The skiff was small enough for one man to row, the hull constructed from rolls of papyrus reeds bound tightly together. Astern, a filthy linen sheet was tied across a frame to shelter from the sun during the day.

Piay crawled beneath the shelter and lay with his hands behind his head. The rescued soldier collapsed in the prow. Hannu lowered himself on to the bench and grasped the oars. He showed no sign of exhaustion. All those years in the Blue Crocodile Guards had given him a hardy disposition.

Once they were in mid-stream, Piay allowed himself to relax and stopped glancing back at the eastern bank. But the memory of the Hyksos captain silhouetted against the fire had burned its way into his mind. He saw it even when he closed his eyes.

‘Tell me, my friend,’ he called to the soldier, ‘why did the Hyksos take you captive instead of killing you on the battlefield?’

The soldier levered himself up on his elbows.

‘The barbarians are planning an attack on Thebes. They wanted to know the strength of our army – if we could defend the City of a Hundred Gates. I told them . . .’ His voice broke. ‘I told them nothing.’

‘You are a brave man. You’ll be well rewarded when we return.’

Piay leaned back so he could watch the milky river of stars that mirrored the Nile in the heavens. An attack on Thebes! This was the kind of information that Taita had dispatched him into the enemy’s territory to find.

And yet he could not revel in the success of his mission. Six lost lives weighed upon his soul. Six Kas forever denied the afterlife.

It was his error of judgement, his reckless gambling, that had led them into danger. He would never be able to forget the toll of his own failings. Bowing his head, he muttered a prayer for his lost men. It was not enough.

After a while, Piay felt he could not stare into the darkness inside himself any longer.

‘The captain of the Hyksos band will have to explain to his generals how he lost a valuable captive. That will teach him not to be so arrogant.’

The soldier stirred. ‘I would not want Sakir for an enemy.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘He is crazed. His own men fear him. He has given himself fully to the dreams of the blue lotus. The barbarians whispered that he has walked with the gods and they have given him powers beyond mortal men.’

Piay laughed. ‘What do you say, Hannu?’

‘I remember digging a grave for an enemy who said he walked with the gods,’ said Hannu. ‘Two or three of them, if truth be told.’

‘Mock all you want,’ the soldier said. ‘But I looked into his eyes, and I heard what his men said about him when he was not present. Trust me, he will never forgive you for what you did this night. His heart burns—’