by Mary Deal
Just then Ginny said, “Oh-oh!” She took her eye away from the camera, looked and then focused quickly again as she zoomed in on Tauret's stomach.
“What do you see?” Kenneth asked, pointing his camera in the same direction.
Dr. Asim saw it and gasped. Dr. Withers and Rashad saw it. So did all the others. Tauret's stomach, and even the cloth over it, began to disintegrate and collapse!
46
Chione cradled her belly as she focused on the disintegration, not wanting to give up what she had just received.
The settling accentuated the distinct form of the baby Tauret carried. Its legs were crossed in the normal fetal position with buttocks and shoulders forming soft mounds inside Tauret's abdomen. Dr. Asim pointed to its tiny elbows and arms. As more of Tauret's clothing and body disintegrated into dust, the form of the baby's head protruded. The fetal remains lingered as the surrounding area gave way. At that moment, no doubt existed. Tauret had surely been with child.
“Get that, Ginny,” Aaron said, pointing. “Kenneth!”
As if clinging to life, the mound the baby made remained firm while they filmed. Then finally, it shivered and collapsed.
Chione held her stomach while she watched.
The darkened gray blotches in Tauret's exposed skin collapsed leaving little irregular gaping holes in her cheeks and hands. Her legs began to crumble.
“No,” Marlowe said. “No, this isn't happening!”
They could only watch as the photographers documented the progression of the disintegration. Tauret's body continued caving in, a little here and a little there. The weight of her jewelry pulled at her form, and ripped small tears in her pleated clothing as it, too, turned to powder with no longer a body inside to hold it in place. The toy rattle on her chest shifted and fell with the rest. Its tinkle had a hollow sound that seemed to echo through the eons.
“No-o,” Marlowe said. She reached in quickly and touched the area of Tauret's head that held the mat of dried blood in the hair, the part of Tauret with which she had connected.
No one spoke. They simply stood watching, having no choice but to accept the horror and disappointment.
Finally Tauret's feet collapsed. One sandal flopped forward. The other flopped backward, exposing a wear pattern on the bottom, marked by Tauret's own foot and toes thousands of years before. Toenails flaked off like scales and disappeared into her powdery remains.
Jewelry clinked as pieces fell together in her dust. In slow motion, her fingernails dropped one or two at a time, into the heap of matter.
Kendra was in tears, emotions already weakened by her own plight. Bebe had to help her stand but neither could prevent themselves from watching.
Little by little, Tauret's face fragmented and slowly caved in. Her skull collapsed into a mound of powder. Her white teeth lay like scattered pearls half-hidden in fine sand. Her black hair settled into a mat, the caked blood discernible only as a blotch of dust upon the silky heap. Finally, Tauret lay in total disintegration.
“It's over,” Marlowe said, whimpering.
“Not yet,” Randy said, capturing everyone's attention.
“Over,” Kendra said.
Randy was not through. He pointed to the mound of powder that had been Tauret's head. “Her teeth. Tauret was either much pampered, with only the best of foods, or she was simply too young to have worn down her teeth.”
“Her teeth?” Ginny asked.
“The Ancients had dental caries. The way they baked their bread left a lot of sand in the finished product. Eating those gritty loaves is said to have worn down even the teeth of royals.”
“What are you getting at, man?” Dr. Withers asked.
Once again, Randy pointed to a few of Tauret's teeth lying haphazard. “Everyone, please notice,” he said. “Tauret's teeth are whole. They even shine.”
No one had dry eyes. Dr. Withers cradled his wife's shoulders and swiped at his own eyes with a handkerchief.
Emotional control from everyone seemed vacated.
“You were right, Randy,” Clifford said. “No one else was meant to see this.”
Aaron turned to her and Chione looked at him through bleary eyes. The priestess being pregnant meant a lot to her. For a few brief moments, Chione felt the presence of Tauret stronger than ever. Chione wanted to savor the moment of being pregnant. Perhaps with the disintegration, this was the last time either she or Aaron would feel the presence of the priestess and her beloved King and their child.
Because Chione felt undeniably close to Tauret, when her remains were ready to be shipped to Cairo, Dr. Withers insisted she accompany Aaron and the coffin to the Madu. Chione did not resist. She would get to spend time alone with Aaron. Dr. Withers also reminded her to think about getting a checkup with Dr. Vimble. “Your eating habits have changed,” he said, staring at her curiously. “You look a little peaked.”
After checking into the hotel in Cairo, she and Aaron found their way to Rita's gravesite in Garden City. Fresh dirt still lay in a mound on top. They sat for a while, holding hands in quiet reverence. The headstone contained information in both English and Egyptian, with half the headstone that contained Clifford`s name waiting for statistics.
“Clifford…,” Chione said, choking up.
“Yeah,” Aaron said. “One day this is where he….” Neither could he finish what he wanted to say.
They headed off to the Madu Museum.
