The Dagger of Isis (The First Dynasty Book 2) Read online

  The Dagger of Isis

  Lester Picker

  .

  Copyright 2012 Lester Picker

  License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  I am Meryt-Neith, Queen of the Two Lands, loyal wife of King Wadjet and mother of King Den, son of King Wadjet, son of King Djer, son of King Hor-Aha, son of the god-King Narmer. I swear before you, Anubis, that these scrolls are the True Telling of My Life. I was a good niece, a good wife and good mother. I was the caretaker of our beloved Kem until my son, King Den, came of age. I beg you to be lenient toward the sins of my sister, Nubiti, so that she may enjoy the rewards of the Afterlife. I await your judgment.

  Anubis, I am Nubiti, half-sister of King Wadjet and daughter of Shepsit and King Djer. Before your scales I swear that my heart is light as a feather. Before you lay the scrolls of my life as told to my scribes. Please do not judge Meryt-Neith’s actions harshly. Allow my sister to visit with me in the Afterlife. My words are Truth.

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  The Dagger of Isis

  Lester Picker

  .

  Copyright 2012 Lester Picker

  License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  .

  I am Meryt-Neith, Queen of the Two Lands, loyal wife of King Wadjet and mother of King Den, son of King Wadjet, son of King Djer, son of King Hor-Aha, son of the god-King Narmer. I swear before you, Anubis, that these scrolls are the True Telling of My Life. I was a good niece, a good wife and good mother. I was the caretaker of our beloved Kem until my son, King Den, came of age. I beg you to be lenient toward the sins of my sister, Nubiti, so that she may enjoy the rewards of the Afterlife. I await your judgment.

  Anubis, I am Nubiti, half-sister of King Wadjet and daughter of Shepsit and King Djer. Before your scales I swear that my heart is light as a feather. Before you lay the scrolls of my life as told to my scribes. Please do not judge Meryt-Neith’s actions harshly. Allow my sister to visit with me in the Afterlife. My words are Truth.

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  SCROLL ONE

  Mery

  I ran through the meandering garden path as fast as my young legs would allow me, giggling, despite myself. At the very last second I ducked under the drooping fronds of a thicket of exotic trees brought to the palace from far away lands, frightening yet magical places that Amka had described to me many times. As I ran around a section of the royal garden that contained tubs of tall green rushes and red water flowers, I flushed four colorful glossy ibises. They futilely flapped their clipped, purple wings as if to take to the air, their feet skimming the sandy ground, their long, silvery beaks jutting out comically from their skinny necks as they shrieked in fear. The heels of my tiny sandals flung pebbles high in the air as I ran. I felt the joy of the dry, warm desert wind whipping against my body, my side braid gently tapping against my shoulder. Oh, if only those joys had not been so fleeting, like ghostly spider threads blown about by a breeze.

  “Mery, wait! Don’t run so fast, you’ll hurt yourself!” Abana yelled after me in frustration. But I was far enough ahead to pretend not to hear. Instead, Abana lifted her coarse linen robe and scurried after me, a game she knew she was destined to lose.

  Still giggling so hard that my cheeks hurt and my breath came in gasps, I scurried on all fours like a dung beetle so Abana could not see me and I made my way to my secret hiding place, the one place where I knew I would be safe from nagging adults and the prying eyes of the rekhi, the poor common people who waited outside the royal compound every day seeking favors of my uncle.

  When I finally heard Abana’s voice turn in the wrong direction, I smiled, crawled out from my hiding spot and stood up. I gasped. Directly in front of me stood Rami, one of the keepers of the royal menagerie, his feet filthy from the caked dung of the giraffes and water buffaloes under his charge. He stared at me and then at my breasts, in such a way that it sent a sudden chill through me. Then, slowly, he smiled, his rotten teeth bared, his face covered in dirt and marked by rivulets of sweat. Ever since I was a toddler I would come to the royal menagerie to see the elephants, giraffes and lions, and always I was afraid of Rami, who Abana despised because of his poor rekhi hygiene. Now I shuddered and ran away from him as fast as I could.

