‘I believe I have discovered the name of the man who has been leaving the objects in the Malkata Palace. The man behind the threats to the life and the soul of the King.’
He sat forward, delighted.
‘I knew you could do it.’
‘I also believe the same man committed his cruelties on the boy, and on the dead girl, and on the other dead boy.’
Now Nakht looked dismayed.
‘The same man?’
I nodded.
‘And who is this devious monster?’ he said.
‘Before I tell you that, let me speak to the boy.’
When the boy heard two pairs of sandals he cried out, alarmed.
‘Don’t be afraid. I have with me a gentleman, who is one of my oldest friends, to visit you,’ said Nakht gently.
The boy relaxed. I sat down next to him. He lay on a low bed, in a cool, comfortable room. Much of his body was still bandaged with linens, and another bandage was wound around his head, to hide the disfigured eye- sockets. Where the girl’s face had been sewn on to his, the little holes had healed, leaving a pattern of tiny white scars, like stars. I could have wept at the pity of it.
‘My name is Rahotep. Do you remember me?’
He tilted his head in my direction, listening to the character of my voice like a bright bird with a distant comprehension of human speech. And slowly, a small, gratifying smile spread across his face.
I glanced at Nakht, who nodded, encouragingly.
‘I am glad you are well. I would like to ask you some questions. I need to ask you about what happened. Would that be all right?’
The smile vanished. But eventually he gave the slightest of nods. This gave me an idea.
‘What I will do is ask a question, and you can reply either yes, by nodding your head, or no, by shaking it. Can you do that for me?’
Slowly he nodded once.
‘The man who hurt you; did he have short, grey hair?’
The boy nodded.
‘Was he an older man?’
Again he nodded.
‘Did he give you something to drink?’
The boy hesitated, and then nodded.
And then, my heart beating faster, I asked:
‘Were his eyes a kind of grey-blue? Like stones in a stream?’
A chill ran through the boy. He nodded, once, then twice, and then on and on, nodding and failing to get his breath as if he were suddenly maddened in fear at the memory of those cold eyes.
Nakht rushed to the boy’s side, and tried to calm him, soothing his brow with a cool, wet cloth. Eventually the panic subsided. I wished I had not had to cause him such distress.
‘I am sorry, my friend, to ask you to remember such things. But you have helped me very greatly. I will not forget you. I know you cannot see me, but I am here as your friend. That is a promise. No one will hurt you again. Will you accept my word?’ I asked.
And I waited until slowly, untrustingly, he gave me the slightest nod.
Outside, Nakht confronted me.
‘What was that about?’
‘Now I can tell you the name of the man who did all of these things. But prepare yourself. Because you know him,’ I replied.
‘I?’ said Nakht, with astonishment and some degree of anger.
‘His name is Sobek.’
My old friend stood still as a statue. His mouth hung open foolishly.
‘Sobek?’ he repeated, incredulously. ‘Sobek…?’
‘He was Ay’s physician. Ay sacked him and replaced him. He gave him another, lesser job. Caring for the mad Mutnodjmet. But he cared for her in his own way. He made her an opium addict, and in the end she did anything he asked of her. And now she too is dead.’
He sat down slowly on the nearest elegant bench, as if exhausted by too much information.
‘So have you apprehended him?’ he asked.
‘No. I have no idea where he is, or where he will strike next. And I need your help.’
But Nakht continued to look horrified.
‘What is it?’ I snapped.
‘Well, he is a friend. It is a great shock.’
‘Certainly. And you introduced him to me here. That does not make you guilty or complicit in any way. But it does mean you can help me catch him.’
He looked away.
‘My friend, why do I get the feeling there is something you are not telling me, once more? Is this another of your secrets?’
He said nothing.
‘I need you to answer all my questions clearly and fully. If you refuse, I will have to take the necessary measures. This is too important, and time is too short, for games.’
He was astonished by my tone. We stared at each other. He saw I meant what I said.
‘We are both members of a society.’
‘What sort of society?’
With the utmost reluctance he continued: ‘We are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. I mean the research, investigation and study of secret knowledge. In our times, such esoteric knowledge has been driven underground. It has become unacceptable. Perhaps it was always something that could only be appreciated by an initiated elite who valued knowledge above all else. We preserve and continue the ancient traditions, the ancient wisdom.’
‘How?’
‘We are initiates, we preserve the secret rites, the secret books…’ he stuttered.
‘Now we are getting somewhere. And what are these books about?’
‘Everything. Medicine. Stars. Numbers. But they all have one thing in common.’
He hesitated.
‘And what is that?’ I asked.
‘Osiris. He is our God.’
Osiris. The King who, in the ancient story, once ruled the Two Lands, but was betrayed and murdered, and then resurrected from the Otherworld by his wife, Isis, whose love and loyalty made this possible. Osiris, whom we depict as a man with black or green skin, to indicate his fertility and his gift of resurrection and eternal life, dressed in the white bandages of death, holding the crook and flail, and the white crown. Osiris, who we also call ‘the perpetually good being’. Osiris, who offers the hope of eternal life, provided his followers make the right preparations for death. Osiris, who it is said waits for all of us after death in the Hall of Judgement, the supreme judge, ready to hear our confession.
I sat back and considered Nakht for a moment. I felt as if this man, who I counted as a close friend, had suddenly become almost a stranger to me. He stared at me as if he was feeling the same.
‘I am sorry for the way I spoke to you. Our friendship is very important to me, and I would not see it imperilled. But I had no choice. I had to make you tell me this. You are my only possible link to this man.’
He nodded slowly, and gradually a touch of warmth returned to the feeling between us.
‘You said I could help you. What did you mean?’ he asked eventually.
‘I will explain. Tell me something first. Does this secret society have a symbol?’
Once more he hesitated.
