Darkest Sin

by Ashton Blackthorne

  Strange as it was because the humidity was so low, we were hardly sweating. The sun’s rays were extremely strong, but our lack of perspiration made it even more dangerous the guides warned.

  “This is the Great Pyramid. Archaeologists believe it was built for the Pharaoh Khufu in the 4th Dynasty,” Reese read on her phone.

  Ava stood in front of the entrance to the pyramid. She appeared to be waiting for something or someone.

  “Look at Ava. What’s with her?” Amber jabbed Ash.

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Do we go in? Are we supposed to dig here?”

  “How? They’re guards and tourists everywhere!” I hissed back.

  “Not here.” She motioned for us to keep quiet. “This isn’t the right place.”

  “Then why are we here?” I murmured to Ash.

  We stood waiting for Ava’s instructions. She motioned for us to follow her away from the pyramid. Gathering us around her away from others, she informed us that we wouldn’t be touring the Great Pyramid. It wasn’t the right time or place, she said.

  Feeling disappointed, I reluctantly followed her back to the van.

  Ninety Nine

  Ash

  As the heat of the day wore on, we followed Ava through the desert to a patch of land next to a different pyramid. The place was teeming with security guards.

  “Miss Ava, they will not allow us to dig here. We must have a permit from the government,” Musad advised. Their tools were concealed in a long black bag.

  “Why didn’t you mention that before?” Ava gritted her teeth. Her rage was palpable.

  “I thought you might have arranged a way we could.” Musad winked at her.

  Rolling her eyes, Ava then turned away from them. “We are close, but we can’t do it during the daylight. We’ll have to come back tonight.”

  Being out here in the desert during the day was daunting enough, I couldn’t imagine how it would be at night. It was difficult to comprehend for those who hadn’t visited Egypt, but the desert seemed so vast it would swallow you and no one would ever know. It was an eerie feeling one that made me anxious. All I could see for miles around was sand and endless blue sky above. The bright sun beat down upon us roasting me alive inside of my clothes. My head was so hot yet very little perspiration dampened my skin. My eyes burned from the brightness even beneath the protection of my sunglasses. I wanted to get back to the hotel as soon as possible.

  “The area where we need to dig is close,” Ava whispered to me.

  “How close?”

  “See the shadow of this pyramid. It’s within the shadow.” Ava pointed at the pyramid before us.

  Sure enough, a long shadow was cast from the pyramid onto the sand. We stepped into the shadow relishing the relief from the sun’s rays.

  “Here?” Ayden asked pointing to the ground below our feet.

  “Within this area. I’ll know better when we come back tonight when the blood moon is out.”

  Blood moon. How could I forget that? Feeling more doubtful than ever, I followed Ava and the rest of our group across the scorching sand back to the van. I couldn’t wait to get to the hotel and have a drink. I had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

  My heart thundered heavily in my chest. It was so loud I could hear it. I was sure Amber standing next to me could hear it, too. I tightened the grip on the shovel. Nighttime in the desert isn’t a place anyone wants to be. It was eerie and desolate even with the faint lights emanating from the city a few miles away. The shadows came alive and danced in the moonlight. I heard all kinds of animal calls and the scampering of small feet.

  “Ash, are you okay?” Amber whispered as we walked along following Ava.

  “As good as anyone could be walking out here at night,” I murmured dragging the shovel behind me.

  “Quiet!” Ava hissed stopping to glare at us.

  My lungs strained for air as I felt panic surrounding me.

  Ava was clearly in control, but the rest of us were hesitant. “Look, we’re close. Just hang in there with me,” she whispered.

  As we came around the corner of the pyramid, we came face to face with a sour-faced security guard. “Who are you? What are you doing here so late at night?” The tall, well-built guard asked in heavily accented English. He stared at our shovels which Ayden and I tried to conceal behind our backs. “What is this? Shovels? You cannot dig out here! I will call the police!” His voice rose as he pulled a phone from his pocket.

  Quickly, Ava smiled throwing her hair back. “Sir, we have no intention of digging on this sacred ground without permission. Our grandparents visited this place a few years ago and my grandmother lost her wedding ring. I know it’s a long shot and we’ll never find it, but I promised her I would try.” She grinned as she motioned to Amber and Reese behind her back.

  So this is what she meant when she said she needed Amber.

  “Your grandmother’s ring, you say? How do you expect to find it in the dark in a huge area like this? It’s long gone I’m sure.” The guard slipped his phone back into his pocket.

  “I know. It’s just…she was so sad when she lost it. I…I don’t know what to do.” Ava quickly produced some tears.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, but I can’t allow you to just dig on this site. Its government protected. Only certain people are allowed to.”

  Ava nodded. “I understand. Do you mind if we just look around then with our flashlights? I just feel like I have to at least say I tried for her.”

  The guard shrugged and nodded. “If it makes you feel better, that’s fine. You’ll have to leave your shovels over here though.” He gestured to an area near the pyramid entrance.

  “Thank you.” Ava slipped something into Amber’s hand before motioning for us to follow her. We walked about 100 yards away from the guard as Amber stayed behind.

  “Your party went that way.” The guard motioned to her.

