'Father!'
Kysen was in front of him, his hand on the whip. Meren looked down to see his hands tangled so tightly that the leather cut into his skin. He stared at them, the conflagration in his heart still scalding his wits. His son pulled at the leather, loosening it. He had freed one hand when Bener opened the door, stepped in, and slammed it behind her. The bang cut through Meren's fury, and he fastened his gaze on his daughter.
'What's wrong?' she asked.
'Go away,' Kysen said as he freed Meren's other hand. 'This isn't a matter for women.'
They both went silent when Meren spoke in a rough voice. 'Let her stay.'
At the sound of his voice, Kysen and Bener dropped their combative stances, and Abu drew nearer. Meren began to twist the whip in his hands again.
'Father, tell us what happened.'
'It has to do with Maya and General Horemheb,' Bener said.
'Were you listening again?' Kysen demanded with outrage.
Bener drew herself up. 'Don't speak to me in that accusing tone.'
'Silence!' Abu exclaimed. So seldom did the aide exert his authority that both shut their mouths at the same time. Abu turned to Meren and held out his hand for the whip. 'Lord, give it to me. Your hand is bleeding.'
Meren felt mild surprise as he noticed the crimson line across his palm. He relinquished the whip and leaned against one of the pair of columns in the room. Slowly, keeping a distance between the words and the rage they provoked, he told his family and aide what had passed. When he finished, no one spoke. Bener began to pace as Meren had, her head bent, her hands clasped behind her back. Kysen scowled at the opposite wall while Abu rubbed his chin. Then Bener stopped abruptly.
'It's Hunefer,' she snapped. 'That evil pig dung. He's afraid he'll lose his wife, so he's spreading these lies.'
Kysen rolled his eyes. 'Hunefer isn't clever enough to have designed these traps. This isn't just a case of rumor, Bener.'
'I know that.''
Meren squeezed his eyes shut as their voices rose. He couldn't speak freely with Bener in the room. She didn't know anything about the murder of Nefertiti, and for her protection, he couldn't tell her.
'Bener, we're to go to the palace tonight,' he said. All argument ceased. 'Do you think your clever heart is up to the challenge of a visit to the great royal wife?'
A mischievous grin was his answer.
'Are you certain? You know she's an enemy, and she'll try to trick you into betraying any secrets you might hold.'
'I think she regrets her intolerance,' Bener said. 'My friends and I have noticed a great improvement in her manner lately.'
Meren raised one brow. 'How fortunate.'
He was skeptical of Ankhesenamun's change in character. It was more likely that she realized she'd come near to getting herself accused of treason with all her plots against her own husband and had decided upon a more conciliatory approach.
'Very well,' he said. 'Bener will see what news she can gain from the queen. Abu, you will go to Baht and handle this matter of the Nubian gold. Take men with you and find out how it got into my house. My sister must be frantic if the estate has been invaded by pharaoh's emissaries and soldiers. Send Reia and Simut and the rest of the men to the delta to deal with this new steward who has taken it upon himself to steal for me.'
'Yes, lord, but that will leave few here on duty.'
'Leave two men. That will be enough. Lord Irzanen and one other.'
Abu inclined his head. 'And what of the matter of the royal guard Bakht?'
'Bakht?'
'The royal guard who was killed in a fall into the baboon pen in the menagerie, lord.'
'Ah, yes.
'There are suspicious aspects to his death,' Abu said. 'His wounds didn't seem to me to be ones from the fangs of a monkey.'
'Have you ever seen such wounds, Abu?'
'Not from a baboon, lord.'
'We'll deal with the guard when you return,' Meren said. He turned to Bener. 'Daughter, if the charioteers are to journey so far, they will need provisions.'
'I'll see to it at once,' she replied.
Meren walked with her to the door and opened it for her. 'I am blessed to have a daughter whom I can trust with such secrets.'
'Don't worry, Father. I'll keep my lips closed. And I can deal with the great royal wife, too.'
Meren shut the door after her, turned, and sank against it to regard Kysen and Abu. 'You understand what this means?'
'We've frightened someone,' Kysen said.
Abu threw the whip onto the table. 'Dilalu or Yamen.'
'Perhaps,' Meren said. 'Whoever it is, we must find out quickly. I can't leave Memphis. It would look like a guilty retreat. Kysen must stay with me for the same reason.' Meren went to Abu and put his hand on the man's shoulder. 'I must leave this in your hands, old friend. And there's no one I'd trust more.'
'I understand, lord.'
'Find out who was on duty when the gold appeared. Find the ones responsible, and then-'
'Find their master.'
'Yes,' Meren said.
'But be careful,' Kysen said. 'Remember what happened to Othrys's men when they asked questions.'
'I have no intention of being poisoned,' Abu said with a grim smile. 'We'll leave at first light. And, lord?'
'Yes, Abu.'
'None of the evildoers will escape.'
'I need them alive.'
'Of course, lord.'
Abu left them alone, and Meren started pacing again.
'Father, you have to tell pharaoh now. Once he knows you're looking for Queen Nefertiti's murderer, he won't listen to the lies or believe the traps.'
Meren paused, throwing up his hands. 'Don't you see, Ky? It's too late. If I tell him now, it will appear as if I'm making up some fantastic tale to save myself. The man who told us of the murder is conveniently dead, and he died on my ship. My ship. Who can vouch for my words? My own son? A tavern owner? A Greek pirate? None of you will be believed as disinterested witnesses.' Meren sighed. His head throbbed, and he rubbed his temples. 'The king trusts me. He calls me friend. He won't condemn me because of some baseless lies.'
'Maya and Horemheb didn't come solely on their own account, did they?'
'No, Ky, they didn't. If pharaoh had believed the reports, if the accusations had been against anyone else-' Meren lifted his gaze to the troubled eyes of his son. 'No, he sent them to warn me. And for that I will always be grateful. He doesn't know it, but the golden one may have saved my life and yours.'
Chapter 10
Less than a week after the visit from Maya and Horemheb, Meren crouched behind a half-finished mud-brick wall. He, the king, and the royal war band had concealed themselves in a hamlet on the outskirts of the Nile flood plain north of the great pyramids. He prayed to Set, god of storms, that the only cloud in the sky wouldn't cover the moon and deprive him of a good view of the bandits. On his left was Mose, the second of the royal Nubian bodyguards who were like the king's shadows. A little way off he could hear Karoya's quick breathing. Between
