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Kevinkare stared at Meritaten, waiting for an answer.
“I... I’m not sure,” she murmured. The signs began nearly a month ago. I... Smenkhkare and I weren’t...” She blushed.
It was all Kevinkare could take: he fell back against his bed, having passed out. Meritaten shook him. She almost called for his servants, but checked herself in time.
She found a basin of water and splashed some on his chiseled face. His blue-green eyes opened immediately. He leaned up and hugged her. “I’m having a daughter? We’re having a daughter?!” he cried. She laughed at his glee. “I’m so glad it’s yours.”
He joined in her happy laughter all the while hugging her. “I love you, Meritaten, you know that.”
She beamed.
Suddenly, Kevinkare sobered. “What if she looks like me?! We’ll be done for!”
“One day at a time, Kevinkare. We can’t change the child’s looks and neither can Smenkhkare.”
“But he can kill her and us.”
“Stop worrying. Let’s just be happy.”
“Will I even be able to see her?”
“You know we’ll find a way. We always have.” She took his hand in her own, raising it to her lips. “I must return before my absence discovered.” She stood up and headed for the window.
Kevinkare jumped to his feet and pulled her to him, all his pent-up emotions being released with only one kiss. When they pulled away, Kevinkare whispered, “A woman in your condition shouldn’t be sneaking in windows and scaling walls.” He handed her the key to the side door in the gate. “Be careful, my love.”
She smiled lovingly up at him and slipped out. Kevinkare didn’t know whether to be apprehensive or happy, but he decided to leave his daughter’s and his own fate to the gods and settled down to sleep for whatever was left of the night.
*******
The top of the conspirators were meeting again. It’d been five months since they’d all been together. It was a grand reunion with wine and beer flowing like river, but no one was in the mood to get drunk.
Once again, they had all gathered at Kevinkare’s household. The only extra person was Nefret, who refused to be left out considering she had nothing better to do.
“Besides,” she’d protested to Brianamun and Kevinkare, “I’m just apart of The Cause as the five of you.”
“Oh, it won’t hurt,” Brianamun had responded.
Kevinkare had raised his eyebrows, but hadn’t replied. The five friends and the new addition were gathered in the garden. “What’s our next step?” Howymose asked Brianamun.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure yet...” He turned to Kevinkare. “What’s the latest news from Meritaten?”
Alexhotep raised his eyebrows. “I thought you weren’t talking to her?”
“I wasn’t... Hey, how’d you know that Meritaten was here last night?”
Brianamun shrugged and grinned mischievously.
“Nefret, have you been snooping again?” Kevinkare glowered at her.
She tried not to look guilty.
“NEFRET!!!” Kevinkare cried.
“Stop bickering,” Brianamun sighed.
“That’s why I didn’t want her here in the first place. She’s my darned sister and doesn’t exactly bring out the best in me.”
Nefret giggled, but tried to hide it behind her hand. She couldn’t help but laugh at her brother when he got angry.
“Well, she’s here now, okay?” Brianamun said, trying to halt the childish conversation.
“Only because you’re--”
“Okay, okay, this is really enough,” Brianamun interrupted hurriedly. Nickathor burst out laughing. He turned to Kevinkare, “What’s gone wrong with your life?”
“I’m just a little stressed out. That’s all.”
“Why?”
“Meritaten’s pregnant, but you guys can’t let this slip out. Wait till she at least tells her husband.”
“She told you first?” Alexhotep asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
“That can only mean--”
“I’m not saying anything.” To prove his point, Kevinkare shut his mouth closed and watched with wide eyes.
“No time to guess,” Nickathor mumbled.
“I, personally, don’t wanna know,” Howymose stated.
“I do,” Alexhotep whined.
“Back to business,” Brianamun ordered.
“As I was saying, what’s our next step?” Alexhotep inquired.
“I do have an idea,” Brianamun said, “but I’m not sure exactly what to do about it. I’m not saying anything until I’m sure. It’s still too risky to even tell you all about.”