  She smiled and slid closer to him. “I know, but I just can’t walk any further. My shoes are difficult to walk in.” She gestured to her boots.

  “Those are hiking boots. You should be fine in them.”

  Amber batted her eyes at him. She’d managed to pop a few buttons from her blouse pushing her tits against the fabric. He stared down at her. “I just can’t walk anymore today.” As if on cue, Amber collapsed against the guard.

  He caught her before she fell to the ground. “Miss, are you okay?”

  Her eyes fluttered as she tried to gaze up at him. “I don’t know. I just felt faint for a moment. We’ve been traipsing around here all day.”

  “You’re probably not used to this heat. It’s very intense for some people.” The guard helped Amber to her feet.

  “I’m okay.” Amber clung to his neck as she tried to steady herself.

  “Here, just sit down. I’ll bring you some water.” The guard rushed to his vehicle parked several hundred yards away.

  Ava motioned to Amber to follow him.

  As I stood watch, Ayden plunged his shovel into the sand.

  Ava stood bathed in moonlight as she looked up at the stars.

  Sand began to fly as I observed Amber talking with the guard.

  “Stop! Not here!” Ava hissed at us.

  He stopped shoveling to await her instructions.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked feeling annoyed. I thought she said she knew right where to dig.

  “This isn’t right. It’s not time yet.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I just do.” She motioned for us to wrap it up.

  Ava, Reese, and Ayden slipped through the darkness back to the van.

  I waved at Amber.

  She caught my eye and immediately stopped flirting with the guard. She rushed back to us. “What did I do wrong? I was distracting him like you said!” Amber raged at Ava.

  “That’s not the issue. It’s not the right time,” Ava replied ominously.

  Amber started to argue with her, but I settled her.

 
We drove back to the hotel in silence. As soon as we got back to the hotel, Ava shut herself into her suite. She didn’t even notice Ayden and Reese as they disappeared into Ayden’s suite.

  I was too tired to argue with them as Amber and I left them to go to bed.

  One Hundred

  Ayden

  “I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. Why is that?” I tucked my arm behind my head. I’d never felt this close to anyone before this fast.

  Reese smiled as she cuddled next to me. “Maybe it was meant to be. Do you believe in fate?”

  My heart skidded inside my chest. I couldn’t believe she’d just uttered those words to me. “Funny story. My mother used to ramble on and on about fate. I never thought much about it until I met you.”

  “What was so funny about that?” Reese leaned up on one elbow. Her hair fell across her face.

  Strands of it brushed my chest tickling me. I gazed up at the ceiling. I could still hear my mother murmuring to herself in a drunken haze about fate bringing her and my father together then tearing them apart. “Nothing really. It was just how my mother was. Being drunk was her normal state, so when she was sober those are the times that really stick out in my memory.”

  “What did she say?”

  I closed my eyes for a minute recalling the way my mother looked when she wasn’t high or drunk. She was actually a very pretty, caring, kind woman then. A real mother. “It was a good day. We never had many of those. She was sober enough to take me to the park.” I could still smell the freshly cut grass and see the cherry blossoms blowing on the wind.

  “I hope one of the big swings is free!” I cried breaking free of my mother’s hand.

  “Be careful, Ayden!” She warned as I ran towards the playground.

  The big swings were the best because then my mom could push me really high. I loved to swing as high as I could then jump off.

  As soon as I turned the corner towards the playground, I could see all the big swings were taken. Defeated, I turned back to see my mom running towards me. “They’re taken,” I whispered.

  “That’s okay, baby. You can play on those swings over there.” She reached for my hand.

  I glared at the direction she was pulling me to. Those swings were for little kids and had a bar that fit across my chest. I hated them. They wouldn’t go high. Worst of all, I couldn’t jump from them. “I hate those kind!” I kicked the dirt.

  “Ayden, now don’t behave like that. It’s a beautiful day. Let’s just have fun.” She smiled. With the bright sun shining behind her, she looked like an angel.

  I was eight years old. I wasn’t a baby anymore. I was too big for those other swings, but still I didn’t want my mom to get upset. She so seldom ever played with me.

  I heard the loud sound of the L train racing by in the distance. The laughter of the other children lured me to go play regardless of what swing I was on. “Okay,” I grumbled as I took her hand allowing her to lead me to the other swings. I hopped on and she pulled the bar across my chest. It fit tightly and cut into my skin. Like I feared, I was too big for the swing, but I gritted my teeth and let her push me.

  “See, baby, you’re still going high.” She stood behind me and pushed as hard as she could.

  I held on to the chains tightly watching the ground come at me then leaning my head back as I soared toward the sky. These swings were going higher than I thought they would.

  But I still couldn’t jump off.

  I watched as the kids who were on the bigger swings squeal with delight as they soared higher and higher and then jumped off. I burned with envy.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the bar that the swings were hanging from was moving funny. It wasn’t supposed to move at all. I felt a sense of terror growing in my stomach. I kicked my legs in protest.

  “Mom! Stop pushing!” I let my feet begin to drag the ground to stop. My eyes were glued to the other swings and the bar still moved a bit every time another child swung higher.