Randy wore a white medical jacket and showed them through the internal workings of the research laboratory. “Sorry I can't take you where the actual DNA tests are being conducted, sterile conditions and all.” He unlocked a door on the second floor and flipped on the light revealing a pleasing air-conditioned office with modern furnishings and tasteful art. A large rectangular photo of Randy and all the children, taken at the dig site, hung on a side wall. The window overlooked a nice garden with greenery, benches and a fountain. The swatch of hair bound with gold rope, which had lain on Tauret's body beside the lapis scarab, now lay in a Plexiglas case on Randy's desk. “I'll let you know to whom this belonged as soon as I can perform comparisons. Hope it matches someone we have on file.”
“What are the chances?” Aaron asked.
Randy thought for a moment. “From what you've told me about the tomb, about Queen Tyi being in there? A swatch of her hair was found in Tut's coffin. Now we find she's part of Tauret's burial. It's my guess, this is either Queen Tyi's or Pharaoh's hair.”
“My thought too,” Aaron said.
“You'll let us know about our own DNA tests?” Chione asked. “Aaron's and mine?”
“Remember,” Randy said. “Tell no one I did this freebie just so you two curious kids could see your own prints, okay?” He smiled mischievously. “Exciting times, aren't they?” He handed her a thick binder. “This will help you understand what goes on here.”
Chione took one of the two chairs and opened the cover and flipped through pages and saw…
…spots of blood.
Pictures showed spots of blood being DNA printed. The same spots she saw in a vision when she hugged Randy in the inventory tent. No wonder she did not feel intimidated when the paranormal scene first occurred. Pieces of past visions traipsed end to end through her mind. She leaned back, closed her eyes, and pressed a hand against her chest.
“Too much excitement?” Randy asked, sincerely attentive.
“I'm all right,” she said, handing the binder to Aaron. “I will go to the garden for some air, though.” She stood, about to leave, but first embraced Randy.
“Remember my promise,” he said. “Should you ever—ever—need anything.”
She felt woozy and reached for the doorknob when she remembered. “There is one thing,” she said as she retrieved a wrapped item from her bag. Slowly, she removed the bubble wrap from around the blue faience perfume decanter. “They've already lifted prints off this. “I'm so thrilled. They're probably from Meskhenet.”
Randy accepted the decanter. “They lift
ed prints off everything, didn't they? I'll bet we have our own archive of fingerprints of the Ancients.” He really was excited. “Did you know that if they can come up with whose fingerprints are on which artifacts, they can build some sort of history as to the level of each participant's social standing and involvement with the burial?” That was Randy's forte'. He investigated clues that might go overlooked. “Why did you bring this? Some tests you want me to run?”
“I have a favor to ask,” she said. “Sort of.”
“Name it,” he said, passing the bottle beneath his nose and sniffing.
“I want to know if the particles and residue stuck at the bottom can be duplicated.”
Randy turned toward the light of the window, brought the bottle to his eye and looked into the interior. He sniffed at the opening again. “This fragrance isn't the same scent I detected at times in the tomb,” he said as he turned back to face them.
She and Aaron exchanged surprised glances. Could Randy have been privy to the sweet scent they thought was made available only to themselves? During all the weeks of work, no one mentioned different fragrances. “You smelled a different scent?” Chione asked.
“This scent is the one I detected only in the Burial Chamber,” Randy said, “Peculiar, though. I'll bet if this could be recreated, it would be a magical scent.” His eyes got real big. “Hey, wouldn't that make history if one of the priestess's magic potions could be remade?”
She glanced quickly at Aaron who seemed to recognize that Randy had caught on. “You wouldn't fall under her spell, would you, Randy?” Chione asked, teasing.
He sniffed again, and then pulled the fragrance deep into his lungs like he could not get enough. “I'm not sure I wouldn't. Once you sniff this, it calls you back for more.”
Both she and Aaron understood. Every member of the team put his or her nose to the bottle. Each said the fragrance was nearly non-existent. They at least detected it! Now here was Randy innocently confirming he smelled that fragrance in the Burial Chamber. He not only perceived a scent from the blue faience decanter, but also knew it was a different fragrance from the one in the tomb overall. Had he been privy to the power of the priestess's potions? Had Tauret influenced Randy's metamorphosis? Tauret was the one who sent them to him. Her spells brought together those needed to participate as her plans and schemes played out. They watched Randy still sniffing the bottle.
“You sure it's not the same fragrance as in the tomb?” Aaron asked.
“Smells real familiar, from the Burial Chamber, but from somewhere else too… can't remember, like an old memory or something.” He sniffed again, then again.
Aaron looked at her and nodded his approval, ready to take the next step.
“You want to be a part of our venture?” Chione asked.
“You mean you want to know if this perfume can be made again?”
“Yes, I believe—that is, Aaron and I believe—only those who detect this scent will be allowed to participate in its recreation.”
“You think I qualify?”
“You've already proved it,” Aaron said. “By showing you actually detect the scent.”
Randy stood motionless with his facial expressions going through changes. He paced back and forth behind his desk, sniffing, thinking and then sniffing again. They quietly watched as he inhaled his indoctrination. Finally, he asked, “You mean start a perfume business? We three?”
