Egypt Four
Oct. 17th, 2006 08:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismeninGood morning my dears! Here is Egypt 4 all spread out for your delight, rather like naked Lij on a silk Persian rug. What a nice thought. :D
A word about my smashing beta Lady Sunrope. She tirelessly monitors my stories through weariness, cold, rain and difficult times. She doesn't take a month off and say "I can't do it", neither does she shrink at telling me if I've made a balls-up of it.
" "I doubt if anyone will ESSAY it?" " she said yesterday. "What's the matter with "try?" She was perfectly right of course. Because of her Elijah's eyes are not Cerulean Orbs, neither are they Limpid Pools of Light. Her COZ (Celestial Orb Zapper) hovers continually over the pages of my stories searching out such stuff.
"Thaumaturge?" she once muttered in unbelieving tones. "THAUMATURGE???" I changed it to magician. Yes, well.
So thank you my dear LSR - the one and only constant in my writings. Hugs you tight, xxx
Part Four - The Interrogators
Djadao threw a furious glance at Lij. "No one is taking my prize from me, and certainly not you, little man," he scoffed.
Lij smiled again. Djadao was beginning to understand that smile, for there was no humour in it whatsoever.
Lij stared at him. "Wait but a few more minutes, and my assistants will be here."
Hearing loud footsteps thundering down the corridor, Dom remarked, "indeed, I think they have arrived."
A harassed and rather frightened senior servant entered the room, followed by a tall man with a military bearing - helmeted, booted, and with a stern expression on his face.
He bowed towards Lij and saluted. "I am here, my Lord, at the hour you requested." He looked towards Djadao and nodded in greeting. It was obvious to Dom and Lij that the law officer knew their host. The nod was respectful; it was certain the merchant was held in high esteem in the community.
Djadao raised his hands in the air. "I do not know what all this is about, officer. I have bought a slave - what I thought was a slave - with my own money, honestly earned. If it proves that this man is not a slave, I surrender him freely. I was misled."
Ninus still sat on the floor, he had not said a word, obedient to Dom's sign that he remain silent and not give them away.
Now he spoke. "I am Ninus, Phoenician captain of the ship Eshmoun's Star, friend of Lord Menkh, the Kings' Vizier, and servant of the Great Ones, Knefer-Lijedefer and Sen-Adom, Living Forever. I would be glad if you would release me, so that I may continue on my journey to see them. I have vital news for them that cannot be delayed."
Dom cast a quick glance at Lij at these words, but said nothing.
Djadao was still furious, and demanded an explanation. "What right have you to send for police to come into my home? Until ten minutes ago you did not know there was anybody held here. By what right, I say?"
The officer looked at the merchant, not without a little sympathy. "This man," he said, pointing at Lij, "has something in his possession that could not be gainsaid. Once he had showed it to me I was powerless to act in any way, except according to his will."
The officer bowed slightly towards Lij, who bowed solemnly in return.
Djadao shook his head. "What thing do you possess that so binds a man to act?" he asked in a peevish tone.
Lij reached into the scrip at his waist, and drew out a small object, showing it to the bemused merchant.
"I have this," he replied, in a quiet voice. Djadao stared at it, uncomprehending, his dark eyes clouded with confusion.
"It is the Seal of Horus," Dom said as Lij put the figure of the god Horus back in his purse.
Djadao took a deep breath. He knew there was no recourse against this seal of authority.
"Anyone bearing the Seal of Horus is in authority equal to that of the Kings. It must be instantly obeyed, or death is the result." Dom said, as Lij continued to stare at Ninus, still chained and seated on the floor.
Dom saw with needle sharp clarity the expression on Lij's face as he looked at Ninus, and realised that Lij was remembering his own inprisonment by Ede in Tara's cellars, where he had been even more badly injured that Ninus appeared to be.
Suddenly Lij moved as if waking from sleep. "Release this man. We will speak with him privately. Hold the merchant until I give word as to what must be done with him. There is more to the story that needs sifting. We shall stay here, but he must be confined elsewhere. Take him away until I send for him."
The police officer having received the key from Djadao, unlocked Ninus's bonds, and Dom helped his friend to his feet.
The officers came into the room and escorted a silent Djadao out of his house.
"What shall we do, now, Lord?" the senior officer said, looking at the two men for instruction.
Lij smiled at the officer. It was his friendly smile and the man softened visibly under it.
"Have the household gathered together, and tell them that they are to obey us implicitly, on pain of death - see that they understand this - from the wife down to the scullions in the kitchens. And find Rasui, the servant boy, and bring him to us. We shall be attending to our friend's needs; it will not be difficult to find us, the house is not so large, after all."
The soldiers left, and Ninus was now alone with Dom and Lij. Suddenly their friend fell to his knees and kissed Lij's foot, then Dom's.
Both men uttered a protest and raised Ninus to his feet. "None of that between us, Ninus - Ninus you will always be to us, regardless of your true name. Come, we must get you bathed and your wounds tended."
Shakily holding on to Dom's arm, Ninus walked down the corridor, Lij following, this time a genuine smile lightening his handsome features.
