“Trustworthy, I presume?” asked Wanda, lowering her voice.
Amon went silent and thoughtful and then he took a large sip of his tea and almost drained the cup.
“Yes, but the times are strange, and caution is warranted,” he finally responded. “Which is why, I originally asked you delegate this task to me instead of coming here yourself. I could have handled it. Why put yourself through this risk, at your age?”
“A noble thought. But it is not so simple. Even I don’t know exactly what I am looking for. I have some clues which I will pursue and try to piece together. Because I have studied this matter extensively, I will recognize any new clues that I find along the way, clues that someone else will never be able to spot. It follows that, if you had gone alone, it would not have served our purpose.”
“Very well then but let us not speak about the sensitive topics any further until after lunch. Abu will be off then for a few hours and back again before dinner. In the meantime, let me give you a tour of the place and then we can eat lunch. Much has changed since your last visit.”
“That would be splendid. Yes, I do notice some new décor. You seem to have renovated.”
“Yes indeed, do you like it?”
“It is in quite good taste, I must say,” said Wanda, her eyes now roaming around the room appreciatively. “The rug is new I can see that, a lovely work of art and very soft indeed. There is new paint. Brilliant colours. Some of the furniture and curio look new as well and that book shelf in the corner, very thoughtful.”
“Hahaha, I should have guessed that your eyes would go straight to that bookshelf. Your relationship with books goes back to time immemorial, doesn’t it?”
Wanda flicked him a coy grin. “What kind of books are they?”
“Mostly travel guides and historical tidbits about the country that the tourists will appreciate. There are also some maps and let’s see…” Amon walked over to the shelf as he spoke. “A cook book of Egyptian recipes, my daughter must have added it there. There is also a book of hieroglyph translation for anyone that may be interested,” he said going through the books one by one.
Wanda got up from her seat at the mention of hieroglyphs and walked over to Amon’s side.
“Hieroglyph’s you say? May I have a look?”
“Oh certainly,” said Amon, handing Wanda the large hard-bound book with a leather cover that was crumbling with age. “This looks very valuable. How did you get a hold of it?” she said, looking surprised, as she delicately thumbed through the crisp yellowing pages.
“A family heirloom. It was my grandfather’s.”
“May I borrow it?”
“Why, indeed. I will give it to Abu to put it with your luggage which arrived yesterday, by the way.”
“No. I would rather carry it myself. There is a reason I sent my luggage separately. I wouldn’t want anyone going through it.”
“As you wish. Here, let me carry it now, it is heavy,” said Amon. Wanda closed the book and carefully handed it back to its owner.
“Do you and your family still live in the eastern-wing of the house?”
“I do, yes but not my family. I have moved my wife and daughter out of this place recently because of the incidents I mentioned earlier.”
“Unfortunate. Very unfortunate.”
“After lunch I will tell you more.”
“Yes. I would like to hear everything.”
“What can I show you next? Let’s see. Do you want to see the rest of the guest house? There is one bedroom and one bath—”
“Do you still have your horses?” Wanda interrupted.
“Oh yes indeed! But just the three best beasts. I sold the rest. The multi-day horse tours are becoming less popular, and it is a hassle to maintain such beautiful animals. It’s a pity, it really is. And of course, I still have my falcon, have you seen him?”
“I don’t believe I have, but I would like to see him and the horses. Especially the horses,” she said with a broad smile.
“Of course, you would. I have not forgotten your fondness for horses, madam Faraday. You are quite the rider!”
“Perhaps when I was younger. Not anymore, I am afraid,” said Wanda blushing. “Please lead the way.”
Amon walked over to a door at the rear of the room and held it open for Wanda and through it she stepped out onto the paved threshold looking out into the date and olive garden. Amon followed her.
“This way.” He indicated to a narrow path, stepped onto it, overtaking Wanda and proceeded to lead the way. Soon they were at the little stable in the midst of the garden about a hundred feet from the house. There were two large Arabian steeds, one black and the other silver-grey and an elegant white mare of the same breed.