Unintentionally, he had peeked his friends’ curiosity as it was natural to expect. “I shouldn’t have said anything to begin with,” he muttered. “I’ll talk to you all about this. All I need from all of you is to be ready to spring at any moment, but don’t let it show through in your work.”
“This won’t hurt Meritaten in any way, will it?” Kevinkare asked eagerly.
Brianamun sighed. “No. She’s being left out of it, but I will probably need another female--”
“I know one. She’s riley, sarcastic, and all I ever wanted,” Nickathor said with a grin.
“That’s nice, Nickathor,” Alexhotep grinned, “but does she work for The Cause.”
“Well, I should think so.” He turned to his best-friend. “You did send for her, Brianamun.”
“Oh, yeah. That must be Aneski you’re talking about... the, um, Nubian, right?”
Nickathor beamed. “That’s her. She hates me, but that’s okay. Please let me work with her, Bri!”
The priest raised his eyebrows but smiled. “Sure, if that’s what you want, Nickathor."
“Just let me develop this plan more... I need to really think about it before we set to work to make it happen.”
“Well, if it’s feasible I propose a toast,” Nickathor stated, grabbing a mug of Kevinkare’s prized wine. He raised the glass.
“To victory,” Nickathor said.
“To new additions,” Kevinkare murmured.
“A-ha!” Alexhotep jumped up. “It is yours!”
Kevinkare blushed a deep shade of crimson. “That’s, um, none of your business.”
Alexhotep grinned evilly but kept quiet.
*******
Later that night, Brianamun and Nefret were alone in the garden. Howymose, Alexhotep, and Nickathor had returned home. “Are you going to tell me what you have in mind?” Nefret asked him. She was in his lap, and he was resting his head on her soft, thick hair.
“Not yet. I have so much to get straight... I don’t know what to do about it, but I know it has to be done. But it won’t be easy, and it’s going to take a lot of planning.”
“I’ll help you.”
“I know you will, but you’re already a wanted criminal. There’s only so much you can do.”
Nefret giggled at her title. “ ‘A wanted criminal.’ It sounds so forbidding.”
“There’s only one real question: who are we going to put on the throne? That’s what we need to figure out first.”
“Smenkhkare will be crowned should Akhenaten die.”
“I know that, but he’s just as fanatical towards Aten as Akhenaten. We need someone legitimate who’s either for us or who we can manipulate.” The couple exchanged glances and hurried off to find Kevinkare.

Chapter Fourteen

Breathless, Brianamun and Nefret finally tracked Kevinkare down. He had locked himself away in his office as usual and was buried in his work. “I’ve had an idea,” Brianamun said.
Nefret glared at him.
“Well, actually, we both came up with it at the same time... er... Anyway--”
“I have work to do.”
“Oh, don’t be a grouch, Kevinkare,” Nefret snapped at him.
“Don’t start with me, Nefret,” her brother retorted.
“Stop it, you two. Now Nefret and I were talking about who we were going to put on the throne, and it has to be someone who’s either on our side or can be easily manipulated by our people until a strong god-abiding king can be found. He’d either have to have royal blood or be married to the heiress--”
“Absolutely not!” Kevinkare exclaimed, jumping up. In his haste, his chair was knocked over.
“And why not?” Nefret asked, her hands flying to her hips.
“I am not going to be Pharaoh,” he hissed. “I’m couldn’t handle that kind of work. I have no desire to run the country.”
“But Meritaten--”
“Yes, I know she’s the ‘heiress,’ but with her out of the picture, whisked off by her savior--me, in fact-- that title would fall to Ankhesenpaaten, the next oldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s brood.”
“You’ve got it all planned out, don’t you?” Her tone was dry and she was shaking her head.
“Well, yes actually, dear sister.” He smiled a little too sweetly at her. She rolled her eyes.
“Well, I’m not marrying a fourteen year old,” Brianamun muttered.
“Naturally not!” Nefret scoffed.
