'It has indeed, majesty,' Taita agreed. 'Did I not tell you that there was a lone survivor of the legionaries who returned to Qebui?'
'I do not remember that part of the tale.'
'At the time it seemed insignificant, but one man came back. He was raving and demented. The physicians thought he had been driven mad by the hardships he had endured. He died before I could speak to him.
But recently I have learnt that before he died he told strange tales that were disbelieved by all who heard them so they were not reported to me.
He raved about vast lakes and mountains at the end of the earth … and a volcano set beside the greatest of the lakes. It is from this legend that Demeter and I divined the whereabouts of the witch.' He went on to describe his meeting with the hunchback Tiptip.
Nefer Seti listened, fascinated. When Taita had finished, he thought for a while, then asked, 'Why is the volcano so important?'
In reply Taita described Demeter's captivity in the witch's lair on Etna and his escape.
'She needs the subterranean fires as a forge in which to fashion her spells. The power emitted by the immense heat and sulphurous gases enhances her powers to godlike proportions,' Taita explained.
'Why have you selected this particular volcano to examine first of all the many hundreds?' Nefer asked.
'Because it is closest to this very Egypt, and it sits upon the source of the Nile.'
'I see now that your reasoning is solid. It all fits together neatly,' Nefer Seti said. 'Seven years ago, when the Nile dried up, I remembered all that you had told me of my grandmother's expedition so I ordered another legion to march south on the same mission to reach the source and discover the cause of the river's failure. The officer I placed in command was Colonel Ah-Akhton.'
'This I did not know,' Taita said.
'Because you were not here for me to discuss it with you. You and Meren were wandering in foreign lands.' Nefer Seti's tone was a rebuke.
'You should have stayed with me.'
Taita adopted a repentant attitude. 'I did not know you had need of me, Majesty.'> 'I will always have need of you.' He was readily appeasedI 'What news of this second expedition?' Quickly Taita seized his advantage. 'Has it returned?'
'No, it has not. Not a single man of eight hundred who marched away came back. They have vanished more completely than my grandmother's army did. Has the witch destroyed them also?'
'It is more than possible, Majesty.' He saw that Nefer Seti had already accepted the existence of the witch and did not have to be convinced or encouraged to pursue her.
'You never fail me, Tata, except when you are on a jaunt to the gods alone know where.' Nefer Seti grinned at him. 'Now I know who is mine enemy and I can move against her. Before, I was helpless to lift these terrible afflictions from my people. I was reduced to digging wells, begging food from my enemies and killing toads. Now you have made clear the solution to my problems. I must destroy the witch!'
He jumped up and continued to pace as restlessly as a caged lion. He was a man of action, eager to take to the sword. The very thought of war had lifted his spirits. Taita and Meren watched his face as the ideas came to him in floods. Every once in a while he would slap the scabbard at his side and exclaim, 'Yes! By Horus and Osiris, that is it!' At last he turned back to Taita. 'I shall lead another campaign against this Eos.'
'Pharaoh, she has already gobbled up two Egyptian armies,' Taita reminded him.
Nefer Seti sobered a little. He resumed pacing, then stopped again.
'Very well. As Demeter did at Etna, you will work a spell of such power against her that she will fall from her mountain and burst like an overripe fruit as she hits the ground. What think you, Tata?'
'Your Majesty, do not underestimate Eos. Demeter was a mightier magus than I am. He struggled against the witch with all his powers, but in the end she destroyed him, seemingly without effort, as you might crush a tick between your fingernails.' Taita shook his head regretfully.
'My spells are like javelins. Thrown at extreme range, they are feeble and easily deflected with a flick of her shield. If I come close enough to her, and am able to discern her whereabouts exactly, then my aim will improve. If I have her in my eye, my dart may be good enough to fly past her shield. I cannot touch her at this great distance.'
'If she is so all-powerful as to destroy Demeter, why has she not done
the same to you?' He answered his own question immediately. 'Because she fears that you are stronger than she is.'
'I wish it were that simple. No, Pharaoh, it is because she has not yet struck at me with all her strength.'
Nefer Seti looked puzzled. 'But she killed Demeter, and she grinds my kingdom between the millstones of her malice. Why does she spare you?'
'She had no further use for Demeter. I told you how when he was in her clutches she sucked from him, like a great vampire, all his learning and skills. When at last he escaped she did not trouble to pursue him vigorously. He was no longer a threat to her, and had nothing more to offer. That is, until he and I united. Then her interest quickened again.
Together we had become such a significant force that she was able to detect me. She does not wish to destroy me until she has sucked me dry, as she did Demeter, but she could not lure me into her snares unless she isolated me. So she struck down my ally.'
'If she wants to preserve you for her foul purposes, I will take you with my army. You will be my stalking horse. I will use you to come within striking distance, and while you distract her, both of us will attack her,'
Nefer Seti proposed.