“They are beautiful,” said Wanda, walking up to the mare and patting her shoulder affectionately.
“Aren’t they? And very enduring. I have done seven-day, six-night tours with them in small groups, all the way from here to Luxor and then I have returned, the same route, after a few days at my uncle’s ranch in Luxor. They are wonderful riding animals. I trust you would like us to ride again this time? They will come in handy.”
“How many days to Abydos on the mare?” asked Wanda.
“Six, maybe seven, with overnight camping breaks only. But it will be longer for us. We need to take some detours through the desert and not follow the Nile, to throw off the pursuers, if any.”
“Hmm. Our stops will also be longer, depending on how much time we spend at each of the ruins. But Hawara first, of course,” Wanda wondered out loud.
“No, we can’t go to Hawara straight. That is the most dangerous of the sites. We need to make for Cairo. It is in the opposite direction. It will confuse our trail. A few nights at Cairo and then, Hawara. Is that alright?”
“Whatever you deem best.”
“Very well. When would you like to start? I will make the arrangements.”
“As soon as we can. Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow is too early. I have to send news to make arrangements. How about the day after?”
“The day after will work. Do you have access to encrypted phones, to send word?”
“No, I don’t use phones. It’s too risky. I will send Huma!”
“Is he reliable? I wouldn’t trust—”
“Yes, very reliable, as trustworthy a bird as any,” interrupted Amon.
“It’s your falcon?” asked Wanda, as her mouth fell open with shock.
“Why no, it’s my pigeon! A very rare messenger pigeon, she is, come all the way to me from Europe. A gem in my collection,” he said, his eyes gleaming with pride as he walked over to Huma’s cage hanging from a corner of his stable.
“That is a relief,” said Wanda with a smile, “and where is the mighty falcon, you speak of?”
“Abu has taken him out for his morning flight. They will be back shortly.”
“I see. Is that why you speak so freely?”
“Your guess is correct as usual. Let us take a walk in the garden, and from there we can see them return. Once they are back, you will meet Wassem, the falcon, and then we can eat,” Amon said with a smile.
Later that day, after a sumptuous lunch, Wanda sat with Amon on a little marble-topped bench under a date tree in that very same garden and learned all about the misfortunes that had befallen Amon in the recent months. Men armed with semi-automatic weapons stormed the gardens and broke in to the guest-house last year. Fortunately, the villa was closed and Amon and his family were on vacation in Europe. Their lives were spared, but only by a hair’s breadth.
The raid happened mere hours after their flight took off from Cairo. Zareena, the only horse that they left at the stable was shot and beheaded as a warning. Her head was left at their doorstep as a welcome-home gift, later to be found by the police. The terrorists were fortunately apprehended, but the trouble was far from over.
Strange trespassers continue to sneak into their gardens from time to time and constant vigilance has been re
quired to keep them out. The police instated additional patrols in the locality, which prevented further armed break-ins, but doing so hurt his business. Along with his life, Amon’s livelihood is now beginning to be at stake.
Wanda listened with much concern, late into the afternoon, and her heart grew anxious. These were grim proceedings indeed. Amon knew too much about the Faiyum scrolls and the findings at Hawara, and someone wanted him dead. This was not a safe place to be, for either of them, at least not for long. They must go into hiding after this journey, but she did not know yet, where they would go.
* * *
The journey began on Sunday, as planned. Wanda rode the beautiful white mare from Amon’s stable, and Amon chose the jet-black steed with a royal, cream-coloured mane. Three of Amon’s employees from the horse-riding business joined the entourage to make the expedition look legitimately touristic. They would head straight to a camping ground near Cairo, a short ride. The detour would throw off any pursuers. Three nights they planned to halt at the desert camp in Cairo.
