The Amulet of Amon-Ra (7 page)

“Oh! Yes, please,” she said. “We had to walk a long way and we're thirsty.”

“Come,” said Neferhotep. He led them deeper into the building.

Jennifer couldn't help staring. The pillars were beautiful. Light from grilled windows high above their heads illuminated them, making the colors glow. There was even paint on the undersides of the roof slabs. Jennifer could just make out glimpses of white stars and birds with outstretched wings.

“I never tire of looking at those myself,” said Neferhotep. Jennifer jerked her gaze away, but she noticed that Tetisheri was also staring up at the ceiling.

As Neferhotep led them deeper into the temple, Tetisheri told him all about the two women arguing over the donkey, in far more detail than Jennifer had expected her to notice. Neferhotep chuckled at the story. As he brought them to a small room lit by hanging oil lamps, Jennifer realized she was parched. She hoped Neferhotep wasn't going to offer them beer.

A small clay jug, beaded with drops of water, lay on a desk next to a stack of scrolls. Neferhotep gestured for the two girls to sit on a low bed while he moved the scrolls out of the way.

“Now where did I put…? Ah, there they are,” he said, moving some clay pots aside to reveal some dusty goblets. He wiped them with a cloth, then poured a clear yellow liquid into them.

Tetisheri eagerly gulped hers down, but Jennifer sniffed at her goblet before sampling. Her eyebrows rose as she recognized it. Grape juice! It was tart, cold and delicious. Both of them held their goblets out for more.

Neferhotep poured more for them and some for himself, then sat on a low-backed chair and shifted the contents of the bag into his hand. His eyes lit up as he saw what it contained.

“Beautiful!” he said, as he picked out a tiny, perfect bird. “Ramose does such fine work. I hope Ka-Aper likes it.”

“Are they for him?” asked Jennifer.

“Not necessarily,” said Neferhotep, inspecting an ankh the size of his palm, made of green stone. “But he decides what gets wrapped in the linens when mummification is complete. Oh, the deceased gets some say in it, of course, but Ka-Aper is the one who decides what is most appropriate for each stage of the wrapping. Then when he does the Opening of the Mouth ceremony to allow the dead person to partake of speech or food in the afterlife, he can be sure that they have all the protections they will need for the long journey.”

The girls sipped their juice and waited politely as he peered at each item. Jennifer gazed around the room. It was filled with small knick-knacks, and shelves full of statues and pots of herbs. Scrolls and blank sheets of papyrus littered the bed beside them. Painted figures of men and women, surrounded by hieroglyphs, covered the walls.

Finally, Neferhotep put all the amulets back in the bag. “Well,” he said. “Thank you for bringing these to me.”

“You're welcome,” said Tetisheri. “Thank you for the juice.”

Neferhotep guided them back into the main temple. They were almost at the entrance, when Neferhotep stiffened. He held the girls back.

Jennifer glanced at him curiously. His gaze was fixed on a young man who was walking towards them, carrying a short golden rod in one hand. He was dressed in a pleated white kilt and a blue and white striped headcloth, with a tiny cobra at his brow. Tetisheri gasped and curtseyed, lowering her eyes, then tugged at Jennifer to do the same.

“Good morning,” said the young man. He nodded at Neferhotep.

“Good morning, Prince Thutmose,” said Neferhotep, bowing his head.

Jennifer peeked at him from under her hair. So this was Hatshepsut's nephew! He was fit and well-muscled, but not much taller than Jennifer was. Despite that, he seemed to radiate an aura of quiet confidence.

He didn't do more than glance at the two girls before he moved on. Tetisheri stared after him, apparently having trouble breathing.

“That was such an honor!” she said. “Isn't he handsome?”

“His nose is too big,” said Jennifer.

“A noble nose,” Tetisheri protested. “Like a hawk's. What was he doing here?”

“Making an offering to Amon-Ra, I expect,” said Neferhotep. “The Pharaoh often has him perform that important office for her.”

“That's all? He should be…” Tetisheri paused, as Jennifer poked her in the side. “Never mind.”

“We should get going,” said Jennifer.

