interrupted us, but I think he was going to say, a leader of prime years instead of a boy.'
Meren and Kysen regarded each other in silence. Outside, the sounds of the barracks could be heard- horses whinnying, the harsh laughter of the charioteers, the slam of a door.
'What do you think?'
Meren stooped to pick up the ball he'd dropped and began to juggle again. 'Such rumors grow and spread like reeds in a marsh. Most are distortions bearing no resemblance to the truth.'
'But when the rumor concerns General Horemheb…'
'Then,' said Meren as he tossed a ball high above his head, 'then we must find out how great is the distortion, and what was the seed of truth from which this flower of rumor sprang.'
'But Horemheb? He fought beside you, and he's defended the empire against its enemies for years.'
'I know,' Meren said, hearing his own voice snap with temper. He stopped juggling and tossed the balls into their box. 'I know, Ky, but pharaohs cannot afford to trust anyone blindly, and it's my duty to see that every hint of risk is investigated'
Kysen went back to his chair and picked up a closed leather dispatch case. 'Have you thought that Maya might be lying?'
'Of course,' Meren said. 'But Maya has nothing to gain because he has no greater ambition than to be what he is. I'm more inclined to think of him as a furrow through which water carries the silt of rumor and intelligence, all jumbled together without regard to legitimacy.'
Meren pulled his chair nearer to Kysen's, sat down and began to rub his forehead. 'Gods, these endless intrigues and quarrels will drive me into madness one day.'
He heard one of the epithets Kysen had learned from his training as a charioteer and looked up quickly. Kysen was holding a dispatch bearing the seal of one of the commanders at the frontier forts between the delta and Palestine and Syria. He handed the report to Meren.
It detailed an increase in activity, traffic on the desert roads, raids by new groups of bandits-former soldiers of the armies of the fallen Mitanni empire had wandered south and were now reaching the frontier. They, along with outlaw nomads, were raiding isolated villages as well as attacking travelers, especially merchant caravans. Egyptian troops had clashed with the Mitanni and routed and pursued them, but lost their trail in the desert. The commander was concerned because of the unusually large number of these bandits. Some groups almost constituted a small army.
Meren handed the dispatch back to Kysen, thrust himself out of his chair, and walked back and forth between it and the table. 'Curse it. Very well. Find Abu and have him make copies of the report. Then send him to Horemheb and General Nakhtmin. He is to see them personally and alone. They will reinforce the border garrisons.' Meren stopped beside Kysen's chair and glanced down. 'I may have to go north myself. I don't like this talk of renegades at our borders, and I've a need to question a Hittite, if I can find one.'
'You're going to the frontier alone?'
'I don't wish to be noticed and have my presence announced to the Hittite king or his allies among the Syrian princes.'
'But you can't go without protection! If you're recognized-'
They turned at the same time as a knock interrupted.
'Enter,' Meren said.
Abu came in, only to glance over his shoulder in surprise as Tanefer sailed into the room after him. Abu gave Meren a startled look, but Meren shook his head.
'Your man told me to wait, but you know how I hate that,' Tanefer said as he dropped into Meren's chair and glanced at the papers Kysen had left in his own.
Kysen stooped and picked them up, and Tanefer grinned at him.
'Fear not, young one. I'm not a spy. I'm a simple soldier, good at killing, but not skilled at intrigue and deceit.'
'Tanefer,' Kysen said as he handed the papers to Abu, 'you're a walking scandal.'
'An accomplishment at which I labor ceaselessly.'
'You haven't come to give me news of another murder, have you?' Meren asked.
'No, brother of my heart. Ay asked me to try to keep the king distracted. The divine one is anxious to be off on his first skirmish, but the viceroy of Kush is due any day with a fleet laden with tribute, and the king must be here for the reception ceremony.'
Tanefer rose and slapped Meren on the back. 'So I have organized a hippo hunt. There's a rogue male preying just south of the city. Killed three fishermen today. So we're all to hunt tomorrow morning. The king commands your presence, both of you.'
'I have much to do,' Meren said.
Tanefer nodded. 'Ah, the lector priest. Have you found out who killed him?'
'No.'
Kysen threw up his hands. 'It seems as if the whole city visited the temple of Amun on the day those cobras were put into Qenamun's casket.'
'The answer may be simple,' Tanefer said. 'Was Qenamun bedding another priest's wife? Did he stand in the way of another's advancement or threaten a superior?'
'No doubt he did all of those things,' Meren said.
Tanefer wandered over to the table bearing Qenamun's documents and began to peruse them.
Meren quickly walked to the door and swept his arm in the direction of the house. 'Will you take the evening meal with us?'
Tanefer looked up, then preceded Meren outside.
'You're as secretive as a virgin with her first lover, Meren.'
'And you're too curious for a simple soldier.' As Tanefer walked back toward the house, Meren whispered to Kysen. 'Give Abu his instructions and then follow.'
Meren walked beside Tanefer on the path that led from his office, between the servant's quarters and through a small gate in the wall surrounding the reflection pool and pleasure garden.
Tanefer paused beside the pool to gaze at a blue lotus floating in a nest of deep green leaves. The fiery solar barque of Ra had passed its peak in the sky and was chasing the western horizon. Meren thought of these moments just before dusk as the golden time of day, because the sun's rays turned the air and water to gold. Tanefer knelt suddenly and reached out to touch the petals of the blue lotus.
'I come from a line of warriors, Meren.'
'The Mitanni have always been great fighters.'
'Unfortunately, my uncle and his lineage never learned when to stop and negotiate. That's why he lost his throne.'
Tanefer dipped his hand in the water and looked up at Meren. His eyes held the sadness Meren had seen when he first returned home from Syria.
'The empire is crumbling. A rival lineage seeks the favor of the Hittite king Suppiluliumas, and now Egypt will soon feel the edge of the barbarian blade.'
'Suppiluliumas isn't a fool,' Meren said. 'He won't attack Egypt directly yet.'
Tanefer got up and wiped his hand on his kilt. 'No, thank the gods. Egypt will be spared, and the Nile won't turn red with blood as did the Euphrates.' He gave Meren a half smile. 'But how long do we have?'
'It's not like you to be so low of spirit.'
Gazing across the water, Tanefer shook his head. 'I tried to make Ay understand, but he won't listen. You know the Hittites, Meren. You know their unparalleled appetite for carnage. How long can we sit in our palaces and squabble like spoiled children?' He sighed. 'It's Ay's fault, you know, for allowing pharaoh and his advisers to cavil and pick at trifles while ignoring the rest of the world.'
'You think Ay is too much like Akhenaten.'
With one of his loose, easy movements, Tanefer plucked a lotus flower and twirled it in his fingers. 'I think we've let whole cities perish in our blindness while we've grown fat and moribund on the fruits of the Nile.'
'I'm not blind,' Meren said.
Tanefer gave him a sad smile. 'No-no, you're not.' He tossed the lotus to Meren and laughed in an abrupt change of mood. 'Come, old friend, have you not promised to feed me? Give me some wine, and I may be able to
