Tutankhamun: The Book of Shadows

45

The palace officials were running up and down the corridors in great confusion like ants in a colony that has been disturbed by children poking sticks. I entered the Queen’s chamber, and found her in intent conference with Ay, Khay and Simut.

Ay glanced at me briefly. His face was hollow with tiredness. For once he looked discomposed.

Simut was giving an account of the aftermath of the eclipse.

‘There has been significant disorder in the city. Crowds that gathered in front of the temple gates are refusing to disperse. There has been looting, buildings have been set on fire…and I must report the Medjay have only worsened the situation by their attempts to control the crowds. There have been running battles in some quarters with certain dissident elements…’

Khay interrupted.

‘The people are calling for the King. They refuse to leave until the King appears and speaks to them.’

Ay sat very still, his brain whirring, seeking a solution. His refusal to announce the death of the King had now trapped him. He was caught out by his own lie.

‘That is only one of our problems. Horemheb will seize this opportunity to bring his divisions into the city to control the unrest,’ said Simut.

‘And where are those divisions?’ snapped Ay.

‘As far as we can tell, they are in Memphis. But our intelligence is not clear,’ he admitted. ‘Even the fastest messenger cannot relay orders between here and Memphis in less than three days, and then they will need to mobilize, and sail south. Unless Horemheb has foreseen everything, and prepared divisions to march on Thebes more quickly.’

There was a moment of silence, while each person considered what ought to be done with the precious time that remained to us.

‘I will speak to the people,’ said Ankhesenamun, suddenly.

‘And what could you possibly say?’ Ay replied. His sinister eyes flickered, curious now.

‘I will tell them the truth. I will say the events in the heavens are a sign of a renewed order on earth. I will explain that the King was united with the God during the darkness, and is now reborn in the Otherworld. I remain here, as his successor, with his sanction. If I do that, then Horemheb’s bid for power will be annulled.’

They gazed at each other, adversaries joined by mutual necessity.

‘You are a clever child. It is a good story. But many will be suspicious of it.’

‘The darkness was a great and rare event. It is a spectacle without parallel, and people need to understand it. My words will have to persuade the people.’

Ay quickly thought through the ramifications and possibilities of her proposal.

‘I will support you, but words are powers and must be chosen carefully. When you speak of yourself, I would prefer “representative” to “successor.”’

She considered this.

‘We return to our original disagreement once again. There is little time, and I see no other solution. Why should I not name myself as successor? For that is what I am.’

‘You carry the blood of your family. But remember this: you cannot enact your power without authority over the offices of the government. And I alone exert that authority.’

‘In my name,’ she replied quickly.

‘Indeed. And that is why we must fashion a strategy to our mutual advantage.’

She considered the situation. She had to make a swift choice.

‘Very well.’

‘And the content of the speech will be agreed between us?’ he said. She glanced at Khay, who nodded.

‘Of course.’

‘Then prepare yourself well, for this appearance is the most important one of your life.’

As soon as Ay had left, she jumped up.

‘Where have you been?’ she said fretfully, and with a touch of anger. ‘I was concerned for your safety.’

‘I went to visit my friend Nakht in the city. And on the way back I was offered an invitation I could not refuse to an audience with Horemheb.’

She looked astonished.

‘And you went?’

‘I had little choice. They took me captive.’

‘And what did he say to you?’

We sat down together, and I recounted everything I had discovered about Sobek, and that I had now proved, through the witness of the boy, that he was also responsible for the killings in the city. Finally I described to her everything Horemheb had said to me. She looked astounded for a moment.

‘We must protect your family from his attentions.’

‘Yes, but we must also think. So far, he has only made threats against them, and he will not carry them out until you have informed him of your decision. So we must keep him in uncertainty for as long as possible. At the same time, I have a plan to catch Sobek. And we can then interrogate him and discover if and how Horemheb or Ay are connected to his actions. And that information will give you great power.’

She nodded, her eyes on fire with the exhilaration of the moment. Suddenly she could see a way forward for herself and her dynasty.

‘This darkness has shocked me. I feel the Gods’ eyes upon me. I feel they can see inside me. Everything is at stake, not just the future of my dynasty, but also the fate of the Two Lands. But strangely, I find I feel, for the first time in many months-entirely alive.’

Smoke drifted across the great open space before the Temple. The crowd stretched back along the Avenue of Sphinxes. Some were chanting, others shouting, most praying. I watched from the vantage of the pylon gateway roof. We had travelled swiftly and secretively by ship and then chariot to the temple itself, under the protection of Simut’s guard. Now, at his signal, the trumpeters raised their long, silver instruments towards the horizon and blasted out a fanfare. Suddenly the attitude of the crowd shifted, from chaotic discontent to attention. The spectacle they had demanded was about to begin.

The Queen appeared from the gateway, arrayed in the gold robes of state and the crowns, and the silence gave way again to screaming and shouting when it became clear she was alone. But in the long, low angles of the late light, she glowed. She continued forward, ascended the dais, ignoring the cries and laments, and then stood to confront the great beast of the multitude. She waited to be heard. It would be a battle of wills. Finally silence fell. I saw thousands of faces, rapt, anxious, devoted to her glorious presence.

‘This has been a day of wondrous omens,’ she called out. ‘The Gods have revealed themselves to us. So let us worship them.’

She raised her arms, serenely; and then, slowly, many in the crowd followed suit. Those that did not were at least silenced.

‘Ra, the King of the Gods, has triumphed over the forces of darkness and chaos. Life is renewed. The glory and power of the Two Lands is renewed. But in that moment, he has taken something he greatly desired. What he has taken is of great value to us. Greater than gold, and greater than life. I stand before you now, as the daughter of Kings, and the daughter of the Goddess Maat who brings justice and order, to give you the news of our great sacrifice, and the God’s great gain. For in the moment of darkness, witnessed by all living things, the King Tutankhamun was united with Ra, as the King must be, and, as it is written in the great books, he is now one with the King of the Gods. And the world is remade. The world is reborn again.’

Her words echoed around the open space. A vast wail of lamentation rose up and spread out through the crowds and the city. I saw people turning to each other, many persuaded, a few shrugging, uncertain. They knew this story of the sacrifice of the King for the renewal of life, for it is one of the oldest of the stories that explain to us how things are in the world. And she had used it wisely. Her words might well convince the multitudes. The elite would certainly require a more sophisticated explanation, but it would be difficult for them to question the story.

She pressed on.

‘I stand before you now. I am the best-loved daughter of Ra. I am maat. I am order over chaos. I am the Eye of Ra at the prow of the Ship of the Gods. Under me, our enemies will perish in the darkness, and our world will flourish in the light of the Gods.’

This was followed by another persuasive fanfare from the trumpets; and now, most of the multitude roared their approval. The Queen’s spirit and her beauty seemed to have won them over. But I saw there were others who turned away, unsatisfied, shaking their heads. The battle to win the Two Lands after the death of Tutankhamun remained to be won. If I could prove a connection between Horemheb and Sobek then Horemheb’s position would crumble. If I did not, then I could not see, at this moment, what could prevent him from appropriating, in the name of the army, the kingship.