Chapter 9

A lone shadow roamed the marketplace; only a lone shadow would so late at night.

Making sure he wasn't being followed, Seti peeked around the corner- he never knew when a vagabond might be following his trail, and he didn't want such a complication. He had enough to deal with as it was.

Hopefully his father was asleep, but the pale mango glow throbbing from the lower window dashed his hopes. His uncle was awake and as active as ever. If anything, he was more efficient under darkness. Should not surprise him- he was the same way. Both of them were creatures of the night.

Can I make it in through the balcony? A creak and shuffling from below told him he'd been discovered. Groaning, Seti walked down the stairs, taking care not to hurry.

"You're out rather late," Uncle Menet seethed.

Licking his chapped lips in preparation for the upcoming argument, Seti faked a smile as he turned to his father. "Hello, father. How are you?"

Harrumphing into his seat, Menet soured, "You know fully well how I am- my health hasn't changed since our last parting. My turn with the frivolities: how are you? I'm guessing you failed in your task again, or we would be enjoying a very different conversation."

"The pharaoh lives, if that's what you mean. Don't worry, though- I'm sure you'll have more chances to kill him. My spying went better; in fact, I procured a new tidbit for you, if you're interested.

"Oh? Do tell."

"The King is weakening. I have heard rumors-"

"Rumors, bah! I ask for facts and you give me wisps of air!"

"These are more solid than wisps! But if you don't care..."

Slumping back and grumpily closing his eyes, Menet grumbled, "Tell me."

"Rumor has it King Merenkahre is feeling his age. He is growing fragile as a maiden beneath Egypt's sun."

"That's it? I am feeling my age, and as you can see, I am no spring cockerel! If I know my brother, he has many years left in him. Hence my efforts to cut his lifespan short."

"Father-"

"Don't you 'father' me. You know what must be done!"

"Must it be at the cost of blood?!" Shockingly, this silenced him enough for him to proceed with his favor. "Father, please, can we not let this go? If the rumors are true, let nature take its course!"

Menet rubbed his temples, looking more his years than before. "It is not only for myself I do this. I'm not getting any younger- do I not deserve my time?"

"Why? What makes you so suited to the throne that you would kill your own brother?" Seti asked quietly.

"I tried being patient! What good did it do me? Where am I now?"

Seti sighed, fighting back tears he'd long believed had run dry. "I admit we could be better off, but there are plenty who suffer more yet complain less. Our home is whole and none too shabby; our hearth is always warm when necessary. We want for nothing."

"Maybe you want for nothing, but I have always envisioned myself upon gold-encrusted seats and in a harem with a hundred ladies! Wouldn't that be grand?"

Menet stood and walked until their toes were practically touching- just as swiftly, he brushed his hand up against his son's jawline. Flinching at the unexpected touch, Seti leaned away, somehow maintaining eye contact. "I want what's best for me. For us. Do we not deserve such?" Menet whispered. "I promised as much to your mother, and look how her life ended! What good did my brother do for her in the end?"

Seti turned away, flinching at his stroking. It had been this way since his mother's death two years ago- Menet had always yearned to be king, but it had developed into a full-blown mania since mother was no longer around to settle him. She was the only one who could. "Not even a king can prevent death, father. He tried."

"Not enough. Nothing is enough!"

Let him rant. It's therapy for him- it will pass. And yet Seti had to speak his mind. "I strongly advise- no, I beg you- let things progress as they will. Last time I followed one of your hair-brained schemes, I was almost arrested!"

"Is your incompetence my fault?"

It took all of Seti's restraint not to smack him.

"Reigns come and they pass; I'd like to enjoy mine while I can." Stomping to the window, Menet admired the view of the town, his eyes black as a sky without stars. "Don't tell me you're not tempted. Don't disgrace this room with such falseness- you might deny it, but you feel your talents are being wasted. You want the throne almost as much as I do. Under other circumstances, I might be plotting your murder." Turning to him suddenly all light and airy, he added, "Of course that won't happen. We're all friends here, right? Family? So important." Menet's lips curled into a tiny smile at the irony, but his son did not see the small twitch of his father's expression.

Seti bit his lip, suppressing a shudder at his father's rumble of truth. He had been feeling restless lately, used and misplaced. How could Menet, so clueless and uncaring, sense his innermost emotions? How did one combat such a foe? How often had he wished Merenkahre was his father, not this maniac? But deep down, he realized Merenkahre wasn't the only thing he longed for- he wanted power. Power he did not have, but his cousins did.

His tone ringing with false cheeriness, Menet rambled on, "Besides, who besides you can I count on? You know the palace better than the King himself! How can I afford to let you off the hook?" He winked conspiratorially, but his humor was lost on Seti. "I have a better plan now, more thorough than a knife outside a bedroom- that one's too cliche anyway."

"And if you succeed? Kah, not you, is next in line if Merenkahre dies."

"So? He'll have an accident. As will anyone else who gets in my way."

Seti gulped down air- this was the moment he'd been waiting for. "Don't touch him."

"What?"

"Don't touch him."

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you, I'm too busy planning our future! Were you about to defy me?"

"Do. Not. Touch. Kahmunrah. Do what you wish with the others, but he is off limits, agreed?" Seti seethed. There was no turning back now.

"What, pray tell, is so special about him? Heirs are a dime a dozen! If you're worried about pain, there are plenty of poisons I could access..."

"Did it never occur to your tiny black heart I might have friends? That I might consider Kahmunrah my brother? It's your fault, you practically let us be raised together!" By now Seti was on his feet, panting heavily. "What else could you expect?"

"Therein lies the rub. You've fallen prey to the very conundrum I warned you against! How could you... My own son!.." Pacing around the living space, Menet seemed to forget about his company as he muttered to himself. "What to do? I suppose you want me to spare the youngest as well? Amun, wasn't it?"

Much as he'd grown fond of Ahkmenrah, Seti knew his uncle would only compromise to a degree. Still, if he could manage, he should try. "Ahkmenrah, if possible, is also to be spared. If it's not too much to ask of you."

"What a dilemma you've placed upon me! What am I to do?!" Seti watched silently as Menet continued his pacing. "I shall do what you ask, though it will probably cost me greatly. Certainly it will cost me time."

"Time we can afford."

"Perhaps." He shut up for a while, but Seti knew he was not finished yet. His father gazed at him thoughtfully before saying, "Do you not realize all I do for you? You should be grateful, yet you are holding back rage."

"Not everyone has a father plotting treason, so I guess I'm a bit on edge. Forgive me."

Menet chuckled coldly. "Everyone covets the throne, my son- most aren't ambitious enough to attempt it. Now run along upstairs to bed, I've got some plotting to do."

Reluctantly, Seti complied- no more would be debated tonight.

Once he believed he was alone, Menet groaned and sat back down, only to rise and resume pacing. "So, Kahmunrah must live, eh? Yes, I suppose it can be arranged... My dear son, what a dilemma you've weighed upon my head! No matter... He can be dealt with still... He will be dealt with... And Ahkmenrah, such a shame... Such a sweet child..."

Upstairs, Seti leaned against his bedroom window, pulling the curtain aside to admire the view. What beauty, what grace! No other country could boast such magnificence all year round, around the clock. And someday, he might get to rule it all, a thought that shouldn't have brought him warmth, but did. Leaning his head against the curtained wall, he sighed.