'You must have been delighted when Anhai turned up dead in the granary,' Kysen said in wonder. 'Was that it? Did you decide to take advantage of the confusion and get rid of Sennefer before he could threaten you?'
Wah's voice croaked. 'I thought you would blame the Lady Bentanta or Lord Nakht, or both.'
'I was close to it,' Meren said. 'Until Paser blundered and made me suspicious. What has he to do with any of this?'
'The dullard! He thought you were about some secret business for the vizier or General Horemheb. I told him you were simply going home for a rest, but he wouldn't believe me. I should have killed him sooner.'
Kysen shook his head, trying to accustom himself to this strange twist to what should have been a murder for private reasons. Sennefer hadn't been killed out of revenge by Ra or to conceal Bentanta's transgressions. He'd been murdered for what Wah thought he knew.
Looking at Meren, Kysen said, 'But Sennefer didn't-'
Meren banged his fist against the cabin wall. 'No! Sennefer knew nothing. That's the worst evil of all. This bastard killed my cousin for nothing. If Sennefer had known such a secret, he would have told me. He may have been an ass about women, he may have lied to conceal his weakness, but he wasn't a traitor.' Meren whirled around and stalked over to Wah. 'And now I want the truth, you murdering piece of refuse. Who told you to murder Nefertiti?'
Wah backed away from Meren. His mouth clamped shut, and he whipped his head back and forth.
'You're going to tell me,' Meren said. 'My patience is gone. I warn you. You're going to die, Wah. Your only choices are how slowly, and in how much pain. I want to know who ordered the queen killed. I'll ask you but once more. Tell me the whole of it.'
Clutching his head, Wah finally gave way to his terror. He doubled over and began to moan. Meren raised his eyes to the ceiling, and Kysen winced at the noise. He raised his hands to his ears as the moans turned to a high screech, and thus was unprepared when Wah suddenly sprang at him, grabbed his dagger, and knocked him to the floor. Caught off guard as well, Meren leaped after Wah, who scuttled out of the cabin with a cry. 'Worse will happen to me if I speak!'
Chapter 19
Meren hurtled out of the deckhouse after his prisoner. Wah scrambled out of the cover of the awning, hesitated when he saw Reia with his back turned, then charged at the charioteer, dagger pointed, bellowing as he ran. Startled, Reia whirled around to face a shrieking madman. As he moved, he brought his spear around to fend off the attack. Meren shouted a warning, but Wah rushed forward, raising his own weapon.
Reia tried to back away, but Wah jumped at the last moment and lashed out with his blade. Reia's spear thrust forward, knocking the dagger aside, then swept back in a defensive move that brought the tip into Wah's path. Meren heard a grunt and the muted sound of flesh being punctured. He reached the two as Reia pulled the spear out of Wah's gut and tossed it aside. Wah was still standing, clutching his belly while blood streamed through his fingers. Kysen appeared at Meren's side as he and Reia lowered Wah to the deck.
'He rushed at me deliberately,' Reia said. 'What madman charges a spear with a dagger?'
'A man who wants a quick death rather than a slow one,' Meren said as he surveyed Wah's distorted, sweating features. Blood wet his arm when he touched the man. 'Wah, can you hear me? Tell me who commanded you.'
Wah stared up at him. 'A pity I used all the poison on Sennefer.' Blood seeped from his mouth. 'You were going to tell the vizier.' A long spasm of coughing stopped him. 'Ay w-would have staked me out and flayed the skin from my flesh while I begged for death.'
'Don't face the weighing of your heart in the hall of judgment without telling me the truth,' Meren said. 'Wah?'
Wah's eyes were closed now, and he began to gasp. Meren leaned close, turning his ear to the man's lips, but all he heard was a bubbling gurgle. At the familiar sound, he straightened and moved away from the man. Kysen, who had been holding Wah propped on his knee, allowed the body to slip to the deck.
'Lord, forgive me,' Reia said as Meren stood. 'He attacked so suddenly that I had no time to think.'
'I know,' Meren said. 'He caught us off guard as well. Who would have expected that a fawning place-seeker would do himself such violence? Wrap the body and take it to the house with Paser's. Kysen, I want to talk to you.'
He walked back to the deckhouse with a calm pace that belied his apprehension. When they were alone, he took a chair and beckoned his son to him.
'All this time it was Wah,' Kysen said as he sat on the floor beside Meren. 'He thought Sennefer knew he murdered Nefertiti and was threatening him?'
'He wasn't thinking clearly. If Anhai and Sennefer had suspected him of such a crime, surely they would have confronted him years ago.' Meren rubbed his neck. The muscles felt tight enough to snap. 'I think bearing such an. evil secret for so long warped his reason. He lived with the fear of discovery for many years. I think he'd begun to count himself safe, or he wouldn't have sought my favor.'
Kysen slapped his thigh. 'And just when he thought he glimpsed a path back to power and riches, Sennefer and Anhai blurted out his presence in the household of the dying queen.'
'And Sennefer's death had nothing to do with Ra or Bentanta after all.'
Kysen glanced up at him. 'You don't look relieved.'
'Ky, Nefertiti was murdered, and we don't know who was responsible. Wah wouldn't have done it on his own, and once word of his death gets about-well-you saw his terror. Even the Devourer doesn't evoke such fear.'
'Then we have to find out who his master was.'
'How do we do that? Do we start telling royal ministers, high priests, and our friends we think the queen was murdered?'
'Dangerous?' Kysen asked.
'Extremely. I wouldn't wager on our chances of living out the year.'
'Then what do we do?'
Meren rested his chin on his fist and thought for a while. Then he said, 'Paser's death was an accident, as was Wah's. He tripped while we were showing him how to spar with a dagger.'
'Two accidents on the same day?'
'Everyone knows it's a miracle Paser's stupidity hasn't killed him before now. As for Wah, people may suspect there's more to his death, but no one will challenge us. After all, he was going to marry Idut, so we had no reason to want him dead. I know there will be talk, but nothing can be proved. If we say nothing, the rumors will die for lack of nourishment.'
'There's little choice, I suppose.'
'Keep silent about the queen's death, Ky. One word could get us both killed.'
'You're just going to leave it?'
'No, but we have to be careful. This matter is intricate. We don't know why Nefertiti was killed, much less who commanded it and who benefited.' Meren touched Kysen's arm. 'We don't even know if Ay knows the truth.'
'If he did, wouldn't he have searched out Wah and killed him?'
Meren hesitated, wondering whether to voice his own suppositions. 'He may already have discovered and dealt with the one who commanded Wah…' The less Kysen knew, the safer he'd be. 'Yes, most likely you're right. He doesn't know.'
'So we're left with a tale of lies,' Kysen said. 'Sennefer killed Anhai, then killed himself?'
'Yes.'
Lifting a brow, Kysen said, 'The story will please Idut.'
'But not Nebetta and Hepu. However, I suspect they will be anxious to keep secret Sennefer's impotence. Remorse over accidental death makes a better explanation than admitting your son was cursed by the gods and less than a man.'
They lapsed into an easy silence broken only by the sounds of Reia and the men working outside.