“Of course,” said Neferhotep, eyeing both of them with a slight frown. “Dje-Nefer, would you please tell your mother that I can't join you for dinner this evening? I'm to attend Ka-Aper at the palace.”

“Ooh, a palace feast?” asked Tetisheri. “My mother says those are exciting!”

Neferhotep bent down to whisper conspiratorially, “Actually, I find them quite dull.”

Tetisheri blushed and giggled. Neferhotep waved them to the entrance, smiling. They emerged out of the cool shadows into the sunlight. The men who had been painting and polishing the obelisk were no longer there.

“I'll walk with you partway, but then I have to get home,” said Tetisheri. “Wait till my parents hear that I met Prince Thutmose! They'll be so thrilled.”

They hadn't exactly met him, Jennifer thought, but that didn't seem to matter to Tetisheri. She talked at length about how handsome he was—not as handsome as Mentmose, of course—but thoroughly kingly. Jennifer tried to shush her when they passed a couple of soldiers, but Tetisheri seemed oblivious. One of the soldiers appeared to listen to her chatter for a moment, but let them pass without comment. When Jennifer glanced back at him, he was still watching them, a slight frown on his face.

“Here we are,” said Tetisheri. Jennifer looked at their surroundings, but couldn't see anything familiar. “I'll see you later!”

Then Tetisheri was gone, swallowed up by the crowd, leaving Jennifer to find her way home alone. Unfortunately, Jennifer had no idea where she was.

An hour later, Jennifer still hadn't found her way home. She was sure she had come close a few times, but the winding streets had led her into places she'd never seen before. After she encountered the stone hawk for the third time, she realized she was going in circles.

Thirsty, and now with sore feet, she leaned against a wall and watched the people go by. She could ask someone, but who would know? And if they did, wouldn't it seem strange that she didn't know the way to her own home? She peeled herself off the wall and limped away, hot and tired. She thought she could just make out the roof of the temple, beyond one of the stone buildings. Maybe if she returned to it, she could retrace her steps.

Before she reached it, though, she came to a place she recognized. It was the street where the two women had argued about the donkey. It looked like their debate had been resolved. The soldier was still there, telling off a trio of boys carrying handfuls of rocks. He bellowed and they scattered, escaping him, but not before he had landed a couple of smacks on the backs of their heads.

The soldier shook his fist at them, then set off up the street, heading towards Jennifer. In her day, police officers helped lost children, and perhaps the Pharaoh's soldiers did, too. But given Meryt-Re's opinion of them, Jennifer wasn't sure she wanted this one to notice her.

She stepped into the shadowed doorway of one of the tall buildings. The soldier went past her without a glance, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was about to step out again, but stopped as she saw someone she knew—Ka-Aper. Alone, this time, with no canopy and no attendant boys. He frowned and looked from side to side as he passed her hiding place. Jennifer drew back further into the shadows, squeezing herself flat against the cool stone wall.

Ka-Aper paused, then reached inside his leopard skin and briefly drew out the small wrapped bundle that he had obtained last night while she had been watching. Then he tucked it back inside and patted the skin smooth. With a last glance around, he moved on.

Now what was he up to? Jennifer hesitated, torn between finding her way home and following him. Curiosity won.

She trotted along behind him, keeping his bald head in sight. She tried to make sure several people were always between her and him, so that if he looked around, she could duck behind them for safety. His long strides took him further and further away, and she was forced to jog to avoid losing him. She almost lost him once, but she caught sight of his bald head as he was slipping into a side street just as she passed it. She turned around so she could follow him, bumping into several women behind her. With a muttered apology, she pushed around them so she could double back and catch up with Ka-Aper.

He was gone. No, there he was, just entering a low door set into the side of a shabby, squat building with patches of plaster falling off its sides. Jennifer stopped, wondering where they were. Nowhere near the temple, that was for sure. She couldn't even see its high roof.

The street was deserted. It was quiet, and there were no other exits in the tall walls. She padded down the dusty road, expecting at any moment for him to pop out and see her. There was nowhere she could hide if he did. But he didn't reappear, even when she came to the open doorway.

