The Gardener and the Assassin

by Mark Gajewski

  Kairy recoiled, as if I’d kicked him in the ribs.

  Guards dashed into the garden. They’d been drawn by Bunakhtef’s screams.

  I stared at Kairy, breathing hard, my chest heaving.

  Kairy abruptly turned from me and addressed his guards. “How many dead?” he asked, all business.

  “Eight, Commander. Plus the traitor in our midst. Alara.”

  “Nine,” Ani corrected. “His body’s in the river.”

  Kairy pointed to Bunakhtef, writhing on the ground. “You three – drag this despicable piece of trash to the house. Watch him until I come. You – go to Djeme. Wake Pharaoh and the vizier. Tell them the plan worked. They’ll know what you mean. Tell them Neset is safe. Tell them we have a prisoner. Tell them they’ll have the names of the rest of the conspirators by first light.”

  Tell them the plan worked. My anger grew. Confirmation I’d been bait. Pharaoh and the vizier had been in on it too.

  The guard dashed off into the darkness.

  Bunakhtef cried out as guards jerked him to his feet.

  “He’s going to bleed to death,” one of the guards said.

  “Neset’s a healer,” Beketaten noted.

  “I can stop the bleeding long enough to question him,” Kairy said. “Once he confesses he’s dead anyway.”

  That was fine with me. I had no desire to touch Bunakhtef, or ever see him again. Not in the state I was in.

  Beketaten indicated my shoulder. “You have a wound of your own to tend to.”

  There was a line of blood from Kairy’s arrow. I scarcely felt it. “A scratch.”

  The guards supported the piteously moaning Bunakhtef up the garden path. Kairy was right. He’d give up his secrets without a fight.

  A torch flared to life under the veranda, held aloft by Iput, lighting her concerned and shaken face. The four of us walked up the path, Beketaten clinging to Ani, Kairy several steps behind me, giving me space. I couldn’t stand to look at him. We seated ourselves under the veranda. Iput poured us all cups of wine.

  I drank mine down without stopping, my hand shaking. I was absolutely furious. I turned on Kairy. “You and Pharaoh and the vizier used me as bait! You hoped someone would try to kidnap me!”

  “Kairy wouldn’t!” Iput exclaimed defensively.

  “We did,” Kairy admitted, his eyes meeting mine. “It was the only way to draw out Pentawere’s supporters.”

  I wanted to throw my cup at him. I wanted to hurt him. I didn’t. “Whose idea was it?” I demanded.

  “Does it matter?” he asked.

  Either he was protecting one of the others or he didn’t have courage enough to admit he was behind it. “No. But I hold you completely responsible, Kairy. You brought me to my estate. You used me as bait. You lied to me. You put Beketaten and Iput and Ani in harm’s way. They could have been killed. You didn’t let me go tonight when you could have, after Beketaten was safe. I’m going to be executed because of you. Aya’s going to grow up without a mother because of you.”

  Kairy hung his head then. “I don’t blame you for hating me.”

  “Hate? I despise you!” The enormity of what had happened suddenly hit me hard. “How did they get onto my estate?” I demanded.

  “Bunakhtef apparently bribed one of my guards, Alara,” Kairy said disgustedly. “He let them slip onto the west end of the estate. They attacked and drew me and my guards away from the house.”

  “A diversion,” Ani said.

  “While we were fighting them Bunakhtef and his accomplice apparently snuck onto the east end of the estate from a boat. When Alara turned against us I realized what was happening. I sprinted to the house as fast as I could.”

  “How did you escape, Beketaten?” I asked.

  “How did you know I’d been captured?”

  “Bunakhtef showed me the pendant he took from you.”

  “Ani,” she said, looking at him adoringly. She was holding his hand.

  “I was waiting for Beketaten under the palms by the river,” Ani said, reddening slightly. “I saw two men step from the shadows and grab her a dozen paces from me. I ducked down in some tall grass. I watched them tie her hands. I didn’t have a weapon. They held a hurried discussion.”

  “They were surprised when they encountered me,” Beketaten said. “And then delighted. Bunakhtef ripped the pendant from my neck and told the other man he could have me. He said he’d kidnap Neset by himself.”