  In just a few moments I was at the administrative section of the palace. At the first gate, two guards dressed only in pure white loincloths greeted me. Playfully, they crossed their spears.

  “And who are you, little woman, that you think you may pass to visit with the mighty King?” one of them asked in as gruff a voice as he could muster.

  “It’s me, Mery,” I said, still out of breath.

  “Oh, that’s easy for you to say,” the second guard yelled out, pointing his finger at me. “But perhaps you’re an evil spy of the Ta-Tjehenus, dressed in the skirt of a girl just to fool us. And perhaps not even a girl any more,” he added, pointing good-naturedly to the new additions to my chest.

  “Yes, perhaps you’re here to harm our King, Horus’ brother,” the first guard chimed in. “You’d best be on your way or we’ll be forced to battle you to the death.”

  “I am no spy!” I answered, hands on my hips. “But, that man over there might be,” I said, pointing behind them with my finger. As soon as they turned around, I crawled under their crossed spears and ran to the King’s large meeting room, the guards calling after me that I had tricked them for the last time.

  “Next time it’ll be death on sight!” was the last thing I heard them yell, barely containing their amusement.

  I burst into the meeting room panting so hard I had to bend down to recover my breath. The coolness of the airy room quickly chilled me and I was surprised to see two tiny bumps rise at the tips of my breasts. They felt uncomfortable and I crossed my arms over my chest and stood up, to the smiles of my uncle, King Djer, and three of his advisors.

  “Well, I hope we are not disturbing your interruption!” my uncle said, laughing. Amka, my uncle’s shaman and Vizier, and also my tutor, blushed with embarrassment. He rose up immediately.

  “I am sorry, Djer. I do try to teach her not to be so impulsive, but…”

  “Nonsense,” my uncle interrupted, waving his hand at the men. “Go. We are done anyway. My little Mery and I have more important things to discuss. Go, go, go.” Amka gathered up his scrolls and the men quietly left. But I could tell from Amka’s hard stare that I had not heard the end to my display of impertinence.

  As soon as his advisors left the room, Uncle Djer opened his arms and I ran into them. I loved his big embrace, and the way his clothes always smelled of frankincense and myrrh. “And where is Abana?” Uncle Djer asked as soon as he let me go.

  “I… uh..”

  “Aha, you have played her for a fool once again, I see,” he said, winking at me. At that we both laughed. To my left, my Aunt Herneith, walked into the room, her posture erect, her simple, sparkling white robe a
ccented by a breastplate of pure gold and Ra’s light sparkling off her lapis lazuli jewels. Her eyes were lined in black kohl and the lids filled with shades of green malachite and dark gray galena.

  “I just came from the garden,” my aunt said casually as soon as she entered. “And, my dear King, you’ll never guess who I came upon.”

  “Who is that, my dear?” my uncle responded.

  “A handmaiden hunting feverishly for her lost charge… the King’s niece, no less.” She tried to hide her smile, but as I ran to her she laughed a hearty laugh and threw her arms around me. “Mery, you are incorrigible!”

  “Mery, your aunt and I called you here for a reason,” my uncle started as soon as my aunt let me go. “Have a seat, my sweet, and we will begin.” My uncle’s formal style, as if he were speaking with his advisors, surprised me. I detected that something was amiss. He glanced toward my aunt.

  “Mery,” she said, sitting erect in her wood and cane chair, looking every bit the Royal Consort, “word has come to us from Abana that this very week you have become a woman.”

  I was mortified. I sat rigid in my chair, my eyes averted from my uncle’s glance. I hardly knew what to say. I felt my cheeks flush. I could only hope that the cloths between my legs did not bulge and that my new breasts were not doing something else strange to betray my discomfort. I instinctively closed my legs tight.

