Shiri (19 page)

Josef bowed.
“The honour is mine, Divinity ... your father is not well?”

“You haven’t heard? Pharaoh was grievously wounded during the siege of
Aleppo. Some craven’s arrow took him in the gut. Despite the wound, he fought on ‘till victory was assured and Old Aratama at last bent the knee.” He glanced briefly at Solon before returning his gaze to Josef. “Since your friend here had decided to abandon him I sent my own man to tend him in his place.” He shrugged. “Still, perhaps that is for the best; Herben’s skills are beyond compare. He’s already sent away the fools that were botching the great one’s treatment, so I’m sure he’ll have him back to full health in short order.”

Solon raised his head, his eyes narrowing. Amenhotep ignored the look. “You wish to purchase cattle I presume?” The Co-Regent smiled, revealing teeth perfect and white as pearls.

“If it pleases Your Grace to sell, it will please me to buy.”

“They’re going cheap, a hundred and twenty copper rings per dozen, or the equivalent in salt, spice and grain.”

Josef laughed. “Do they come with golden collars and silver chains? I think perhaps I’ll return to Heliopolis and wait for your father to arrive with his batch.”

A delicate looking priest of
Amun
stepped forward at that. “You would barter with a god? Truly have the sun priests corrupted your mind if you think to argue coppers with-”

Amenhotep raised a silencing hand. He s
eemed more impressed than angry. “Let it be, Papis, this lordling amuses me.” He smiled at Josef. So you follow the sun priests now? Well then, let me put it in terms you can appreciate. My father is the sunset, his time is passing. But I ... I am the sunrise, and my time is nigh. Heliopolis would do well to keep in my favour.”

“They do not seem in the best of health,” Josef said a little more cautiously. “I’d not like to give more than ... five debens a piece.”

The Co-Regent’s face revealed nothing. “Yes, well, the journey was harsh and I had little enough fodder to spare for the likes of them. If you must have the truth of it I grow weary of the bastards. They do naught but piss and shit and stink and whinge. But five coppers is it?” He shook his head. “I’ve sold near four hundred at twice that price and better so far.”

“
Four hundred in two weeks,” Josef said. It was as he’d hoped.
They’re barely selling.
“Feed aside it will take time and coin to train ‘em into anything but the simplest of tasks and without men who can speak their words...”

Y
oung Prince Tuthmosis shrieked as if he’d just awoken from a nightmare. His doll fell to the stones and wide eyes stared at Josef in shock. Abruptly he turned and ran to the Co-Regent tugging on his arm. “Papa! Papa! “I dreamed I saw a red giant entombed in sand! He commanded me to free him!”

Josef stared at the boy curiously.
A red giant entombed in sand?
Narmer rolled his eyes and Amenhotep turned aggressively in his son’s direction. “What offal do you spout now, child?” The Prince didn’t seem to hear. All at once the boy appeared to sense Josef’s eyes on him. He turned slowly to meet them. His voice came surprisingly powerfully. “The shepherd seeks to free his flock.” Josef visibly paled as the boy’s unfocused eyes held his in a strange embrace.

Amenhotep jerked his head and Narmer took the young Prince almost roughly by the arm.
The Co-Regent frowned, the boy was an embarrassment. But still, if he or perhaps his younger brother could serve as a figurehead for the Memphite court then why not? Little point in burdening himself with such tasks, he wanted the power but not the responsibility, let others shoulder the burden of running an empire while he sipped the finest wines, ate the finest meats, and fucked the finest women. One of those women was glancing nervously at him, her eyes seeking permission to follow her husband. He granted it with a dismissive gesture before abruptly he turned back to Yuya. He no longer smiled. “The boy ... he suffers from the bloodfever, we give him poppies from the dreamfields of the east but ... well I fear they do more harm than good.” He seemed to grow suddenly impatient. “Five debens then ... how many need you?”

