“Sorry … I was thinking.”
“Of her? Oh, give me strength.”
“No, of you, actually!” Now it was Kate’s turn to blush.
“Are we ready then?” asked a very smart looking Three.
As they approached Karnak Temple, it became obvious how Ramses was able to stage such a massive event at eleven in the morning. A mixture of the Egyptian army and police ringed the temple, behind which there were very large and also very professional signs written in multiple languages. Each told prospective visitors that Karnak Temple was closed for the filming of a major blockbuster and apologised for any inconvenience. A line towards the bottom of each poster informed would-be autograph hunters not to hang around, because none of the stars would be signing autographs due to contractual agreements. In very polite terms the signs were telling everyone to go away.
Once through the first pylon, they viewed Karnak as a mixture of ancient and modern. Their eyes were drawn to a raised area upon which there were six ancients dancing.
“See that,” said Kate.
“The dancers?” asked Alex.
“Not the dancers, that dancer!”
“Oh, yes,” said Alex at the sudden realisation.
“See what?” asked Cairo. Kate enlightened him.
“The dancer at the front on this side, she is Henutmehyt, the wife of Nakhtifi.”
“Yes,” said Cairo, as he clapped his hands together from excitement. He singlehandedly set off a round of applause which travelled around the packed courtyard. Most were ancients, though not all. The Winter Palace must have been on minimal staffing today.
There was a huddle of people off to their left, who were obviously here to hear Ramses speak, though their body language said that they did not really want to be here at all.
“You are looking towards Ay and Merenptah and their entourage,” said Bast as she stepped up behind them.
“Wow,” said Kate as she turned to see that Bast had arrived with Rose. “I did not expect they would be here.”
“Protocol,” said Bast. “Anyone who did not turn up today would immediately be associated with supporting the warlock. We know they are, they just cannot have everyone knowing what we know.”
“That is the minimum number of people they could bring with them without insulting Ramses,” said Rose. “Oh, and by the way, Alex, Gadeem said to tell you that your plan will not work, but he is waiting for you over there.”
“What plan?” asked Kate.
“The one I was talking to Emmy about. I will be back before Ramses starts his speech.” Alex headed off towards a large wooden door to their left. It was opened slightly as he arrived at it, and closed the second he was through it.
“I thought you would be out there talking to your people,” said Alex to Ramses, who was sitting at a table with Nakhtifi and Gadeem. Needless to say, the red wine had been flowing freely.
“Why would I be out there? That crowd is going nowhere, and I am intrigued by your plan.” Ramses motioned for Alex to sit. “Now, Gadeem says this will not work, whilst I on the other hand feel it is worth a try. I would, however, like to know the details.”
“You do know this has nothing to do with getting rid of the warlock?” said Alex slightly nervously.
“Yes, I do, but it solves an injustice, and I do like solving injustices. I will be doing so later today, and I cannot tell you how happy it will make me.” Ramses raised his glass and said in a friendly enough way, though with the definite undertone of and order, “Now, explain your plan.”
Alex did, and though he explained quickly, it still took some time.
“I can now see why Gadeem said it would not work. I agree with your ideals, but even I would be reluctant to try and remove a god from the afterlife. How do you feel about it, Nakhtifi? He is your Thoth after all.”
“Reluctant, extremely reluctant. In theory, we pharaohs created the gods we needed, so by all accounts we should be able to get rid of any one of them, at any time. The problem as I see it, is that this is only a theory. I do not know of any pharaoh who has been brave enough to attempt to remove a god from the afterlife.”
“Exactly,” said Ramses, “even I would be worried of the consequences.”
“But I am not asking you to get rid of any god, I am just asking you to support me in saying that you will. If you support me positively in this little act, I can make something good come out of something bad. I know I can.”
“Hubris,” said Ramses. Alex looked confused, so Ramses explained further. “We use this word when we see someone showing an excessive pride, presumption or arrogance towards our ancient gods.”
“In more modern terms,” said Gadeem, “it means, pride goes before a fall.”
“Well, I do not think I will be in for a fall, if you all play your parts as I have described.” Alex was not as confident as he sounded, but he really wished for his plan to work.
“Okay, let the show begin,” said Ramses, to which Nakhtifi and Gadeem agreed.
Thoth N was brought in, both bound and gagged, through a small door at the very back of the room. So small that Sobek not only had to duck in order to enter, he also had to squeeze his not insignificant frame through it.
“I cannot be bothered to speak to him,” said Nakhtifi in a dismissive, though overacted way.
“Why don’t we remove him from the afterlife right now and have this over and done with?” Ramses had stood as he said this and almost spat his words out.
“Ramses, you said you would let Emmy and I decide on his punishment. Have you forgotten?”
“Not at all, Alex, but if you have any problems, we are only too happy to rid the afterlife of this evil bird.” Ramses turned back towards Thoth N and looked even more menacingly at him. “Just say the word.”