  “Bunakhtef headed towards the house,” Ani continued. “Beketaten’s captor picked her up and carried her to a small reed fisherman’s boat tied to the riverbank. I crept after them. He waded waist–deep into the river and dumped her over the side into the boat. That’s when I hurled myself at him from the riverbank. I caught him by surprise. He went under. I held him down until he stopped thrashing.”

  “Ani untied me and carried me to land. We hurried up the garden path towards the house. We saw Kairy run around the side and make for the veranda. We signaled him. We explained what had happened. We told him Bunakhtef was inside with you. We decided we’d try to ambush him. We hunkered down in the garden and waited for you two to leave the house. You know the rest.”

  “Your pendant’s in my room, Beketaten. Bunakhtef dropped it while he was tying me up.”

  “I’m glad he’s going to die!” she exclaimed. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?” she asked Kairy admiringly.

  “Not much to do in camp on campaign but practice.”

  The five of us talked for an hour or so, trying to regain some semblance of calm, or, at least, four of us did. We all ignored Kairy and he had the grace to remain silent. His sister and brother were as angry at him as I was. Beketaten too. Eventually, the three of them headed back to bed. I saw no point in going to my room. I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again. I was still too shaken. I poured myself another cup of wine and gulped it down. It had no effect. Kairy was still sitting on the veranda, staring at the distant river. Now that we were alone there were things I needed to get off my chest.

  “So, Kairy… your plan worked perfectly. I lured Pentawere’s supporters to my estate, just as you expected. After you get names from Bunakhtef, Pentawere’s coup will finally be over.”

  Kairy leaned forward, his forearms on his thighs. “Not perfectly. I truly thought I could protect you and the others,” he said, his voice agonized. “I’m sorry. I was so sure of myself, Neset. I was a fool.” His eyes met mine. “I never would have forgiven myself if something had happened to you tonight.”

  “Tonight?” I exclaimed. “It would have been a blessing to be killed by Bunakhtef. My life ended in an instant. Not tied to a stake and burned alive.”

  “I promise you this, Neset – you’ll never feel fire.”

  “An arrow?” I guessed.

  “Before they light the wood.”

  “They’ll kill you for killing me.”

  “So be it.”

  Maybe he believed he’d keep his promise. I didn’t. I knew Kairy wasn’t going to save me from the flames and be killed for doing it. I recalled the dream Bunakhtef had interrupted only a few hours ago. Sent by the falcon god. I was sure of it. Unprecedented for a single talisman bearer to receive two. That meant it was extraordinarily important. A priest was going to proclaim a boy to be Pentawere’s son, the rightful ruler of the valley. Kairy was going to be standing at his side, supporting his challenge, lying about his parentage. Or so it appeared. Had Bunakhtef truly interrupted my dream – had there been more to it – or had it been complete? If it was complete it meant only one thing – the falcon god was warning me that Kairy was going to turn on Pharaoh. The same way the god had warned me that the fourth Ramesses was in danger from the Great Kenbet. Once, in obedience to the falcon god, I’d saved Pharaoh and his line by lying and surrendering my life. Tonight, as bait, I’d saved his line again. I could only conclude the god expected me to save Pharaoh a third time, in the oval court in Nekhen, in opposition to Kairy. But how, if I was going to be executed
in a few months? I hadn’t seen myself in my dream. Was the falcon god showing me something that was inevitable? Maybe I was supposed to warn Pharaoh against Kairy somehow. Maybe it was up to someone else to actually stop Kairy. The only people who could carry a message to Pharaoh from the estate were Ani and Iput and Beketaten. The first two were out of the question. They were angry at Kairy tonight, but they were his blood. I couldn’t trust them. That left Beketaten. Somehow, the preservation of Pharaoh’s line must be in some way dependent on her. Unless I killed Kairy myself, before I was executed. That would surely change the outcome of my dream. I glanced at Kairy. The falcon god’s dreams always came true. Yes, I had to figure out some way to deal with Kairy before I died.

  Kairy put his palms on his thighs, stood. “I’m going to get names from Bunakhtef now, before he bleeds out. By this time tomorrow the rest of Pentawere’s minions will be dead.”

  “No trial?”

  “What would be the point?”

  “What’ll happen to Bunakhtef?”