  “Dearest Mery,” my aunt said, coming to sit by my side and taking my hand into hers. “Do not feel embarrassed. To become a woman is something to be proud of. Indeed, we will celebrate this passing with a party in your honor… women only,” she said winking at me.

  Still, I sat next to her, mute, although I appreciated having her next to me to lean on. “Is it your uncle? Are you embarrassed?”

  I did not know what to say, so I just shrugged my shoulders. “He has something very special to tell you,” she went on. Just then Bes, my aunt’s short-haired cat, sauntered in, meowed, and jumped onto my lap.

  My uncle cleared his throat. I glanced up and saw that this conversation was as much an ordeal for him as for me. In a strange way, that pleased me. But Uncle Djer also looked paler and older than I had seen him before. I wondered if he felt ill.

  “Mery, now that you are a woman, it is time to assign Abana to another child in the court.”

  Against my will my head shot up to confront my uncle, brother to Horus and the most powerful man in all the lands, even those outside our beloved Kem. Abana! I had never known a day without her. She was my nursemaid since birth, my constant companion, except for the hours I spent each day being tutored by Amka.

  “But, I don’t want to lose Abana! She is like my mother. I…” Bes tensed, ready to jump from my lap.

  “Mery, my lotus,” my uncle continued, shifting in his chair. “I love you as I do my own son. Your mother was my flesh, my blood sister. And your father and I fought together side by side against the Ta-Tjehenus when he was killed before my very eyes defending me. I would do nothing to harm you, you know that, do you not?”

  In that instant I missed my mother so intensely my heart pained. Although the gods brought her to the Afterlife a week after my birth, I still believed I could recall her talking to me, and lovingly nursing me. There were times, lying quietly in bed, my eyes opened to the heavens, when I even saw my mother’s eyes looking deeply into mine as she held me gently in her arms.

  I paused before answering. “I know that, uncle, but I will miss my Abana very much.” I felt a lump forming in my throat and could not stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks. “Can I… may we at least visit from time to time?”

  “Of course. Perhaps when her next young charge is put to sleep at night. But, the gods tell us that for every loss there is also gain,” Uncle Djer continued. “Your aunt has a wonderful present for you.” He turned to look at Aunt Herneith.

  “Uncle Djer is right, Mery. Now, instead of a nursemaid, you will need your own personal healer.” I felt my eyes widen at this sudden prospect. None but the most esteemed in the King’s eyes had their own healers. It was a sign of high placement in the Royal Court and an honor to be bestowed only by the King and Queen, and never lightly.

  “I have chosen for you Ti-Ameny as your personal healer,” she continued. “May the two of you grow old together,” she said, holding her hands above my head in a sign of blessing.

  Even I was amazed at how quickly my mood changed, from one of despair to one of exhilaration. I jumped from my seat, spilling Bes onto the floor, and hopped from my aunt to my uncle. “Really? Is this really true?” I asked again and again, turning from one to the other. I adored Ti-Ameny above all the healers serving the royal families. She was a student of Amka, so I often saw her as she came in to question him while I was practicing reading and writing the picture-words. Ti-Ameny was also a respected priestess of Isis. For a few minutes the three of us discussed Ti-Ameny’s god-given skills as a healer and midwife and what her appointment would mean to both of us.

  Finally, Aunt Herneith took my two hands in hers and sat me down. We looked across a low table toward Uncle Djer. “Your Uncle has something else to discuss with you,” she said and nodded toward him.

  “Perhaps we should discuss this other matter at another time,” he began, looking uncomfortable and suddenly old. I looked up just in time to see Aunt Herneith shaking her head disapprovingly.

  “Well, then, alright, there is another matter of importance to discuss with you Mery. You know that I am King of the United Lands, Master of Upper and Lower Kem,” he started. I nodded in understanding. “And that our family comes from an unbroken line of kings, starting with King Narmer.”

