The Oasis by Pauline Gedge

fingers. “Why would you do all that?” Kamose asked at last. Meketra regarded him imperturbably.
    “It is very simple, Highness. Many years ago I was the governor of the Mahtech nome and the Prince of Khemmenu. My home was the home your kinsman Teti was already inhabiting when you came there as a boy. Teti had always coveted it and finally Apepa gave it to him, along with the governorship of the nome and authority over the city—for his loyalty and, it must be said, his uncommon talent for spying on his noble neighbours. Teti kept Apepa informed of activities in the south. He was an invaluable tool.” Meketra grimaced. “For my loyalty and efficiency as governor I was allowed to command the fort at Nefrusi. I live in the commander’s quarters. My family inhabits a modest estate outside. I hate Apepa and loathe your kinsman. I will help you take the fort if you will promise to reinstate me to my former positions. That is why I asked you how Khemmenu has fared.” Kamose’s heart had begun to race. He dared not look at his brother again.
    “And you are telling me that no news has come to you of the sack of Khemmenu?” he said deliberately. “No one in the fort knows anything?” Meketra shook his head.
    “Teti and his family arrived with a garbled tale of an army under your command that had destroyed Dashlut and was marching on his city,” he said. “Teti requested that the fort stand to arms. I gave that order. Since then we have waited.”
    “Then I may tell you that Khemmenu has been put to the sword, Nefrusi is surrounded, and I go north with nineteen thousand men to take Egypt away from Apepa,” Kamose said. “I agree to your proposition, Meketra; in fact, as soon as Nefrusi falls to me, I will give you the documents you require and you can begin to set Khemmenu to rights.” Meketra leaned forward.
    “You will kill Teti?” Kamose kept his expression composed, but something in him recoiled from the naked hatred on the Prince’s face. Meketra wanted personal revenge. Well, so do you, he told himself. So do you.
    “Teti will be executed for treason,” he answered. “Now describe the fort to us.” Meketra gestured and, at a nod from Kamose, Ipi handed him a sheet of papyrus and a brush. Swiftly he began to draw Nefrusi.
    “Here is the Nile,” he said, “and here is its western branch. There are perhaps eight miles between the two. The land is cultivated and well irrigated. Beware the canals. My family lives here.” He placed a cross on his map and glanced up at Kamose.
    “The order will be given not to molest them,” Kamose assured him. “Go on.”
    “The fort itself is situated close to the Nile. There are two gates, one in the eastern wall, one to the west, both large enough for chariots to pass through. The walls themselves are a mighty defence. They are of thick mud plastered very smooth, vertical on the inside but sloping upwards outside. They cannot be scaled. If the gates are closed and barred, nothing will avail an attacker but a siege. Archers patrol the top of the walls.”
    “This is the standard Setiu design?” Ahmose interrupted. “Are all Apepa’s northern forts like it?”
    “Yes. The Setiu like to build such places on hills if they can, but Nefrusi is on flat ground. Some are better fortified, some less, but they resemble each other. Apepa has a string of smaller garrisons that you will encounter as you move north, but none are as mighty as the fort at Nag-ta-Hert where the Delta begins. It protects the heart of Apepa’s power.”
    “We cannot worry about that now,” Kamose said. “What is inside Nefrusi?”
    “The barracks are here. If you attack at dawn, most of the soldiers will still be performing their ablutions. The armoury here, and the stables behind it. A small shrine to Reshep here,” the brush moved swiftly, “and my command barracks here. The main barracks, as you can see, are closer to the western gate than the eastern. If I were you, Highness, I would