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  They stared at me. I allowed my shivering to turn into a fit of grief. ‘I’m sorry. The truth is–I don’t know what happened–I was suddenly overcome, and I didn’t want to show my grief in public. I am sure you understand. We were notified my dear brother had been killed in honourable battle, and his coffin would be returned here. I have come to reclaim his body.’

  I stared at the ground, shaking my head sorrowfully, and drying my eyes. The father considered me.

  ‘My condolences. Your brother gave his life for the greater good of Egypt. Now, if you will just return to the front office with my sons, they will take down your details, and we will gladly assist with the necessary arrangements.’

  38

  I stood before Horemheb, in his office within the Memphis military compound. At first his handsome, cold face betrayed nothing as he stared out of the window. ‘These men will be arrested immediately! I will interrogate them myself, and then they will be executed. They have disgraced the army and the Two Lands of Egypt.’

  But this would not serve my purpose.

  ‘Consider again, lord. Only two people know about this: you and I. These men have no idea we know about their activities. But they are not the important ones. They are the workers, not the head. We must track the shipment of opium to Thebes, to see where it goes–to see who receives it. To see who is behind the operation that is selling the opium on the streets. Those are the key men. The killers.’

  He stared suspiciously at me. I had to persuade him.

  ‘There is still more to this. There is a commander who runs it all. He has a code-name. Obsidian. I believe he’s one of your men. He is extremely dangerous. He created and instigated everything, inside the Egyptian army itself, inside the Seth division, for his own profit. Such a man is extremely dangerous to you. Imagine how much power he commands. Imagine the disastrous effect of his work. Imagine what could happen if he has power in Thebes, especially at this highly sensitive moment for the Two Lands…’ I said.

  I let the implications of that do their own work; for if Obsidian were not caught, Horemheb’s ability to command the city would be severely compromised. Worse still, if the corruption came to light, his claim to the royal succession would be profoundly damaged, no matter how many divisions he ordered to take over Thebes, no matter how brutally efficient the martial law he might impose. Horemheb’s face was taut with suppressed rage at this unexpected flaw in his grand plan.

  ‘Find this Obsidian. But I want him alive. Keep me informed at all times, and when the moment comes, I will personally command the troops that attack these traitors, and I will destroy them and their filthy trade. All corruption will be wiped out in the new Egypt; none will be tolerated. And I will personally silence this Obsidian. Be sure you deliver him to me. You know the price of failure,’ he said quietly.

  I nodded and turned away. He had given me what I wanted: permission to track down Obsidian. But he was my prize, and I would never give up the satisfaction of my revenge for Khety’s death, not to Horemheb or anyone else.

  As I passed through the doorway, he called out: ‘And remember this, Rahotep. I don’t trust you. I won’t hesitate to destroy you if you put one foot out of place. You have three days to accomplish everything. Ay is dead. A storm is coming to Egypt now, a storm that will cleanse and purify the corruption and the chaos into which we have descended as a result of the selfish decadence of the so-called royal family and those fat, self-satisfied priests. Their time is over. My time is now.’

  39

  When the pylons and great walls of the temples of Thebes finally appeared before me, rising above the river waters and the surrounding cultivation, after so long away my heart brimmed over with the emotion of homecoming. Ra shone brightly upon the city that held my wife and my family.

  But I confess, too, that the beautiful light seemed a cruel illusion. Little did the citizens of this great city know of the dark storm that would soon change everything: Horemheb and his divisions were on their way, to occupy the streets, palaces and offices of the city, and bring the arrests, executions and wholesale destruction that would surely follow, as he grasped power, took the Crowns, destroyed the carved names and faces of the statues of the old dynasty, and asserted his new dynasty. But more than even that, I was the only one of the original party to return alive: Nakht had died at Inanna’s compound; Simut was in chains, condemned; Zannanza had been brutally assassinated. And now Ankhesenamun was doomed.

