ecclesiastic then led the two policemen to the high priest's wing as the uab priest went off to see to the closing of the temple as he had been ordered. "This is most irregular, Deputy Prefect," the senior priest remarked. "We will have to record this in detail and submit the account to the Ur-maa of Set as well as to Pharaoh."
"Send it to the whole of Egypt, if you think fit," Tuhorus snapped, not liking the inference that his actions might be subject to some disciplinary action by the combined chief priests of Set or that the king himself might object. "Do so after getting us to Matiseth Chemres, though. Where are you taking us?"
"Directly to the Great Seer's wing, Deputy Inspector. This is a large temple, you know."
"I do now," the inspector muttered, but just then they arrived at a partially open door. The priest leading them seemed disturbed. "What's the matter?" inquired Tuhorus.
"The hem-neter-tepi's door is always kept closed and secured," the man responded. "Something is amiss!"
Tuhorus brushed past the cleric and stepped into the dimly lit room beyond. The young patrolman was at his back. Both saw the body of the high priest of Set sprawled on the floor. The sight was ghastly. Matiseth Chemres had been killed by the same agency which had slain Ram-f-amsu not two days before.
A HIDDEN PLACE
The whole of the government compound was in turmoil as several hundred staff and the soldiers serving the palace ran here and there trying desperately to put out adjacent Mazes. The palace, with its wings, was now burning so fiercely that most attention was being paid to nearby structures, record buildings, administration bureaus, and housing which made up the whole of the sepat's central place of government. Streams of water were being poured into the conflagration, of course, and soon fire fighters from the city proper would come to assist. Mains were open and pools in the garden were being pumped out to send jets of water to combat the spreading flames, but even in this area the supply was insufficient to extinguish such a blaze. Inhetep knew that somewhere there was a perfect replica of the whole complex in miniature. Soon now a strong enough dweomercrafter would set it alight then clap a metal cover over the whole. That lid would be airtight, and the little fire would snuff itself out. If the whole were done properly, then this great fire would likewise he smothered—as might be those near to the buildings as the air around them became an oxygenless near-vacuum.
Inhetep entered the burning palace at a run, ignoring shouts of warning. Had he been a servant of Ra, for instance, he might have had protection from such scorching heat. Thoth, however, being of Balance, not solar nature, endowed him with no such luxury in regards to his priestcraeft. Yet the magister was unconcerned for the moment, for castings of moisture and dealing with heat and fire were readily available to him, since his specialty in dweomercreeft was of the elemental school. At a single utterance, a near-freezing mist formed around him, hissing to steam, at its edges, but swirling and cool and regenerating at the core where he moved. Thus protected, Inhetep made his way quickly to the private apartments which had been Ram-f-amsu's.
There was no hope of recovering direct evidence, but the ur-kheri-heb sought for information nonetheless. The means of the arson might be as revealing as the information which the flames had consumed. From the outside, it had been clear that the fire had originated in the governor's sector of the big building. Inhetep hoped that it was not so eaten by the flames as to be unreachable, or so ready to collapse that it became his funeral pyre. Although the structure was stone, much inside was inflammable, of course. Beams, flooring, paneling, roof, and ail the furniture and furnishings—even the plaster and paint on the walls. The heat was now too intense for a mere mist, so the wizard-priest spoke another series of
"Send it to the whole of Egypt, if you think fit," Tuhorus snapped, not liking the inference that his actions might be subject to some disciplinary action by the combined chief priests of Set or that the king himself might object. "Do so after getting us to Matiseth Chemres, though. Where are you taking us?"
"Directly to the Great Seer's wing, Deputy Inspector. This is a large temple, you know."
"I do now," the inspector muttered, but just then they arrived at a partially open door. The priest leading them seemed disturbed. "What's the matter?" inquired Tuhorus.
"The hem-neter-tepi's door is always kept closed and secured," the man responded. "Something is amiss!"
Tuhorus brushed past the cleric and stepped into the dimly lit room beyond. The young patrolman was at his back. Both saw the body of the high priest of Set sprawled on the floor. The sight was ghastly. Matiseth Chemres had been killed by the same agency which had slain Ram-f-amsu not two days before.
A HIDDEN PLACE
The whole of the government compound was in turmoil as several hundred staff and the soldiers serving the palace ran here and there trying desperately to put out adjacent Mazes. The palace, with its wings, was now burning so fiercely that most attention was being paid to nearby structures, record buildings, administration bureaus, and housing which made up the whole of the sepat's central place of government. Streams of water were being poured into the conflagration, of course, and soon fire fighters from the city proper would come to assist. Mains were open and pools in the garden were being pumped out to send jets of water to combat the spreading flames, but even in this area the supply was insufficient to extinguish such a blaze. Inhetep knew that somewhere there was a perfect replica of the whole complex in miniature. Soon now a strong enough dweomercrafter would set it alight then clap a metal cover over the whole. That lid would be airtight, and the little fire would snuff itself out. If the whole were done properly, then this great fire would likewise he smothered—as might be those near to the buildings as the air around them became an oxygenless near-vacuum.
Inhetep entered the burning palace at a run, ignoring shouts of warning. Had he been a servant of Ra, for instance, he might have had protection from such scorching heat. Thoth, however, being of Balance, not solar nature, endowed him with no such luxury in regards to his priestcraeft. Yet the magister was unconcerned for the moment, for castings of moisture and dealing with heat and fire were readily available to him, since his specialty in dweomercreeft was of the elemental school. At a single utterance, a near-freezing mist formed around him, hissing to steam, at its edges, but swirling and cool and regenerating at the core where he moved. Thus protected, Inhetep made his way quickly to the private apartments which had been Ram-f-amsu's.
There was no hope of recovering direct evidence, but the ur-kheri-heb sought for information nonetheless. The means of the arson might be as revealing as the information which the flames had consumed. From the outside, it had been clear that the fire had originated in the governor's sector of the big building. Inhetep hoped that it was not so eaten by the flames as to be unreachable, or so ready to collapse that it became his funeral pyre. Although the structure was stone, much inside was inflammable, of course. Beams, flooring, paneling, roof, and ail the furniture and furnishings—even the plaster and paint on the walls. The heat was now too intense for a mere mist, so the wizard-priest spoke another series of
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