river but Apepa will be forewarned.” Kamose glanced at his sombre face.
“How is it with you, Ahmose?” he queried gently. “How did you sleep?” Ahmose smiled grimly.
“I am nauseated and ashamed,” he said. “But I know that what you told me before is true. We cannot discern friend from foe. I am resigned, Kamose. Yet we will find the way of expiation hard when the time for atonement comes.”
“I know.” They stared at one another in a moment of mutual understanding. Kamose’s body servant lifted the royal pectoral and stood waiting. Kamose took it from him, but instead of setting it about his neck, he laid it on the table. “Not today,” he said. “You can go.” The man bowed himself out and Ahmose held up the scroll.
“It is from Grandmother,” he commented. “It is her seal. I received one from Aahmes-nefertari and I have read it already. They all seem so far away, Kamose. Well.” He sighed. “I will eat on the deck this morning. Join me when you wish.”
Kamose broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. Tetisheri’s scribe had a unique hand. The hieroglyphs were tiny and the words tightly crammed together but surprisingly easy to read. Kamose lowered himself onto the edge of his cot as his grandmother’s voice came back to him, loving and yet crisply acerbic. “To His Majesty King Kamose Tao, greetings. I send you the prayers and adoration of your family, dear Kamose, together with our heartfelt concern for your welfare. I went to inspect the entrails of the bull that died, as I promised you I would, and I found the letter ‘A’ clearly picked out in the fat deposits on its heart. After much deliberation on my part and many prayers to Amun from his High Priest we have decided that the weight of the letter, representing as it does the Great God himself and also the usurper, was too much for the bull to bear. Amun warred with Apepa and the heart gave out. We are all well here. The crops grow apace. My vigilance on the river has brought forth no fruit, so I must presume that Pi-Hathor has chosen to lie quiet for the time being. I have also posted sentries on the edge of the desert. When word reaches us that you have taken Khemmenu, I will call in my soldiers to the perimeter of the estate and rely on scouts for information from the south. Last night I dreamed of your grandfather Osiris Senakhtenra Glorified. ‘I miss you, Tetisheri,’ he said to me, taking my hand in the way he used to. ‘But you cannot join me yet.’ When I woke, I made a sacrifice for him, but I was glad my time has not come. I will not die until Egypt is free. See to it, Kamose.” Her name and titles followed, scrawled in her own hand, and Kamose let the scroll roll shut with a rueful smile. I am seeing to it, Grandmother, he answered her in his mind, but I do not think that I will be the one to drive the Setiu from the Nile. “A” also stands for Ahmose.
He had the scroll delivered to Ipi and joined his brother on the deck. His appetite had returned and he ate and drank his fill, feeling the heat of the sun sink into his bones and affirm his own hold on life. Then he sent for Hor-Aha and heard the General’s report. No Medjay had been wounded in the battle that was in reality nothing more than a massacre. All weapons stored in the garrison had been removed for distribution among the peasant soldiers due to arrive soon. There was no sickness among the archers, but they did not like to eat so much fish. Kamose laughed at that and as he did so the burden of Dashlut lifted a little. “Fish,” Ahmose said hopefully. “I think I will do some fishing this afternoon. I might as well, Kamose. There are no preparations to make for our push to Khemmenu and the scouts are keeping us informed of the progress of the army.”
“It will be here early tomorrow, Highness,” Hor-Aha assured him.
Ahmose took two soldiers and a skiff and disappeared into the tall, cool reed beds that filled many of the small bays the flow of the
“How is it with you, Ahmose?” he queried gently. “How did you sleep?” Ahmose smiled grimly.
“I am nauseated and ashamed,” he said. “But I know that what you told me before is true. We cannot discern friend from foe. I am resigned, Kamose. Yet we will find the way of expiation hard when the time for atonement comes.”
“I know.” They stared at one another in a moment of mutual understanding. Kamose’s body servant lifted the royal pectoral and stood waiting. Kamose took it from him, but instead of setting it about his neck, he laid it on the table. “Not today,” he said. “You can go.” The man bowed himself out and Ahmose held up the scroll.
“It is from Grandmother,” he commented. “It is her seal. I received one from Aahmes-nefertari and I have read it already. They all seem so far away, Kamose. Well.” He sighed. “I will eat on the deck this morning. Join me when you wish.”
Kamose broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. Tetisheri’s scribe had a unique hand. The hieroglyphs were tiny and the words tightly crammed together but surprisingly easy to read. Kamose lowered himself onto the edge of his cot as his grandmother’s voice came back to him, loving and yet crisply acerbic. “To His Majesty King Kamose Tao, greetings. I send you the prayers and adoration of your family, dear Kamose, together with our heartfelt concern for your welfare. I went to inspect the entrails of the bull that died, as I promised you I would, and I found the letter ‘A’ clearly picked out in the fat deposits on its heart. After much deliberation on my part and many prayers to Amun from his High Priest we have decided that the weight of the letter, representing as it does the Great God himself and also the usurper, was too much for the bull to bear. Amun warred with Apepa and the heart gave out. We are all well here. The crops grow apace. My vigilance on the river has brought forth no fruit, so I must presume that Pi-Hathor has chosen to lie quiet for the time being. I have also posted sentries on the edge of the desert. When word reaches us that you have taken Khemmenu, I will call in my soldiers to the perimeter of the estate and rely on scouts for information from the south. Last night I dreamed of your grandfather Osiris Senakhtenra Glorified. ‘I miss you, Tetisheri,’ he said to me, taking my hand in the way he used to. ‘But you cannot join me yet.’ When I woke, I made a sacrifice for him, but I was glad my time has not come. I will not die until Egypt is free. See to it, Kamose.” Her name and titles followed, scrawled in her own hand, and Kamose let the scroll roll shut with a rueful smile. I am seeing to it, Grandmother, he answered her in his mind, but I do not think that I will be the one to drive the Setiu from the Nile. “A” also stands for Ahmose.
He had the scroll delivered to Ipi and joined his brother on the deck. His appetite had returned and he ate and drank his fill, feeling the heat of the sun sink into his bones and affirm his own hold on life. Then he sent for Hor-Aha and heard the General’s report. No Medjay had been wounded in the battle that was in reality nothing more than a massacre. All weapons stored in the garrison had been removed for distribution among the peasant soldiers due to arrive soon. There was no sickness among the archers, but they did not like to eat so much fish. Kamose laughed at that and as he did so the burden of Dashlut lifted a little. “Fish,” Ahmose said hopefully. “I think I will do some fishing this afternoon. I might as well, Kamose. There are no preparations to make for our push to Khemmenu and the scouts are keeping us informed of the progress of the army.”
“It will be here early tomorrow, Highness,” Hor-Aha assured him.
Ahmose took two soldiers and a skiff and disappeared into the tall, cool reed beds that filled many of the small bays the flow of the
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