  “If he doesn’t bleed to death after I finish questioning him I’ll kill him,” Kairy promised grimly. “He’s about to see his last sunrise. I’ll bury him in the desert. He’ll never hurt you again, Neset.”

  And, yet, Bunakhtef was now the least of my worries.

  ***

  Akhet (Flood)

  Kairy

  ***

  “Everyone Bunakhtef implicated in the plot is dead, Majesty.”

  Three days had passed since the attack on Neset’s estate. Bunakhtef had given up his accomplices without too much fuss before he died. As I’d expected, he hadn’t been able to take the kind of punishment he’d so enthusiastically dished out. I’d been able to round the rest of the traitors up quickly and relatively quietly in the days and nights that followed, some in Djeme, some in Waset. I’d had very little sleep. I was exhausted.

  Pharaoh leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile. We were in his private quarters. Vizier Neferronpet was seated next to him. Amenherkoshef, the Falcon in the Nest, handed me a cup of wine and I quickly drank it down.

  “Sit,” Pharaoh ordered.

  I took the chair next to Amenherkoshef’s.

  “A dozen more traitors,” Pharaoh said angrily, shaking his head in disbelief. “Pentawere’s and Tiye’s reach was long, even in death.” He eyed the vizier. “Thanks to your plan, Neferronpet, my throne and my son’s is now secure.”

  “I wish that was true, Majesty,” he said.

  Pharaoh frowned. “You don’t think Bunakhtef named all the traitors?”

  “I’m sure he did, Majesty. But my spies have heard whispers of another plot, vague to be sure, but credible – aimed at using Pentawere’s son against you.” The vizier glared at me through narrowed lids. He wasn’t pleased that Neset and her unborn child hadn’t met with the accident he’d proposed the night of the kidnapping.

  “So, what? We use Neset as bait again? We hope these new conspirators try exactly the same thing that Pentawere’s supporters tried?” Pharaoh asked.

  “They won’t risk a direct attack and make the same mistakes,” Neferronpet predicted. “If I was them I’d kidnap the boy several years from now. Like I said the last time we discussed this, we won’t be able to protect him forever.” He glanced at me again. “We should kill him once Neset’s given birth.” He held up his hand to forestall objection. “I know. The Amen priests. But who’d be surprised if he didn’t survive childbirth? As I understand it, Neset’s lost three children already. We could make sure it’s four.”

  “The Amen priests might not question a death in childbirth,” Pharaoh said thoughtfully.

  I couldn’t believe Pharaoh was backing off of his earlier pledge not to harm Neset’s child. The attempted kidnapping had truly shaken him. He seemed to be falling into line with Neferronpet’s way of thinking.

  “Neset will never know the child died, if that’s a concern, Majesty,” Neferronpet continued. “We’ll take him away from her as soon as she gives birth and she’ll burn immediately afterwards. She’ll be dead before he is.”

  My stomach began to churn. Pharaoh and the vizier were making decisions about the child based on an incorrect assumption. Neset was going to give birth to a girl, not a boy. If I told them the truth, I had no doubt at all that Neferronpet would kill her anyway. It wouldn’t matter to him that the child couldn’t be used to challenge Pharaoh or his heirs for the throne. Neferronpet had it out for Neset for reasons I couldn’t fathom. He wanted her and her child eradicated. He’d never tell Pharaoh the truth about Aya, I was certain. He’d simply kill her. For all I knew, Pharaoh was about to summarily order Neset’s execution, swayed by Neferronpet. After everything Neset had been through these past months I wasn’t going to let anyone harm Aya. Not even the pharaoh I’d served so faithfully. I could have let Neset go when Bunakhtef tried to take her from the estate. It had occurred to me in the moment. If her kidnapper had been anyone but Bunakhtef I probably would have. But I’d seen how he’d treated her along the river and in the audience hall. So I hadn’t. As Neset had accused the night of the kidnapping, her blood was on my hands now. I wasn’t going to have Aya’s on them too. Neset deserved for her daughter to live, for the line of talisman bearers to continue. Which meant I had to draw attention away from Aya after she was born in order to save her life. I had to get her as far away from Djeme and the vizier as possible. The outlines of a plan began to take shape in my mind.

