Taita fell into deep JL ~ sleep. He woke to find a shaft of sunlight playing down through the opening in the ceiling. He felt wonderfully alive.
His soiled clothing had disappeared and a fresh tunic had been laid out for him with a new pair of sandals beside his leather cloak. A meal had been placed on the ivory table near his head. He bathed, ate and dressed. The tunic Eos had provided was of a delicate material that caressed his skin, while the sandals were worked from the skin of a newborn goat and embossed with gold leaf. They fitted perfectly.
He returned to Eos's green room to find it deserted. Only her perfume
lingered. He crossed to the doorway through which she had gone the previous night. The long passage beyond led him out into the sunlight.
Once his eyes had adjusted he found that he was in another volcanic crater, not as large as the Cloud Gardens but more lovely by far. Yet he had no eyes for the luxuriant forests and orchards that covered the floor of the crater in profusion: directly in front of him spread a green lawn with a small marble pavilion above a pool in the middle, a rill of bright water cascading into it. Although the stream was clear, the surface of the pool was black and shiny as polished jet.
Eos sat on the marble bench in the pavilion. Her head was bare, but she faced away from him so that only her hair was visible. He moved quietly towards her, hoping to come on her unawares and catch a glimpse of her face. Her hair rippled down to her waist. It was as dark as the water of the pool, but ineffably more lustrous. As he drew closer to her he saw that the soft reflections of the sunlight glowed in the tresses like the glint of precious rubies. He longed to touch it, but as he reached out, Eos lifted the veil over her head, covering herself, denying him even the briefest glimpse of her face. Then she turned to him. 'Take your place beside me, for that is where you belong.'
They sat in silence for a while. Taita was angry and frustrated: he longed to see her face. She seemed to sense his mood and laid her hand on his arm. Her touch thrilled him, but he steeled himself and asked, 'We have spoken much of physical appearance, Eos. Do you suffer from some blemish? Is that why you hide yourself behind the veil? Are you ashamed of the way you look?'
He had tried to provoke her as she had him. But her voice was sweet and calm as she replied: 'I am the most beautiful person, man or woman, who has ever walked the earth.'
'Then why do you hide that beauty?'
'Because it can blind the eyes and unhinge the minds of men who look upon it.'
'Must I take your boast on trust?'
'It is no boast, Taita. It is the truth.'
'Will you never reveal this beauty to me?'
'You will look upon my beauty when you are ready to do so, when you realize the consequences and are prepared to accept them.' Her hand still lay upon his arm. 'Do you not see how my lightest touch disturbs you?
I can feel the beating of your heart through the tips of my fingers.' She withdrew her hand, leaving his senses in turmoil. It took him a while to
bring them under control. 'Let us speak of other matters. There are many questions you have for me, and I have given you my undertaking to answer them truthfully,' she said.'
Taita's voice sounded a little breathless as he took up her invitation.
'You have placed barriers across the headwaters of the Nile. What was your purpose in doing so?'
'My reasons were twofold. First, it was an invitation to you to come to me. You were unable to resist it, and now you sit beside me.'
He thought on it deeply, then asked, 'What was the other reason?'
'I was preparing a gift for you.'
'A gift?' he exclaimed.
'A betrothal gift. Once we are joined in spirit and flesh, I will give to you the Two Kingdoms of Egypt.'
'Only after you have destroyed them? What perverse and savage gift is this?'
'When you wear the double crown and we sit side by side on the throne of Egypt, 1 will restore the Nile and its waters to our kingdom . .. the first of our many kingdoms.'
'In the meantime it is only the termites of humanity who suffer?' Taita asked.
'Already you begin to think and act like the lord of all creation, whom you will soon become. I showed it to you in the images beside the grotto in the Cloud Gardens. Dominion over all the nations, eternal life, youth and beauty, and the wisdom and learning of the ages, which is the diamond mountain.'
'The greatest prize of all,' Taita said. 'I call it the Truth.'
'It shall be yours.'
'I still doubt that you offer me this without demanding some commensurate price from me.'
'Oh, I have already spoken of that. In return for what I offer, I demand your eternal love and devotion.'
'You have existed so long without a companion, why do you wish one now?'
'I have been overtaken by the tedium of eternity, a staleness of spirit and the aching boredom of lacking someone with whom to share these wonders.'
'That is all the price you ask of me? I have had a glimpse of your mighty intellect. If your beauty matches your mind, it is a trivial price to pay.' Her lies were disguised by truths. He pretended to believe them.
They were like the commanders of two armies arrayed against each other.
This was the skirmishing and maneuvering that preceded the battle. He was afraid, not so much for himself as
