Death of a Pharaoh Read Free Page A

that it did not bode well for humanity.
    He rang Seshat,
his assistant, and asked her to bring him the Book of Kings. He would need to
record the death. It seemed only yesterday he called for it to remove the name
of Princess Eshe as heiress, although more than sixteen earth years had passed
since that tragic moment. Lord Thoth pulled himself out of the well of
nostalgia and tried to concentrate on the present.
    He decided to
review Fannie’s dream file to see if her last moments could shed any light on
the perpetrator of this horrendous crime. These archives were transcripts
culled from the minds of the reigning Pharaoh and confirmed heirs every night
as they slept and possible due to the exceptional telepathic abilities they
shared. Contrary to popular belief, the Gods have never possessed the ability
to read human minds except in these few isolated cases.
    Normally the
entries updated when the subject entered a state of deep sleep that humans call
REM. In the case of death, retrieval of the last hours was still possible but
there was a risk of incomplete or compromised data. Lord Thoth picked up the
archive labeled ‘Falcon One’ and scrolled back one earth hour . He
began reading at the point where Fannie finished eating her solitary annual
dinner to commemorate Nkosana’s birthday.

    Even though her grandson could never be with her, Fannie faithfully
celebrated his birthday every year since her daughter Eshe’s death. Nkosana was
six months old at the time and today he turned seventeen. She always baked his
favorite cake, a triple layer devil’s chocolate with coconut-flavored icing.
She lovingly prepared fried chicken and mashed potatoes, his preferred dinner
according to his adoptive parents. Through them and his extensive security
detail, she knew much about her heir, even though she had not spoken to him
since the day of her daughter’s murder.
    Today was special
because next year before he reached eighteen, he would already be with her and
she would have begun to prepare him to accept his destiny. She glanced at the
framed photograph of Nkosana taken when he graduated from junior high school
that she had placed on the table in front of her for the occasion. He was
handsome and so like his mother. Her eyes clouded over as she lit the candles
and made a wish. She prayed to the Gods that the months remaining before he
came to her would pass quickly and that Horus would watch over her grandson and
keep him safe. She blew the flickering flames out in one breath.
    By 7:00 pm, the
sun kissed the horizon and she would have to hurry if she wanted to get the
cake to the men’s shelter before dark. She called the Foundation to alert her
security team that she planned to go out.
    "Good Evening
Lord Pharaoh. How was the birthday party?"
    "Bittersweet
as always, Mark,” she responded to his kindness then deftly changed the
subject, “how is Bobby doing?”
    "The cast on
his arm is driving him crazy as you could imagine for any three year old but he
is enjoying all the extra attention," the operator informed his boss.
"What can I do for you, My Lord?"
    "I want to
take some food to the shelter down the street. Where is Herbert right now?”
    “In his apartment
watching a basketball game.”
    “What about the
second team?”
    “They left a few
moments ago to pick up the evening dispatches,” he informed her then asked,
“shall I send them back?”
    “Don't bother,
I’ll knock on Herbert’s door on my way out,” she indicated. “How are the
Seventy-sixers doing anyway?”
    “Behind by
fourteen right now.”
    “Oh dear, he’ll be
grumpy.”
    “That’s for sure,”
he agreed. “Anything else my Lord?”
    “No, thank you
Mark and please give a kiss to Bobby for me.”
    Fannie hung up the
phone then walked over to the storage cupboard beside the refrigerator. She
stood on her tippy toes to reach the large Tupperware cake container from the
top shelf. She bought it on eBay three years ago.
    The dishes could
wait