you could use it, Dani?" Doris asked.
Dani smiled. "I could try, I suppose."
"Do it now," Angela suggested.
Dani shook her head and put the scarab back in her pocket. "What would that show? We know it is somewhere south of here. Of more immediate concern is getting out of the clutches of the Minister."
"And that might depend on whether Al, Bob and Will have got away," Marc said.
Angela shivered. "Are we more likely to survive if they do get away or if they are recaptured?"
"Definitely if they get away," Marc said. "Once the world knows the situation, Bashir won't dare harm us."
"There is always the possibility of an unlucky accident," Daffyd posited, "But I think that would be an unnecessary risk. He's more likely to keep us locked up until he finds the tomb or at least thinks he has an unassailable lead."
"So what do we do?"
"For now, nothing," Daffyd said. "There's nothing we can do except wait." He got up and poured himself another coffee.
They did not have long to wait. Bashir, with his secretary Nazim in tow, entered the tent and stood staring at the team.
Dani looked up. "Well? Don't keep us in suspense."
"The three fugitives were arrested at Damascus International Airport five hours ago. They are in custody in Adra Prison."
"But they can't..." Doris started to say but Angela cut her off.
"They can't be, Miss Smith?" Bashir asked. "Why not?"
Doris just shook her head and started crying. Marc said, "Because you have no right to lock up a British citizen. We are guests of your government and have done nothing wrong."
"Really? How about entering the country under false pretences? You have gone nowhere near the Neanderthal site you are supposedly excavating. Then there is attempting to conceal a major archaeological find and attempting to smuggle out historical artefacts."
"What artefacts?" Marc demanded.
"I'm sure something will be found in their luggage when we search it."
"Did you also intercept the letters?" Daffyd asked mildly.
&n
bsp; Bashir stared at him. "Of course."
"You have all three letters?"
A longer, more intent stare. "Yes."
Daffyd smiled. "Then I know you are lying. There was only one letter addressed to the British Embassy in Syria. I imagine phone calls are being made to your superiors even as we speak. Questions will be asked, Minister Bashir. Will you have the answers?"
Bashir bit his lip. "You are bluffing."
"Then we shall soon know." Daffyd took his tin of tobacco and papers out and started rolling himself another cigarette. "Pour yourself a coffee, Minister, while we await your recall to Damascus."
"There is no letter."
Daffyd smiled again. "Did you intercept any?"
"No."
"Or arrest our companions at Damascus International Airport?"
"No."
"Then you're screwed," Marc gloated.
"Please, Marc, it would be easier all round if you would refrain from such remarks," Daffyd said gently. "Minister Bashir finds himself in a delicate situation, and we should look for a way out of this embarrassment without apportioning blame or rejoicing over someone else's misfortune."
"What are you trying to say, Dr Rhys-Williams?"
"There is a letter to the British Embassy, but with a covering letter asking that the main one not be read unless the five of us here fail to report to the ambassador by next 5pm Monday--that is in four days time. This letter was posted by one of our three companions and should be delivered, even considering the parlous state of the Syrian Postal Service, about now. If we five show up, unharmed and under no duress, then I can see no reason to implicate you in anything. We fly back to Britain and you announce the discovery of a spectacular tomb. Everybody wins."
Bashir considered Daffyd's proposal and even talked it over with his secretary. "How do I know you will not accuse me the moment you are safe in the Embassy? Or later, when you have left Syria?"
"I suppose you will have to trust us."
"Not good enough. I must have some surety that you will keep your word."
"What would reassure you?"
"I can think of nothing that would make me feel safe."
"Then we are at an impasse," Daffyd said. "At least until the letter is read by the ambassador on Monday night."
"It is not too late to arrange an accident," Bashir said tightly. "If I face ruin, there is no reason I should care what happens to you."
"There is a way out," Dani said. "We all return to Damascus. You, as Minister, arrange a press conference and we jointly announce our great discovery. It will be easy enough to prevent others going to the chambers for a while if we say there is a necessity of stabilising the walls or something. Then we announce that the inscriptions have shown the possibility of an undiscovered tomb in Egypt and that there will be a joint Anglo-Syrian expedition to find it."
"Dani?" Marc said. "What are you doing?"
Bashir stared. "I...I am only Under-Minister..."
"But with influence? Friends? Favours?"
"Ye-es, the Minister is...Who would go on this...this joint expedition?"
"You would, Minister Bashir," Dani said. "And I."
"You are sure as hell not leaving me behind," Marc said.
"Or me," Angela agreed. Doris nodded her head enthusiastically.
Bashir considered this for several minutes, before asking, "Why?"
"We both want to find Scarab's tomb," Dani said. "Though for different reasons. If we just fly back to Britain, there is a risk to you that we might talk, and a risk to me...to us...that you will go down to Egypt to find and plunder the tomb. This way, by announcing an official expedition, we are both safeguarded. The eyes of the archaeological world will be upon us and..."
"You would truly help find the tomb?"
"Providing it is done properly, and not just as a treasure hunt."
"Then I agree," Bashir said.
"Just like that?" Marc asked.
"It is what I wanted all along."
"Bullshit."
"You wrong me, Dr Andrews," Bashir said. "But you will see. I will organise everything. I will go back to Damascus now and speak with the Minister. Then I will arrange for a press conference for Monday morning, and in the afternoon you will go to the embassy and retrieve the letter."
"And when is this expedition to take place?" Daffyd asked.
"I think the sooner the better. Your archaeological dig at this site is good for another two months, and as Syria and Egypt are politically united, the paperwork will suffice for a trip down to Thebes. Now, if you will excuse me..." Bashir stood up, "...I will start the many things that must be arranged before Monday." He and Nazim left the tent.
