The Quest

Taita nodded thoughtfully. He was filled with deep pity for her. He understood how those driven to the extremes of suffering will clutch vainly at the air as they fall. 'What is the name of this wonderful new goddess?'

'Her name is too holy to be spoken aloud by unbelievers. Only those who have taken her into their hearts and souls may utter it. Even I must complete my instruction with Soe before it is told to me.'

'When does Soe come to instruct you? I long to hear him expound these wondrous theories.'

'No, Taita,' she cried. 'You must understand that they are not theories.

They are the manifest truth. Soe comes to me each morning and evening.

He is the wisest and most holy man 1 have ever met.' Despite her bright expression, tears began to stream down her face again. She seized his hand and squeezed it. 'You will come to listen to him, promise me.'

'I am grateful to you for the trust you place in me, my beloved queen.

When will it be?'

'This evening, after we have had supper,' she told him.

Taita thought for a moment. 'You say he only preaches to those he selects. What if he refuses me? I would be distraught if he did so.'

'He would never turn away anyone as wise and renowned as you, Great Magus.'

'I would not want to take that chance, my dearest Mintaka. Would it not be possible for me to listen to him without disclosing my identity just yet?'

Mintaka looked at him dubiously. 'I would not wish to deceive him,'

she said at last.

'I plan no deception, Mintaka. Where do you meet him?'

'In this apartment. He sits where you now sit. On that self-same cushion.'

'Are there just the two of you?'

'No, three of my favourite ladies are with us. They have become as devoted to the goddess as I am.'

Taita was studying the layout of the room carefully, but he kept asking his questions to distract her. 'Will the goddess ever a

'When Nefer and I have taken her deeply into our hearts, renounced the false gods, torn down their temples and dispersed the priesthood, the goddess will come forth in glory. She will put an end to the plagues and heal all the suffering they have caused. She will order the Nile waters to flow . ..' she hesitated, then ended in a rush '… and give my babies back to me.'

'My precious queen. How I wish with all my heart that this will come to pass. But, tell me, has Nefer been made aware of these events?'

She sighed. 'Nefer is a wise and excellent ruler. He is a mighty warrior, a loving husband and father, but he is not a spiritual man. Soe agrees with me that we should reveal all to him only at the appropriate time, which is not yet.'

Taita nodded gravely. Pharaoh will be moved to learn, from his own beloved wife, that his grandfather and grandmother, his father and mother, not to mention the holy trinity of Osiris, Isis and Horus, are to be summarily renounced, he thought. Even he is to be stripped of his divinity. I think I know him well enough to predict that it will not happen while he lives.

That idea loosed in Taita's mind a swarm of terrifying possibilities. If Nefer Seti and his closest councillors and advisers were no longer alive to keep her in check, the prophet Soe would be left in control of a queen who would carry out his commands without question or resistance.

Would she accede to the assassination of her king, her husband and the father of her children? he asked himself. The answer was clear: yes, she would, if she knew that he would be restored to her almost immediately by the nameless new goddess, along with her dead babies. Desperate people resort to desperate expedients. Aloud he asked, 'Is Soe the only prophet of this supreme goddess?'

'Soe is the chief of them all, but many of her lesser disciples are moving among the populace throughout the two kingdoms to spread the joyous tidings and prepare the way for her coming.'

'Your words have lit a blaze in my heart. I shall always be grateful to you if you allow me to listen to his testament without him being aware of me. I will have with me another magus, older and wiser than I will ever be.' He raised a finger to silence her protest. 'It is true, Mintaka. His name is Demeter. He will sit with me behind that zenana window.'

He pointed to the intricately carved screen from behind which, in former times, a pharaoh's wives and concubines had given audience to foreign dignitaries without exposing their faces.

Mintaka still hesitated so Taita went on persuasively, 'You will be able to convert two influential magi to the new faith. You will please both Soe and the new goddess. She will look upon you with favour. You will be able to ask any boon of her, including the return of your children.'

'Very well, Tata. I will do your bidding. However, in return, you will not reveal to Nefer any of what I have told you today until the time is right for him to accept the goddess and renounce the old gods …'

'As you order, so shall it be, my queen.'

'You and your colleague Demeter must return early tomorrow morning.

Come not to the main gates but to the postern. One of my hand-maidens will meet you there and lead you to this room where you can take your place behind the screen.'

'We will be here in the hour after sunrise,' Taita assured her.

A they rode out through the gates of the Palace of Memnon Taita checked the height of the afternoon sun. There remained several .hours of daylight. On an impulse he ordered the sergeant of his escort not to take the direct road to Thebes, but instead to make a detour along the funereal way towards the western hills and the great royal necropolis, which was hidden in one of the rugged rock valleys. They rode past the temple in which Taita had supervised the embalming of the earthly body of his beloved Lostris. It had taken place seventy years before, but time had not dimmed the memory of that harrowing ceremony. He touched the Periapt, which contained the lock of her hair that he had snipped from her head. They climbed up through the foothills past the temple of Hathor, an impressive edifice that sat atop a pyramid of stone terraces. Taita recognized a priestess who was strolling along the bottom terrace accompanied by two of her novices, and turned aside to speak to her.

'May the divine Hathor protect you, Mother,' he greeted her, as he

I

dismounted. Hathor was the patroness of all women, so the high priest was female.

'I had heard that you had returned from your travels, Magus.' She hurried to embrace him. 'We all hoped that you would visit us, and tell us of your adventures.'

'Indeed, I have much to relate that I hope will interest you. I have brought papyrus maps of Mesopotamia and Ecbatana, and the mountainous lands crossed by the Khorasan highway beyond Babylon.'

'Much will be new to us.' The high priestess smiled eagerly. 'Have you brought them with you?'

'Alas, no! I am on another errand and did not expect to meet you here. I left the scrolls in Thebes. However, I will bring them to you at the first opportunity.'

'That ca

'Then I will trespass upon your kindness. May I ask a favour?'

'Any favour that is mine to bestow is already yours. You have only to name it.'

'I have conceived a pressing interest in volcanoes.'

'Which ones? They are legion, and situated in many lands.'

'All those that arise close to the sea, perhaps on an island, or on the banks of a lake or a great river. I need a list, Mother.'