Passage to Queen Mesentia

by Vann, Dorlana

  Finally, they docked and grabbed a taxi that was near the ferry landing without saying a word to one another. The West Bank of Luxor was dotted with hotels, restaurants, and palm trees. Colorful air balloons floated above the mountains in the distance. Wade learned, from examining the maps, that monuments, tombs and lots of deserted desert were located further inland. It made him a little nervous to know that there would be not much of a crowd out there to get lost in if they had another confrontation with Schelsteder. He could only hope that the German Ghost-man had stayed on the East Bank.

  After Lilly had told the driver where to go, they drove for a few miles until they passed the populated areas, the green scenery turning into drier land. Wade stared out the window at the land of Egypt, which he had really begun to admire. A place Lilly had practically grown up in. How different her childhood had been compared to his. His had been a countrified, barefooted, creek-swimming, dirt and sweat childhood. Maybe she had been right all along. Maybe they were too wrong for one another.

  The taxi pulled up to a concrete building shaped like a two-story cereal box, and Wade finally peeked at Lilly. She was sound asleep. He remembered she didn’t get any sleep on the train, and they’d been running ever since. Her hair was down and madly windblown, she wore no make-up but there was plenty of muck on her face, and her clothes were wrinkled and sweaty. She was beautiful. The most beautiful creature, even when she was such a mess. He decided to let her sleep and he’d go in and get the little pyramid, if it was even in there, and then they could check right into the hotel. Gravy.

  “Stay here,” he told the driver. The guy began to protest when he noticed Lilly in the back seat, asleep. Wade took out some money and showed it to him, but didn’t give him any. He thought even if they didn’t speak the same language, he would understand cash. He put up one finger and said, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  The driver protested loudly while shaking his head and pointing to the meter.

  “I know,” Wade said getting out of the car. “Keep it rolling, I’ll pay you when I get back. Saving the world sure is expensive!”

  He walked away slowly, hoping the guy wouldn’t take off, just to be spiteful, but he didn’t. The driver talked to himself and glanced back at Lilly every other second with frustration, but he stayed put.

  Wade made it up to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. He was thankful that at least the sign in the window was in English, but it still didn’t help because it said they were closed. He wondered what he should do, if he should wake Lilly and ask if she had a key, but he knew she didn’t.

  He had to get in there somehow. He probably could have jimmied the lock, but then he didn’t want the driver to see him breaking in. The last thing he wanted was to be thrown inside an Egyptian jail.

  He walked around back to a window that was high enough that he had to jump to see inside. The window was filthy, and he didn’t see much. He picked up a rock and threw it at the window, and it went straight through. It took him several attempts, but finally he had enough of the glass broken out. He jumped to his elbows and then shimmed himself inside.

  The office he landed in was in disarray: dust and cobwebs and paper on the floor. It appeared as if no one had been working in there for awhile. He walked through the door to a reception type area, and could see the taxi through the window.

  Stone steps led upstairs. He walked up, hoping the Steward’s office was up there.

  The file cabinets, shelves with old books, dust-covered computer screen, crates and a desk were enough evidence at first glance to give him hope that he was in the right place. However, the picture of Lilly, with two of her best friends from college, assured him.

  There were crates stacked upon crates, and Wade knew what he would be doing for a little while and went about opening the first one. Amongst the shredded paper, he found clay pottery in the first one. He pulled the first crate out of the way and went to the next one. That one was a little more difficult to open, it was nailed shut. He found the hammer that had been the culprit on one of the bookshelves and used the back of it to pull the nails out. He stuck his hand inside the crate…

  Wade felt someone shaking him. Sweat dripped from his brow, and he needed more sleep. The voice he heard was not speaking English. What? He forced his eyes open, realizing a headache beyond hangover pounded relentlessly through his temples. He felt the cold, gritty floor beneath him and saw a man in a turban above him. The man was shouting at him and pointing.

