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Amos and Keni. The two Bedouin chiefs had continued to
stockpile weapons in the local Hebrews cellars; just back
from southern Syria, they brought messages from Hittite
agents. The sorcerer was eager for fresh news, if not instruc-
tions.
Amos had oiled his bald pate.
 Emperor Hattusili is furious, he revealed.  With Ram-
ses refusing to extradite Uri-Teshoop, he s ready to resume
the fighting.
 Perfect! What does he expect of my network?
 The orders are simple: keep agitating the Hebrews here
in Egypt, make trouble all over the country to undermine
Ramses, arrange for Uri-Teshoop s escape and bring him
back to Hattusa. Or else kill him.
Crooked-Fingers was a peasant who loved his plot of
land and his herd of some twenty cows, each one sweeter
than the last; gentle beasts, although their leader did have
her own ideas and wouldn t let just anyone approach her.
Crooked-Fingers spent hours conversing with her.
The impish Redhead woke him each morning, licking
Ramses: The lady of abu simbel 309
his forehead. The cowherd tried to grab her by the ear, but
he always ended up getting to his feet.
But this morning the sun was already high in the sky
when Crooked-Fingers rose.
 Redhead . . . Where have you gotten to, Redhead?
He rubbed his eyes and advanced a few steps into his
field, where he saw the cow lying on her side.
 What s the matter with you, Redhead?
Glassy-eyed, gagging, her belly swollen, the pretty young
cow was near death. A bit farther back in the field, two
others were already gone.
The frantic peasant ran to the village square to get help
from the local veterinarian. He found a dozen other simi-
larly afflicted herdsmen already besieging the doctor.
 An epidemic! cried Crooked-Fingers.  We d better tell
the palace right away.
When Ofir, watching from the balcony of his house, saw
a cohort of worried and angry peasants, he knew his orders
had been correctly executed. By poisoning a few head of
cattle, the Bedouin chiefs Amos and Keni had sown panic.
In the middle of the avenue leading to the palace, Moses
halted the procession.
 Here is the fifth plague that Yahweh has visited upon
Egypt! His hand will spare no herd or flock, and only the
livestock belonging to my people will be free of pestilence.
Serramanna and a large detail of soldiers were preparing
to disperse the peasants when Lotus arrived, her black horse
at a gallop, reining in at the edge of the gathering.
 Don t lose your heads, she said in a calm voice.  What
we have here is no pestilence, but a poisoning. I ve already
saved two milk cows, and with the help of the animal doc-
tors I think I can cure the rest of the victims.
The crowd s dismay gave way to a mood of hope. And
310 Christian Jacq
when the agriculture secretary announced that Pharaoh
would replace the dead livestock at government expense, all
was well once more.
Ofir had enough poison left to keep helping Moses, this
time without letting him know. Using an old magic for-
mula, on orders from Yahweh, the prophet had taken hand-
fuls of soot from a furnace and scattered it in the air so that
dust would fall on man and beast, causing them to break
out in boils. This sixth plague would be so terrifying that
Pharaoh would finally be forced to capitulate.
Ofir had another idea. How better to impress the
monarch than by touching his inner circle? Bald-headed
Amos, unrecognizable in a wig that covered half his fore-
head, had delivered tainted food to the cook who prepared
the meals for Ahmeni and his staff.
When the sandal-bearer appeared for the king s daily
briefing, Ramses noticed a reddish sore on his friend s
cheek.
 Have you hurt yourself ?
 No, but this pimple keeps getting worse.
 I ll call for Dr. Pariamaku.
The palace doctor arrived out of breath, accompanied
by an attractive young woman.
 Are you ill, Your Majesty? inquired Pariamaku.
 As you know, Doctor, I m never ill. I d like you to
examine my private secretary.
The physician circled Ahmeni, prodded his arms, took
his pulse, and put his ear to his rib cage.
 Nothing abnormal at first glance . . . I ll have to think.
Ramses: The lady of abu simbel 311
 If it s a skin ulceration resulting from gastric difficul-
ties, the girl spoke up timidly,  shouldn t we have him try
a mixture of sycamore, anise, honey, pine resin, and fennel,
to be applied externally as well as drunk in a potion?
Dr. Pariamaku assumed an important expression.
 Not a bad idea . . . we ll give it a try and see. Go to the
laboratory, my child, and prepare the remedy.
The girl withdrew, after bowing tremulously to the
monarch.
 What s your assistant s name? asked Ramses.
 Neferet, Your Majesty. Pay no attention to her, she s
only an intern.
 She seems quite competent.
 She was simply reciting a formula I taught her. Just a
beginner, with no great talent.
Ofir was bemused.
Medicine had worked against the plague of boils, and
Ramses remained as obstinate as ever. Moses and Aaron
were restraining the Hebrews, since any untimely agitation
would bring swift reprisals from Serramanna and the police.
An additional setback was the loss of contact with
Dolora, the king s sister. There was no doubt that she had
failed in her mission. Nefertari was alive and well, showing
no signs of chronic illness. Sensing she was watched, Dolora
no longer dared venture into the Hebrew quarter, even at
night, which meant that Ofir was cut off from his most
direct source of palace information.
This did not prevent the Hittite spy from fanning the
flames of revolt among the Hebrews. A core faction, united
312 Christian Jacq
behind Moses and Aaron, was ready to spearhead the move-
ment.
Arranging Uri-Teshoop s escape would be difficult.
Assigned to a villa guarded day and night by Serramanna s
men, Uri-Teshoop was a has-been and a liability. Rather
than taking undue risks, the better solution might be to
eliminate him, which would immediately win favor with
Hattusili. The new emperor was shrewd and merciless, a
worthy successor to his brother.
Ofir still had one undercover ally: the diplomat Meba.
The man was a weakling, but he was the one who would
help the sorcerer get rid of Uri-Teshoop.
Ahsha s escort was kept to a bare minimum, since the
head of Egyptian diplomacy thought he had no better than
one chance in a hundred (contrary to the queen s opinion)
of finding a warm welcome in the Hittite capital. In the
eyes of the new emperor, he was a suspect character who
had helped Uri-Teshoop go free. Hattusili was likely to let
his resentment get the better of his political savvy. If he did,
he would have every member of the Egyptian delegation
arrested, if not executed, starting with Ahsha, to force
Ramses hand. A confrontation, Hattusili might think,
would allow him to even the score.
Puduhepa did seem to favor peace, but how far could she
diverge from her husband s wishes? The Empress of Hatti
was not one to back a hopeless cause. If negotiation proved
too difficult a route, she would fall in line with the war effort.
A buffeting wind, common on the plateaus of Anatolia,
accompanied Ahsha and his contingent to the gates of
Ramses: The lady of abu simbel 313
Hattusa. Its fortress-like grimness struck him even more
forcibly than on his earlier visits.
The secretary of state presented his credentials to the
sentry post commander, waiting for more than an hour
before he was granted entry through the Lion Gate. His
hopes were dashed when he found he was being led not to
the palace but to a dingy gray freestone building, where he
was assigned a room. The single window was fitted with
iron bars.
Even to an optimist, the place looked like a prison.
Playing the Hittites correctly demanded both skill and
luck, a great deal of luck. Ahsha felt that his might be run-
ning out.
As evening fell, a helmeted officer in heavy armor came
to fetch him. This time they headed up the incline to the
citadel where the imperial palace stood. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]