***
The boy Rasui was found to have been badly beaten, and was lying on his pallet in the servants quarters. Lij, his lips pressed tightly together, stared at the sleeping boy, and ordered that a good physician be found to tend to the lad.
They went then to Ninus, and stayed with him until the physician had given him a sleeping draught. He told them Ninus would sleep the night in peace and comfort. Deciding to wait until he had recovered a little to question him, they went to Djadao's office, and, sending for another chair, and some wine and water, laid their plan of action.
"What do you think it is that Ninus had to tell us, Dom?" Lij said as he poured water into the cups of wine.
Dom smiled at Lij as he took the cup from him. He could see now was not the time to ask Lij of his thoughts concerning Ninus's imprisonment. He would do that in bed, later, where they often talked privately together. "It cannot have been that urgent, my love, otherwise Ninus would have told us of it, despite his pain. You know how he is."
Lij nodded his head in agreement. "That is true. We must leave that subject until he wakes. It is not late - I think we should interview one or two of the household members before we retire."
They sent for the wife. She came with her nose in the air, and her lips tightly pressed together, which did not bode well for any information they might attempt to get from her.
The two officers who brought her, stationed themselves either side of the door, but Dom gestured that they leave. Nothing would be got out of her, he thought, with two officers of the law standing behind her.
As an officer closed the door, she sat on the stool and stared at them across the desk, saying nothing.
"Tell us what you know of this matter, and it will go easier for you." Lij said staring at her with a coldness that matched her own.
She made a dismissive gesture. "I know nothing. The man was brought here, my husband paid for him, he used him for his pleasure, that is all I know. I do not concern myself with things of this nature - it is not my business."
Lij leaned over the desk and aimed his penetrating stare at the woman. "It is not your business whom your husband lies with when he is not in your bed?"
The woman laughed, but it was a dry, harsh sound. "He does not lie in my bed; he is incapable of congress with a woman unless she has the body of a young man. I am too rounded for his tastes. I am here merely to give him status amongst his equals, and run his house. What will happen to him?"
Dom looked thoughtfully at her. It was obvious to him that her question was only asked because she was unsure of her own position, now that her husband had been arrested.
"He will be taken to the Royal Palace where judgement on him will be passed by the Gods. He will not return. After we have questioned the servants, if it was found that you were complicit in this plot to kidnap and rape a servant of the Gods, you will join him there. Now have you anything to say?"
For the first time during the interview she looked afraid. She twisted her hands in her lap. "What can I tell you? He went to the port - Tolan, I think it was - and he came back with this man. He said he had brought him in a tavern there for three debens of silver. It was not cheap. I railed at him for spending so much money when there were slaves and servants aplenty here who could be had by him free of cost. He told me he liked the thrill of taking someone who was not bound to him..."
Her voice trailed away. Lij got up and paced about the room. "So this was not the first time he had brought someone he had bought to the house, lady?" He fixed his eyes on her, and she quailed under his merciless gaze.
"No," she whispered.
Lij sat down again. "And where are the other men, now?"
She looked at the floor. "They are dead. He uses them until he kills them. This gives him much pleasure. Mostly they are buried in the patch of ground at the back of the warehouse. Except..."
"Except?" Dom prodded. "Except one, I believe. Now what happened to him?"
She shook her head. "I do not understand how you know of this...nor do I know where they took him, or who it was that helped my husband. He did not do it alone, of that I am certain. But I do not know why they took him away, or where. That is all I know, I swear. Please believe me!"
Lij dismissed her with a curt nod, and when she had gone, he turned to his spouse. "I believe that what she has said - as far as it went - was the truth. I do not believe she told us all she knew, but she was afraid enough for herself to say more than her husband would care for. Let us speak with one more household member before we retire, my love. I admit to being weary."
Dom rubbed his hand down Lij's back, soothing the tension he felt there. "I shall lie in your arms, soon, muh kree - which is as you desire it, and I shall kiss your weariness away."
***
The next person to be admitted was the household steward. A stolid, calm man, he entered the room and stood before the two men patiently, awaiting their pleasure.
Dom gestured that he sit down, which he did with reluctance, and waited for the questions to begin.
"You understand how precarious your position is here, do you not?" Dom remarked, taking a small sip from the cup in front of him.
The man's brow wrinkled in puzzlement. "How so, Lord? I am bound to do as my master commands me, that is law."
Dom brought his hand down on the desk with a loud thump. "But you are not bound to do as he commands you if he is breaking the law, man - surely you know this? You are a free man, not a slave. It is your duty to report him to the authorities concerning these matters. He has killed men in this house for his sport. This you have not reported - as the Great Ones have commanded that the people do in such cases. It will go ill with you, if you do not assist us now."
The man looked shocked at first, and then shrugged fatalistically. "You do not know the whole matter, my Lords." He rose, and opened the door to look down the corridor, and, satisfied that there was no one listening, sat down again.
