My stomach wrenched inside itself and I coughed, spitting a trickle of blood onto the floor. But how could I ever take revenge? I was powerless and a weakling. And my master arose from death already, unscathed, immortal. I would have to trick them all … somehow.
Crumpling onto the floor, I cried with my head in my hands. “Why?” I howled.
“There is no why in this place,” a crackly voice echoed out of the black before growling like a beast from Nubia.
Journal Translation
I RECOILED IN FEAR OF THE voice in the darkness.
After an hour of silence my panic subsided. Another prisoner? I beat my fists against the wall. “I didn’t do any of it!”
“If he did he wouldn’t be here,” a hollow voice called back, followed by a burst of hysterical giggling from a young girl.
Fright drove me to press my back against a cold rock wall. How many others shared these cells—and my fate? “Who’s in here?” I asked.
“Who does it matter to?”
“What? What’re you in here for?” I asked.
“Nothing! Just like you,” a voice said cheerfully. The giggling of the teenage girl rose and fell, as if she ran back and forth on the other side of a wall.
Reaching out, I felt along the wall, which ran to the ceiling. How could I hear them? Locating a crevice, I tried to peek through, but the reek of urine stung my nose like a slap to the face. Grimacing in disgust, I pinched my nostrils. The rooms on the other side remained suffocated in darkness. I slid my fingers through the opening. Touching the surface on the other side of the wall, I felt around. Something sharp bit down on the tip of my finger. Stinging pain! Yowling, I yanked my hand back.
“He keeps his hands to himself. He keeps them to himself!” a voice chuckled.
Someone bit me! Who were these lunatics? Did they put me next to them to see if they’d contract plague? “Keep the noise down,” I said, clutching my finger to my chest.
“He wants it quiet! Oh, but he doesn’t know the more you lose the more that goes. And sight is gone. Yes, already gone. And smell.” A man chattered nonsense with the others for hours. I refused to respond.
Days and weeks passed in a blur of pain and forced administration of medicines. The crazy people giggled and chided me during my examinations. Growing more ill, my mind contorted. My eyes darted about as I lunged around my cave, stabbing hidden enemies.
“Now he sees. Now he does,” the crackly voice said.
I paused, wondering. Could he sense the blackness growing within me? The turbulent thoughts and emotions? “I’ll kill my enemies, madman,” I said.
“He’s hateful. Oh yes. We’ve been there, haven’t we?” the hollow voice said, followed by giggling. Then the female said, “Yes, I killed them. I killed them all.” More giggling.
“Who’s his enemies?” the crackly voice shouted into the gap.
I leapt back in alarm. “The evil Suty and Akhenaten.”
“Oh! The Aten!”
“No, Akhenaten.”
“We were his once. We all were!” Voices cried in glee as clapping filled the darkness.
“You were Akhenaten’s?” I asked.
“Yes, we were! We served him. Until that day.”
“You were all Akhenaten’s servants?” I gasped. Something buried in the recesses of my mind sprung forth. When I entered servitude, Father had told me my predecessor went mad, became a liar, and a lunatic. People referred to the man’s name when someone’s mind abandoned their body, or if they ended it all by diving into the Nile. I couldn’t recall the name.
“Yes, many years ago. Weren’t we?”
“What happened?”
“We heard him say something. Something we never should have! No, no we didn’t hear it. Did we? Yes. Yes. No!” Giggling followed. “Couldn’t go back after we told Pharaoh.”
“What did he say?”
“He spoke to no one about God. He forced something upon us. Something we didn’t like. And then we suffered. Suty’s a gnat! A gnat!”
The door slid open, sending blinding light in to burn my eyes. Rays of sun flashed through the fissure between the two cells. Overcome by curiosity, I peered through the slit to see the other prisoners. Scraggly tufts of graying hair framed a gaunt face with pale, cloudy eyes. The orbs twitched but didn’t focus on me. Jumping back, the prisoner ran around in a circle while giggling like a girl. Covered in filth, his bones protruded under naked skin and absent muscle. No one else was in the cell with him.
