Book excerpt: When Kings Walked As Living Gods It is the eighteenth dynasty of Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut, divine ruler of a sun-seared realm. And blood flows as freely as the great, winding Nile that nourishes this ancient land of intrigue and danger. Lieutenant Bak is a loyal servant of the royal house of Egypt--commander of the Medjay police in the frontier fortress city of Buhen. A man of honor and ability, it is he who must oversee the corps assigned to accompany the golden idol, the god Amon, on its journey up the Nile to heal the ailing son of a powerful tribal king. But the mighty river has yielded up a sinister "treasure": the body of a brave soldier horrifically slain for reasons unknown. And only the drawings of a missing mute boy can help Bak unravel the mystery of the officer's foul death--before it leads to far greater crimes that could imperil an empire. WHEN KINGS WALKED AS LIVING GODS It is the eighteenth dynasty of Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut, divine ruler of a sun-seared realm. And blood flows as freely as the great, winding Nile that nourishes this ancient land of intrigue and danger. Lieutenant Bak is a loyal servant of the royal house of Egypt--commander of the Medjay police in the frontier fortress city of Buhen. A man of honor and ability, it is he who must oversee the corps assigned to accompany the golden idol, the god Amon, on its journey up the Nile to heal the ailing son of a powerful tribal king. But the mighty river has yielded up a sinister treasure: the body of a brave soldier horrifically slain for reasons unknown. And only the drawings of a missing mute boy can help Bak unravel the mystery of the officers foul death--before it leads to far greater crimes that could imperil an empire.