Kevinkare blew up. “Can you get out of here?!”
“I’m sorry I’m not Meritaten, but you do have to put up with me. I am your sister.”
He gave her the look that said “Don’t mess with me,” and she scurried from the room.
“The only way to deal with her is if you know her for years, and I’m still wondering...” Kevinkare muttered, his hand massaging his temples.
Brianamun smiled, amused. “Then who will we put on the throne once Akhenaten and Smenkhkare are... disposed of?”
“Akhenaten does have a son,” Kevinkare stated. “He’s only about twelve, and he’s way too young to rule properly. Yet if he was put on the throne with a couple of stiff supporters...”
“He’d be easily molded into a good king!” Brianamun exclaimed. “We just need to get to him and start working on him before Smenkhkare remembers his young brother-in-law... But surely he isn’t Nefertiti’s son. He’d have been made co-regent, not Smenkhkare.”
“No, he’s Kiya’s.”
Brianamun nodded. “Oh.”
“Have you decided on the plan to get rid of our rulers?”
He shook his head. “This kind of strategy that I’m planning takes time and patience.”
“We’ve patient for too long, Brianamun. It’s time we acted.”
“I know that, but we must be careful. If it’s discovered--”
“I know, I know, we’ll be killed for treason.” Kevinkare sighed. “I just want to get this overweight.”
“I feel the same way, but it’s not that easy. You know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Give me time to go through every detail of this plot. In the meantime, get to know this kid.” Brianamun paused. “What’s his name anyway?”
“Tutankhaten.”
Brianamun nodded. “One of the first thing we’ll do when he’s crowned is change that -aten to -amun.”
“Tutankhamun,” Kevinkare tried the name on his lips. “It has a nice ring to it.”
Brianamun grinned. “Sure does. I’ll see you later. I’m going to head to my place. I have a lot to do there.”
“Take Nefret with you please!”
“I think I might just do that.”
Kevinkare could hear the mischief and laughter in his friend’s voice.
********
Alexhotep was having a bad day. The fun of spying on Kevinkare only worked if his friend was at court. Alexhotep couldn’t just mosey on by the official’s house. Besides that, Smenkhkare was grouchy and on Alexhotep’s case about not having any useful information on “the physician.” Alexhotep had tried to remain humble, and he had pleaded that Kevinkare had not done anything suspicious. Smenkhkare had scoffed at him and sent him on his way with a string of curses flowing out after him.
A letter was brought to him by a young boy that Alexhotep recognized as one of Kevinkare’s messengers. Alexhotep tore the seal off the papyrus scroll and eagerly read whatever it was that was so important. An observer would note how his eyes lit up at whatever text was on the paper.
A slow grin spread across his face as he thought of the task ahead of him. He and Howymose were to try and get as close to Prince Tutankhaten as feasibly possible without drawing suspicion towards themselves, the boy, of The Cause. In his excitement, Alexhotep overlooked one slight problem which came crashing down on him then: Tutankhaten was hidden away in the northern palace where Nefertiti was to raise him.
Quickly, Alexhotep ran down the hall and called back Kevinkare’s messenger. The boy waited while Alexhotep scrawled a hasty response to his master’s letter. Sealing it, he sent the boy on his way again. Then Alexhotep went on his way toward Howymose’s palace office. He found his scribe-friend behind his desk recopying a papyrus letter that the Regent had previously dictated him to send to the northern protectorates. It told how there were to find a way to protect themselves against the ferocious Hittites who were ever-so-slowly taking over Egypt’s northern land. Alexhotep cleared his throat.
Howymose’s big, dark eyes peered up at him. They smiled at the sight of his friend. “I take it you got the letter that I did?”
“Yeah, and I felt the same way that you do about it.”
“Felt?”
“We have a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Tutankhaten’s in the northern palace. Nefertiti’s raising him.”
“He’s not banished there though.”
“But we’ll never be able to get in.”
Howymose smiled as an idea occurred to him.