"The police chief is a particular friend of my master. Indeed, he often took his pleasure with the men in the cellars whilst Djadao watched. What was the point of reporting anything to him? He would have told my master, and my master would have had me killed, or sold away as a slave. That is the truth of it."
Dom glanced at Lij, who nodded, as if he had heard Dom's unspoken thoughts. "Then you are not to blame in this matter. We hold you be free of the guilt of these deaths. If the upholders of the law are corrupt, then the people have no recourse for justice. Say nothing of what you have said or heard in this room to others, on pain of death. It will not go ill with you if you keep your own counsel. We do not wish to scare the guilty away."
The man rose and bowed slightly to the two men behind the desk. "I did not think to find justice in this matter for myself. I thought that you would be anxious only to condemn. I see that I was wrong. There is justice for the poor in this Land after all. You may trust me to hold my tongue."
Dom and Lij decided that that was enough for one day, and retired to the chamber allotted to them. They noticed there was only one bed. The men grinned at each other - this was an observant household, and perhaps more information would be gained than they had already heard.
***
The first thing they did in the morning, however, was to visit Rasui. They found the boy rested, but still in pain. Lij knelt by the side of his pallet and reassured him that no-one would lay a hand on him again. To prove these words he sent for the head steward and issued orders that if the mistress attempted to strike this lad, or anyone else in the house, she was to be restrained and the matter reported to him immediately. And the steward was to convey this order to his mistress as soon as possible
The boy turned his face into his arm and wept. The two men stayed with him for a while, and although Rasui wished to help them in their search for the truth, they found that he knew nothing further that could assist them. They left him to rest and went to Ninus.
He looked much better after a comfortable night's sleep in a bed, and greeted them with a smile.
As he was looking stronger, Dom ventured to ask what the urgent news was that he had for them.
Ninus's face fell. "It was a letter for you, Dom, from your brother, Cormac. Unfortunately it was lost when I was kidnapped by that bastard in the tavern at Tolan."
Dom's heart missed a beat when he realised that there was a letter from his brother that he would never see. However, Ninus was smiling.
"But you know me well. Great One - so closely acquainted as we have been over the past years. So you must know that I opened the letter and read it. And I remember - because I was trained to do so - every single word."
Dom leapt up from his chair and hugged his friend tight. "Tell me!" he said, grinning, instantly forgiving his friend's snooping.
"Most beloved and esteemed brother - as you will see from this letter, Ninus has been at Tara. He pronounced the new Keep very fine - as it is. I wish you could see it for yourself.
He has brought me wine from the East, which is better for my stomach than the rough beverages we have here. He is a rogue, for his charges are extortionate, but one cannot help liking the man. He did not intend to come here, for, otherwise, he said, he would have brought a letter from you - but, being driven inland by bad weather, he thought it politic to dispose of his cargo somewhere where he would be paid over the price for it. I know you can see the grin on his face as he said this.
All is well with us here. I found both a lover and a wife in the same year. My wife, Aithne, is a kind, sweet lady, who has given me two sons less than a year apart, to brighten my days. Naturally, they are called Dom and Lij - what else? They are two and three years old, and as wild as a pair of buck deer.
My lover is someone you know - Cassawn, Captain of the Guard, for his spouse, Brian, was killed by a fall from his horse a bare six months after you left. We drifted to each other for consolation at first, but now it is a deep and abiding thing which will last until death parts us. My wife - may Maeve bless her abundantly - understands these things, and feels no jealousy towards him, or he towards her. A king must get heirs, after all, he says.
It is still my earnest hope to see you and Lij when I am no longer able to rule my country effectively - I am much plagued with an ache in my bones which Ninus said would be much alleviated by the warm dryness of the desert. Look for me one night, for I swear I will come.
Give my love - for I know you understand it - to Lij, and kiss him for me. He is still the Bright Star of my heart, and will ever be. I embrace you, my brother, and I miss you more than I can ever say.
Your loving Brother, Cormac Mac Airt, King of Erin."
Dom's eyes filled with tears, and, as he looked at his beloved spouse, he saw that his too, were wet.
"Thank you, Ninus, my friend. Ever am I grateful you are our Spy-in-Chief, for you have brought my love much joy by remembering this message from our brother, Cormac." Lij patted Ninus's arm in companionable friendship. There was no ceremony between these men, except at court where it was necessary, as all of them understood.
Dom cleared his throat, forcing himself back from the green fields of his birthland, to his present life with his love in the heat of the desert. "So you were not bought by Djadao as a slave, Ninus?"
Ninus spat his disgust. "No, Dom, I was not! What slave is tricked out in gold and silk, and anointed with attar of roses at a silver deben the pound?"
Lij slapped his thigh. "Of course! That is the perfume I remembered. But I must admit it smelled better on you, Ninus, than it did on that fat slug, Djadao! He reeked of it."
Ninus's face broke into a grin. "It should be used sparingly, indeed. Come to think of it, there was a small phial of it in my pack at the tavern. The letter was with it, too. Perhaps both were brought by him from Tolan..."
Lij immediately left the room and summoned a servant to take him to Djadao's room. They found the pack in a chest. The letter was still in it, addressed as it was, merely to "Dom Egypt." It had obviously been of no interest to the thieving merchant, although he had opened it.