Disbelief dropped me to all fours as pity filled my heart. Would I become this man if I stayed in here or let my evil take control?
Footsteps settled behind me. Relaxing from my hunched posture to a sitting position, I attempted a semblance of normalcy.
A svelte man limped in, his eyes drawn. “Horemheb, I hope you’re fairing okay, given the circumstances.”
Sneering like a cornered animal, I held my hands up to block the light. Mahu, my supposed friend who abetted my torture, now stood before me.
“I’ve come on my own volition, to wish you well. You only need another week in here,” he said, forcing a smile. “You’ve almost been cleared and appear healthy in every one of the doctor’s tests. No one else in the palace has been struck with plague, but in the city …” his eyes wandered. “That cannot be your fault. Akhenaten has asked for your return, in stages—”
“The Aten! Yes, the Aten!” the madman shrieked next door.
Mahu continued, “He believes you were never the carrier, only your father. And by the grace of God you escaped its wrath because you are his servant.”
My thoughts floated through a fog of incomprehension. But the sunlight entranced me, reminding me of life and the others still out there. Croc. Nefertiti!
I leapt at Mahu.
Jumping back, he held up a hand and shook his head. “You can’t touch anyone until you’re cleared.” But he grinned and pointed at my ankle. “The hippo left a big scar, but it healed. And you’re agile enough for a servant.”
The old wound was rarely on my mind, as it no longer ached. But memories of the trip and of Mahu came flooding back in pictures.
“Do you know how I got mine?” he asked.
I shrugged.
“I mean how I lost half of my foot,” he said, pointing to two twisted toes filling only half of his sandal. His horrid scar ran up to his knee. “My father had just left my mother and all my brothers and sisters for another woman. He left us poor and shunned. To spite him I played down by the shore every day, because he told me never to do so. Running along the bank under the bright sun, I laughed and loathed my father. I started to believe everything he told me was a lie. Cursing him, I ran back and forth through the water. Then something snatched me,” he clapped his hands, making me jump, “and sucked me into the depths before I even knew what’d happened. They say crocodiles drag you to the bottom of the river, twisting and rolling to break your bones. Then they hold you down there until you stop kicking.”
Shuddering in terror, I settled back to a sitting position.
“The next thing I knew my brothers carried me back to the house, my foot burning like fire. Blood spewed from my leg and I passed out. Later they told me a wandering beggar used a magical gesture to ward off the crocodile. The hand signal I showed you. The man then dove in and wrenched my small body from the jaws of the beast. My brothers said after he helped place me on their shoulders, he was gone.” He lowered his head, but when he looked up, a full smile covered his face. “We are given our positions in life for a reason. Even those you’d never expect to be able to, can perform miracles. You saved Pharaoh himself, after all.”
A catharsis unleashed within me, almost sneaking tears past my debilitated mental state, a defense against my intolerable situation. But my bitterness resisted. Pharaoh? Did he mean Akhenaten? Was Mahu supposed to be my friend again? The look on my face must’ve betrayed my emotions.
“Horemheb,” Mahu said, sighing, “I labor for the good of the crown. I
don’t want you to suffer.” Holding out an open palm, something orange fluttered into the radiant sunlight. “Have you seen the monarch butterfly? They float over the shimmering waters of the river, bringing vibrant colors, beauty, and elegance to our world. But even these creatures begin life as a dark worm. They must transform within a suffocating cocoon before revealing their true magnificence.”
Intricately patterned orange, white, and black wings drifted out upon the wind.
“You may arise and become the greatest personal servant of the god-king himself … but only if you choose to. What did your father and mother instill in you?”
“My father is dead,” I said. Perhaps my resistance was my mother’s fault.
“The dead can still be some of the most important people, and they live on inside us. That is why the underworld and death is so important for life and rebirth.”
Picturing Father dead made me realize turning back for Akhenaten’s body was the mistake the mysterious ba had warned me about that desert night. I would become something, all right. I grinned.