“I don’t like that look,” Alexhotep muttered.
“How do you feel about dressing up?”
“I can’t downplay. It’s the goatee and tattoos.”
Howymose had never been able to understand the exact reason Alexhotep had gotten those tattoos. [Yes, they did have tattoos in ancient Egypt, but it was probably worse pain than you go through today.]
“No,” he went on with a sigh. “I guess it’s up to me then.”
“How will you do that?”
“Dress up as part of Nefertiti’s staff and get in there. I may be a well-known scribe, but my name is better known than my face.”
“That sure is right. You’re a behind-the-scenes man,” Alexhotep stated with a grin. “Do you have the right costumes and stuff?”
“Well, it won’t be hard to find some.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
“And may the gods be with you.”

Chapter Fifteen

Boredom filled Nefertiti’s time. She hated laziness and having nothing to do. She always had to be doing something, anything. Thus, the former Great Royal Wife spent many free hours raising her step-son, Tutankhaten, whom she’d become quite fond of.
A servant, his head lowered, entered carrying her lunch tray. “Just put it down on the table,” Nefertiti ordered.
The servant placed the food on the designated area, but he did not leave her quarters. Nefertiti flashed him an annoyed look. “I don’t need anything more. You may go.”
The servant looked up, a broad grin upon his face. Nefertiti gasped. “Howymose!”
Howymose bowed low. “At your service, my queen.”
“I am not a queen any longer--”
“Only a lady of the court.” Howymose smiled.
“A disgraced lady at that.”
At least she has a sense of humor about it, he thought to himself. Nefertiti quickly motioned for him to sit down next to her. “What brings you here anyway?”
“The Cause.”
“I should have guessed.”
He paused and looked at the dignified woman in silence for a woman. She looked so strong as though nothing could penetrate into her soul. Finding the courage to ask what was on his mind, he inquired, “Do you regret joining us at all?”
“No. I did what the gods deemed necessary to save my soul. When I pass on, no doubt I will have made up my youthful mistakes. Now tell me all that has happened with all you and The Cause. First, though, Nefret... did she get caught?”
“Yes, but Alexhotep got her out using the secret passage you informed him of.”
Howymose then filled Nefertiti in on Nefret’s newfound happiness with Brianamun, Meritaten’s marriage to Smenkhkare (which Nefertiti knew of), her pregnancy (which Nefertiti didn’t know about), and the new plan concerning the boy-prince.
Nefertiti frowned at him. “I’m not happy with that. Tutankhaten is only a mere boy! He shouldn’t be the puppet behind a conspirator’s ploy!” Howymose glanced at the door nervously, hoping that her raised voice would not attract attention.
Nefertiti suddenly calmed down, but she was now defensive and as icy as she had once been. Howymose sighed. “We only want to make him into a good king,” he explained. “We want him to be the first to bring the Two Lands back to into the light and away from the darkness Akhenaten has brought it to. Tutankhamun will be a great king. I have a gut feeling about this--a premonition.”
Nefertiti’s defenses dropped. “I hope you’re right, Howymose.”
“You’ll be out of here as soon as we can get Akhenaten and Smenkhkare out of the picture. You’ll be an influential image in court again in no time. I just hope whatever it is that Brianamun’s planning will turn out well.”
“We all do,” she responded kindly. “Now to get to Tutankhaten’s rooms...”
****
Howymose slipped out of Nefertiti’s sitting room and followed her precise directions to Tutankhaten’s chambers. His head lowered, he prayed that no one would recognize his face. Once again, he was glad that he worked behind-the-scenes so often. Howymose found the boy playing a board game with his nurse when he entered. The nurse looked up, questioningly.
“I have been told to escort Your Royal Highness upon your walk,” Howymose stated.
The nurse nodded while Tutankhaten jumped up with a burst of energy. “Thank the gods!” he exclaimed.
His nurse quickly clapped her hand over his mouth. Guiltily, Tutankhaten lowered his eyes. Howymose pretended not to have noticed anything unusual. “Come, my prince.”
