Desert God (47 page)

I felt tiny and helpless in the face of such cataclysmic rage. Even the face of Helios the sun was hidden from us. Dark despair fell over our world. The very earth trembled with fear. The sulphurous stink of it filled the air.

I sat with my horses and buried my face in my folded arms. Even I was afraid. It was a pious and devout terror. There is no place of refuge on this earth wherein you can escape the rage of the gods.

I had slain the monstrous horned creature that was the alter ego of the god. Surely the anger of Cronus was directed at me for such a sacrilegious offence.

For an hour and then another hour the god raged on and then as the sun made its noon it ceased as abruptly as it had begun. The sulphurous clouds rolled away, the mountain stilled and peace returned to the world.

I
roused my horses and mounted up, and I led the string of loose animals down the mountain, picking my way through the litter of fallen branches and the small landslides of rocks and loose earth that the god had shaken from the mountain.

Three days previously I had sent a message to Zaras to expect my arrival. Long before I reached the port of Krimad I saw both Zaras and Hui cantering up the path towards me. At a distance they recognized me and with cries of relief they kicked their mounts into a gallop. When they reached me they reined down their mounts and jumped to earth. They almost dragged me from my own saddle, and one after the other they embraced me. I swear on my love for Horus and Hathor that when Zaras released me from his crushing bear hug he actually struck a tear from his eye as he told me, ‘We thought for sure that we had got rid of you at last. But even Cronus himself could not do the job for us.’ Of course my own eyes were dry, but I was thankful that there was nobody else present to witness such a mawkish display.

‘Has the squadron of Minoan warships arrived in Krimad yet?’ I attempted to get back on sensible terms.

‘No, my lord.’ Zaras managed to wipe the grin from his face. He pointed down at the watery horizon. ‘As you can see, the sea has been whipped into a fury by the earthquake. Almost certainly they have been driven off course. I expect that they will be delayed for several days.’

‘How has our own flotilla ridden out the storm?’ While we rode on down the mountain I made certain we discussed naval matters exclusively. I pretended not to notice the hand signals that Hui was sending Zaras, and his equally surreptitious refusals to comply with them. However, when we came in sight of Krimad harbour Hui could restrain himself no longer and, writhing with embarrassment, he blurted out:

‘We were wondering if you had brought us any messages, my lord.’

‘Messages?’ I frowned. ‘From whom were you expecting a message?’

‘Maybe from the palace …’ His voice trailed off.

‘You were expecting a message from the Supreme Minos?’ I feigned ignorance. However, their beseeching gaze was pathetic and against my better judgement I told them, ‘No messages; but you have probably heard that the Princesses Tehuti and Bekatha are both married to the Minoan monarch and are safely ensconced in the royal harem. You have both done your duty and are to be highly commended. I will bring all this to the attention of Pharaoh at the very first opportunity. I know he will be grateful.’ With the next breath I went on, ‘I am sure you are wondering why I have arrived without an escort of any kind. There was an accident in which my servant was killed by a wild animal. At the first opportunity I want you to send a burial party up the mountain to find his remains and give them decent burial.’

I kept talking and issuing orders, giving them no chance to pursue the subject of the princesses. I did not want to admit to them that I had no contact with the girls and had no idea how they were faring in the seraglio.

When we reached the port I was astonished to find that even on this side of the island, which was protected from the volcanic upheavals of Mount Cronus, the sea had been churned into such a furious condition that the waves were breaking over the harbour wall and charging deck-high through the anchorage. However, Zaras and Hui had taken every possible precaution to protect their ships. They had double-lashed them to the stone wharf with the heaviest hawsers the harbour-master was able to provide; and hung them with thick fenders of plaited rope to prevent them from colliding with each other or with the walls of the wharf.

They had left only an anchor watch on board each vessel. The rest of us took shelter in an empty warehouse ashore as guests of the harbour-master. His name was Poimen and he was a typical Minoan, melancholic and pessimistic.

He invited me and my officers to dine with him that first night. I was surprised by this hospitable act. It was only later that I discovered he was not only harbour-master but also a colonel in the Minoan secret police, and that he was drawing up a report on all of us Egyptians for the benefit of his super-iors in Knossos.