Josef gazed over his shoulder, there were perhaps eight thousand huddled and cringing in the giant courtyard below, what had happened to the rest, he didn
’t like to think. He breathed deep before turning and daring to meet the great one’s eyes. “All of them.”

XI

“You’re feeling better this evening?” Her mistress sounded somewhat suspicious.

The slave curtsied.
“Yes, m’lady, it was just a passing weakness.”

Tjuya nodded.
“Who said you could wear a shawl, Shiri? And such a crude piece too.” She sighed. “Oh, I suppose we can’t all be blessed with taste. In future I think it would be best if I chose your garb for you. For starters I would have you display your new style, it would be such a shame to hide it, especially after Meira went to such pains to make you less offensive to the eye.”

Shiri moved to take it off bu
t Tjuya stopped her with a wave. “No, no, on second thoughts perhaps it is best as is; the more of you is covered the better you look.” She moved past the Habiru, frowning as she inspected the villa. She ran a dainty finger along the mantel piece and scrutinised its tip with raised eyebrow. “I thought I told you to have the place cleaned before I arrived.”

“M’lady?”
The entire house was sparkling.
She’d spent the last two days, dusting and polishing every scrap of furniture before scrubbing ancient stains from the tiled floors.

Tjuya shook her head as Meira deposited the last of her mistress’s items in the master bedroom and with a bounce in her step went to inspect her new quarters. “No, no, this won’t do, Shiri; these floors are still so dirty. It may suffice for you Wildland folk, but you would have
me
sleep amidst such filth?”

I would have you sleep on the hard rock slopes of Aruna.
“No ... m’lady, but I thought I had them as clean as they’re ever like to get and I had to...”

“Leave the thinking to those better suited to it.” S
he pointed just in front of her. “You see, Shiri? There is a stain here.”

Shiri looked confused.
“Where? I don’t see any stain...”

Tjuya smiled, before ever so slowly tipping her Memphite Red all over the tiles. She always seemed to have a goblet hand
y. “Do you see it now, whore?” she laughed. “Have it clean before I return or I may just take Meira’s advice and introduce you to Jafar, he’s not a gentle lover ... or so I’m told.” She turned for the exit. “Meira? Meira? Do hurry up, Meira, even now the light of my life arrives at the Sun Gate.”

For an age Shiri stood in bitter silence, listening to their fading voices as they hurried to greet him. With a sigh she went back to her knees and tended the stain she’d
missed
. Almost in a trance she scrubbed and scrubbed, scrubbed until it was cleaner than clean and then scrubbed some more. She heard a noise behind her. “You’re going to rub a hole in the floor if you’re not careful.” She jumped up with a start, “Jos ...Yuya I thought you were...”

“I came by the south road, ‘twould take all night to get through the jams at the Sun Gate ... eight thousand, Shiri! I got eight thousand!” She raised her head slowly. His face was glowing, his lips wide in a broad smile, but as his eyes found hers hi
s look changed to one of horror. “Gods! What ... what have you done to your hair?”

She felt herself redden.
Do I look so awful?
“Nothing I ... I prefer it this way,” she’d done her best to conceal the damage. Meira had gone at her brutally, cutting all the way to bare skin in some parts while leaving others sprouting several inches of scrappy brown stubs. The shawl was bound tightly about her, but she could not hide behind it.

“But ... but it’s gone!” He made to reach for the shawl but she stepped back. “Who did this to you?” he was suddenly fuming, “Was it Hapu?” He spun in a whirl of fury and made for the door. “I’ll beat him bloody senseless! I warned the bastard, I warned him.”

“No! Leave him! I told you, I did it myself!” She grabbed him by the arm. “It was ... I ... I had lice.”

“Lice?”

“Yes, I think they’re off Ba’al. I went to see him yestermorn and well ...” she shook her head looking embarrassed.

Josef furrowed his
brow. S
he no longer wears the sandals I bought her.
“What’s going on here, Shiri?”

“I
... I’ve decided to move rooms. I don’t like the one I’m in now.”

“But you love that room, it has views
of the gardens and...”