  And as for me, I was an opium addict, and until I was no longer in the grip of such craving, I would not allow my family to know me. Still worse, how could I find the courage to tell my wife of my actions? Before I could walk through the gate and back into my home and my old life, I would somehow have to atone for the dark truth of what I had done. And so, as I set foot once more on the stones of the city of my birth, I felt I was more a shadow than a living man: a thin black silhouette, separated from my old self and my old life.

  News of Horemheb’s impending occupation, and of Ay’s death, must already have circulated, for there was a strange, new tension in the air of the city. Many smaller ships were being loaded with trunks containing personal possessions, as the rich tried to save their families and worldly goods by shipping them out of the city and down to their country houses. Crowds of merchants clamoured to buy cargoes of grain as if they were the last ever. Fear had already begun to grip the city. We had lived like gods on borrowed time, and now that dream was over.

  In the small hours, three nights earlier in Memphis, I had watched the opium packages being transported from the backyard of the embalmers’ and loaded on to another, smaller commercial ship. I had watched the Official of the Dock sign the papyrus of authorization for the cargo, and give it back to a man dressed in military clothing. I had not recognized him. He and several other accomplices had then boarded the boat to accompany it to Thebes.

  It had arrived at noon. I stood in the shadows and kept watch. Nothing happened until the sun set. Then, in the dark of the night, more men appeared, and carried ten wooden crates down the gangplank to a waiting cart. I followed it into the city. The moon was full, and its bone-light lit the streets. The single cart was accompanied by armed guards, running before and after in silence. They did not travel far. They turned past the Southern Temple, and then followed its eastern wall before turning into the spreading labyrinth of the eastern suburbs and their narrow side streets. I knew these streets and passageways well, for I had lived and worked there as a Medjay officer all my life. Some were thoroughfares with shops and markets, others were dedicated to different trades where the workshops opened directly on to the street; others still were low passages only wide enough for one man. So I ran through these, following the map of the place in my head, glimpsing the progress of the cart down dark alleys and side ways.

  Finally, it stopped at the high wall of a merchant’s warehouse. The great wooden doors were immediately opened, and it drove in. I waited, breathless, listening to the sounds of the night city, which I seemed to hear intently, in enormous detail–the barking of the dogs across the districts, the cry of night birds, and the uncanny silence of the streets. I approached warily. Nothing distinguished the house from any other, except that its walls were high, it was separate from the buildings around it, and there was only one entrance. Disappointed, I found a discreet doorway in the shadows, and settled down to wait. The cart did not reappear, but all through the night, men in groups appeared in silence, knocked quietly, and were admitted–perhaps twenty altogether. None, however, left.

  As I waited in the darkness, Ankhesenamun’s face began to haunt me; I remembered the warmth of her greeting, all that time ago, before we began our journey north. I remembered the fear in her eyes, and her noble call upon my loyalty to her. She was alone, in that lonely palace. Perhaps she had intelligence about Horemheb’s imminent arrival in the city; perhaps she was preparing to escape. But perhaps she was trapped there, unaware. Without Nakht to support her, or Simut to protect her, maybe I
was the only man in the world who could help save her from the coming storm.

  So when the night sky began to turn blue, and the first workers appeared in the dark streets, coughing and hawking and spitting phlegm, and still no one had appeared from the merchant’s house, I made my choice. I gambled that Obsidian would not appear in daylight. I had very little time.

  40

  The palace corridors were crowded with men and priests, followed by servants and assistants carrying piles of papyrus scrolls, going about their duties with an air of desperate purposefulness, as if even now meetings and high-level decisions could somehow make a difference to the coming catastrophe. Probably they were all jockeying for position, stabbing each others’ backs, and working out how they could plausibly ingratiate themselves with the general, when he finally occupied the city.

  I walked through the crowds without being questioned; and no one stopped me until I came to the doors to the royal apartments themselves. The guards took one look at me, and barred the way, calling to their colleagues to send more officers to arrest me for trespass. I tried to use Nakht’s name, and I invoked Simut’s authority, but they only glanced at me quickly, evasively. They forced me down, their knees in the small of my back, until I was pressed flat to the ground, and could not even speak.