The food with which his kitchen provided us was over-salted and over-cooked. The wine was thin and sour. The conversation was mundane and pedestrian, centring on the earthquake and the stormy seas that it had engendered. I was sorely in need of diversion, so I demanded of the company at large, ‘What is the cause of these earthquakes and volcanic eruptions?’

Nobody was in any doubt that they were inflicted on humanity as a punishment for a crime or an offence committed against the gods.

‘What crime would be serious enough to call for such an onerous punishment?’ I asked naïvely and was hard put to maintain a sober expression as I listened to the diversity and the absurdity of their replies which covered the full catalogue of human frailty and divine arrogance.

After a while even this palled, so I demanded, ‘In what manner can we atone to the gods for our trespasses?’

They all turned their head towards the harbour-master, the senior representative of the Supreme Minos present. He adopted a learned expression and a pontifical tone.

‘It is not for us to divine the will of the gods. Only the Supreme Minos, may his name be blessed through all eternity, is capable of such wisdom. However, we can rejoice in the secure knowledge that His Supreme Highness has already fathomed the cause of the divine anger and will make full recompense.’ He cocked his head to listen to the sound of the storm beyond the walls of the warehouse. ‘Hark! The storm is abating. The anger of the gods has already been appeased. By this time tomorrow the seas will be quietened and the mountains stilled.’

‘How does the Supreme Minos placate the gods so readily?’ I pursued the subject relentlessly.

‘In the only manner that any god can be appeased,’ he replied with a shrug and a superior expression. ‘By sacrifice, of course!’

If it had not been for Toran’s warning I might have trespassed on to the dangerous ground of the nature of the Supreme Minos, but I curbed my tongue. The harbour-master turned away from me and fell into a lively discussion with his assistants as to what extent the rough seas would affect the fishing.

I was left with the uncomfortable and lingering knowledge that my killing of the aurochs bull and the divine rage of Cronus had followed too closely upon each other to be mere coincidence.

What sacrifice of appeasement had Cronus demanded of the Supreme Minos, I wondered?

B
y dawn the following morning the waves were no longer breaking over the protecting walls of Krimad harbour and Zaras and Hui were able to continue their preparations for our naval campaign against the Hyksos.

Four days later the six triremes that had been assigned to me by Vice Admiral Herakal arrived in Krimad. They had been carried far to the east by the heavy seas; almost as far as the island of Cyprus. They were down to their last few barrels of fresh water and their oarsmen were almost totally exhausted.

I rested the Cretan crews for three full days and made certain they were well provided with food, olive oil and wine of reasonable quality. They responded well. When the rest period ended I began joint exercises with the two flotillas.

Language was the main problem we encountered, but I saw to it that every ship had at least two interpreters on board and that the signal flags meant the same thing to the Minoans as they did to our Egyptians.

Both flotillas comprised well-trained and -practised mariners and within the week they were carrying out complicated manoeuvres: sailing in formation and forming line of battle. The Minoans soon learned to land chariots and infantry through the surf, and to recover men, horses and vehicles again after they had carried out their assault.

As they became more adept so the mutual trust and camaraderie between Egyptians and Cretans blossomed. I was welding them into a formidable little fighting force. I knew that very soon I could unleash them upon the Hyksos. Of course my main concern was to decide where they could do the most damage.

Good intelligence wins battles long before the first arrow is shot or the first sword is drawn from its scabbard.

Then without warning a small and almost derelict trading dhow arrived off the entrance to Krimad harbour. Its sail was tattered and stained. Its hull was zebra-striped with excrement which its crew had defecated over the side. Its scruffy crew of eight were bailing frantically to keep it afloat. They seemed more like pariahs than seamen. Their ship was flying no colours and lying low in the water, almost on the point of floundering. No pirate worth his salt was likely to give it a second look; which was probably why it had survived the voyage from wherever it had come.