Lij bore it triumphantly back to Dom, who received it with a kiss that he said was owed from Cormac. His eyes, however, promised further embraces later.
He read it through after Dom had perused it, and realized why Djadao had abandoned it. It was written in the Gaelic, and no-one in the land outside the three men in this room, Menkh and four young people at the Palace, could understand it.
Ninus was disposed to sleep, and, assured that he had nothing further to disclose than that he was drugged at the tavern and taken against his will, Dom and Lij retired to the office to consider what they knew.
***
"Do you think, Lij, that Djadao and the epistates will try to escape on their way to the Palace? For neither of them knows the steward has revealed their relationship. Not yet, at any rate."
Lij rubbed his chin, and placed a few figs and some bread on his dish, as breakfast had been brought there at their request. "I do not think they will try it before then. After all, how do they know when we will send for them? They could only get a day ahead at most - and there are only two directions to travel from here - east or west, bounded as the other points are by mountains or desert. They will hardly travel east and be nearer to the source of their punishment - The Palace - so they will make for Tolan, and sail to foreign parts."
Dom nodded his agreement. "We must see to the digging up of the burial place, Lij. The dead need respectful burial, not to be shoved in a hole like a dead dog. It puzzles me, greatly, Lij - why did they take Sheba's lover down river, and transport him so far? Why did they not bury him here, like the others?"
Lij took a sip of the pomegranate juice the steward had had pressed for him, and ate a fig, and some soft white bread. "I think the answer might lie in something Makeda said to us when she petitioned our aid in finding her lover, Dom. Remember she said "He was, according to my intelligence, last seen at Tolan - but in what circumstances my informant could not say. Therefore, I have posted, all over Egypt, a large reward for information, or for his body, dead or alive,
"A large reward might move them to act - depending on the amount offered."
Dom dipped bread in his wine. "Did she say how much it was, Lij? Your memory is so much keener than is mine."
Lij grinned. "Five debens of gold. A kingly ransom."
Dom let out a breath. "Indeed! And it may be they wished to claim it somewhere where they were not known. After we have spoken to the rest of the household, let us send for them both - and see them one at a time, with one knowing the other is being interviewed. It might prove interesting. But first, we must send to the next town for reinforcements. We do not yet know how far the corruption here spreads. It might not only be the chief officer who is involved."
The interviews with the rest of the household proved unenlightening. None of the kitchen staff were asked to provide food for the men held in the cellar. Sometimes the master came and got some food, but that was all. To many of them it came as a total surprise to discover that there was anyone held in the cellar. Dom and Lij were used to judging whether people were telling the truth or not, and they did not think that anyone was lying to them.
Towards late afternoon a troop of officers from the next town descended on the house. They had come swiftly, because the messenger had told them there was a man here with the Seal of Horus, the chief officer explained to Dom.
Lij showed them the Seal, and the man gave a satisfied nod. "How may we serve you, Lord?"
Lij explained to the man that he must keep what he was told a secret on pain of death. He was not even to reveal it to his other officers. He was to go to the guard house, and separate the chief of police from the merchant, making it clear he was under arrest. Then he was to escort him here.
The man saluted briskly. "It shall be done according to your word, my Lord," he said, leaving them quickly.
Dom smiled at Lij. "Now let us see if we can get anything out of them, both knowing that the other is under arrest and maybe more interested in saving his own skin than that of his friend."
Lij sat behind the desk, and thoughtfully chewed an apple. Within minutes the officer was back with his prisoner, who could be heard shouting at his captors in the corridor.
"Shall I bring him, now, my Lord?" the new chief officer asked.
Dom give him a wave, regal in its economy, and Lij suppressed a smile.
"Send him in," Dom said.
A word about my smashing beta Lady Sunrope. She tirelessly monitors my stories through weariness, cold, rain and difficult times. She doesn't take a month off and say "I can't do it", neither does she shrink at telling me if I've made a balls-up of it.
" "I doubt if anyone will ESSAY it?" " she said yesterday. "What's the matter with "try?" She was perfectly right of course. Because of her Elijah's eyes are not Cerulean Orbs, neither are they Limpid Pools of Light. Her COZ (Celestial Orb Zapper) hovers continually over the pages of my stories searching out such stuff.
"Thaumaturge?" she once muttered in unbelieving tones. "THAUMATURGE???" I changed it to magician. Yes, well.
So thank you my dear LSR - the one and only constant in my writings. Hugs you tight, xxx
Part Four - The Interrogators
Djadao threw a furious glance at Lij. "No one is taking my prize from me, and certainly not you, little man," he scoffed.
Lij smiled again. Djadao was beginning to understand that smile, for there was no humour in it whatsoever.
Lij stared at him. "Wait but a few more minutes, and my assistants will be here."
Hearing loud footsteps thundering down the corridor, Dom remarked, "indeed, I think they have arrived."
A harassed and rather frightened senior servant entered the room, followed by a tall man with a military bearing - helmeted, booted, and with a stern expression on his face.
