Nefertiti (6 page)

We passed through the guard gate and into a vast courtyard that spread out in the direction of the river. The sight of its flowing evening colours, and the feminine orchestra of the water birds, revived my spirits. And above me, looking out to the river, towered yet more statues of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. A man and a woman carved as gods.

We turned right into an enclosed courtyard, and then right again into an antechamber. Beneath my feet I noticed pavements of painted scenes: beautiful waterways with fish and flowers, and stones and butterflies. We were approaching the heart of the palace, for more and more officials, men of status in fine white linens, passed us. They quickly assessed me, curiously, dispassionately and without warmth, as a stranger in the city. Clearly this was a place where everyone knew everyone but none were friends.

Khety spoke to an officer of the court. Tjenry gave me a quick and inappropriate gesture of encouragement, and then I was ushered alone

into a private courtyard as into the cage of a lion. It was exquisitely beautiful. Shuttered panels carved with filigree patterns ran around the edges until they opened on the side of the river. A fountain played in a translucent bowl balanced over a long pool. Flowers and river ferns flourished, nodding gently. The cool shade served only to sharpen the outline of a figure who stood, framed by the shutters, on a wide balcony giving on to the great panorama of the river and the greater one of the sunset, apparently gazing deeply into the dazzling consort of lights, the water's dance, that surrounded him. Then he turned to face me.

At first I could not make him out. 'Life, Prosperity, Health,' I said. 'I offer myself to my Lord and to Ra.' I kept my eyes lowered.

Finally he spoke: 'We have need of your offering.' His voice was clear and light. 'Look up.'

He seemed to gaze upon me for a little while. Then he stepped carefully down and out of the last red light of the setting sun.

Now I could look at him properly. He was both like and unlike his images. His face was still quite young;
long, slender and almost beauti
ful, with precise lips and intelligent eyes that conveyed absolute power: it was both hard to look into them and impossible to look away. It was a fluid, alive face, but also one I could imagine hardening in an instant into ruthlessness. His body was disguised under his clothes, and a leopard skin was cast over one shoulder, but I had the impression of a slender, refined physique. Certainl
y his hands were fine. A beauti
fully wrought crutch was tucked under his right arm. He seemed at once brittle, as if with one light ta
p he would turn to dust, and im
measurably powerful, like someone who has been smashed to pieces and then restored, the stronger for the shattering. A rare creature, not quite of this world. Something of beauty and something of the beast.

Akhenaten, Lord of the Two Lands, Lord of the World, smiled. His lips revealed teeth that were thin and widely spaced. And then the smile vanished. He shuffled to a throne, his right foot dragging slightly, and lowered himself into it. A very ordinary, human sigh of relief.

'The work of creating the new world is challenging. But it is the way we will return to our ancestors and the great truth. Akhetaten, the City of the Great Horizon, is the portal to the eternal, and I am rebuilding the way.'

He paused, waiting for my response. I had no idea what to say.

'It is a great work, Lord.'

He considered me. 'I have heard interesting things about you. You have new ideas. You can trace the clues of a mystery to their hidden source. You persuade criminals to confess without torture. You enjoy the dark and dead ends of the crooked labyrinth of the human heart.'

'I am interested in how things happen, and why. So I try to look at what is in front of me. To pay attention.'

'To pay attention. I like that. Are you paying attention now?'

'Yes, Lord.'

He gestured for me to approach closer, concerned not to be over-heard. 'Then listen. There is a mystery. An alarming mystery. The Queen, my Nefertiti, the Perfect One, has vanished.'

This was the worst possible news for me. A confirmation of a nagging concern that had been growing since Ahmose first approached me. I felt oddly calm for a man who suddenly found him-self poised precariously on a high precipice.

He waited for me to speak.

'Permit me a question: when did this happen?'

He paused, considering his reply. 'Five days ago.'

I did not quite know whether to believe him.

'I have tried to keep this a secret,' he continued, 'but in this city of whispers and echoes it is not possible. Her absence is already the cause of considerable speculation, mostly in quarters who seek to profit from it.'

'This is motive,' I said.

He looked annoyed suddenly. 'What do you mean?' 'I mean, it may be that she has been . . . sequestered by such persons.'

'Of course. There are forces of ignorance working against us, against the enlightenment. Her vanishing will seem an opportunity to question all that we have made and open the way to a return to the darkness of superstition. Their timing would be perfect. It is too convenient.' I must have looked a little blank then.

'Have those who recommended you committed a gross error?'

'Forgive me, Lord. I was told nothi
ng of the mystery or its circum
stances. I was informed only that you wished to speak to me yourself.'