On the other hand I am not as naïve and arrogant as your average corsair. It was in just too much of an appalling condition to be innocent. I could smell the old fox’s scent carried before it on the wind. I ordered Zaras to launch five of our longboats filled with men and bristling with weapons, and to board her immediately.

As soon as our attack boats cleared the harbour entrance the strange dhow dropped her sail and hoisted Egyptian colours. Zaras towed it into the harbour and tied it to the wharf to delay it from sinking.

The putative captain was frog-marched ashore demanding to speak to Lord Taita. I made my appearance scowling theatrically and ordered him to be given twenty lashes to impress upon him who it was that made the demands in this camp. The wretch fell on his knees, pressing his forehead to the stones of the jetty, and made a recognition sign with his left finger. Aton and I had first used that sign all those years ago when both of us were still slaves.

I countermanded my flogging order and instead had him dragged unceremoniously to my cabin on board my flagship, the
Outrage
. As soon as we reached it I dismissed the guards and ordered my servants to bring hot water for the prisoner to wash in and a fresh chiton to replace his stinky rags.

‘What is your name, friend?’ I asked him as my cook laid out a meal of shellfish and tuna steaks for us, and I prised the wooden stopper out of an amphora of Etruscan wine.

‘
Friend
is as good a name as any other.’ He grinned. ‘Better by far than the one my mother chose for me.’

‘How is our mutual acquaintance?’ I asked instead.

‘Large,’ he replied. ‘He sends you greetings and gifts.’ He went to the pile of his discarded rags and rummaged in them until he found a scroll of papyrus which was stitched into the hem of one of them. He brought it to me. While I unrolled it I indicated the food. He went to the table and fell to with a will.

I glanced at the papyrus and saw at once that it was the present ‘Order of Battle’ of the Hyksos fleet. In addition Aton had noted those targets in the Nile Delta which he considered most worthy of my consideration.

Whence Aton had conjured up such a document I could not even hazard a guess. I rerolled it. It deserved my careful attention even though it was probably weeks out of date.

‘You spoke of bringing gifts, friend?’

‘I have brought you forty-eight messenger pigeons. They are in cages in my ship.’ He looked pleased with himself. I unrolled Aton’s letter and studied it once more.

‘The large man writes of sending me one hundred pigeons.’ I spoke mildly. ‘What happened to the other fifty-two birds?’

‘We ran out of food.’

‘You ate my birds?’ I was appalled by his gall. He shrugged and grinned unabashed. I shouted for Zaras. When he came I told him, ‘Go at once to this rogue’s ship. You will find forty-eight pigeons on board. Bring them to me at once; before they disappear mysteriously.’ Zaras asked no questions, but hurried away to carry out my orders.

My visitor poured himself another flagon of my precious wine and saluted me with it. ‘Good wine. I commend your taste. Our large friend requests that you send him a commensurate gift, to enable the two of you to communicate more regularly.’

I considered the suggestion for only a moment. I knew that Ambassador Toran had a large pigeon coop in Knossos. ‘How do you propose I send my birds to him without them also being devoured by jackals and hyenas?’

He never so much as blinked at my calculated insult. ‘I shall convey them to him in person; that is if one of your fine ships can take me across and set me ashore in an uninhabited part of the Nile Delta.’

‘I can do better than that, friend,’ I told him, and he cocked his head enquiringly. ‘There is presently a Carthaginian trading dhow here in Krimad harbour. The captain dined with me yesterday evening. Four days from now he plans to return to Carthage via the Hyksos port of Rosetta in the delta. As you are aware the Sultan of Carthage and King Gorrab of the Hyksos are on neutral terms. I can arrange for you to sail with him as far as Rosetta. You will take with you a hundred pigeons that have been hatched in Knossos and which will be eager to return to the coop as soon as they are released. That way the large man and I can be in direct contact within a very short time.’

‘I know he will be delighted by that arrangement. The two of you may even use the opportunity to play a few games of bao by pigeon post.’

I found Friend’s attempt at humour to be insubordinate, and his intimate knowledge of my personal affairs disconcerting. I am never fully at ease in the company of these clandestine agents. They are a devious and mendacious lot. How can you trust a man who will eat your pigeons?