An Evil Spirit Out of the West by Paul C. Doherty

Author:Paul C. Doherty [Doherty, Paul C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Egypt, historical, religious, military
ISBN: 9780755350438
Google: mbKZWo0DLY0C
Amazon: B00GU38EYU
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2012-09-25T00:00:00+00:00

Akhenaten’s voice thrilled stronger and stronger like a trumpet blast shattering the silence, heard even by our companions on the barges.

‘I shall do a beautiful thing for you!’ Akhenaten continued.

‘To all the boundaries of this earth.

I shall do a beautiful thing for you

To the North, to the South,

To the West and to the East.’

Akhenaten bowed, followed by Nefertiti and Ay, pressing their heads against the ground. The Sun Disc broke free, clear of the mountains, and rose against the sky, transforming the earth and the air in a blaze of light and glory. Then Akhenaten stood, a beatific smile on his face.

‘Go down to the waterside, Mahu,’ he urged. ‘Tell the others they can now come ashore.’

I did so. The crew of the Dazzling Aten, followed by Horemheb, Rameses and their soldiers clambered ashore. My two companions were angry but their anger was tinged with a sharp curiosity. They had witnessed the drama of the sunrise and bothered me with questions. Why was this place sacred?

‘I don’t know,’ I told them.

‘Are you sure?’ Rameses persisted. ‘There must be few places in the Eastern Desert where the sun rises so dramatically.’

I shook my head and walked away.

‘They are curious, aren’t they?’ Ay came up, still hunched against the cold, a shawl across his shoulders.

‘Never mind them,’ I snapped. ‘I’m curious.’

‘This is a sacred place.’ Ay stared at me from under heavy-lidded eyes.

‘I know that. I’m not a child – the sunrise is most dramatic.’

‘When our people first came to Egypt,’ Ay stroked his reddish hair, ‘they assembled here and built their altars to the Unseen God.’

‘Why here?’

‘Because, according to legend, this was once the dazzling garden, the place where God and Man met.’

‘And now it’s just a desert,’ I replied.

‘Look for yourself, Mahu.’

I did so, wandering across the plain, and soon realised that its aridity was only superficial. In clefts and gullies, I discovered underground water streams and untapped wells, their presence only visible in the quickly drying water as the day progressed. Behind me servants were carrying up stores and setting up tents. Hunters were sent out to bring fresh meat; two of these returned at a run shouting and waving their arms.

Horemheb was sitting by the campfire deep in conversation with the two dwarves. Rameses was testing water from one of the barrels. Akhenaten and Nefertiti had withdrawn to their pavilion. Ay was aboard the Dazzling Aten. The way the hunters hastened towards us proclaimed that something extraordinary had happened. If it was an attack by Desert Wanderers and Sand Dwellers they would have raised the alarm. These two stopped, fighting for breath, bodies drenched in sweat.

‘You must come,’ they gasped, pointing back towards the rocky escarpment, ravines and gullies which marked the beginning of the limestone cliffs. ‘You must come silently.’

Ay came ashore, scratching his jaw. Akhenaten and Nefertiti left their pavilion, wrapping their robes about them. Horemheb had already slung his bow, Rameses was shouting for the marines.

‘It’s not like that,’ one of the hunters said.

‘Well, what is it?’ Ay demanded.

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