"Jesus," Marc breathed when they were alone. "That could have gone badly."
"I'm sure we are grateful for your restraint and politeness," Daffyd murmured.
Marc glowered at the older man. "Was that really necessary, Dani? I thought you didn't want Bashir anywhere near Scarab's tomb."
"I don't, but I couldn't see any way of stopping him without putting everyone in danger. This way, at least he'll be restrained by the public eye."
"You trust him?" Angela asked.
"Not in the slightest," Dani replied. "But we've bought ourselves some time and some freedom of movement. Also, we might be able to change his thinking."
"Do you really think so?"
Dani smiled. "No, but I also think that if we are not meant to find Scarab's tomb, we won't."
"But in the meantime, we are going to Egypt," Angela said.
"And searching for Scarab," Doris added.
"Oh, much more than that," Daffyd said. "We have a chance to prove or disprove the narrative written on the chamber walls. After the press conference, millions of people will want to know about Scarab. Three thousand years later, Beketaten, Princess of Egypt, will once more speak out. Khu thought his beloved Scarab had passed from living memory, but he was wrong. We have the privilege of presenting her to the world."
The End of Scarab-Horemheb: Book 5 of the Amarnan Kings
The Story Concludes in Scarab-Descendant: Book 6 of the Amarnan Kings
Return to Contents
* * *
The Main Characters & Places in Scarab-Horemheb
The pronunciations given below are hardly definitive. As vowels are unknown in ancient Egyptian, we can only guess at the proper pronunciation. I have tried to select spellings and pronunciations that are common among English speakers, though where the accent lies is anyone's guess. If you prefer another form, please feel free to use it.
Aanen (Ah-nen) - ex-second prophet of Amun, brother of Ay
Abu (Ar-boo) - the city of Aswan
Akhenaten (Ah-ken-ah-ten) - the heretic king, husband of Nefertiti
Amenhotep III (Ah-men-hoh-tepp) - king, father of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), Smenkhkare, Tutankhaten and Beketaten
Amenhotep IV - king, son of Amenhotep III, later changed his name to Akhenaten
Amentep (Ah-men-tepp) - commander of Paramessu's Ptah legion
Ankhesenamen (Ann-kess-en-ah-men) - wife and queen of Tutankhamen
Ashraz (Ash-razz) - Aziru's spymaster
Ay (Eye) - father of Nefertiti and brother to queen Tiye, holds title of Divine Father, Tjaty to Akhenaten, Smenkhkare and Tutankamen, later king of Egypt
Aziru (Azz-ee-roo) - king of the Amorites
Baenre (Bar-en-ray) - one of Horemheb's troop commanders
Bakenkhons (Bar-ken-con-ss) - commander of the Sept legion
Bakt (Bar-k-tt) - third prophet of Amun, elevated by Ay to first prophet
Beketaten (Beck-ett-ah-ten) - youngest daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye, known as Scarab
Disebek (Dee-sebb-ekk) - commander of the Kharga garrison
Djedhor (Jedd-hore) - commander of Paramessu's Heru legion, later general
Ephras (Eff-rass) - aide of Jebu, later general of the Amorite army, executed
Hednackht (Head-nah-k-tt) - commander of Paramessu's Re legion
Hemaka (Hem-ah-car) - lieutenant under Nakhtmin
Horemheb (Hore-emm-heb) - general of the eastern borders, later of all armies during reign of Akhenaten, later Tjaty of Ta Mehu under Tutankhamen
Huni (Hoo-nee) - leader of Scarab's wounded soldiers
Ineb Hedj (Ee-neb Hedge) - Capital of the Lower Kingdom, known later as Memphis
Ipuwer (Ee-poo-were) - Head embalmer of East Gate House of the Dead, father of Rekhmire
Ipy (Ee-pee) - commander of the Heq-at legion
Iteru (Ee-tare-roo) - the Great River, the Nile
Iunu (Ee-oo-noo) - the city of Heliopolis in Lower Egypt
Iymeru (Ee-mare-roo) - a physician in Paramessu's army
Jebu (Jeb-oo) - Amorite general
Khnumt-Atum Scarab (Kh-noom-tt-ah-toom Scarab) - the nomen of Scarab
Khu (Coo) - farm lad of Akhet-Re, a King's Councilor and companion of Scarab
Khui (Coo-ee) - commander of Paramessu's Set legion
Meketre (Mekk-ett-ray) - high priest of Shesepankh
Menes (Men-ayz) - assistant to Panas at Ineb Hedj
Menkure (Men-coo-ray) - friend and Tjaty of Smenkhkare
Mentmose (Ment-mo-zay) - mayor of Ta-Senet
Mentopher (Men-toe-fur) - steward of Tjaty Ay's household
Meny (May-knee) - Leader of Fifty under Paramessu
Meres (Meh-rays) - chamberlain of the Ineb Hedj palace
Mose (Moh-zay) - one of Horemheb's troop commanders, later legion
commander
Mutaril (Moo-tar-rill) - Hittite ambassador to King Aziru
Nakhtmin (Nar-k-tt-minn) - son of a Theban landowner, general of Ay's army, adopted by Ay, crown prince and heir
Natsefamen (Nat-seff-ah-men) - junior officer in the Heru legion
Nebhotep (Neb-hoh-tepp) - court physician in Akhet-Aten, King's Councilor under Smenkhkare, companion of Scarab
Nebkheperure (Neb-kep-er-roo-ray) - Lord of the Manifestations of Re; throne name
of Tutankhamen
Nebmaetre (Neb-my-tray) - The Lord of Truth is Re; throne name of Amenhotep III
