Mara, Daughter of The Nile

In his palace, Sheftu half-listens to a report by his estate’s majordomo, who predicts a bad harvest. Refusing to profit from the coming famine, Sheftu tells the man to conserve wheat but not to raise the price. His thoughts return to Mara and the deadly mission she has begged him not to accept. He hesitated to tell her the truth: that the tomb he must rob belongs to Thutmose I, the father of Hatshepsut and the young king. Sheftu believes that the ka (soul) of the dead king may be glad that his burial gold will be used to topple the power-hungry daughter who put him out to pasture before his time and stole her brother’s throne for herself. He reasons that the khefts (demons) may not destroy his soul. In any case, he has no choice because the burial gold represents the rebellion’s last hope. Gold, he has learned, has powers to corrupt any man alive; his bribing of nobles, priests, soldiers, and other officials at Thutmose’s behest has drastically lowered his opinion of humanity. As for Mara, he curses himself for having succumbed to her charms and told her so much.