Howymose took Tutankhaten in with his eyes. Tall and skinny, Tutankhaten had a round, youthful face with wide, bright eyes. He had close-cropped dark brown hair. From a brief glance, one could tell that, like his father, he was a philosopher and wanted to learn all that he could get his hands on. Unlike Akhenaten, however, Tutankhaten was athletic, energetic, and--only at eleven--more masculine than his father had ever been or ever would be. As the two walked, Tutankhaten rambled on and on. He treated his servants as equals, and they were his only friends.
“My nurse, Wia, tells me legends about other, pagan gods. I’m not supposed to talk about them, but they’re interesting. One even came to me in a dream and told me all sorts of things. But he made me swear not to talk about them with other people.”
“What did he look like?” Howymose asked casually.
“He wasn’t in his real form, or so he told me. He came as a ram... I believe that I dreamt of the god whose name my father has forbidden, but since I’ve never, ever seen my father...”
Rams are sacred to Amun, Howymose thought. “Amun,” Tutankhaten was saying. “I like him... He was kind to me and spoke comforting, nice words to me.”
“Amun is the god of all--”
“Like Aten?”
“No. Aten is only a minor deity who was raised to become the all-powerful god by your father. The role that he holds belongs to Amun, not himself. Akhenaten had no right to do such a thing... angering the gods.”
“That sounds like something he’d do,” Tutankhaten said, nodding thoughtfully. Mature, Howymose noted. Aloud, he went on, “Those gods Wia, your nurse, told you of are no doubt the true gods of Egypt. Were their names Osiris...? Isis? Hathor? Horus?...”
Tutankhaten nodded vigorously. “That’s them! Well... some of them. They’re so many. Plus, Amun of course and Mut and Khonsu...”
“You mustn’t talk about them in front of the other servants. They wouldn’t understand. They’d think you were betraying your country.”
“But that’s what my father’s really doing, right?”
“That’s it. I must return to my other duties now. I’ll most likely be back, or someone else who has been sent by me will be.”
“What’s your name anyway?”
“Call me... Mose.”
“ ‘Born’,” the boy murmured to myself. “Born of what?”
“A new birth!” Howymose called over his shoulder, leaving the boy-prince in wondering awe.

Chapter Sixteen

Brianamun had meditated on every detail of his plot. He had considered every possible outcome, positive and negative for The Cause. What he had finally decided on was risky, but it was the only sensible way to go about without shrinking from the duty itself.
Once he’d thought to the point that a headache was forming, Brianamun emerged from his room. He felt dirty and sneaky to be planning two people’s murders, but it was what the gods demanded... He shuddered to himself. Nefret, who had sneaked with him to his house, ran up to him, her turquoise eyes sparkling and questioning.
He nodded solemnly.
“Aren’t you going to tell me what you’ve settled on?” she inquired, laughing.
“Not yet. At the next meeting, I’ll tell everyone. If you all like what I’ve come up with, we’ll act from there. But we will need Nickathor’s girl. I’ll tell you this much, we’re all going to be risking our necks... can you handle that?” Nefret narrowed her eyes, harshly glaring at him. “Why do you think I’m helping The Cause? I’m not afraid to die! I’ve worshipped the true gods, and I’ll do my duty to them if it means--”
Brianamun silenced her with his lips.
When they pulled away, all the anger had dissolved from her eyes. “I put that wrong,” he murmured, gently tucking a loose strand of her thick hair behind her ear. “It’s just I don’t want to see you hurt or killed... It’s my own feelings for you that came out there as bad as it may have come out...”
She smiled.
"I’m going to call a meeting tonight.”
“What about Howymose’s mission?”
Brianamun chuckled. “Just because we’re voting on a way to go about the plan, it doesn’t mean we’re acting tomorrow. We’ll give Howymose the time he needs to fulfill his duty, and the rest of us will get however long we need to get our acts together.” He sighed. “I’m really going to depend on your brother. As the physician, he’s going to have to keep up that straight, stiff role he plays at court.”