  I addressed Pharaoh. “If we kill Neset’s son, Majesty, we’ll miss a golden opportunity to identify more conspirators.” I eyed Neferronpet. “Like the vizier did when he used Neset as bait to draw out Pentawere’s supporters.”

  “What do you propose, Kairy?” Neferronpet sneered. “Let the boy be kidnapped? Hope we can track the kidnappers to wherever they’re hiding?”

  “Better yet – simply deliver the boy to the traitors.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” Neferronpet cried. “Majesty!”

  “Explain yourself, Kairy,” Pharaoh said, his brow creased with a frown.

  I thought quickly. “Majesty, what if you and I have a very public argument in your audience hall in front of as many of your important officials as possible? There are bound to be enemies among them. I’ll demand a high position in return for having served you so well – I’ll be extremely arrogant. You’ll put me in my place – extremely harshly. I’ll storm from the audience hall, spewing venom. I’ll cross the river to Waset and spend a day or so in an apparently drunken stupor, complaining to everyone who’ll listen about your ingratitude. With luck, if there are more traitors who want your throne they’ll approach me.”

  “You’re going to be the bait this time instead of Neset,” Amenherkoshef said thoughtfully.

  “Yes. I’ll arrange to deliver Pentawere’s son to them immediately after he’s born so they can use him to challenge whoever sits the throne when he’s older. I’ll insist on staying with him to help raise him.”

  “What if they don’t agree to your condition?” Amenherkoshef asked.

  “Then I’ll refuse to deliver the boy. But they’ll agree, Majesty. A delivery is so much easier and certain for them than a kidnapping. Plus, they’ll need me to testify the boy is Pentawere’s son when they issue their challenge, and that I kidnapped him. I’ll make them believe I truly want to be part of their conspiracy, to make your father pay for how he’s mistreated me.” I addressed Pharaoh. “I’ll live among them as long as it takes to identify every single conspirator.”

  “I think it’s a good plan, Father,” Amenherkoshef said supportively.

  Neferronpet didn’t look so certain. “I’ll back your plan, Kairy, with one condition. As soon as you identify all the conspirators you must kill Pentawere’s son. End the threat to Pharaoh’s line once and for all. Kill him before you return to Djeme and report the conspirators’ names to us.”

  “What if Kairy can’t identify all the traitors before they move against me?” Pharaoh asked. “What if they someday
appear before me with the boy and challenge me face to face?”

  “Kairy must kill the boy on the spot,” Neferronpet declared. “Make their challenge futile.”

  Killing the boy in either case did make perfect sense, to protect Pharaoh and his line. There was no reason for me to disobey the vizier’s order. It should be easy enough to find a farmer’s newborn son and substitute him for Aya and deliver him to the traitors in her place. What did I care if the imposter later died at my hand? What better way to mask Aya’s existence than if everyone in the valley believed Pentawere’s heir was dead? “Absolutely, Vizier.”

  “You’re sure about this, Kairy? This is asking a lot of you,” Pharaoh said.

  “I’ve sworn fealty to you and your house, Majesty. My life is yours. You’re not asking. I’m volunteering.”

  “I was fortunate the day I made you my chariot driver,” Pharaoh said.

  “An awful lot has to go right to pull this off,” Neferronpet groused.

  “No sense delaying, then,” Pharaoh said. “My daily audience begins in an hour. Let’s put on a show no one will ever forget, Kairy.”

  ***

  The audience hall was crowded, as usual, filled with petitioners and overseers prepared to make their regular reports. Pharaoh sat on his throne atop the dais, Vizier Neferronpet standing at his side, a fan bearer behind him and several girls with platters of food and jars of wine at the ready. Amenherkoshef was seated next to him, cooled by a fan bearer of his own. Pharaoh was preparing him to rule someday. Scribes in a row beside the dais were busily recording petitioners’ requests and Pharaoh’s decisions, papyri spread across their laps. A line of petitioners awaited their opportunity to address Ramesses, under charge of the overseer of the hall. I was surprised at the length of the line, especially since the audience had started more than an hour ago. The various officials slated to deliver their reports were waiting impatiently, whispering among themselves. One seemed out of place. He was vaguely familiar. Debhen. A priest. I’d met him at a party in Pi–Ramesses years ago. I wondered what had brought him south from the delta.