He gathered his thoughts, quickly and effectively. 'In ten days the capital's inauguration Festival will take place. I have commanded the presence and tributes of all the kings, governors and tribe leaders, together with their ambassadors and retinues from around the Empire. It is the revelation of the new world. It is what she and I have worked towards for these many years, and it cannot fail just as we are about to achieve our glory. I must have her back. I must know who has taken her, and I must have her back!'

He was suddenly shaking with rage - more, it seemed to me, with those who had taken her than with the loss of the woman herself. He whacked his staff across a table in fury. Then he shook his head, stood up shakily, turned away, calmed down, and pointed his gold staff at my face.

'Do you understand the trust I place in you by speaking in this way? By revealing such considerations?' I nodded.

He stood up and walked to the fountain where he observed the water pulsing. Then he turned back to me.

'Find her. If she is alive, save her and bring her to me, together with those associated with the act. If she is dead, bring me her body so that I can give her to eternity. You have ten days. Call upon what resources you require. But trust no-one in this city. You are a stranger here. Keep it that way.'

'May I speak?'

'Yes.'

'I will need to question everyone who had access to the Queen. Everyone who knows her, who works for her, who cares for or does not care for her. That may include your own family, Lord.'

He looked at me, taking his time. His face darkened again. 'Are you implying that maybe your
motivations
exist within my own family?'

'I must consider every possibility, no matter how unacceptable or unthinkable.'

He was not pleased. 'Do what you must, with my authority. I will give you permissions. However, remember that this authority brings responsibility. If you betray it in any way I will have you executed. And if within ten days you have not succeeded, know this: I will also kill your family.'

My heart turned to a stone. The worst of my fears was confirmed. And he knew it. I could see it in his face.

'And as for that little journal you keep your thoughts in, if I were you I would burn each scroll as you write it. "Somewhere between a mule and a mother-in-law"? I was not flattered. Remember your own advice. Take care.'

He poked his staff at me, stared hard, and then I was dismissed from his presence.

9

As I came through the doors, Khety was waiting for me. He could tell I was shaken. He waited for me to speak. 'Where's Tjenry?'

'He had to go. Mahu sent for him. He'll meet us tomorrow.' I nodded. 'I need a drink. Where does a thirsty man go in this dry town?'

Khety took me to a pavilion by the water, separated from the dust of the roadway by a wooden fence and a fancy gateway which was connected with nothing at all on either side. We could have stepped around it easily, but since someone had bothered to design and construct it, we complied and passed through. Inside, a large wooden platform extended a little way out over the water, and tables and chairs were arranged casually around it. A crowd of groups and couples were sitting there, their drinks and faces lit by lamps, and by the lanterns that hung over their heads. Most of the faces looked up to observe me. I noticed again how they came

from all parts of the Empire. Perhaps they were already gathering for the Festival.

I chose a table to the side, near the water, and we sat. The wine list was interesting, and I ordered a jar of young Hatti: light enough for the time of day and for consuming with a snack. The servant returned with a plate of figs and - incredible rarity! - almonds, some bread, and the jar, inscribed with its date, origin, variety and maker. I tried it. Excellent. Clear as a bell.

You do not order Egyptian wine?'

'No, Khety. I respect the wine from Kharga, and the Kynopolis stuff can be excellent. But for a foot soldier like me a Hatti white is a rare opportunity. Try it.'

'I know little of wine. I drink Egyptian beer.'

'Very healthy, but not much fun for the palate.'

'Actually the wine is fine. Light and clear. I appreciate it.'

'Try actually enjoying it.'

Yes, sir.'

He took another sip. 'It is enjoyable.' 'Have an almond. They're delicious.' 'Oh, no, thank you.'

How would I get this man to open up? He looked at me like a wary and not particularly bright dog. I wished Tjenry were here instead. He seemed to have more of an appetite for life.

'Khety, we face an impossible task. Has your charming boss explained to you the nature of the mystery?'

'No, sir.'

'Well, I am going to tell you. And in doing so it will make us equal in one crucial respect, and one respect only.
We
are both under the same fate: if we fail to solve the mystery, we will suffer the same consequences. Do you understand?'

He nodded.

'Good. This is the mystery.' I paused for dramatic effect. 'The Queen has disappeared and my task is to find her and restore her to Akhenaten in time for the opening of the Festival.'

His eyes widened and his mouth stayed open. 'Disappeared? Do you mean
...?'

It was the worst acting I had seen in some time. He knew. Everybody knew, apparently, except me.

'For heaven's sake, stop pretending. Apparently her absence is the talk of the town.'

His face cast about for a way out of his dilemma, but he quickly realized he was discovered. He put up his hands and shrugged with a frank little smile.

'Good. Now, perhaps we can start again.'

He looked at me, interested now.

'What's been going on in this city?'

'What do you need to know?'

'The politics.'

He shrugged. 'Dirty.'

'So, nothing new in the portal to the eternal, then.' 'What?'

'Just something Akhenaten said to me.'