  Wade remembered where he was. He jumped up, a little too quickly, and ran down the stairs and through the front door of the office building to outside. The taxi was gone… Lilly was gone! He ran back inside as the driver was making his way down the stairs. He grabbed the man by his white shirt. “Where is she!” he demanded. “Where is she?”

  The man spoke in his language again, yelling with the same amount of discontent as Wade had. That’s when Wade realized someone must have stolen the man’s taxi with Lilly asleep inside of it. His heart pounded, and he wiped his sweat on his brow, which had begun to drip down his face. Only then did he realize that it wasn’t sweat but blood.

  Someone, most likely Schelsteder, had hit him over the head with something, knocked him out and took…

  He ran back up the stairs and sure enough, all the boxes had been opened and paper and pottery was strewn everywhere. If the Pyramidion Statuette had been there, they had it. They had Lilly, too.

  He was about to walk back down the stairs when a piece of paper on the desk caught his attention. He read it and then yelled out, “Son-of-a-bitch!”

  Chapter 15

  Lilly’s dreams had her in her classroom. She was upset because her students weren’t listening to her. She was separating the biggest talkers, Ashley and Becca, when she was jarred awake. She opened her eyes and realized her face was on the seat of the taxi cab, and the cab was moving.

  Her first thought was that she had nodded off for a second and they were still on their way to her parent’s office, but that didn’t last long. Something was wrong. As she sat up, she had to brace herself, the cab was traveled at a high speed and she bounced all over the place. Wind and dust blew in from the open windows. Where was Wade? Was he driving?

  No, the driver had mud-dark skin, and he wasn’t even the same driver they had left with. She looked out the window to see where they were. Sand flew everywhere. They were off-road! What was going on? “Stop! Stop right now!” When the man didn’t even flinched she shouted in Arabic, “Wa’if hi na, min fad lak!”

  At this, he slammed on the brakes and Lilly was thrown forward into the back of the front seat and then backwards into the back seat. All she wanted to do was get out of the cab, but when she was about to open the door, it was opened from the outside. Completely confused, she stared up the two strangers who were now reaching inside the cab. Remembering Schelsteder and the man in the park, she screamed and tried to climb to the other door. A second later, the two men had her by the legs and pulled her out, and right before her face hit the sand, they let go and grabbed her by the arms.

  “Help! Let me go! Help me!” she screamed and kicked and swung out her arms and scratched at them. The two men overpowered her and carried her without even a wince. She lost the next couple of seconds, as her instincts took over because the next thing she knew, she had been thrown inside another vehicle. A blast of chilled air hit her face, and then the door slammed shut. She frantically pulled on the handle, but it was locked. She banged on the door and on the darkly tinted window. “Let me out! Let me out!”

  “Lillian.”

  Lilly turned to the voice. As her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit surroundings, she noticed Ben sitting across from her. “Oh my goodness,” she said, her spirits lifted. She flung herself across the car and grabbed hold of him, hugging him. She was so happy to see him, and thoughts raced through her mind, like he had been captured, too. And she wondered where Wade was. But then… no.

  She pulled away slowly, seeing clea
rer. She took small notice of the car moving. She stared at Ben. He sat straight and appeared refreshed and confident. His hair was pulled away from his face, sunglasses on top of his head like a tourist. He didn’t look like a man who had been dragged out of bed and forced to leave a slumber. No, he seemed like a man who was on mission. An important, well-rested and well-dressed man in a crisp, ironed, white button down shirt and black trousers.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered, examining her surroundings. She sat inside some kind of limousine. That she knew for sure. It had long, black leather seats on either side, a bar with clear decanters of liquor and crystal glasses. There was even a television. “Where’s Wade?”

  “Don’t worry about Wade. He will find you soon. I’m counting on it.”

  “What are you talking about? Ben? I don’t understand. You’re scaring me.”

  “Don’t be afraid of destiny. We all have a place, but mine has been denied for far too long. You understand.”

  Lilly’s hands shook and she felt light-headed. Things were not right. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere… in the desert. Where are we going?”

