The two try to flee towards the Red Sea to escape the threat, but are found by Egyptian scouts sent by Naja, and return to Thebes. Taita and Nefer fail to capture the godbird on two occasions, with their last incident revealing dire omens about Tamose's death and a dire threat to Nefer's life in the form of Tamose's unknown murderer.

Just after Nefer was born, years prior to these events, during his life in the desert as a hermit, Taita was visited in a dream by the former Queen Lostris, and returned to Thebes to be appointed as Nefer Seti's tutor, who is now next in line for the throne. Meanwhile, Taita takes a 14-year-old Nefer Memnon, Tamose's only surviving son from the Yellow Flower plague, into the desert wilderness to hone his mind and skills and to capture his godbird in order to prove his divine favor. When Naja arrives at Thebes, he cunningly sways the council members to appoint him as Regent, successfully obtaining power of the Upper Kingdom.

However no one sees this tragedy, and Naja convinces the army of Pharaoh that he has been slain by the Hyksos and orders the army to retreat back to Thebes. Lord Naja, however, has deviously tricked Pharaoh, for he is of Hyksos blood, and kills Pharaoh Tamose. The story begins with Pharaoh Tamose, accompanied by his most trusted companion, Lord Naja, marching towards the Hyksos main camp and planning a surprise attack from the rear. Taita is no longer a slave but a powerful warlock with great fame throughout Egypt and the surrounding nations, and has become the most influential man in Egypt through his close connection to the Pharaoh Tamose. Warlock is a sequel to River God that details the later life of Taita 40 years on from the death of Lostris. It is part of a series of novels by Smith set in Ancient Egypt and follows the fate of the Egyptian Kingdom through the eyes of Taita, a multi-talented and highly skilled eunuch slave. Warlock is a novel by British-South African author Wilbur Smith, first published in 2001.

Wilbur smith egyptian novels