I sipped my fine wine and pushed the rare almonds towards him. He took one, reluctantly.

'I'm just a middle-ranking Medjay officer,' Khety said, 'so what do I know? But if you're asking me, here's what I think.' He moved closer. 'Everyone who's come to the city is on the make. Most people are here because they're investing in the future - their own, their family's. They realize they can rise within the new administrations and authorities. It's a chance to rise above their stations. And there's so much wealth here. It's being siphoned off from the rest of the country, and for all I know from the whole Empire. A friend told me the garrisons in the north-east are hardly manned now, even though there is serious trouble brewing up there. Everyone here is from somewhere else, somewhere where they couldn't even scrape a living any longer. The preparations for the Festival have put enormous pressure on everyone; the craftsmen are charging five times as much for their work because of the conditions and the hurry, and their bosses are taking a cut.

They've drafted in thousands of immigrant workers but I'm sure the budget isn't all being spent on food an
d wages. The wealth's disappear
ing, the Treasury can't keep up with the overspending, the cutbacks are hurting the rest of the country . . . I think it's a disaster already happening.'

The sun had now disappeared over the river, over the Red Land.

'So what has all this to do with her vanishing?'

Khety went quiet.

'Don't be enigmatic, it's annoying.'

'Sometimes it's dangerous to speak.'

I waited.

'Two reasons. One, timing. The Festival is pointless without her. Two, she's far more loved and admired than him. I sometimes think the only reason everyone goes along with the new religion is because they believe in her far more than they believe in the worship of the Aten. Even people who have nothing but negative things to say about everything that's happening have to admit that she's an astonishing person. There's never been anyone like her. But that in itself is a problem. Some people see her as a threat.'

I took a sip of wine. 'Who?'

'People who have something to lose by her power, and something to gain by her death.'

'Disappearance.
Why did you say death?'

He looked disconcerted. 'Sorry, disappearance. Everyone thinks she's been murdered.'

'Rule one: assume nothing. Just look at what is and isn't there. Deduce accordingly. Who would profit from such a situation, from the uncertainty?'

'There's not just one candidate, there are many. In the new military, in the old Priesthoods of Karnak and Heliopolis, in the Harem, within the new bureaucracy, even' - he moved closer - 'in the royal family itself. Apparently the inner circles of the court are rife with people saying even the Queen Mother has resented her beauty and her influence - things she herself lost a long time ago.'

We
paused and looked at the suddenly darkening sky. He had spoken well, and everything he said had confirmed my worst fear: that indeed I was now caught up at the centre of a mystery as delicately complex as a spider's web that could destroy not only my life, but the life of the country. I suddenly felt a dark nest of serpents stir inside my stomach, and a voice in my head told me it was impossible, that I would never find her, that I could perish here and never see Tanefert and the children again. I tried to breathe myself calmly back to the task in hand.
Concentrate. Concentrate. Use what you know. Do the job. Think. Think it through.

'Remember, Khety, there is no body. A murderer wishes only to hurt, punish and kill. A death is a death. It is an accomplished fact. This situation is different. A disappearance is far more complex. Its achievement is instability. Whoever has done this has introduced tremendous uncertainty and turbulence into a settled equation. And there is nothing worse for those in authority. They find themselves fighting illusions. And illusions are very powerful.'

Khety looked impressed. 'So how do we proceed?'

'There is a pattern to all this; we just have to learn to read its signs, to connect the clues. Her disappearance is our starting point. It is what we know we know.
We
do not know why, or how.
We
do not know where she is, or whether she lives.
We
must find out. And how do you think we should do that?'

'Umm . .
.'

'For heaven's sake, have they given me a monkey as an assistant?' He flushed with embarrassment, but his eyes glittered with anger. Good. A reaction.

'If you have lost something, what is the first question you ask your-

self?'

'Where was the last place I had it?'

'So
...
'

'So we must discover the last place, the last time, the last person. And trace her backwards and forwards from there. So you want me to — '

'Exactly.'

'A
name will be on your desk first thing in the morning.'

After a while I smiled. 'Khety, you are becoming a wiser man with every passing drop of this fine wine.'

His anger dissipated a little. I refilled his cup.

'No-one ever just disappears,' I continued, 'as if they had stepped out of their sandals and up into thin air. There are always clues. Human beings cannot help but leave traces.
We
will find and read these traces.
We
will track her footsteps in the dust of this world, and discover her and bring her safely home.
We
have no choice.'

We
bade farewell at the crossroads where the Royal Road met the way back to my office. Khety saluted, then stepped towards the Medjay headquarters, no doubt to report everything to Mahu with the confident fluency of the inexperienced drinker. But perhaps I was too harsh. He had been candid with me, more than was strictly required. I could not trust him, nevertheless I liked him well enough. And he would be a useful guide to this strange world.

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