Bova, Ben Orion 07 Vengeance of Orion

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I shrugged.
As he led me down a narrower corridor, past another pair of golden-armored
guards and to a massive door of ebony set into a deep, stone doorway, Nefertu
seemed distinctly nervous, filled with an anxiety he could not hide. Was he
apprehensive about meeting Nekoptah, or was it something I had done? Or had
failed to do?
Another guard stood before the door. Without a word he opened it for Nefertu.
We stepped through the doorway into a sizable room. Morning sunlight slanted
through three windows on our right. The room was absolutely bare of decorations:
the stone walls were as blank as a prison cell's. The floor was empty and
uncovered. Far at the other end of the room, next to its only other door, was a
long table heaped with rolled-up writing scrolls. Two huge silver candlesticks
stood at each end of the table, the candles in them unlit.
Behind the desk sat an enormously fat man, his head shaved bald, his huge
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globulous body covered with a gray sleeveless robe that went to the floor. His
arms, flabby, thick, hairless, and pink as a baby pig, rested on the polished
wood of the table. Every finger and both his thumbs bore jeweled rings, some of
them so buried in flesh that they could not have been taken off in years. His
jowls were so huge that they cascaded down onto his chest and shoulders. I could
barely make out a pair of eyes embedded in that grossly corpulent face, studying
us as we crossed the long empty chamber to stand before his desk. His face was
painted: eyes lined with black kohl and daubed with green shadow above and below
them, his cheeks pink with rouge, his lips deep red.
Nefertu threw himself onto the floor and pressed his forehead against the bare
tiles. I remained standing, although I bowed slightly from the waist to show my
respect.
"O great Nekoptah," intoned Nefertu, from the floor, "high priest of dreaded
Ptah, right hand of mighty Merneptah, guide of the people, guardian of the Two
Lands, I bring you the barbarian Orion, as you commanded."
The high priest's fleshy painted lips curled in what might have been a smile.
"You may rise, Nefertu my servant. You have done well." His voice was a clear
sweet tenor. It sounded strange, such a lovely voice coming from such a gross,
ugly face. Then I realized that Nekoptah was a eunuch, one who had been
dedicated to the god's service in childhood.
Nefertu slowly climbed to his feet and stood beside me. His face was red,
whether from pressing it against the floor or from embarrassment at having done
so, I could not tell.
"And you, barbarian..."
"My name is Orion," I said.
Nefertu gasped at my effrontery. Nekoptah merely grunted.
"Orion, then," he granted. "My general Raseth tells me that your two dozen
Hittites will make a passable addition to our all-conquering army."
"They are fine men."
"I am not so easily satisfied, however," he said, his voice rising slightly.
"Raseth is of an age where he dwells in the past. I must look toward the future,
if I am to protect and guide our great king."
He eyed me carefully as he spoke, waiting for a reaction from me. I remained
silent.
"Therefore," he went on, "I have thought of a test that these recruits can
undertake."
Again he waited for a reply. Again I said nothing.
"You, Orion, will lead your men to the delta country, where the barbarian Sea
Peoples are raiding our coastal cities once again. One particularly troublesome
set of raiders flies a lion's-head emblem on their sails. You will find them and
destroy them, so that they will trouble the Lower Kingdom no longer."
Menalaos, I realized. Searching for Helen and ravaging the coastal cities,
looting as much as possible while he searches. Possibly with Agamemnon alongside
him.
"How many of these ships have been seen?" I asked.
Nekoptah seemed delighted that I had finally spoken. "Reports vary. At least
ten, possibly as many as two dozen."
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"And you expect two dozen soldiers to conquer two dozen shiploads of Achaians?"
"You will have other soldiers with you. I will see to that."
I shook my head. "With all respect, my lord..."
"Your holiness," Nefertu whispered.
It took an effort to get the words past my gag reflex. "With all respect your
holiness I did not intend to stay with the Hittites once they were accepted into
your army."
"Your intentions are of little interest," said Nekoptah. "The needs of the
kingdom are paramount."
Ignoring that, I continued, "I came here as escort to the Queen of Sparta, the
lady Helen..."
"Escort?" He smirked. "Or consort?"
I could feel the blood rising in me. With a deliberate effort I calmed myself,
constricted capillaries that would have colored my face.
Softly, I said, "So someone was spying on us in our rooms."
Nekoptah threw his head back and laughed. "Orion, do you think the king's chief
minister will allow strangers into the palace without keeping watch on them?
Every breath you take has been observed even the dagger you carry hidden beneath
your kilt was seen and reported to me."
I nodded acquiescence of the fact, knowing that there were armed guards standing
on the other side of the door behind the priest's desk, ready to defend their
master or slay us at the slightest word from him. Yet there was one thing that
Nekoptah did not know, for he had never observed me in action: I could tear out
his throat before the guards could open that door. And I could kill three or
four armed men, too, if I had to.
"I've been carrying it for so long now that it seems a part of my body," I said
meekly. "I'm sorry if it causes offense."
Nekoptah waved a fleshy hand, the rings on his fingers glittering in the morning
sunlight. "The chief priest of almighty Ptah is not afraid of a dagger," he said
grandly.
Nefertu shuffled his feet nervously, as if he wished he were somewhere else.
"As I was saying," I resumed, "I came here as escort to the lady Helen, Queen of
Sparta, princess of the fallen Troy. She wishes to reside in the Kingdom of the
Two Lands. She has wealth enough so that she would not be a burden on the
state..."
Nekoptah waggled a fat hand impatiently, a movement hard enough to make his
mountainous jowls quiver like ripples in a lake. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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