  “That’s not important,” he spoke gently. “What’s important is where I’m going. You see, Lillian, this is my destiny. My love awaits. Mesentia can not be left waiting any longer.” Ben lifted his right hand, revealing a small gold pyramid that looked exactly how he had described it.

  “The statuette!”

  “You… and Wade found it. I will be forever grateful to you and to your parents for finding the source of my curse… and the cure. Don’t you see how important you are? Without you, this would not have been possible. Your love is a third of the cure.”

  Lilly’s confusion overwhelmed her. Tears began to seep down her face. “You’re acting so strange. I don’t understand. I want to go back to the office. Take me back to Wade. I’m glad you found it and that Schelsteder can’t get it, but—”

  At that moment, someone cleared their throat.

  Lilly turned her head to the right, to a small window like opening to where the driver seat was located. Even though he was a good ten feet away, Lilly knew that face, the white face of Schelsteder. Lilly put her hand over her mouth to muffle the scream that caught in her throat.

  And then he spoke, “We’re here, your majesty.”

  ***

  Wade tried to stay calm, because he had no other choice but to ride. He tapped his foot as he opened and closed his new knife, wishing he had an apple, a piece of gum… or better yet, a cigarette. The note on the desk had read, “Depart at JaJa on your way to Al-Kharga Oasis or Lillian will die.” It had been signed, Binpanek; the name Ben had said Unas had given him with the curse of immortality.

  Wade had shown the two city names from the note to the bus driver. Even though he hadn’t understood the words, he knew by the bus driver’s expression and mannerism that he had implied some sort of warning. Wade had smiled, thanked him, and found a seat.

  He cursed himself a thousand times for leaving Lilly in that taxi. If he’d only woken her, this wouldn’t be happening. Why had he let Lilly call Ben and tell them exactly where they and that statue were? The real reasons gnawed at him. He had been angry and didn’t think he gave a shit anymore. He tried not to think about what Lilly had said on the ferry. She’d said she regretted everything. At the time, he couldn’t shake the heaviness of it all. From the beginning he had believed that Lilly’s mind had become jumbled with grief and she’d pushed him away because she was deep in mourning. But things changed, and she had made him really doubt their connection. He shook his head trying to give himself a break; because it would’ve taken anyone a bit of rewinding after all she had put him through.

  If only that was the problem now. If only he had let her talk and just expect that the last few weeks would be like trying to forget a nightmare—the funky feelings would linger far longer than the actual specifics. Because at that moment, nothing mattered except for Lilly. Nothing mattered, except her safety. He hated himself for letting Ben inside his head and forgetting his goal.

  Now he wondered, what in the hell was Ben’s deal? Obviously, he wasn’t who he’d said he was—like Wade had suspected all along—he was after that statue for his own reasons. So what did he want with Lilly? Especially if the statuette had been in one of those crates, why all the drama? He and Lilly would have taken it right back to him, and he could’ve been on his way, and they would’ve never thought twice about it. Wade also wondered why Ben showed his hand before the game was over. If he wouldn’t have signed that note, he would have thought it was Schelsteder who had kidnapped her. Perhaps Ben didn’t find it. Maybe they thought he had it, maybe Ben thought he was already on to him?

  When the bus came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the desert, without saying a word, the driver opened the door. Wade stuck the knife inside his boot, giving his foot a jiggle as he stood up.

  Adjusting his hat to shield the sun, he stepped off the bus. Since there had been no other instructions on the note, he looked for a clue as to what to do. His stomach sank as the bus drove away, leaving him standing by himself. Miles of sky and sand laughed at him, and the thought that Ben was somewhere sipping wine and laughing with Lilly crept into his mind. Maybe this was just an elaborate way to get rid of the babysitter. He kicked the dirt a couple of times and his curses echoed loud into the waves of heat.

  After his little fit, he stood with his hands on his hips for a few more minutes before deciding to start walking back towards town. Suddenly, he heard something behind him. He turned to see a cloud of dust in the distance. Someone was coming.