“I’ll tell him.”
With a tender kiss in parting, Nefret threw her cloak about her and disappeared into the busy streets, pulling it over her pretty face so as not to be recognized.
Brianamun watched her go. A horrible premonition washed up through him as her slim figure vanished into the crowd. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he couldn’t shake it either.
A cold breeze blew onto his doorstep, like the kiss of death. Shuddering, Brianamun slammed his front-door closed. You only feel guilty, he told himself. There’s nothing else wrong.
He withdrew to his office where he scribbled quick invitations complete with the code-phrase to a meeting scheduled for that night at the usual place, Kevinkare’s mansion.
*****
Everyone was gathered within Kevinkare’s living room. His servants had been given the night off, ordered to return early the next morning. What they’d be conversing about that night was too risky to be discussed outside the safety of the walled house. Aneski was also joining Brianamun, Kevinkare, Alexhotep, Nickathor, Howymose, and Nefret.
“So you’ve finally gotten it all planned out?” Kevinkare asked gravely. Brianamun nodded. “All of you just have to tell me if you accept your roles.”
“You know I’d follow you to the ends of the world,” Nefret told him, lightening the mood with her smile. Well, at least Brianamun’s mood. Then he relayed his plan. Everyone listened in silence, taking in their parts. It’d be dangerous for all of them, but they all knew what had to be done would be done. Brianamun concluded with, “What do you all think? Please, you guys, be honest. This is dangerous and... If you want to change your roll, please...”
No one spoke up.
Kevinkare choked out, “I can get what you want within a day... two at the most.”
“You’re going to make the, um, drop?” Alexhotep asked Brianamun.
“I’m not putting the weight on any of your shoulders. I will deal with Akhenaten as Amun directed me to.”
“What about Smenkhkare?”
“I told you the, er, plans for him.”
“But you never said who did it.”
“Alexhotep, I--”
“I’ll do it,” Kevinkare’s deep, authoritive voice proclaimed.
“It’s worse than my job!” Brianamun cried.
“Meritaten does come into this somewhere, and she comes into it when I kill Smenkhkare for all that he has done to me, Meritaten, and our baby.”
“It is yours,” Nefret murmured.
Kevinkare blushed. “Yeah, I thought you guys’ had already figured that out.”
“I did,” Alexhotep piped.
Aneski sighed. “When do we act?”
“I’ll send for you when the time is right,” Brianamun replied. “Just... I don’t know... Keep on your toes.”
“Okay. I’m going to go.”
“I’ll walk you home,” Nickathor offered, jolting out of his thoughts.
“Really... I can manage.”
Nickathor turned to his best-friend. “I’m only disappointed that I don’t get that much of a job, but other than that... I wish you all luck.”
“Yours will be hard enough as it is.”
“Yep. Sheer size isn’t everything you know.”
He escorted Aneski out.
“Should I continue my work on Tutankhaten until we’re sure the time has come?” Howymose asked.
“Yeah,” Brianamun replied. “That’d be for the best.”
Slowly, everyone else took their leave, in awe of the fact that the time had nearly arrived.
*****
Nickathor and Aneski walked in silence. She felt awkward and uncomfortable around him, and for once, Nickathor was also not at ease.
“I think I’m going to be jumpy and tense until this is all over,” Nickathor stated, breaking the monotonous silence.
“Me too, but it has to be done.”
“It just seems so real now.”
“When was it never real?”
“It always was, but I’ve been living this plot for well over a year now,”
Nickathor told her. “All the timing, and information gathering missions, trips to Syria, it all seemed like a game.”
“But now it’s real.”
“And when Pharaoh dies, it will be our doing.”
“Dangerous, but necessary,” Aneski reminded him.
They’d arrived in front of her estate. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”
She then disappeared into her house.
Nickathor wandered the streets back to his own house in a sheer daze.

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