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

Chapter Nine

The moment Ay finished speaking, Akhenaten charged forward and scratched the Grand Vizier on the back of his right leg. Letting out a pained cry and prepared to bring his staff of office down upon the caracal. Enrico stood up, grabbed the staff and wrenched it from the older man's hand.

"How dare you!" Ay exclaimed. "Do you have any idea who I am, Earth Giant? I am the Grand Vizier!"

In response, Enrico snapped the staff in two by forcing it against his right knee. He threw the broken pieces at Ay and said: "Now you are nothing."

"Nothing?" Ay inquired, growing angry at what he had just been called. "Nothing? I am the maternal uncle and father-in-law of King Akhenaten, the grandfather-in-law of Smenkhkare, the great-uncle and grandfather-in-law of Tutankhamun, I am—"

"Outside of your relations to those you mentioned you are nothing!" Patrick interrupted. "Nothing but a sad, savage man with no greater ambition than to thwart Horemheb!"

Patrick's words... Khaemweset's words... They shook Ay to the very core of his being. At the end of the day, "Khaemweset" was right. Ay and Horemheb had stood as Tutankhamun's most trusted servants ever since he ascended to the throne at ten twelvemonths of age and with Tutankhamun having no issue it was Horemheb, the commoner who had become a general, that the Boy King chose to succeed him? It just wasn't fair! He, Ay, was an actual blood relative! He had fathered a son, Nakhtmin, he had children! Horemheb had no blood relation, he had no children, Tutankhamun's stepping over of him in favor of this childless nobody had left Ay shocked and instilled within him a hatred for his colleague.

Looking to the guards Ay said: "Leave." They did so and so, did he look back to Patrick, Julie and Enrico. "Are you kin of Horemheb, Khaemweset?"

"I was not raised believing so but I believe so nonetheless." Patrick answered. Having been raised Christian Patrick would naturally identify Moses' date of birth as 1592 BC, as Jerome had it, and having been born into a family with an Irish background he would more likely identify it as 1571 BC, as James Ussher of the Church of Ireland had it. With the date of birth of 1592 BC, Thutmose I would have been Pharaoh of the Exodus in 1512 BC, as Moses was eighty at the time of the Exodus. With the date of birth of 1571 BC, Thutmose II would have been Pharaoh of the Exodus in 1491 BC. As Rabbinic Judaism predated both Jerome and James Ussher, with the text that gave Moses' date of birth being the second century text "The Great Order of the World", Patrick looked to a different Abrahamic faith for identifying the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Horemheb may have died childless but if Goidel Glas and his family had truly aided the Hebrews by lending them ships across the sea, if Patrick remembered the Book of the Taking of Ireland correctly, and the Exodus occurred in 1311 BC and Horemheb died in 1292 BC, then clearly Horemheb survived the whole thing. Rather than a successor banishing the Gaels, Horemheb disowned and banished them and had all mention of them stricken from the historical record. Did any of it make sense? It did to Patrick, seeking to reconcile his cultural heritage with historical fact.

Ay then looked to Julie and asked: "And what of you, Tia? Are you kin to a king or a man who would be king?"

"Goodness no." Julie answered. "I am merely descended from makers of carts and priests." When Julie said this, she referred to her maiden name of Cartwright, which meant a maker of carts, and her mother's maiden name of "Chaplin", which in English and French origin was derived from the occupational name of a clergyman.

Turning to Enrico, then did Ay inquire: "And what of you, Antaeus?"

"I am the son of Mother Earth!" Enrico answered, sounding not a little bit hammy.

Patrick turned his head partially to the right while keeping his eyes on his uncle, a rare expression of confusion amongst the Malone men. Julie's expression of confusion on the other hand was far more common and not at all restricted to the Malone family. She merely stared with a confused expression upon her countenance as she held Patch. Patch was just staring up at his mother while Akhenaten was now rubbing against Patrick's legs. A stone-faced Ay merely shook his head and muttered: "Achaeans." Then turning back to Patrick and asked: "What of the woman who believes herself to be Nefertiti and this lover of hers who believes them to be my nephew and son-in-law?"

"They are just mad, my good lord." Patrick answered.

Keeping his eyes on Patrick Ay said; "You are an enigma, Khaemweset. You say you were not raised believing yourself related to Horemheb but you believe so nonetheless. I wager that you were raised believing you were related to one of those others you mentioned but who is the question. Have you ever met Horemheb?"

"I have not, my good lord." Patrick answered.

"Then your resemblance could just be coincidence." Ay looked back and forth until his eyes finally fell upon the caracal Akhenaten. "Why do you people defend this creature so?"

"Had it not been for one of his kind, Khaemweset and I never would have been free of an abhorrent suitor of mine." Julie explained, referencing the late Jeffrey Collins.

"What?" Ay looked at Julie, incredulous. "What say you to me now, Tia? Speak again!"

"If not for one of these fine cats Khaemweset and I never would have been free of an abhorrent suitor of mine." Julie said, putting Patch down on the bed and then walking over to Akhenaten. She knelt down and extended a hand to stroke the caracal's head. Akhenaten merely backed away with ears flattened against his skull and hissed. "Grand Vizier Ay, whatever have you done to him to make him this way?"

"Why do you think I did anything, Tia?" Ay inquired, an innocent look upon his face.

"You kicked him once." Patrick commented, arms crossed and eyes narrowed at Ay. "No doubt you may have done other such things to him. How many times has he scratched in retaliation? Are cats not scared? Why do you treat one in such a way, my good lord?"

"May I inquire what your actual profession is, Khaemweset?" Ay spoke with his teeth clenched, not happy about the situation he was in.

"I aid in the restoration of buildings, tombs and temples." Patrick replied. "Still an artificer."

Ay glared at Patrick, feeling as if he was being lied to. Why would 'Khaemweset' have any reason to lie to the next Lord of the Double Kingdom? What was he plotting? As he glared, a servant entered the room and whispered into Ay's ear. Regaining his composure, the Grand Vizier said: "Your fellows have returned. We shall meet them in the throne room, in just one moment. I have to see to my daughter's impostor." And with that Ay departed. As he departed, Akhenaten hissed at him, causing the Grand Vizier to stop, look over his shoulder and go: "Bah!" before continuing on his way.

Patrick looked at the servant and inquired: "Will you lead us to the throne room?" The servant nodded and Patrick said: "Very well then, lead the way."

Picking up Patch, Julie joined her husband and together the two began to follow the servant, with Enrico following them. As they approached the doorway however, Akhenaten stepped into their path and hissed at them as if saying "Don't go!" That the caracal did not trust the Grand Vizier was obvious, but the servant could see something different about Akhenaten. It was as if he was warning these strangers.

"Never mind him." The servant said, pushing Akhenaten away with a leg. The caracal's reaction was to bite hiss at the servant. "He probably means nothing. What reason would he have to warn you about anything?"