  A few seconds later, three men in white turbans and long desert robes jumped out of a once-blue, rusty pick-up truck and grabbed him by both arms.

  “Do you have Lilly?” Wade didn’t struggle. He had to take the chance that these men were taking him to Lilly. They pushed at him indicating they wanted him to climb in the bed of the truck. Two of the three men jumped in behind him, while the last man got inside the cab.

  “Lilly?” Wade tried again but slower. “Are you taking me to her?”

  They spoke Arabic to one another as they turned him around and tied his hands behind his back.

  He took it all without protest, but then they removed his hat and covered his head with a dark hood. Suddenly, he had visions of being left in the middle of the desert with his hands tied behind his back and not being able to see. “Hey, get this thing off of me!” Wade shouted and struggled, but all he accomplished was falling on his face. The men laughed, but did pick him up.

  They made a sharp turn, and the ride became extremely rough and bumpy. The sun beat down on the hood making salty sweat pour down Wade’s face. He fought the dizziness, taking short, steady breaths so he wouldn’t pass out. He focused on Lilly, but then tried to not think about her being treated in the same way.

  When they stopped, the men pulled Wade out of the truck. He landed on his knees and they dragged him until he regained his feet. After a few steps, the ground became harder and Wade could tell they walked on a downward slope, the air increasingly cooler with each step.

  “Where are we?” Wade asked as soon as they stopped walking. “Can we take this off now? Where’s Lilly? Are you taking me to her? Will someone talk to me?”

  He heard Ben say, “I think you should have gagged him, too.”

  “You Mother—”

  “Not in front of the lady.”

  “Lilly? Lilly?” Wade moved his head around trying to hear her. “Are you here? Are you okay? Lilly?” His blindness and the situation began to fill him with panic. Finally, after a moment, he heard a distant sound… a muffled scream? “Lilly!” Not thinking about what he would do in complete darkness and with his hands tied behind his back, Wade fought and squirmed, and stomped on a foot, until he broke free of his captor’s grip. He ran in the direction he thought he had heard her, but two seconds later, someone grabbed him and hit him several times on the head and neck with something solid, reopen
ing the wound that had finally stopped bleeding.

  “Ow! Ow!” Wade yelled, dropping to his knees in surrender. Instant coolness and light swept over him as someone lifted the hood from his head. He was in a wide stone corridor. Every few feet, open-flamed torches burned on the walls. Ben stood in front of him with two men at his side. Wade searched for Lilly and found her to his right, where the walkway cornered and seemed to continue. She sat in a chair, her hands tied behind her back and her mouth gagged. “Lilly!” He stood and made a step toward her.

  “Please,” Ben said. “We don’t want to hurt you again.”

  One of the men already had his arm up in the air, a baseball bat in his hand. He shook his head slowly letting Wade know it was a bad idea to take another step.

  “What the hell is going on? We trusted you… Well, Lilly did.”

  “None of this would have been possible without her. My lovely Lillian.”

  “You must rest.” Schelsteder came into view. “I can take care of them.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Wade said. “You two are in cahoots? So you’re the one who wanted this pyramid statue for an army? You’re the one who wants to take over the world?”

  Schelsteder laughed. “They actually believed all this Nazi nonsense?”

  “What’s he talking about? Nonsense?”

  “Although it was truly necessary, I do apologize for my deceit.”

  “I’m guessing you don’t really want an army of darkness. This whole thing was for the money? Like I thought. You got what you wanted. You don’t need us. Let Lilly go. Now!”

  Ben said, “The Pyramidion Statuette does hold great value to me, but it is intangible. It holds my cure. It holds my passage to the afterlife and to Mesentia. Now, since I have the statuette in my possession, I can take my rightful place in the sky, among the other Deities. Hydra’s stars are aligned and will be in the perfect position in a few hours, waiting for me to take my place. There I will be reunited with my queen, and we shall rule the Heavens.”