She stepped over the sill. Inside, it was completely dark. She waited for her eyes to adjust before taking a step forward. There was a faint light coming from the back of the building. Seeds crunched softly under her feet as she stepped between stacks of hundreds of tightly-lidded clay jars, which reached almost to the ceiling. All else was silent. Where was Ka-Aper?

She emerged into an empty area, lit by a flickering oil lamp set on the top of one of the clay jars. It illuminated a dark rectangle set into the floor. Thick dust on the floor carried the imprints of several feet, some bare and some sandaled, all leading to the same place—the hole in the floor. Jennifer peeked into it and saw stairs leading down. Snatches of conversation floated up from it. Her heart thudding, Jennifer crept down the stairs, feeling for each step with her toes.

She was about to set foot on the last one when someone spoke.

“Don't worry, I bribed the guard to stay away for a good long time.” It was a man's voice. It was distorted by echoes, but she thought she might have heard it before.

“Our Pharaoh does not have as much control over her soldiers as she supposes.” That voice she recognized. Ka-Aper!

“Neither here nor in the Valley of the Kings,” said a third man.

“Speaking of which,” said the first man, “when can we expect the next, ah, delivery?”

“Soon,” said Ka-Aper. “Parahotep is near death. Seventy days after he dies, and after he is sealed up in his tomb, our men can go to work.”

“I've heard that he asked for his tomb to be well-hidden,” said the third man.

“Don't they all. His tomb will be a difficult nut to crack,” said the first one.

“Yes,” said Ka-Aper. His laugh had a nasty edge. “Fortunately, I have a map.”

Her hovering foot forgotten, Jennifer covered her mouth as she realized what they were talking about. Parahotep was the man they had discussed at dinner last night. Ka-Aper was a tomb robber!

Jennifer listened closely as the men spoke again.

“Here is the item we spoke about,” said Ka-Aper.

“Ah,” said the first man. Jennifer heard something rustle. “Powdered kernels?”

“Untraceable. And imported. The Pharaoh's trading expeditions have borne different fruit from what she planned,” said Ka-Aper. They all laughed. “But remember, my name must never be associated with it.”

“Of course,” said the first man. “It shall be…the will of the gods.”

“Hmm, good idea,” said Ka-Aper. “Though, if the story of the Pharaoh's birth can be believed, we go against their wishes in this.”

The second man laughed. “Oh, come now. Who truly believes that Amon-Ra came to Hatshepsut and revealed that he was her father? And is it not now clear that even the gods themselves are displeased with her?”

“You mean the drought?” asked the first man. “Seven long years, we have suffered. Surely she must know how bad it is.”

“Surely,” Ka-Aper agreed.

“What we do here is a necessity,” said the first man, the one Jennifer thought she knew.

“Absolutely!” said the second man. “Her entire reign is blasphemous. For twenty years, she has paraded herself as Pharaoh. Why, she even calls herself the female Horus.”

“Preposterous!” boomed the first man.

“Habusoneb is wrong,” said the second man.

“The High Priest?” asked Ka-Aper. “How can he be wrong?”

“You know it as well as we do,” scoffed the first man. “He supports her, but he should not.”

“Though it hurts me to say it, Pharaoh Hatshepsut must be chastised for her sin,” said Ka-Aper. His voice lowered. “Else her people will feel the wrath of the gods. Indeed, they already do.”

Jennifer set her foot down on the last step. As she did so, something sharp jabbed into it. Without looking, she reached down and scooped it up, then leaned closer to the wall to hear better.

“Leave it to us,” said the first man.

“Thank you. Remember, I must not know anything about this if I am to play the part properly, so don't tell me when you are going to do it,” said Ka-Aper. “When the Pharaoh is dead, I must act as surprised as everyone else.”

Jennifer gasped. Dead?

“What was that?” asked one of the men.

“Probably just a mouse,” said the other. “With all the grain in this building, they are everywhere. Don't worry about it.”

“What, are there no cats? It would seem even Bastet has abandoned our Pharaoh,” said the first man, chuckling.

Liquid gurgled into cups.

“And now, some wine to seal the bargain?”

“Please,” said Ka-Aper. “In order to disguise where I went last night, I had to endure some truly terrible food and wine. I still haven't gotten the taste of their peasant meal out of my mouth.”