He bowed towards Lij and saluted. "I am here, my Lord, at the hour you requested." He looked towards Djadao and nodded in greeting. It was obvious to Dom and Lij that the law officer knew their host. The nod was respectful; it was certain the merchant was held in high esteem in the community.
Djadao raised his hands in the air. "I do not know what all this is about, officer. I have bought a slave - what I thought was a slave - with my own money, honestly earned. If it proves that this man is not a slave, I surrender him freely. I was misled."
Ninus still sat on the floor, he had not said a word, obedient to Dom's sign that he remain silent and not give them away.
Now he spoke. "I am Ninus, Phoenician captain of the ship Eshmoun's Star, friend of Lord Menkh, the Kings' Vizier, and servant of the Great Ones, Knefer-Lijedefer and Sen-Adom, Living Forever. I would be glad if you would release me, so that I may continue on my journey to see them. I have vital news for them that cannot be delayed."
Dom cast a quick glance at Lij at these words, but said nothing.
Djadao was still furious, and demanded an explanation. "What right have you to send for police to come into my home? Until ten minutes ago you did not know there was anybody held here. By what right, I say?"
The officer looked at the merchant, not without a little sympathy. "This man," he said, pointing at Lij, "has something in his possession that could not be gainsaid. Once he had showed it to me I was powerless to act in any way, except according to his will."
The officer bowed slightly towards Lij, who bowed solemnly in return.
Djadao shook his head. "What thing do you possess that so binds a man to act?" he asked in a peevish tone.
Lij reached into the scrip at his waist, and drew out a small object, showing it to the bemused merchant.
"I have this," he replied, in a quiet voice. Djadao stared at it, uncomprehending, his dark eyes clouded with confusion.
"It is the Seal of Horus," Dom said as Lij put the figure of the god Horus back in his purse.
Djadao took a deep breath. He knew there was no recourse against this seal of authority.
"Anyone bearing the Seal of Horus is in authority equal to that of the Kings. It must be instantly obeyed, or death is the result." Dom said, as Lij continued to stare at Ninus, still chained and seated on the floor.
Dom saw with needle sharp clarity the expression on Lij's face as he looked at Ninus, and realised that Lij was remembering his own inprisonment by Ede in Tara's cellars, where he had been even more badly injured that Ninus appeared to be.
Suddenly Lij moved as if waking from sleep. "Release this man. We will speak with him privately. Hold the merchant until I give word as to what must be done with him. There is more to the story that needs sifting. We shall stay here, but he must be confined elsewhere. Take him away until I send for him."
The police officer having received the key from Djadao, unlocked Ninus's bonds, and Dom helped his friend to his feet.
The officers came into the room and escorted a silent Djadao out of his house.
"What shall we do, now, Lord?" the senior officer said, looking at the two men for instruction.
Lij smiled at the officer. It was his friendly smile and the man softened visibly under it.
"Have the household gathered together, and tell them that they are to obey us implicitly, on pain of death - see that they understand this - from the wife down to the scullions in the kitchens. And find Rasui, the servant boy, and bring him to us. We shall be attending to our friend's needs; it will not be difficult to find us, the house is not so large, after all."
The soldiers left, and Ninus was now alone with Dom and Lij. Suddenly their friend fell to his knees and kissed Lij's foot, then Dom's.
Both men uttered a protest and raised Ninus to his feet. "None of that between us, Ninus - Ninus you will always be to us, regardless of your true name. Come, we must get you bathed and your wounds tended."
Shakily holding on to Dom's arm, Ninus walked down the corridor, Lij following, this time a genuine smile lightening his handsome features.
***
The boy Rasui was found to have been badly beaten, and was lying on his pallet in the servants quarters. Lij, his lips pressed tightly together, stared at the sleeping boy, and ordered that a good physician be found to tend to the lad.
They went then to Ninus, and stayed with him until the physician had given him a sleeping draught. He told them Ninus would sleep the night in peace and comfort. Deciding to wait until he had recovered a little to question him, they went to Djadao's office, and, sending for another chair, and some wine and water, laid their plan of action.
"What do you think it is that Ninus had to tell us, Dom?" Lij said as he poured water into the cups of wine.
Dom smiled at Lij as he took the cup from him. He could see now was not the time to ask Lij of his thoughts concerning Ninus's imprisonment. He would do that in bed, later, where they often talked privately together. "It cannot have been that urgent, my love, otherwise Ninus would have told us of it, despite his pain. You know how he is."
Lij nodded his head in agreement. "That is true. We must leave that subject until he wakes. It is not late - I think we should interview one or two of the household members before we retire."
They sent for the wife. She came with her nose in the air, and her lips tightly pressed together, which did not bode well for any information they might attempt to get from her.
The two officers who brought her, stationed themselves either side of the door, but Dom gestured that they leave. Nothing would be got out of her, he thought, with two officers of the law standing behind her.
As an officer closed the door, she sat on the stool and stared at them across the desk, saying nothing.
"Tell us what you know of this matter, and it will go easier for you." Lij said staring at her with a coldness that matched her own.