“Will you nod if you can hear me, bird?” Alex wondered why he had asked this question, because Thoth was shaking so much, he must have heard every word. In fact, Ramses had been so loud that probably people outside of this room had heard his every word. Thoth nodded. At least Alex took it as a nod. He really was shaking so violently that he looked as though he was nodding all the time. “Sobek, would you please remove his gag.” He did, and Alex asked, “Do you want to be removed from the afterlife?”
“No, no, please do not remove me from the afterlife. I will do anything to live.”
“Enough of this charade,” said Gadeem exactly to plan. “Let us rid the world of this evil bird.” He smashed his fist down on the table as he finished speaking. Alex had hoped that Thoth did not notice Ramses pick up his glass of red wine and Nakhtifi pick up both his and Gadeem’s glass just prior to the thump, or the game would be up.
Thoth did not notice, and again he begged to live.
“Then this is what I want of you.”
“Anything, anything, oh, let me live, Mr Alex, and I will do anything you wish of me.”
“Then it is the wish of Emmy and me that you change places with another Thoth.”
“I would, willingly, but we gods cannot change pharaohs. Please give me any other task. A task I can do. I do not want to die.”
This is where Alex needed Ramses to be at his most positive, and he did not disappoint. “I, Ramses the Great, have consulted the gods about your heinous crime and they want you back so that you can be punished.” Ramses went on to explain in graphic detail exactly what the gods wanted to do to him, even Alex winced. He finished with, “And then, and only then, would you be removed from the afterlife. The gods agreed that Alex and …” Ramses looked at Alex. “Emmy” he said. “Yes, Emmy,” repeated Ramses. “Well, the god of the gods said Alex and Emmy could have their wish if you agreed. You have the option of taking the place of another Thoth, but you can never tell anyone, or the gods will take you back. It is your choice. I hope you say no, as I want to send you back to the gods today.”
“What do you say, Thoth?” asked Alex.
“Yes, yes, I will change places with any Thoth and I will never say a word.”
“Right then, this is what you have to do.” Alex explained, whilst Sobek untied the bird.
“That went rather well, if I say so myself,” said Ramses after Thoth N had left the room.
A bemused looking Thoth entered the room less than five minutes later. “Good to see you looking so well,” he said to Alex. He then saw who was in the room and asked, “Oh my goodness, am I in trouble?”
“Not at all, Thoth. Today is the day you have been waiting for.”
“The day I have been waiting for, Alex? I do not understand.”
“You are no longer the Thoth of Ay, you are now the Thoth of Nakhtifi.”
“That cannot be, as we gods cannot change pharaoh. It is cruel to play such a joke on me. I only wish I could be the Thoth of Pharaoh Nakhtifi, as he is a good pharaoh. Not at all like Ay.”
“Would you tell him, Ramses?”
“Of course, more than happy to. I, Ramses the Great, have spoken to the god of gods.” He walked over to Thoth and said quietly, though forcefully, “You have been granted this wish, but you must either accept it now or decline it now. You will not be able to change your mind afterwards. The choice is entirely yours.”
Thoth was so excited that he said yes over and over again. Alex was really happy that he had been able to get a good Thoth away from the mean Ay, though some of his smile was from what Ramses had said. His offering of wishes had made him sound like the fairy in a pantomime.
“Are you really sure I am away from Ay? That I never have to go back to him?”
“Didn’t the Thoth who told you to come in here take your quill and papyrus from you?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Don’t you and he look the same?”
“I did not get time to notice.”
“Well, I will tell you that you look so similar that Ay will never know the difference. You are the new Thoth N. You will no longer wish to die as your life, afterlife, whatever you wish to call it, will be great from now on.”
Thoth hugged Alex and cried like a baby.
Chapter 33
-
Short Lived Celebration
There was not a dry eye inside Karnak Temple.
“Did you see that?” asked Rose, as tears ran down her cheeks. “Who would have thought the mighty Ramses would have gone down on one knee and begged for his daughter’s forgiveness?” She glanced at Gadeem, saw the smug look on his face then thumped him lightly, “I should have known!”
Gadeem pulled Rose to him, they hugged as they both shed a tear. Ramses going down on one knee might have been Gadeem’s idea, but righting this wrong, which had caused both him and Ramses so much agony over the years, was something he thought he would never see.
Alex covered one eye as he looked around. He then swapped hands and covered his other eye. “Gadeem?”
“Yes, Alex?”
“Why do I see Karnak differently depending on which eye I cover?”
“This is just one of the reasons why we had to close Karnak to visitors today. We have ancients from completely different dates in history as well as people, like you, who are alive today. This clash of ages causes the fragmented images you see. Have a look over that way.” Gadeem pointed to where Ay and Merenptah stood. “Do not focus on the people, look beyond them to the wall behind and tell me what you see.”
Alex looked over towards them, then beyond them. He had thought the wall was being shown to him as it had appeared in ancient times, though now, as he tried to focus on the detail, he realised all the colour was there yet the focus was not. “I don’t get it!”