  ‘What is happening here?’ I suddenly heard a superior, commanding voice. ‘Who is this man?’

  I recognized the voice. It was Khay, Chief Scribe to the palace.

  The guards twisted me until my face was revealed.

  ‘Rahotep? Is it possible…?’

  Khay was suddenly, imperiously, in command.

  ‘This man has essential business with the Queen!’ he exclaimed to the guards. He set about their heads with his staff of office.

  He took me through into an antechamber of the great Audience Hall.

  ‘We learned the news of your death. How is it you are alive, and standing here before me?’

  ‘I have to speak to the Queen. I will speak only to the Queen.’

  He considered me, and finally nodded.

  ‘Come.’

  And so I was announced and admitted into the Audience Hall, and into Ankhesenamun’s presence once more. I walked towards her, between the columns, and once more past the walls inlaid with coloured tiles depicting the great victories of Egypt over her captive enemies.

  The Queen was seated on her throne, upon the raised dais, wearing the Blue Crown with its worked decoration of discs, and at the front she wore the gold cobra head. She held the crook and flail, because she was now indeed ruler of Egypt. She was surrounded by her advisers and hangers-on, wearing their insignia of office, whispering confidentially to each other, or addressing her with desperate advice–all trying to save their own skins. But when she noticed me, she suddenly stood up. All stared at me, as at a spirit returned from the Otherworld. I prostrated myself.

  ‘Life, prosperity, health.’

  The words of the formula had never before had such intense meaning for me.

  The Queen dismissed her advisers with a gesture of her bejewelled hand, and they backed away, bowing and muttering along the length of the columned hall. Once they had all left, and the doors were closed, we were alone.

  ‘Stand up, Rahotep. Approach the throne.’

  I did so. To my astonishment, she suddenly threw her arms around me. I carefully held the slim body of the Queen, our living God, in my arms. Rage and despair had kept me going all these days. And now her extraordinary gesture moved me so deeply, I almost cracked and wept. When she looked up, her face was wet, her eyes shining. A lock of her own black hair, which had been hidden under the crown, hung down around her ear.

  ‘I knew you had arrived safely in Hattusa. But when no news came to me of success, or of your return, and there was only silence from the messengers, I believed the worst had come to pass…’

  Suddenly the events of the journey ran through my head in a wild spool of impressions and emotions. Something very painful was welling up from deep inside me, and I found I could not speak. She motioned me to sit on a chair. I gripped the goblet of wine she offered me with both hands, to prevent my attack of the shakes becoming apparent.

  ‘But you are alive, Rahotep, and you can tell me everything that has happened, and how you have been able to return, at last…’ she continued.

  I wanted to tell her about Prince Zannanza, Aziru and Nakht, but first I said urgently: ‘I have come to warn you. Horemheb is massing his forces. He will soon march into Thebes…’

  ‘I know,’ she replied. ‘I have known for some time. His deputies are loyal to him. The divisions will support him.’

  ‘So you must prepare… There is still time… Or else you must take refuge. Or sail out of Egypt, find a secret place…’

  She raised her hand to silence me.

  ‘No, Rahotep. You have seen how things are. My allies are in disarray. My palace guard has lost its finest, now that Simut cannot command it. All is lost. But I am still Queen of Egypt. I will not run and hide,’ she said proudly. ‘I will face my destiny with dignity.’

  ‘And Ay?’ I asked.

  ‘Ay died soon after your departure. We kept it a secret for as long as we could. His tomb was finished long ago, and his body is now being prepared for eternity. And Horemheb will soon be here. I know he will not let me live.’

  I saw fear suddenly slip across her face, even though she was trying to look strong and composed.

  ‘I can tell you, of all people, the truth, Rahotep. I am afraid. But at least I have seen you once more…’ she said.

  Foolish tears startled my eyes. I felt the uncontrollable shaking threaten to possess me again.