She made a dismissive gesture. "I know nothing. The man was brought here, my husband paid for him, he used him for his pleasure, that is all I know. I do not concern myself with things of this nature - it is not my business."
Lij leaned over the desk and aimed his penetrating stare at the woman. "It is not your business whom your husband lies with when he is not in your bed?"
The woman laughed, but it was a dry, harsh sound. "He does not lie in my bed; he is incapable of congress with a woman unless she has the body of a young man. I am too rounded for his tastes. I am here merely to give him status amongst his equals, and run his house. What will happen to him?"
Dom looked thoughtfully at her. It was obvious to him that her question was only asked because she was unsure of her own position, now that her husband had been arrested.
"He will be taken to the Royal Palace where judgement on him will be passed by the Gods. He will not return. After we have questioned the servants, if it was found that you were complicit in this plot to kidnap and rape a servant of the Gods, you will join him there. Now have you anything to say?"
For the first time during the interview she looked afraid. She twisted her hands in her lap. "What can I tell you? He went to the port - Tolan, I think it was - and he came back with this man. He said he had brought him in a tavern there for three debens of silver. It was not cheap. I railed at him for spending so much money when there were slaves and servants aplenty here who could be had by him free of cost. He told me he liked the thrill of taking someone who was not bound to him..."
Her voice trailed away. Lij got up and paced about the room. "So this was not the first time he had brought someone he had bought to the house, lady?" He fixed his eyes on her, and she quailed under his merciless gaze.
"No," she whispered.
Lij sat down again. "And where are the other men, now?"
She looked at the floor. "They are dead. He uses them until he kills them. This gives him much pleasure. Mostly they are buried in the patch of ground at the back of the warehouse. Except..."
"Except?" Dom prodded. "Except one, I believe. Now what happened to him?"
She shook her head. "I do not understand how you know of this...nor do I know where they took him, or who it was that helped my husband. He did not do it alone, of that I am certain. But I do not know why they took him away, or where. That is all I know, I swear. Please believe me!"
Lij dismissed her with a curt nod, and when she had gone, he turned to his spouse. "I believe that what she has said - as far as it went - was the truth. I do not believe she told us all she knew, but she was afraid enough for herself to say more than her husband would care for. Let us speak with one more household member before we retire, my love. I admit to being weary."
Dom rubbed his hand down Lij's back, soothing the tension he felt there. "I shall lie in your arms, soon, muh kree - which is as you desire it, and I shall kiss your weariness away."
***
The next person to be admitted was the household steward. A stolid, calm man, he entered the room and stood before the two men patiently, awaiting their pleasure.
Dom gestured that he sit down, which he did with reluctance, and waited for the questions to begin.
"You understand how precarious your position is here, do you not?" Dom remarked, taking a small sip from the cup in front of him.
The man's brow wrinkled in puzzlement. "How so, Lord? I am bound to do as my master commands me, that is law."
Dom brought his hand down on the desk with a loud thump. "But you are not bound to do as he commands you if he is breaking the law, man - surely you know this? You are a free man, not a slave. It is your duty to report him to the authorities concerning these matters. He has killed men in this house for his sport. This you have not reported - as the Great Ones have commanded that the people do in such cases. It will go ill with you, if you do not assist us now."
The man looked shocked at first, and then shrugged fatalistically. "You do not know the whole matter, my Lords." He rose, and opened the door to look down the corridor, and, satisfied that there was no one listening, sat down again.
"The police chief is a particular friend of my master. Indeed, he often took his pleasure with the men in the cellars whilst Djadao watched. What was the point of reporting anything to him? He would have told my master, and my master would have had me killed, or sold away as a slave. That is the truth of it."
Dom glanced at Lij, who nodded, as if he had heard Dom's unspoken thoughts. "Then you are not to blame in this matter. We hold you be free of the guilt of these deaths. If the upholders of the law are corrupt, then the people have no recourse for justice. Say nothing of what you have said or heard in this room to others, on pain of death. It will not go ill with you if you keep your own counsel. We do not wish to scare the guilty away."
The man rose and bowed slightly to the two men behind the desk. "I did not think to find justice in this matter for myself. I thought that you would be anxious only to condemn. I see that I was wrong. There is justice for the poor in this Land after all. You may trust me to hold my tongue."
Dom and Lij decided that that was enough for one day, and retired to the chamber allotted to them. They noticed there was only one bed. The men grinned at each other - this was an observant household, and perhaps more information would be gained than they had already heard.
***
The first thing they did in the morning, however, was to visit Rasui. They found the boy rested, but still in pain. Lij knelt by the side of his pallet and reassured him that no-one would lay a hand on him again. To prove these words he sent for the head steward and issued orders that if the mistress attempted to strike this lad, or anyone else in the house, she was to be restrained and the matter reported to him immediately. And the steward was to convey this order to his mistress as soon as possible
The boy turned his face into his arm and wept. The two men stayed with him for a while, and although Rasui wished to help them in their search for the truth, they found that he knew nothing further that could assist them. They left him to rest and went to Ninus.
