The Memory Painter

Now he sat with Hermese in her private courtyard off her quarters. They were reclining on an enormous royal chaise, dining under the stars. Thoth felt his body grow warm. He knew an aphrodisiac had been put in the wine.

He reached out and touched Hermese’s hair, bringing it to his lips. She smelled like sweet spice and lotus flowers. “Is the same potion in your drink?” he asked.

“It’s part of the ceremony,” she nodded, a dreamy look in her eyes. “In case we don’t like each other.”

They both laughed and leaned forward. As they kissed, Hermese pushed him down and sat astride Thoth, her long hair covering them both. They made love, unable to satisfy their desire.

*

Before dawn, they lay on the chaise and looked up at the fading stars to see Sirius—the Star of Isis—return to the sky. A faint drizzle fell and rested on the trees, shrouding their view in mist. The continuous rains were something Thoth and Hermese had lived with all their lives.

Thoth listened to the humming vibrations emanating from the pyramids, something else he had lived with his whole life. But the hum resonated much stronger here than it did in the city, and he knew it would take a while to get used it. Someday he would love to learn how they worked and what the Guardian did to maintain them. He knew Hermese could never tell him, but it did not hurt to dream.

He closed his eyes, feeling more content than he ever thought possible. “Why did you pick me when my brother won?” he asked. “Was it because of Kiya?”

A shadow passed over her face, and Thoth regretted his words immediately. But then it was gone, and Hermese gave him a little smile, shaking her head. “You won during the match,” she explained, “when you finished your water and bread and offered the rest to the young boy who was sitting alone in the crowd.” Her fingers traced the lines of his face—his almond-brown eyes, his high cheekbones. Thoth was still a young man, his body not yet fully hardened, but she gazed at him as if he were perfect. “The tournament has nothing to do with silly games of strength.”

He took her hand and kissed it. “So what will happen now?”

Hermese nestled against him and closed her eyes. “You will stay in the temple with me until I am with child.” When he didn’t say anything, she looked at him. “You can leave the temple by day if you need to visit the city. But nights, you’ll sleep here.” For a moment she looked unsure and asked, “Is that acceptable?”

He hugged her to him. “Immensely.”

*

When Hermese was not busy with her other responsibilities, they spent all their time together fulfilling their duty, as they came to call it.

Thoth understood that, since she had no siblings, it was vital that she bear a child. On occasion, he had begun to overhear the hushed whispers of a servant or physician coming to give Hermese news of her father. Hermese had tried to pretend that it was nothing serious. But as the days passed, Thoth began to suspect that the Guardian was ill and in fact getting worse, and he realized just how vital it was that Hermese give birth to the next heir.

Since his arrival, Thoth had been treated by everyone else as an outsider and had been under strict orders to remain inside Hermese’s quarters. He was not allowed to talk to anyone or explore the temple fortress. Although he accepted the rules and tried not to feel like a prisoner, by the month’s end, he was overcome by an overwhelming urge to see his family. Thutmose granted him leave and reminded him that he must be back by evening.

It was the first time he had returned home, but before he could even sit down to dinner, his brother challenged him. “There are rumors that the Guardian is dying.”

Ramses gave his eldest son a sharp look. Thoth kept his face impassive, unwilling to divulge any knowledge he had gained inside the temple. He served himself and took his time answering. “I know he is unwell.”

In truth, the Guardian would, most likely, die soon, but the House of Atum wanted to keep his illness a secret.

Seth laughed. “Your lover will take her father’s place. She’s too young and not even with child. The people will oppose her.”

Thoth put down his bread. He had begun to lose his appetite. “What do you suggest, brother? That we will no longer have a Guardian? That is heresy.”

Seth’s voice rose with a passion Thoth had never heard before. “It is an ancient system put in place by elders who are no longer here. If we are truly a free society, we do not need a House of Atum hoarding our forefathers’ wisdom—keeping it locked away in a complex we cannot even enter. What gives them the right to control the pyramid and its force, to share none of their knowledge? They want to keep us ignorant and enslaved.”

Ramses banged his fist on the table. Both brothers jumped. “The House of Atum wields its power benevolently, selflessly preserving the past and protecting the future.”