  As I slowed to a stop kicking up a cloud of dust, my mother waved her hand in front of her face looking at me. “Ayden, what’s wrong?”

  Then there was the sound of metal crashing and a loud boom shook the ground. Screams filled the air as people went running towards the swing set. Children were lying on the ground bleeding and cut. The swing set had collapsed!

  My mother snatched me up out of the swing and we went running over there. Sirens came screaming into the park. I saw a child with his arm twisted completely around. He was crying in pain. Another little girl had blood running from her nose and mouth.

  Horrified, we tried to help, but the paramedics pushed us all aside. After all the injured had been loaded into the ambulances, my mother took me aside and we sat down at a bench. The once beautiful day now scarred by tragedy.

  “How did you know, Ayden?” she asked in a low voice.

  An eerie feeling tickled my stomach. “I don’t know.” I looked up and saw the bar moving. I was going to tell you when I stopped, but there wasn’t time.” Tears welled up in my eyes.

  We looked back at the twisted metal and chains that remained of the swing set. They looked tired and alone like remnants of a war.

  My mother played with her rings on her finger.

  I noticed the red string tied in a bow tattooed on her pinkie. I’d noticed it before but never really thought about it.

  “It was fate, Ayden. You wanted to go on those swings, but they were all taken. If we had gotten here earlier, you might have been one of those children with a broken nose or arm.”

  “What’s fate?” I recalled her speaking about it before, but I tried not to pay attention to her drunk ramblings.

  “This.” She held up her pinkie.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I got this tattoo years ago right before you were born. There’s an old Japanese fable about the red string of fate. They say that everyone has a soulmate that you’re destined to be with. An invisible red string connects you to them so that no matter where you go or where you are you’ll be with them. Fate decides what happens to you and fate connects you to your soulmate. This tattoo binds me with your father.”

  “Does he have the tattoo?”

  She looked sad. “He did. I’m not sure if he still does. I haven’t seen him in a long, long time. But I believe in fate and one day, I think we’ll be together again. I believe that fate is what kept you safe off of those swings.”

  I pondered that for a moment. I’d noticed that little red string, but never thought much about it.

  Until now.

  From that day forward, whenever things happened to me both bad and good, I thought about fate.

  Reese nodded. “I’ve heard that story before about the Japanese red string of fate. My mother read that to me when I was a child, too. She died when I was young. I came from the hills of West Virginia. Medical care wasn’t exactly adequate there.” The corners of her mouth turned down.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Reese.” I took her hand into mine. She and I were so connected it both frightened and excited me. I never felt this way about Sasha or any other woman. Reese had had such pain in her life yet she still found the ability to love.

  “I loved that story though. The red string of fate captivated me. It’s so strange that you said that. I always found myself looking for my soulmate.” She mused entwining her fingers with mine.

  Jumping from the bed, I threw open my suitcase. Rummaging through it, I found the tiny box I was looking for. It had been my mother’s. “The day that happened she gave me this. She said my father had given it to her. For a long time it was the only thing I really had from him. I carried it with me everywhere.” I handed her the box.

  “It’s beautiful.” She admired the red string bow pendant turning it over and over in her hands. “What does the writing say on the back?” Reese peered at the tiny words.

  “’Fate up against your will’”, I replied without even looking. I’d asked my mother the same
thing. I hadn’t understood it at the time, but it was becoming clearer as I got older.

  “That’s a funny saying. I wonder what it means.” Reese handed me back the box.

  “I think it means that fate will always win out.” I placed the box back into my suitcase. Since I was a child, I carried that pendant with me everywhere I went. It was the only connection I had with both my mother and my father. It made me cling to the hope that one day I would find my soulmate, my fated love. “Reese, you were married before. Wasn’t he your soulmate?”

  Shrieks of laughter could be heard out in the hall. I supposed that party on the 15th floor that was going on when we came up in the elevator had broken up. I could hear the clink of glasses and people stumbling down the hallway.

  Reese’s eyes looked luminous in the dim light. She shook her head. “At first, I thought he was. I would’ve done anything, anything to keep him. We believed we were destined to be together. Ava warned me against him. She didn’t think he was right for me. But my will prevailed and we were together, that is, until he was arrested for the death of his ex-wife.” A pained look crossed her pretty face.

  “Did he do it?” I whispered my lips brushing her ear.

  She nodded tears welling in her eyes. “Yes, he did.” She blinked the tears spilling down her cheeks.

  I nodded stroking her hair. Sighing deeply, I decided to share my story with her. “You know how I grew up. My mother was a drug addict. We bounced from house to house as she juggled various boyfriends. She was beautiful before the drugs stole that from her. They stole everything from us.”

  “I know.” She wiped the tears from her face.

  “Anyway, I grew tired of her bullshit. I left home when I was only fifteen. I got into dealing drugs, using heroin, you name it. I had a girlfriend who OD’d in my arms.”

  Reese leaned up on her elbow and stroked my hair. “Oh my God, Ayden, I’m so sorry.”

  I brushed her hand away. “I know that doesn’t compare to what you went through being assaulted by that asshole foster father, but it was devastating to say the least.”