Anen paused once more. At any other time I would have guffawed with laughter, but Anen’s harsh sermon was reminding the members of the Royal Circle that we faced revolution where the first would be last and the last first.
Anen knelt down. The scribes sitting in the middle of the circle had taken down every word, but once Anen had finished, Ay made a sign for them to cease their writing. I noticed how each of these scribes was a high-ranking member of Ay’s retinue.
‘Things are bad,’ Maya drawled in a futile attempt to provoke laughter, ‘but not that bad.’
‘Aren’t they!’ Meryre shouted back. ‘Yesterday evening General Rahmose was assassinated, and I understand,’ he turned his black kohl-ringed eyes towards me, ‘that a similar attempt was made on the lord Mahu, Chief of Police, Protector of our Prince.’
‘True. We face disorder and revolution,’ Ay murmured, ‘but these dangers will pass.’
‘Will the lord Mahu come with us to the Delta?’ Meryre asked with a wave of his hand. ‘Lord Mahu, your presence is vital to determine how this — how can I put it — new crisis is resolved.’
‘I will accompany you,’ I replied.
‘Ah, yes.’ Meryre plucked at his robes. ‘But should I go?’
He let his words hang in the air. Huy clicked his tongue in annoyance.
‘The Shabtis of Akenhaten,’ Meryre continued, ‘have carried out attacks on all those who once served in the City of the Aten. Now they strike higher: General Rahmose, Lord Mahu.’
‘What do you want?’ Horemheb’s voice cut across the room. ‘My lord Meryre, you know your presence is needed in the Delta. We all agreed to this yesterday. This usurper would never dream of attacking a high priest, particularly one of the Aten. Nor would they lift their hand,’ Horemheb played with the ring on his finger, ‘against the official Protector of our Prince. Your persons are sacred and safe. If any of us were sent on such an embassy we would be dealt with as traitors.’
‘More to the point,’ Rameses intervened, ‘General Horemheb and I are needed here to raise whatever troops are necessary to deal with this usurper. The House of Silver requires the attention of Lord Maya, whilst it is essential that Lord Huy maintains rigour in the House of Envoys and tries to discover if this usurper is supported by other princes.’
‘Of course,’ Meryre intervened with a smirk, ‘my lord Ay could accompany us.’
Ay just sat, hands on his thighs, staring across the council chamber.
‘My lord,’ Horemheb retorted, ‘such a remark borders on insolence. Will you go or won’t you?’
‘On two conditions,’ Meryre snapped.
‘If you go,’ Ay intervened, ‘then, my lord, you should be gone within the week. We have spent enough time on this matter. I regret the attacks. General Rahmose’s death has caused great grief and heartache. Once you are gone, we shall observe the official days of mourning. As for the assault on Lord Mahu, careful search will be made. So, my lord Meryre, what are your conditions?’
‘First, that Prince Tutankhamun be removed from Thebes. The events of yesterday prove this city cannot be trusted. There are many here who hate the Aten and wage war against those who serve the One.’
‘And where should he be removed to?’ I asked.
‘Back to the City of the Aten. He will be safe there.’
‘But the city’s dying,’ Rameses snapped. ‘Its houses are crumbling, its palaces deserted.’
‘It’s still safer,’ Meryre insisted. ‘Would you not agree, Lord Mahu? It can be approached from the Eastern Desert, but the terrain is difficult and controlled by sentries on the clifftops. The only other approach is by river, and that can easily be guarded.’
A general discussion broke out. I looked to Ay for guidance, but he gazed serenely back. That was God’s Father! Ay was determined on confronting this usurper in the Delta; everything else would have to wait. He moved his head, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, whilst his fingers played with the blue and gold pectoral glittering on his chest. That look was enough. Ay was prepared to co-operate with Meryre and he would probably advise me to do the same. The High Priest had been astute. Thebes was dangerous. Whatever Ankhesenamun said, only the Gods knew who the Shabtis of Akenhaten really were. The City of the Aten was easy to protect and Tutankhamun would be safer there.
‘Will the Lady Ankhesenamun go with him?’ I asked.
‘My lord,’ Meryre spread his hands, ‘who accompanies the Prince is up to you, his official protector. I am simply saying the City of the Aten is safer.’
‘And full of your supporters,’ Rameses shouted.
Huy and Maya nodded in agreement.
‘My supporters?’ Meryre retorted. ‘Those who support me support you as well, as I am sure those who support you support me. The Prince will be well looked after by Mahu’s retinue. What are you implying, Lord Rameses? That some faction will seize the Prince and have him crowned? But Pharaoh can only be crowned either in Memphis, where you have your troops, or Thebes. The coronation regalia will remain here.’
‘But the City of the Aten will be full,’ Rameses insisted, ‘of your supporters, those who follow the cult of the Aten.’
‘As Thebes is full of our enemies,’ Tutu retorted.
‘And now we come to our second demand,’ Meryre continued smoothly. ‘My lord Tutu,’ he gestured round, ‘and other supporters of the Aten will remove themselves from Thebes. The assassination of General Rahmose has clearly demonstrated the dangers of staying here. I demand they be given the protection of the great fortress of Buhen.’
batiu
(Ancient Egyptian for ‘red-haired fiends’)
Chapter 4
‘Steady, steady, keep on course!’
The pilot and captain of our imperial barge, The Joy of Isis, stood in the high prow above the gold carving of the Goddess Isis and carefully took the soundings as they guided us through the sandbanks, heading for mid-stream. The Nile was at the end of its inundation but was still fast and strong, whilst its concealed sandbanks were a danger to the most experienced sailor.
We had left Thebes early that morning, three days after the meeting of the Royal Circle. Ay insisted that speed was the order of the day, so the royal barges and their escort of marines had been quickly prepared. The sky was already scored with red. In the accompanying barge, The Glory of Seth, I could hear Meryre and his entourage singing their hymn to the Sun Disc, impervious to the shouts and calls of their own captain and pilot.
Sobeck and Djarka sat outside the cabin which stood amidships, a long, high chamber decorated inside and out with lozenge shapes of gold, blue, green and red. The huge mast soared above us, its red sails reefed. The oarsmen sat ready, but the craft was still in the hands of the captain, his pilot and the two helmsmen manning the great rudders on the jutting prow, which was carved in the snarling face of Sekhmet the Destroyer. I climbed on to the archers’ platform and stared at the five great war barges full of marines and imperial guardsmen who would accompany us most of the way. Inside the cabin, Prince Tutankhamun and Princess Ankhesenamun were resting; the latter had only been allowed to bring the lady Amedeta, whilst I considered it safer if Djarka alone looked after the Prince.