From under the leather hood Taita studied him closely. 'I know that something troubles you, Colonel, and I think by now that you have learnt to trust me.'
'I am troubled that you should look upon me as a renegade Egyptian, a traitor to my pharaoh and my country.'
'Is that not an accurate description?'
'It is not. I long with all my soul to escape this haunted place and the great evil that has sunk its roots deep into the land and the souls of its inhabitants.'
'That is not what you told me before.”
'No. That was when Onka was close at hand. It was not possible for me to tell you all that is in my heart. This time I have been able to escape from under his eye. He has a woman who is one of us. She placed something in his wine to discourage him from acting as your guide back to Mutangi. I volunteered in his place.'
'What role does Onka play?'
'He is one of the high-ranked spies of the Supreme Council. He has been set to watch over all of us, but you in particular. They are fully aware of your importance. Although you might not know it, you have been deliberately enticed to Jarri.'
'For what reason?'
'That I cannot tell you, for I do not know. I have been here less than ten years, but I have observed many men of special worth and talent come to this land as though by pure chance. But the oligarchs knew they were coming. Just as they knew you were coming. You are not the first of these whom I have been sent to meet. Can you imagine how many of these superior men and women have been brought to Jarri in this manner over the centuries?'
'There seem to be many layers in this society,' Taita said. 'You speak of them and us as though we are separate bands. Who are they, and who are we? Are we not all Egyptians? Do you include me in your band or am I one of them?'
That replied simply, “I count you as one of us because I now know enough about you to believe that you are a good and just man. I perceive that you are gifted. You are a man of power. I believe that you may be the saviour sent to put an end to the pervasive evil that directs the oligarchs and controls all things in Jarri. I hope that, if any man can, you will destroy the greatest evil of all ages.'
'What is it?' Taita asked.
'It is the reason I was sent here originally. Why you were sent after me,' That replied. 'I think you understand what I refer to.'
'Tell me,' Taita insisted.
That nodded. 'You do well not to trust me yet. The reason that Pharaoh Nefer Seti sent you south was to seek out and bring down the barriers that have been placed across the rivers that feed our Mother Nile so that she may run down once more to Egypt, revive and renew our nation. Then it is your purpose to destroy the one who raised those barriers.'
'I retract what I said of you before. You are a loyal soldier and a
I THE QUEST
patriot. Our cause is one and it is just. How should we proceed? What do you propose?'
'Our first concern must be to identify our enemy.'
'The oligarchs?' Taita suggested, testing his understanding of the quest.
'The oligarchs do not stand alone. They are straw men, puppets, who strut and puff on the stage of the Supreme Council. There is aught that stands behind them. An unseen thing or person. They carry out its dictates, and the worship of this nameless power is the religion of Jarri.'
'Do you have any conception of what this thing may be? Is it a god, or do you believe it is mortal?'
'I am a soldier. I know how to fight men and armies. I do not understand this other dark presence. You are the magus. You understand the other world. It is my fervent hope that you will command us, that you will guide and counsel us. Without somebody like you we are not warriors but lost children.'
'Why have you not risen up against the oligarchs and seized power from them?'
'Because it has been done before, two hundred and twelve years ago.
There was a rebellion in Jarri. In the first days it was successful. The oligarchs were seized and executed. Then a terrible plague swept the land. The victims died in agony, bleeding from their mouths, ears, noses and the secret openings of their bodies. It was a disease that selected only the liberators and spared those who were loyal to the Supreme Council and worshipped the secret godhead.'
'How do you know this?'
'The history of the rebellion is engraved on the walls of the council chamber as a warning to all the citizens of Jarri,' That replied. 'No, Magus, I am fully aware of the power we seek to bring down, and the risk we shall run. I have thought on it without ceasing since I found you at Tamafupa. Our only hope of success will be if you can hold the dark power in check while we destroy the oligarchs and their human supporters.
I know not if you will be able to destroy the evil thing itself, but I pray to all the gods of Egypt that, with your wisdom and magical skills, you will be sufficient to protect us from its wrath long enough for us to escape from Jarri. I pray also that you can use those powers to shatter the barriers that the thing has placed across the tributaries of the Nile.'
'We tried once to destroy the wall of the Red Stones, Meren and I. In the attempt Meren lost his eye.'
'That was because you treated the demolition as a physical problem.
At that stage you had not realized its deeper, more sinister implications.
We know that our chance of success is infinitesimally small, but my followers and I are prepared to lay down