He looked much better after a comfortable night's sleep in a bed, and greeted them with a smile.
As he was looking stronger, Dom ventured to ask what the urgent news was that he had for them.
Ninus's face fell. "It was a letter for you, Dom, from your brother, Cormac. Unfortunately it was lost when I was kidnapped by that bastard in the tavern at Tolan."
Dom's heart missed a beat when he realised that there was a letter from his brother that he would never see. However, Ninus was smiling.
"But you know me well. Great One - so closely acquainted as we have been over the past years. So you must know that I opened the letter and read it. And I remember - because I was trained to do so - every single word."
Dom leapt up from his chair and hugged his friend tight. "Tell me!" he said, grinning, instantly forgiving his friend's snooping.
"Most beloved and esteemed brother - as you will see from this letter, Ninus has been at Tara. He pronounced the new Keep very fine - as it is. I wish you could see it for yourself.
He has brought me wine from the East, which is better for my stomach than the rough beverages we have here. He is a rogue, for his charges are extortionate, but one cannot help liking the man. He did not intend to come here, for, otherwise, he said, he would have brought a letter from you - but, being driven inland by bad weather, he thought it politic to dispose of his cargo somewhere where he would be paid over the price for it. I know you can see the grin on his face as he said this.
All is well with us here. I found both a lover and a wife in the same year. My wife, Aithne, is a kind, sweet lady, who has given me two sons less than a year apart, to brighten my days. Naturally, they are called Dom and Lij - what else? They are two and three years old, and as wild as a pair of buck deer.
My lover is someone you know - Cassawn, Captain of the Guard, for his spouse, Brian, was killed by a fall from his horse a bare six months after you left. We drifted to each other for consolation at first, but now it is a deep and abiding thing which will last until death parts us. My wife - may Maeve bless her abundantly - understands these things, and feels no jealousy towards him, or he towards her. A king must get heirs, after all, he says.
It is still my earnest hope to see you and Lij when I am no longer able to rule my country effectively - I am much plagued with an ache in my bones which Ninus said would be much alleviated by the warm dryness of the desert. Look for me one night, for I swear I will come.
Give my love - for I know you understand it - to Lij, and kiss him for me. He is still the Bright Star of my heart, and will ever be. I embrace you, my brother, and I miss you more than I can ever say.
Your loving Brother, Cormac Mac Airt, King of Erin."
Dom's eyes filled with tears, and, as he looked at his beloved spouse, he saw that his too, were wet.
"Thank you, Ninus, my friend. Ever am I grateful you are our Spy-in-Chief, for you have brought my love much joy by remembering this message from our brother, Cormac." Lij patted Ninus's arm in companionable friendship. There was no ceremony between these men, except at court where it was necessary, as all of them understood.
Dom cleared his throat, forcing himself back from the green fields of his birthland, to his present life with his love in the heat of the desert. "So you were not bought by Djadao as a slave, Ninus?"
Ninus spat his disgust. "No, Dom, I was not! What slave is tricked out in gold and silk, and anointed with attar of roses at a silver deben the pound?"
Lij slapped his thigh. "Of course! That is the perfume I remembered. But I must admit it smelled better on you, Ninus, than it did on that fat slug, Djadao! He reeked of it."
Ninus's face broke into a grin. "It should be used sparingly, indeed. Come to think of it, there was a small phial of it in my pack at the tavern. The letter was with it, too. Perhaps both were brought by him from Tolan..."
Lij immediately left the room and summoned a servant to take him to Djadao's room. They found the pack in a chest. The letter was still in it, addressed as it was, merely to "Dom Egypt." It had obviously been of no interest to the thieving merchant, although he had opened it.
Lij bore it triumphantly back to Dom, who received it with a kiss that he said was owed from Cormac. His eyes, however, promised further embraces later.
He read it through after Dom had perused it, and realized why Djadao had abandoned it. It was written in the Gaelic, and no-one in the land outside the three men in this room, Menkh and four young people at the Palace, could understand it.
Ninus was disposed to sleep, and, assured that he had nothing further to disclose than that he was drugged at the tavern and taken against his will, Dom and Lij retired to the office to consider what they knew.
***
"Do you think, Lij, that Djadao and the epistates will try to escape on their way to the Palace? For neither of them knows the steward has revealed their relationship. Not yet, at any rate."
Lij rubbed his chin, and placed a few figs and some bread on his dish, as breakfast had been brought there at their request. "I do not think they will try it before then. After all, how do they know when we will send for them? They could only get a day ahead at most - and there are only two directions to travel from here - east or west, bounded as the other points are by mountains or desert. They will hardly travel east and be nearer to the source of their punishment - The Palace - so they will make for Tolan, and sail to foreign parts."
Dom nodded his agreement. "We must see to the digging up of the burial place, Lij. The dead need respectful burial, not to be shoved in a hole like a dead dog. It puzzles me, greatly, Lij - why did they take Sheba's lover down river, and transport him so far? Why did they not bury him here, like the others?"