Present Day
SQUINTING UNDER THE flashlight beam, Kaylin held up a hand to block the light. A pink stretch top and blue shorts hugged her curves, leaving most of her skin exposed. My heart fluttered with curiosity. Did she sneak in to see me, or to search my stuff?
“Turn the light off!” Kaylin said, waving.
Clicking the button off, I set the flashlight down. Artificial light snuck through the slits in the curtains. “What’re you doing?” I asked, straining to see.
“I want to know what you guys really found,” she said. “I’m not waiting ’til morning, or until we ditch Paul and Jenkins.”
Paul? Oh, Mr. Scalone. “Maybe we should get Maddie,” I said, sitting up.
Kaylin placed a tender hand on my arm, her proximity and flowery perfume teasing my senses. “Maddie was frantic. She needs sleep.” Running her warm fingers up to my shoulder, my body tingled. “The Hall of Records will be one of the grandest discoveries in history. Its ancient riches could make King Tut’s tomb look like a servant’s grave. This is our Atlantis!” Eyeing me in the gloom, she ran her tongue across plump lips. “Gavin, I never saw what I see in you now. I didn’t think you’d become so significant, you were just one of the guys …”
Suspicion tightened my throat. What was she doing? Kaylin dated rich guys with flashy cars or star athletes, even if they had no other redeeming qualities or hope for a career beyond school. Why—
Her slender fingers stroked my chest. “I-I,” I stuttered, grabbing my bag. I’d have to show her eventually anyway. “We found a body, the lost tomb of Amenhotep I, and this.” I eased the journal from my bag.
“What is it?” she asked, her voice airy as she reached out.
Yanking it back, I said, “The student’s journal. No clues, but he may’ve translated a story from another lost tomb … possibly from the Hall.”
“I hope there’s more in the Hall than a story,” she said. “He didn’t have any treasure on him?”
I ran a hand across the journal’s rough cover. Life stories were preserved in this treasure. But I shook my head. “Like everything else, the Hall may’ve been raided in antiquity.”
“But legend says it was hidden so well it’s been lost since being sealed shut,” she said, her lower lip protruding. “Damn it. I wanted a sample of the wonders waiting for us.” She gazed off into the shadows. “How’d you get Dr. Shelsher’s letter, anyway?”
“I …” Did my dad receive it from my great great grandpa? It didn’t matter now. I’d experienced my alternate path, thanks to him. And it wasn’t what I’d hoped for. Now I could finally grow up and put these crazy dreams to rest. I needed to get home, grind through medical school, and put my past behind me. Once I was a doctor my life would be better. Unfortunately, the hospital environment didn’t fill me with drive or satisfaction; it induced stress and anxiety. I worried about the one thing such a career was supposed to guarantee, a happy future—
Soft fingers caressed my scalp, tugging my short hair. “How?”
“Someone sent it to me,” I said, trying to suppress desire. Would she want me if Maddie didn’t? Kaylin was more stereotypically attractive.
“Like, why would someone mail you a letter about one of the best-kept secrets in history?”
“I think it was my dad. But dangerous people are involved, and we don’t even know who they are or what they want. Plus, we don’t have any other clues. You don’t know what Maddie and I went through … and I thought medical school was tough. Maddie and I are going home—”
“Gavin,” Kaylin said in a sultry tone, lingering over my name as she ran her tongue across her upper teeth. Climbing onto my bed, she leaned her chest closer.
Blood flushed into my face. I wanted to touch her, but leaned back.
“Do you know how rich and famous we’d be if we accomplished this?” The glow in her eyes stood out like mirrors against the twinkling darkness.
“It’d take over a week to skim this journal and all the hieroglyphs we found. I have to be back to school before then.” Swallowing in apprehension, my gaze drifted over her curves. Did I really want her? Blinking rapidly, I took a couple breaths. “The professor hid his discovery and didn’t want anyone to know he’d found it until he was ready. Maybe someone was trying to kill him. And maybe they succeeded.”