  ‘All is not lost. I will command your guard. We will fight. You must speak to the people: there are still many in the city who will oppose the general…’ I said.

  She gripped my hand hard.

  ‘You are a loyal man, Rahotep. But listen to me now. I have no troops. I have no forces with which to contend against the general. I have learned enough to know that when power starts to slip away, it is very soon gone. Those who have been so faithful, so loyal, must now choose–not for my sake, but to save their families, for survival. You have done me great service, and I wish I could repay you better. But you, too, must go to your family and be with them. They need you now,’ she said.

  ‘I will not abandon you!’ I said.

  ‘I command you to. You must go!’ she said firmly. ‘If you do not, I will call the guards.’

  ‘I will not go. There is one last chance. Listen!’ I shouted. I suddenly realized I was gripping the Queen by the shoulders, and almost shaking her.

  ‘Horemheb released me for a reason. There is a platoon within the army that is corrupt. They have been smuggling opium into Egypt, under everyone’s noses. Horemheb, the famous general, had no idea! But I know where they are based, and how they operate. I know where they store the opium, and no doubt the gold they earn from the trade. You can use this information against him. His claim to power will be fatally undermined…’ I said.

  She stared sadly at me as if I were mad.

  ‘But, Rahotep, this is an old story, and, besides, it isn’t true.’

  ‘It is. The platoon is here, in Thebes. It has a leader, his code-name is Obsidian, he is at the heart of the mystery…’ I said.

  ‘What has happened to you, Rahotep? You have changed. I hardly recognize the man I knew.’

  She was crying silently now. I could not bear it.

  ‘I will not give up! I will prove this, and then we will confront Horemheb. It is what Nakht would have done,’ I shouted.

  ‘Nakht?’ she said.

  ‘He died for you. He was killed by Horemheb’s men. And I will not let his death be in vain.’

  She looked at me strangely.

  ‘But it was Nakht who told me of your death, and those of Simut and Zannanza,’ she said carefully. ‘He told me you died saving his life. It is he who has advised me there is no hope.’
/>   At these words, something dark clicked into place deep inside me, and the blackness in my heart was complete.

  41

  I stood, a shadow in the shadows, and watched Nakht’s mansion. The golden strength of the opium coursed through my veins. With shaking hands, I had taken the last of it. Now everything was vivid and pin-sharp once again, my mind lucid and my heart clear. I welcomed the perfect God of Revenge as he took possession of me. The time had come.

  The guards were on duty at the gateway. The street was thronged with the usual traffic of carts and chariots, and the crowds of mid-afternoon. I was waiting to see my children. Soon I saw them walking towards the house, accompanied by armed guards. They held hands, but they weren’t smiling; their faces were heavy, and they didn’t speak. All their usual vivacity had vanished. Then Tanefert suddenly appeared at the great door to the house, waiting to greet them. She was wearing a robe in the pale-blue of mourning. She held herself tightly, as if something was broken, and she was holding the parts together. She looked thin and exhausted. As the girls arrived, she enfolded them into her embrace, kissed their heads, and then, as if the noise and life of the world was too much to bear, hurried them inside. I desperately wanted to call out to them all, to reveal myself, to run across the street and sweep them into my arms. But suddenly Nakht himself appeared in the doorway; his smooth face, his perfect robes, his hawk eyes, gave nothing away. He glanced up and down the street, and then disappeared inside.

  I settled down to wait. Darkness would reveal the truth. I had not slept for several nights now, but the opium gave me a new intensity of wakefulness and animal power. My long vigil was eventually rewarded. In the late hours of the night, the great door opened briefly and a dark figure, his head covered, slipped out and moved swiftly along the empty street, accompanied by two guards. They were well-armed; but now so was I, with weapons borrowed from the palace armoury. The figures crossed into the shadows of a side passage and disappeared. My hunting instinct was alive in me now, and I already guessed where they were going; I followed, tracking their progress through the dark labyrinth of the city. I arrived at the merchant’s house in time to see the figures slip through the big wooden doors.