Lij took a sip of the pomegranate juice the steward had had pressed for him, and ate a fig, and some soft white bread. "I think the answer might lie in something Makeda said to us when she petitioned our aid in finding her lover, Dom. Remember she said "He was, according to my intelligence, last seen at Tolan - but in what circumstances my informant could not say. Therefore, I have posted, all over Egypt, a large reward for information, or for his body, dead or alive,
"A large reward might move them to act - depending on the amount offered."
Dom dipped bread in his wine. "Did she say how much it was, Lij? Your memory is so much keener than is mine."
Lij grinned. "Five debens of gold. A kingly ransom."
Dom let out a breath. "Indeed! And it may be they wished to claim it somewhere where they were not known. After we have spoken to the rest of the household, let us send for them both - and see them one at a time, with one knowing the other is being interviewed. It might prove interesting. But first, we must send to the next town for reinforcements. We do not yet know how far the corruption here spreads. It might not only be the chief officer who is involved."
The interviews with the rest of the household proved unenlightening. None of the kitchen staff were asked to provide food for the men held in the cellar. Sometimes the master came and got some food, but that was all. To many of them it came as a total surprise to discover that there was anyone held in the cellar. Dom and Lij were used to judging whether people were telling the truth or not, and they did not think that anyone was lying to them.
Towards late afternoon a troop of officers from the next town descended on the house. They had come swiftly, because the messenger had told them there was a man here with the Seal of Horus, the chief officer explained to Dom.
Lij showed them the Seal, and the man gave a satisfied nod. "How may we serve you, Lord?"
Lij explained to the man that he must keep what he was told a secret on pain of death. He was not even to reveal it to his other officers. He was to go to the guard house, and separate the chief of police from the merchant, making it clear he was under arrest. Then he was to escort him here.
The man saluted briskly. "It shall be done according to your word, my Lord," he said, leaving them quickly.
Dom smiled at Lij. "Now let us see if we can get anything out of them, both knowing that the other is under arrest and maybe more interested in saving his own skin than that of his friend."
Lij sat behind the desk, and thoughtfully chewed an apple. Within minutes the officer was back with his prisoner, who could be heard shouting at his captors in the corridor.
"Shall I bring him, now, my Lord?" the new chief officer asked.
Dom give him a wave, regal in its economy, and Lij suppressed a smile.
"Send him in," Dom said.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-10-17 07:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-17 10:50 am (UTC)I'm so enjoying this Issi. Lij and Dom make a wonderful whodunnit team!
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Date: 2006-10-17 04:28 pm (UTC)love them so much....
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Date: 2006-10-17 04:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-17 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-17 08:41 pm (UTC)I'm really enjoying this Ancient Egyptian *who-dunnit*... Things are beginning to fall into place, but there are still pieces of the jigsaw yet to be fitted in, I'm sure. Looking forward to more fascinating revelations :)
*sipping my pomegranate-and-cranberry juice*
Many thanks to you and to your faithful beta :)
Btw, can't access the History Matters page, perhaps because so many others are already on there...? If I can't manage it tonight, do you know if it's possible to add reports about 17th on a later day?
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Date: 2006-10-18 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-18 09:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-18 09:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-18 09:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-18 09:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-18 09:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-18 09:41 am (UTC)I think there's a month to post anyway. I can't get on it either. But there's no rush! xxx
no subject
Date: 2006-10-18 09:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-18 07:18 pm (UTC)Thanks for the info, though I did get to the blog after 9 o'clock by going via their Home Page.
XXX
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Date: 2006-10-18 10:11 pm (UTC)I'll be thinking of you. How are you, dear friend?
Love you lots
Janie
XXXXXXX
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Date: 2006-10-19 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 07:59 am (UTC)I loved the letter form Conrac, and I am so happy that he managed to find both wife and lover! I really liked his role in Mac Tire and I was sad for him, so yeah. Thanks for giving him all those blessings :)
no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 11:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 05:06 pm (UTC)Awww, poor you! A nose op... As you say, there's always a something :/
*hugs you*
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Date: 2006-10-19 06:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 06:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 07:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 09:05 pm (UTC)Oh no, a nose op! As you say, there's always a *something* :/ Hope you don't have to wait too long and that it sorts out the problem.
*hugs you 'til I get back*
XXXX
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Date: 2006-10-22 02:56 pm (UTC)“Dom saw with needle sharp clarity the expression on Lij's face as he looked at Ninus, and realised that Lij was remembering his own imprisonment by Ede in Tara's cellars where he was even more badly injured that Ninus appeared to be.”
When I read of Ninus’ treatment in the last chapter, this is exactly what came to my mind too.
I liked how you showed Dom and Lij getting information by figuring out how to scare them into telling all! What great interegators they are.
From Cormac’s letter: “Give my love - for I know you understand it - to Lij, and kiss him for me. He is still the Bright Star of my heart, and will ever be.”
*sigh* Me too.
Looking forward to the end chapter and unraveling of the mystery!
Hope the nose op goes well, Issi! *hugs*
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Date: 2009-08-15 11:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 09:07 am (UTC)