Kaylin groaned and her shoulders slumped, which pulled her chest away. “How about we stay here where it’s safe and go over everything?”
“Sorry,” I said. “If we eventually discover something, we can petition the government and come back, when I’m done with school.”
“If you stay, I’ll make it worth it for you,” she whispered in my ear, her lips lingering. My insides ached as I turned toward her. She slipped away. “Goodnight, Gavin.”
“Night,” I said, watching the door close. My body, now limp from conflicting hormones and tension, flopped back onto the mattress. What the hell just happened?
After tossing and turning, I downed two prescription sleeping pills. My gastrointestinal disease could keep me up at night writhing in pain, and immunosuppressive medications turned me into an insomniac. My eyes fluttered. The door opened again, a thin light slanting in. Seriously? What the hell, Kaylin? Was I dreaming? No, I was far too exhausted to be asleep.
“Gavin?” A smaller figure tiptoed inside, dressed in only undergarments. “Gavin!”
I bolted upright. “Maddie?”
“I can’t sleep. All I see are evil men and I feel claustrophobic, like I’m trapped in the tomb without a flashlight.” Sniffing, she fought back tears.
“I’m sorry,” I said, dizzy from the medication.
“Can I lay down with you?” Her apprehensive voice barely cleared a whisper.
My heart raced with excitement. Yes! Oh my god, this had to be a dream. “Y-yes.” I cleared my throat after it cracked. “I couldn’t sleep, either.”
Sliding into bed beside me, her small, warm body rustled the covers. Soft hair nestled against my neck as she curled into me. I couldn’t move, my breaths coming in gulps. What do I do now? Comfort her? Did she want more? Maddie preferred a different type of guy than Kaylin but only dated the same two or three egotistical muscle men from her hometown. Did their confidence convince her subconscious instincts they’d be successful, even if it wasn’t true? Since I wasn’t born with boldness or arrogance, could I fake—
Her breathing turned steady and shallow. You idiot. You missed your chance. She’s tired, and doesn’t want you, anyway.
She stretched and her toes brushed my leg. My heart jumped. Was that a hint? Or does she still only want to be friends? But if she wanted more and I don’t do anything … that would be terrible, although the former would be pretty horrendous, too.
Reaching out, I settled a hand on her silky hair. She scooted closer, her warm breath tickling the sparse hair on my chest. My head swooned. Breathing her in, I ran a hand down her hair and tucked it behind a
small ear. She didn’t move. What now? Sliding my fingers down her cheek and under her chin, I applied gentle pressure to lift her lips toward mine. She barely groaned. Was that a yes? Pursing my lips, I kissed hers. Soft and plump.
She pushed away. “What’re you doing?”
My heart stopped, my blood turning thick with embarrassment. I couldn’t speak. Should I play it off as an accident?
The lamp at the bedside table clicked on, blinding me. “What the hell was that?” Maddie asked. “Were you trying to make out with me? After all our trauma? I just wanted someone to help me sleep.”
My heart collapsed like a sinking vessel. I jumped back, my face burning. Maddie sat exposed in a baby blue bra and panties. “I-I was just trying to get comfortable.”
“By trying to kiss me?”
My eyes closed. Damn it, epic fail. Standing in my boxer briefs, I covered myself with a pillow and headed for the door.
“Where’re you going?” Maddie asked. “You don’t have to leave.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know what? That trying to kiss me an hour after I came in and finally fell asleep would be a problem?”
Clutching the pillow tight, a hollow feeling of worthlessness filled my stomach. I darted out of the bedroom and shut the door. Seriously? She of all people comes into my room wearing next to nothing, curls up in bed with me, and gets mad when I try to kiss her? I never knew what to do with her. Never the right time, the right place, or the right guy. Hell with it. Anger rose inside my chest, spreading over my face. But I did get to see her in her underwear.
Eve of the Pharaoh: Historical Adventure and Mystery Page 20