On the fourth night, they would ride after dusk, just the two of them this time, and make stealthily for the dig site off Hawara. They would not stay at Hawara. It was too dangerous. They would be expected there. Once Wanda had had some time at the ruins to look for the missing clues, they would head in the direction of Abydos but through the desert and along a treacherous route with many detours. There were some other ruins along the route and some major ones at Abydos, where they would stop if all goes well.
With the plan set and the arrangements made by pigeon post, they set off at the break of dawn. The horizon was still bathed in a gentle golden hue that heralded the appearance of the fierce desert sun.
Despite her years, Wanda was more comfortable on a horse than many young jockeys a fraction of her age. It was a wonder to behold. Amon rode with Wassem on his shoulder.
“We might need him,” he said.
Sometimes the falcon flew off and followed its own course, but somehow it always returned to the convoy or came back to fly alongside the party.
The stay at Cairo was touristy. They made a day trip to the great pyramids, together with a guide and a small group of tourists.
“It feels grand to be here again,” said Wanda. “To be in the mere presence of these behemoths is awe-inspiring, don’t, you think?”
“Indeed. I have spent my entire life in the valley of the Nile, playing in these sands, climbing on these stones, but I still have not discovered its secrets,” replied Amon.
“Of what divine power were those kings that commanded the construction of such tombs is beyond my understanding.”
“Tombs?” said Amon, lowering his voice to a bare whisper. “Tombs, you say? I fear not.”
Wanda looked at him questioningly although she could guess what he was thinking.
“Have mummies ever been found here? No. What has been found instead? Burn marks on the walls, as that of a furnace of intense heat, an alignment with the stars in mathematical precision, Aswan granite laden with quartz and conducting minerals, insulating white tufa limestone and much more, much more,” continued Amon when his train of thought was rudely interrupted by the guide.
“Here, you will see the largest of the great pyramids, the tomb of Khufu,” he said in a booming voice.
Amon let out a laugh and then looking at Wanda, noticed that she too was grinning.
“What if it is not?” he said to her, lowering his head to her ear.
“There are many what-ifs along our road,” she agreed.
“We have two more days in this camp to talk about the pyramids and my theories and yours.”
The remaining two days were dedicated to just that, rehashing their individual theories about the pyramids, interspersed with occasional poring over the massive book of hieroglyph translations that Amon had lent to Wanda.
* * *
On the fourth evening, Wanda dressed herself in her full riding gear to embark on the longer, more precarious part of their journey. They had an early supper at around five and packed a decent supply of dates, nuts, bastirma and marinated olives for their trip. They also took their tents and sleeping bags because the rest of their mission was to be conducted mostly in isolation, away from tourists and civilians, camping alone in desolate locations.
They arrived in Hawara after sundown. Wassem, with his keen eyesight was flying in front, guiding their horses through the darkness. He was raised in Hawara and knew the way. The new dig site close to Hawara, where the famous papyrus scrolls were found, was a very sensitive area. The legends that flew about surrounding these scrolls attracted many a nefarious soul. The Government was therefore extra-careful with the protection of this site. Amon had his connections, having been a tour guide in the region for years uncounted, and he had secured the permissions for the two of them to survey the ruins. The area was surrounded by a temporary fortification of barbed wire fencing and a metal gate which was guarded by an armed sentry. About a kilometre from this walled area was an encampment where a couple of the chief archaeologists and a handful of their students housed themselves on a rotational basis, for this was the site of an ongoing excavation since the turn of the century. As Wanda and Amon approached the encampments, they noticed a small campfire with two people huddled around it. One of them, a stout middle-aged man in long khaki shorts and a white polo shirt, rose upon seeing the visitors and came over to greet them.
“Amon, it is good to see you again, and Wanda, my God, it has been very long!” he said.
“Much too long, I am afraid, Sebastian,” concurred Wanda. “I should have been here sooner and would have done so too, had it not been for the unrest.”
“Really sad, what has been happening,” he concurred. “The civil war, too much death and destruction.”