“Maybe
I did once, but I don’t anymore. I ... don’t want to be reminded of what I ... we did. The basement suits me better.”

“The basement?!” he looked incredulous.
“Is this a joke? Shiri you don’t want this.”

“Am I such a fool that I need you to tell me what I want?”

He held something in his hand, a necklace of strange bluestones and was that gold? For a moment she imagined he’d got it for her, a faint smile, precious and fleeting as parting clouds on a grey winter’s morn threatened to break upon her lips. It vanished when she realised the truth of it.
Slaves aren’t allowed jewellery.

“You’re still determined to leave is that it?” She was making a point he concluded. She would live in misery until he agreed to get her out
.
“Alright then, if that’s what you want, I’ll get you out. I’ll escort you past the border myself, we’ll think of some excuse for the journey. I ... I can’t follow beyond that. I have to go through with this, I know that now.” His fingers squeezed about the delicate necklace of yellow gold and sky blue
faience
. He’d bought it for her in Memphis. Habiru weren’t meant to have jewellery, but he’d thought it might remind her that she was not really a slave.
Perhaps now was not the best time.
He slipped it into his coin pouch. “You can take Ba’al of course and another donkey besides, and a hundred debens will see you set for life.”

She watched him deftly slip the necklace into his pouch.
He’d probably been expecting to find Tjuya here.
“No I don’t want to leave,” she said. She imagined she saw a flicker of relief in his eyes.

He shook his head, looking increasingly confused. “You don’t? But why then are you...”

She exhaled pointedly. “Why must I always explain my reasons to you? Can a woman not cut her hair or change rooms without being questioned and interrogated about every little thing? Why must I answer for everything I do?”

“Shiri what’s happened? Did someone
-”

“
-So you did well in Memphis then?” The words sounded callus, disinterested. “I knew you would.”

For an age he just stood
there looking at her strangely. “Aye, well enough,” he said at length. He paused for a moment. “I told Solon who I am.”

Her eyes grew big.
“You told Solon?”
Here am I, going through hell to keep your secret safe, and all the while you’re waltzing around blathering to whomever you like.

“
He’s got rare skills and rarer wisdom. I can use him. He claims he wants to do what he can to help. I’m not sure if we should trust him though … what do you think?”

You
’ve already made your choice, why pretend my thoughts matter?
“A wise man takes whatever help is offered,” she said coldly
.
“I hope you found him helpful.” He could have taken her instead of Old Solon, but no, he’d deemed her skills were better suited to cleaning his floors and weeding his gardens.

He seemed to read part of her thoughts. “You wouldn’t have wanted to see all that again, Amenhotep, Narmer ... thousands of slaves being beaten and abused. I thought it would be best for you to be spared it.”

She turned and made to leave him. “Yes, you always do what’s best for me don’t you?” Her hand passed over her stomach and lingered there a moment.

He reached for her.
“Perhaps on the morrow we could...”

She shrugged him off and moved a few steps further away, all the while keeping her back to him. “I need to rest ... I have chores to tend to at first light.”

“Chores? Who told you to ... Shiri you don’t have to … I’m the slave and you’re the master remember?” He smiled that old smile of his.

Words, just words.
“Of course I have to, you fool! Are you really that stupid? What choice have you left me?” She watched his smile dissolve into a frown. Her words clearly hurt him.
Good I want to hurt him.
She turned towards him, angry now. “How long ‘till everybody is gossiping and asking questions about why of all the slaves I alone get to take my leisure about your villa? Why, even Meira is ever about town, running errands and doing chores.”

“To hell with them and their questions, a man can do as he will with his own bodyslave, and any who says different will get a smack in the mouth for his trouble.”

She heard voices approaching outside.
Tjuya.
She shook her head.
“You’re very young, Josef.”

He pursed his lips.
“Aye, so I’ve been told.”

She nodded.
“Younger than me.” She turned from him and headed for her basement. It was dank and dreary and smelled of mould. He called after her but she did not look back.