The Anathema of Akhenaten (Book 3 of the "Patrick Malone Adventures" series)

Chapter Seven

The caracal glared at Ay with his ears flattened against his skull. From where everyone was located, they could hear the caracal growling at Ay. "Akhenaten, be silent or so help me I will have you turned into a rug!" Ay ordered. The caracal's growl turned into a hiss. Shaking his head Ay looked at Patrick and asked: "Has that damn cat been causing you and Tia and trouble, Khaemweset?"

Shaking his head, Patrick answered: "No, my good lord. Hissed at me once but otherwise hasn't caused any trouble."

Ay extended his right leg and pointed at a rather prominent scratch mark on his knee. "Akhenaten here scratched me last week."

"Why?" Julie asked, alarmed at what she was hearing.

"He wouldn't move out of the way so I kicked him." Ay explained. "The dratted beast dared to retaliate."

"And well he should have." Julie said. "It was cruel of you to kick him!"

Ay stared before shaking his head. "I have no time for this nonsense." He muttered before leaving the room completely.

With Patrick, Julie, Patch and the caracal now alone in the room, Patrick stared at the caracal who hissed at him without any of the aggression it had given to Elizabeth. He then looked at his wife and asked Julie: "He is named 'Akhenaten?'"

"Probably like how Long John Silver named his parrot after Captain Flint." Julie conjectured.

"In mockery." Patrick finished.

Akhenaten approached the couple and their baby. Julie sat down on a bed and cradled Patch while Patrick observed Akhenaten's approach. The caracal did not hiss at Patrick as it approached, in fact he made his way past Patrick and jumped onto the bed, walked behind Julie and began to sniff Patch's head. Patch was currently tugging at Julie's hair.

"Oh, Patch!" Julie sighed. "Can you do something except tug at my hair?"

As if in answer, Patch took notice of Akhenaten and started to pet the caracal. With eyes wide, Akhenaten looked at Julie as if he was asking: "What is going on?"

Giving an amused giggle, Julie said to Akhenaten: "Patch likes you."

Smiling, Patrick approached and gently stroked Akhenaten's back. The caracal replied by turning his head and hissing at Patrick. Removing his hand from Akhenaten's back, Patrick looked up at the ceiling with an expression that asked: "Why is this cat like this?"

Then came a new knocking at the doorway. Patrick, Julie and Akhenaten turned their heads to see who it was and there stood Enrico. Seeing this new stranger, Akhenaten hissed again before once more sniffing Patch's head.

Pointing at the caracal, Enrico asked: "Is that thing alright?"

"He is fine, Uncle." Patrick said, extending a hand to stroke Akhenaten's back, only to stop when Akhenaten looked at him. "For the most part."

"So, what alias have you chosen for this time?" Julie asked, at first having her eyes on Akhenaten as he returned to sniffing Patch's head, then looking at her uncle-in-law.

"Antaeus." Enrico answered.

Julie was completely confused. "Huh?" Who was Antaeus? Was that someone from Hellenistic or Roman Egypt she had not heard of? She then looked to her husband, who only shrugged. Out of the four of them, Enrico did not have an alias connected to the nineteenth dynasty of Egypt.