The Quest - Smith Wilbur (читать лучшие читаемые книги TXT) 📗
'You also, Colonel?' asked the younger woman. In reply, That held up his right hand and flexed the fingers.
'The first was chopped off by a savage warrior wielding an axe. This one comes from the skills of Dr Hannah.' He saluted her with the hand.
The other surgeons came to examine it with as much interest as they had Meren's eye.
'Is there no limitation on the body parts that you are able to regrow?'
a male surgeon wanted to know.
'Yes. First, the operation has to be approved and sanctioned by the oligarchs of the Supreme Council. Second, the remaining parts have to continue to function. We would not be able to replace a head or a heart, for without those parts the rest of the body would die before we could seed it.'
Taita found the evening most enjoyable. The conversation of the surgeons touched on many medical wonders that he had not heard spoken of previously. Once their reserve had been softened by a bowl or
two of the wonderful wine of the Cloud Gardens vineyards, Meren and That entertained them with accounts of the strange things they had seen on their campaigns and travels. After the meal Gibba played the lute and Taita sang.
When the attendant came to take Taita and Meren back to their quarters, That walked part of the way with them.
'When do you plan to take us down the mountain, Colonel?' Taita asked.
'It will not be for a few days yet. There are other matters 1 must attend to before we leave. I shall give you plenty of warning of our departure.'
'Have you seen my ward, the girl Fenn, since we left Mutangi?' Taita asked. “I miss her sorely.'
'She seems equally attached to you. I passed through the village on my way here. She saw me and ran after my horse to enquire after you.
When I told her that I was on my way to fetch you she was much excited. She charged me to give you her respects and duty. She seemed in the best of health and spirits. She is a lovely girl, and you must be proud of her.'
'She is,' Taita agreed, 'and I am.'
That night Taita's dreams were complex and many-tiered, in most cases peopled by men and women he had known. But others were strangers, yet their images were so meticulously etched that it seemed they were creatures of flesh and blood, not woven in fantasy and gossamer. The dreams were linked by the same thread: through all of them he was carried along by the expectation of something marvellous that was about to take place - he was searching for a fabulous treasure that was almost within his grasp.
He woke in the first silver glimmer of day to a sense of elation for which he could find no reason. He left Meren snoring and went out on to the lawns, which were pearled with dew. The sun had just gilded the cliffs. Without further thought, except to check that the Periapt was still suspended from its chain round his neck, he set off for the upper gardens once more.
As he entered the gardens his sense of well-being became stronger.
He did not lean upon his staff but shouldered it and struck out with long, determined strides. The pathway to the grotto of the imp was not
obscured. When he reached it he found the nook deserted. Once he had determined that he was alone, he quartered the ground swiftly, looking for some trace of a living being. No other person had been there.
Even the ground over which his other self had walked, although damp and soft, showed no tracks of human feet. Nothing made sense. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to trust his own sanity, and to accept the evidence of his mind and senses. The witch was leading him to the borders of madness.
Gradually he became aware of music: the silvery slither of sistrums and the staccato tapping of a finger drum. He clasped the Periapt tightly and turned slowly to face the mouth of the grotto, half in dread and half in defiance of what he might see.
A solemn ceremonial procession issued from the mouth of the cave and paced down the moss-covered ledges. Four weird creatures bore on their shoulders a palanquin of gold and ivory. The first bearer was the ibis-headed Thoth, the god of learning. The second was Anuke, the goddess of war, magnificent in golden armour and armed with bow and arrows. The third was Heh, the god of infinity and long life, his visage green as an emerald, his eyes shining yellow; he carried the Palm Fronds of a Million Years. The last was Min, the god of virility and fertility, who wore a crown of vulture feathers; his phallus was fully erect and rose from his loins like a marble column.
Upon the palanquin stood a splendid figure twice the height of any mortal man. Its skirt was cloth-of-gold. Its bracelets and anklets were of purest gold, its breastplate was of gold set with lapis-lazuli, turquoise and carnelians and on its head rested the double crown of Egypt, with the heads of the royal cobra and vulture at the brow. Crossed over its jewelled pectorals the figure held the symbolic flails of power.
'Hail, Pharaoh Tamose!' Taita greeted him. 'I am Taita, who eviscerated your earthly body and attended you during the ninety days of mourning. I wrapped the bandages of mummification about your corpse and laid you in your golden sarcophagus.'
'I see and acknowledge you, Taita of Gallala, you who were once less than Pharaoh, but who shall be mightier than any pharaoh who has ever lived.'
'You were pharaoh of all Egypt, the greatest kingdom that ever was.
There could never be another mightier than you.'
'Approach the pool, Taita. Gaze into it and see what fate awaits you.'
Taita stepped to the edge and looked down into the water. For a
moment he swayed with vertigo. He seemed to be standing on > the pinnacle of the highest mountain on earth. The oceans, deserts and lesser mountain ranges were spread far below him.'
'Behold all the kingdoms of the earth,' said the image of the pharaoh.
'Behold all the cities and temples, green lands, forests and pastures.
Behold the mines and quarries from which slaves bring forth the precious metals and glittering stones. Behold the treasuries and arsenals wherein are stored the accumulations of the ages. These shall all be yours to possess and rule.' Pharaoh waved the golden flails, and the scene changed beneath Taita's gaze.
Mighty armies marched across the plains. The horsetail plumes surmounting the bronze helmets of the warriors frothed like sea spume. The armour, the blades and the spearheads glittered like the stars of the heavens. The warhorses reared and plunged in the traces of the chariots.
The mailed tread of marching feet and the rumble of wheels shook the earth. The rear ranks of this vast array were cloaked in the dust of their advance so it seemed there was no limit to their multitudes.
'These are the armies you shall command,' cried Pharaoh. Again he waved the jewelled flails, and the scene changed again.
Taita beheld a vista of all the oceans and seas. Across this mighty main sailed squadrons of warships. There were galleys and biremes with double banks of oars, their sails embellished with paintings of dragons and boars, lions, monsters and mythical creatures. The pounding of the drums set the beat for the oarsmen, and the waters creamed and curled before the long bronze beaks of their fighting rams. The numbers of warships were so vast that they covered the oceans from horizon to far horizon.
'Behold, Taita! These are the navies you shall command. No man or nation will prevail against you. You will have power and dominion over all the earth and its peoples.' Pharaoh pointed the flails directly at him.
His voice seemed to fill the air and stun the senses, like the thunder of the heavens.
'These things are within your grasp, Taita of Gallala.' Pharaoh stooped and, with the flail, touched Min's shoulder. The god's great phallus twitched. 'You shall have indefatigable virility and potency.'