  “May his name be blessed for all eternity,” I muttered, as we all learned to do as youth whenever God-King Narmer’s name was spoken.

  “From King Narmer came who?” my uncle asked.

  “From King Narmer and Queen Neith-Hotep came King Hor-Aha, then you, King Djer,” I said smiling at him. Next will be King Wadjet, your son.”

  “Correct, little one. Amka has taught you well. And keeping our Two Lands united is a very, very difficult job. One that requires the Royal family to collect taxes, to foster trade with our neighbors and to stand united against our enemies, both inside and outside the Two Lands. Are you following me?” I nodded, not really understanding, but also anxious about where my uncle’s lecture was headed.

  “Good, because governing the Two Lands means having people around me who I can trust, like your Aunt Herneith.” I looked up again and smiled at her. She squeezed my hand and I felt her hand moist with perspiration.

  “Our son, your cousin Wadjet, will someday be King of Upper and Lower Kem, as you have noted,” he continued uncomfortably. “He, too, will need people around him he can trust, people who will tell him the truth that their eyes have seen and their ears have heard.”

  I thought of my cousin Wadjet then, his chubby, but kind face, the way he teased me when I was younger. I had not seen Wadjet for more than a year, ever since Uncle Djer sent him to Lower Kem to lead an army unit to chase out the fierce Ta-Tjehenus, who periodically raided us from the barren desert lands to our west. Many times Amka had shown me the maps of the Two Lands and the origins of our enemies, so I had a vague idea of where Wadjet was each time messengers brought back news of his skirmishes. Every day the entire court offered prayers to the gods and goddesses for his safe return. I also remembered the very last time I had seen him when, resplendent in his white tunic and soldier’s breastplate, he chased me through the Royal gardens, finally catching me and tickling me until I could stand it no longer. Many at his farewell banquet marveled at his ability to lead troops while he was only in his early twenties.

  “Now, Mery, the one person a king must trust most of all is his wife. It is from his wife that he seeks the most important advice.” I fidgeted with impatience, still unsure why Uncle Djer was telling me all these things.

  “Sit still,” my aunt whispered to me, but loud enough for Uncle Djer to hear. “I am
sure that King Djer, brother of Horus, descendent of God-King Narmer, will make his point shortly.”

  Uncle Djer cleared his throat. “Well, I was coming to it,” he muttered, embarrassed. “The point, my dear Mery… the point is that we… your Aunt and I and Amka… have chosen you to be the trusted wife of Wadjet.” I think I remember him then leaning back in his chair, satisfied with himself and smiling.

  The room disappeared from my sight at that moment. I think that I forgot to breathe, because in a moment I suddenly drew in such a sharp breath my aunt turned in her seat to look into my eyes. Marriage! And to Wadjet, who was an old man already, perhaps twenty-five years old! I must have blanched the color of death.

  “Mery, what is wrong?” my aunt asked me, taking my shoulders in her hands.

  I’m still a child, I remember thinking. I yet wanted to run free in the gardens, to feel Mother Nile’s cool waters caressing my naked body, to feed and play with the animals that our traders brought back to us from the dark recesses of Kush. Yes, my monthly flows had begun and Abana had told me what this might mean. My closest friend, who had started her womanly flow almost a year ahead of me told me of her family’s plans for her eventual marriage. But those talks were but fleeting parts of our play. Marriage was a faraway thought in my head at that young age.

  I stood up suddenly and angrily turned toward my aunt and uncle. I felt the blood pounding in my head and neck. “I hate you!” I shouted at them, crying uncontrollably. “I hate you both! You can keep Ti-Ameny. You are trying to ruin my life. I will run away with Abana and live in… we will live…” I tried my best to come up with some far-off land that would shock my aunt and uncle, but in my angry state I could not think of anyplace that Amka had taught me about, other than my beloved Inabu-hedj. I could see a smile beginning to form on my uncle’s face, which only infuriated me more. I turned and ran from the room.