“You went to a peasant's house?”

“No. An amulet-maker's. He had some rather mediocre pieces, though a few approached beauty. I'd like to have the scarab he made for his daughter,” said Ka-Aper. Jennifer clutched at her amulet. “Ah, that's better. It has a nice bouquet.”

“Does it?” asked the first man, slurping.

The second man snorted. “You never could tell bad wine from good.”

“Can't smell it, can't taste it,” said the first man.

“This is as good as some I've had at the palace,” said Ka-Aper.

“It should be,” said the second man. “I borrowed it from the Pharaoh herself.”

“Ah,” said the first man. “To Hatshepsut! Long may she reign.” They all laughed.

Jennifer backed slowly up the stairs, moving as quietly as she could.

Ka-Aper wasn't just a tomb robber; he and his friends were planning to kill Hatshepsut, too. She had to warn the Pharaoh, somehow. But it wasn't like she could just waltz up to the palace and expect to be let in. There would probably be soldiers all over the place.

At the top of the stairs, Jennifer let out her breath. She'd made it. She could still hear the men, although she couldn't make out what they were saying. If she could get back to the street, and find the temple, and get home, then all she had to do was figure out a way to let Hatshepsut know what Ka-Aper was up to. She snorted. Easy!

She took a step, and her foot nudged a pebble, which rolled over the edge of the stairs. She froze as it pinged and rattled all the way to the bottom. There was a sudden silence.

“That was no mouse!” one of the men shouted. “There's someone here!”

Jennifer took off, her bare feet slapping the stone floor. The building's open doorway shone like a beacon in the distance, urging her on. She sprinted towards it, winding her way back through the huge jars, and leaped over the sill, landing in the street with a jarring thud.

Lungs burning, she ran all the way to the end. The main road, where she could lose herself in the crowd, seemed so far away. She reached it and plunged into the mass of people. Risking a quick look behind her, she saw Ka-Aper's bald head just exiting the side street. As the crowd swept her along, he started to look her way. She ducked lower to evade his gaze.

She kept to the middle of the road as people went by her on both sides, and slowed down, a hand clamped over the stitch in her side. She resisted looking over her shoulder. As an extra precaution, in case Ka-Aper was following her, she took a few side trips, going up one unfamiliar street and down another. Once, she thought she heard someone calling her name, but she walked on, eager to get as far from Ka-Aper as possible.

When she thought she had gone far enough, she leaned against a wall, pressing her hand against her side. Her other hand, she was surprised to see, was still curled tight around the item she had picked up on the stairs. She opened it slowly.

Three tiny blue beads the same color as her amulet lay on her palm, strung on a piece of gold wire, which was bent into loops at either end. One of the loops was loose and the other was broken.

Maybe it had come from someone's tomb. Ka-Aper and his thieving friends might have dropped it. Perhaps the warehouse was where they stored their stolen goods. She closed her hand over the fragment. It could be evidence.

She had no pockets in her dress, nor did she have a pouch like Neferhotep's. There was only one place she could keep it. Jennifer flipped open her amulet, then slipped the beads inside it and snapped it shut.

She looked up. Ka-Aper was nowhere to be seen. But now she was thoroughly lost, and this seemed to be a shabbier part of the city. There were lots of people sitting in the street, some of them watching her. A man gave her a toothless grin when she looked his way. Jennifer pushed away from the wall and walked briskly towards where she thought the temple might be. Two teenagers in ragged kilts watched her pass, their eyes narrowing. Jennifer didn't have anything for them to steal—except her amulet! She quickened her pace.

The sun was definitely higher in the sky than when she and Tetisheri had set out. Meryt-Re might be wondering where she had gotten to. She could maybe ask one of Pharaoh's soldiers for directions, but there didn't seem to be any nearby. Not that she really wanted to approach a soldier—but as she flicked a glance over her shoulder, she saw that the two boys were following her.

She moved a little faster, but another glance showed that they were catching up. She decided to ask someone for help.

There were several people selling broken pots and chunks of stone from blankets set on the cobbles. She hesitated, wondering if any of them would know the house of Ramose the amulet-maker. She was about to head for one of the women, when someone stepped in front of her, blotting out the light.