“And there will be more if we can’t stop it.”
“You think the Faiyum scrolls will help?”
“Oh, yes, I certainly hope so. If we can put together the whole puzzle.”
“Is that why you are here? Amon didn’t tell me much when he asked to see the site tonight.”
“Yes, that is why we are here, my friend.”
“In that case, we must make haste and get you into the site. When you are done, we can have dinner at the camp and go over what my team has found since we last met. We may be able to give you information you can use.”
“Oh, most certainly. Any new findings you have to share will be of use to us,” said Wanda with a grateful smile.
“I see that you have horses,” said Sebastian. “I was going to offer to drop you off in Cairo with my super-jeep after dinner. It is not safe to ride by night from here.”
“We are armed,” said Amon. “And we are not going to Cairo. We will take the desert path and disappear into the darkness,” he added with a wicked grin.
“Haha. You are ever the daredevil, Amon, but these are not such times. What are your arms against a group of terrorists with machine guns? Unless you know how to make yourself invisible, you are in for much grief,” said Sebastian grimly.
It was true, but Amon and Wanda had something else. They had Heka and Sebastian didn’t know this. Together they could warp the minds of the terrorists such that they would not see them at all or see them in a different location if they wanted. The enemy would not know what hit them. It is not likely that they would be shot at, machine gun or no machine gun. The enemy has every reason to want them alive. Torture and death may follow, but not right away.
“I have grenades and a semi-automatic,” assured Amon with a smile, keeping the rest to himself.
“Very well. But if I were you, I would stay here tonight and travel by daylight tomorrow. I could also give you an escort in the morning when the sentry’s shift changes.”
“Very kind of you,” said Wanda. “But we would rather not draw attention to ourselves.”
“Alright then.” Sighed Sebastian. “Let me get you into the site.”
A few minutes later, the three appeared at th
e gate of the dig-area and Sebastian spoke with the sentry who opened the gate to the visitors and let them in.
“I will head back to the camp and get dinner ready. We are not allowed to enter the site in groups of three or more, after dark. Do you have a flashlight? I have a spare. You will need it in there.”
“Yes, I do,” said Amon pulling out from his back-pack, two flashlight headbands for himself and Wanda. Then he gave a loud whistle and looked up at the sky. Soon a pair of majestic golden wings swooped in from above their heads, renting the darkness with its flutter. A peregrine falcon materialized, landing gently on Amon’s shoulder. “Is he allowed?” the bird’s master asked.
“Looks like you came prepared!” said Sebastian. “Yes, you can take the bird. I’ll wait for you at camp,” he added before heading off into the darkness.
Once inside the ruins and out of earshot of the guard, Amon spoke.
“So, what is it that we are looking for this time?”
“A mark, the mark I told you about in Cairo, a rune. It was on the papyrus. I deciphered it from your grandfather’s book. I have a feeling that it will be here somewhere in the hidden tunnels that they recently discovered. On its walls perhaps.”
“Why in the tunnels?”
“Because the papyrus was found inside a chest right above the trap-door that led to the tunnel, and it alludes to the secrets underneath.”
“I see,” said Amon, leading the way. The ruins were only partly excavated, even after many years of digging, because the site was very old, and a lot of care was needed to uncover what lay hidden. Also, this was a very peculiar ruin. Every now and then, new mysteries emerged from under the earth and layer after layer of other ruins were found long after everyone had come to the conclusion that the site had no further ancient relics to offer.
“Careful,” said Amon as he spotted a cordoned off area on his right that had a danger sign in front of it, indicating an unstable or active dig area that was not suitable to walk on.
The two walked through a large monolithic gate of stone carved with supra-human deities and into the winding stone tunnels of the western wing of the fallen temple. Arriving finally at the heart of the structure, where there were great stone walls all about them, they halted. Amon pulled out the map of the site that he had received from his contact in Cairo and held it under the flashlight.
The Coming of Kalki Page 12