“Ay is standing over there, so Karnak is being shown to you as it was in his time. The problem is that Merenptah is also standing over there, so Karnak is also being shown to you as it was in his time, some eighty years or so after Ay, after the wall had ben reworked and repainted. This causes the blurring. Now you watch this.” Gadeem pointed to Ramses, who was leaving the stage, hand in hand with Henuttawy.
“Wow, I get what you mean,” was Alex’s reply as he watched them walk across from the stage to the room where he had been earlier. The wall in the distance came into sharp focus before returning to being blurred.
“That occurred because Ramses was more powerful than either Ay or Merenptah, so the image you see is of Karnak in his time.”
Kate had been listening to their conversation. She had a question of her own. “Can we step through into the past like we did in Amarna?”
“No, Kate, these are not holes into another time. Think of them as nothing more than a projected image which emanates from the power of each pharaoh at such events as this.”
Both Kate and Alex understood. The dancers of Amun appeared back on stage as eyes dried and a party atmosphere took hold. Serving girls came out with tray after tray filled with drinks and food. Rather too conveniently they stood exactly where the rush of people blocked any view that Ay or Merenptah had of them.
“Now it is time for you to go and locate the final ingredient,” said Gadeem. “Do you feel up to the task?”
“Not really,” said Kate, who was not being flippant. All she wanted to do was to be with her father. She desperately needed to catch up on the years she had already lost.
“Yes, let’s rid the world of the warlock,” said Alex, and he meant it. He really did mean it, but he also wished that they could have already rid the world of him, so his life could have returned to some sort of normality. Though with whatever Dr Margretti had in mind, he doubted that his life would ever be normal again.
“Where is Cairo?” asked Gadeem, just as he noticed him returning. His hands were still full of food, even though he was munching away. “Are you ready to locate the final ingredient?” Everyone was pleased that Cairo nodded. The mental image of him trying to speak with his mouth so crammed full was not a pretty one. “Now, all of you head to the river, as Dr Margretti is waiting for you.” Gadeem gave each of them a hug. “We planned it like this to give you a good head start.”
“You mean you planned this.”
“Okay, Kate, yes, I planned this.” Three Egyptian youngsters stepped forward, each dressed identically to their counterpart. “These will fool anyone looking from over there.” Gadeem pointed to where Ay and Merenptah were, though nobody could see them through the throng of people collecting food and drink. “Now you really must go.”
There were quick hugs from Rose and Bast which were followed by shouts of good luck, and they were off and running again.
“I presume we are on our way to Crocodilopolis,” said Kate to Dr Margretti, once they were settled into the comfort of the ARM.
“Quite correct, my dear.”
“As we need the six sacred scuta from a single Nile crocodile I suspect the warlock knows exactly where we are going.”
“Quite correct, my dear.”
“So, I suppose the warlock is going to try and kill us at Crocodilopolis.”
“Quite correct, my dear.”
Alex, Cairo and Joe were struggling to keep straight faces, as they all travelled back up the Nile in the ARM.
“If you say ‘quite correct, my dear’ once more I think that I will scream.”
“But you are quite correct on all counts. We are heading for Crocodilopolis. The warlock knows that is where you will have to go – though he does not know when you will go there. I suppose I could have said that you were incorrect when you said that the warlock will try and kill you there,” Kate looked relieved for all of half a second, “because, of course, he will try and kill all of you there.”
Nobody was now struggling to keep a straight face as there was nothing except straight faces. Alex, Cairo and Joe sat together on a long as well as extremely well padded bench seat at the rear of the vehicle. Kate and Dr Margretti had swung their individual chairs around to face them.
“Joe?”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“Would you be so good as to let them know what the …” Dr Margretti paused as he thought. “I was going to ask y
ou to let them know what the plan is, but silly me, we do not have a plan. Could you enlighten them for me, please?”
“Of course, Doctor.” Joe turned in his seat slightly, leant forward, then put his elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands together. “I am going to keep this brief. Questions only after I have stopped talking.” The Doctor rolled his eyes at Joe, so he added, “Please.” He received an approving nod from the Doctor. “Let us take it for a fact that everyone who is connected in any way, good or bad, knows you have no option except to go to Crocodilopolis. Gadeem saw an opportunity to give you a head start which, quite sensibly, you have taken. We will know if the subterfuge has worked once we pick David up as we pass Amarna,” said Joe as he glanced at his watch, “in approximately twenty-three minutes from now. He has maintained surveillance, so he will be able to report if the warlock has left the city.”
Upon hearing Joe say this, Kate’s eyes widened and a smile came to her lips. Alex had wanted to ask if they would be picking up Emmy as well as David, but he knew better than to interrupt.
“Our hope is for the warlock to continue to enjoy his time with Nefertiti in the mistaken confidence that he will receive a message from either Ay or Merenptah, telling him when you have left Luxor. For our mission to be a complete success, we need to get you safely into Crocodilopolis before, and I do stress, BEFORE the warlock leaves Amarna. We have no doubt he will leave the city and that he will be coming for you, because he cannot take the risk of you obtaining the final ingredient, however small that risk may be.”
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