“Not so much a business,” Chione said. “Dr. Withers gave me custody of that bottle. As I said, Aaron and I believe only certain people will be invited into this project.”
Randy smiled cautiously. “I think I know you, Chione,” he said, hesitating. “Correct me if I'm wrong. You believe if this potion can be recreated, the spell that goes along with it might help enlighten us, perhaps, to further understand details of Tauret's life?”
Chione did not want to give away the entire scheme, not just yet. It seemed Randy was being mysteriously initiated. Could yet another of Tauret's spells be at work on him? “Not everyone will understand,” she said. “Only those who are called upon to be a part of this venture will be directly affected.”
“We believe whoever is meant to be excluded will be,” Aaron said, “through no action from any of us.”
“Sort of like Tauret's will?”
“Sort of,” Chione said, smiling hopefully. “Can you trust the gods?”
“It's kind of devious,” he said. “But I'll do it. In fact, I met a chemist I'll bet we can trust.” He looked surprised. “Hey—he's been to the tomb. This chemist and his scientist friends went out on one of those tours. Recently, right here in this office, he told me he experienced the strangest déjà vu, like he had been in that tomb before.” Randy held the bottle high. “I guess the next step is to stick this under his nose and see what happens.”
47
Aaron found her in the garden below Randy's office window. They went back to their hotel and took a dip in the pool. The swim truly was diversion and restorative at the same time. Chione felt ready for some quiet time from all the activity and throngs of people. She needed to think. Upstairs in the hotel, the same mysterious energy from inside the coffin illuminated their room.
“It's curious how Dr. Withers insisted we accompany the remains,” Aaron said.
“He's still trying to throw us together.”
Aaron half frowned, half laughed. “It's worked. Look at us.”
The nice room was at Aaron's expense. He would not take advantage of Clifford's generosity of funding the team's expenses. Elegant modern furnishings with a four-poster bed and a huge chaise decorated room. Lamp bases and vases, figurines, drapes and wall art were the only Egyptian items but added the right ambience.
“We only claimed to be married so you could share this hotel room.”
“No way was I going to let you stay alone,” Aaron said. “Not with the questionable attitude that waiter out by the pool showed you earlier. He even looked angry at you needing to eat during Ramadan.”
“Aaron, I swam in knee shorts and a long baggy tee shirt, with my bra on.”
“And made too much eye contact with him,” he said. “In this country they think that's a come on. That story we heard? About that friendly French woman getting raped and killed by a driver?” Aaron paced. “It's not enough they rape, Chione. In this country, a woman having been raped is considered spoiled for anyone else. It's obligatory practice here to kill the victim afterwards.”
“You told me all that already. Hope you don't mind sleeping on the chaise.”
Momentarily, she wondered about the plight of Elbertina Yago. Visions strung end-to-end paraded again in livid color; in particular, the Priestess's dance before she and Pharaoh made love; later, Aaron as doting Pharaoh thanking her for bearing his child.
She remembered the spell performed alone in the yurt the night Bebe left materials behind. As all the clues crashed together, she grabbed her purse and dashed into the bathroom. She removed a Home Pregnancy Test kit purchased earlier and followed the instructions and nearly fell off the toilet seat. She tried to remember how it could have happened. In the Pillared Hall, maybe? Could she and Aaron have made love while entranced? Maybe the test malfunctioned. She began to tremble. She sought reassurance by looking into the mirror to see her reflection and saw… Tauret…!
Nervously, she rubbed a sore spot inside her blouse and felt something strange. Unbuttoning exposed a chafed patch of skin where the amulet dangled. She lifted the scarab and looked at the back and saw a tiny dark spot that felt prickly, and which had rubbed her skin raw. She needed to fix it but promised not to remove the scarab…
…till in your belly the child you feel.
She barely made it to the toilet seat again. Her body trembled. Truth she denied suddenly gripped her. She performed one of Tauret's spells so that she might have a child. She drank from Tut's bowl. Tauret passed the child she carried, Pharaoh's heir, to her to be born!
…till in your belly the child you feel.
/>
“I'm pregnant!” she said, too loud. She began to whimper. Waves of shock rolled over her.
Aaron knocked at the door. “Chione? Something wrong?”
She was glad she was not alone at that moment. “I-I'll be out in a minute,” she said as her voice cracked.
Suddenly her mood swung in the opposite direction. Waves of elation washed over her. “I'm having a baby!” she said. Her gynecologist said she would never conceive. Yet, the little stick from the kit showed a plus sign.
She needed to calm down, to think. Aaron never touched her. Being sneaky was not his way. She was given visions that brought the team to Egypt to play out their parts. Tauret had chosen her from the beginning. The powerful priestess's…
…spell is cast, to last, till all of time has passed.
She felt lightheaded. If she was going to faint—
“Chione?”
“Aaron,” she said weakly.
He opened the door cautiously and then flung it wide as she collapsed into his arms. He carried her to the bed and lowered her gently.
She saw them…
…inside the mashrabia-paneled room.
She tried to close her blouse.
“What's that nasty looking spot?” he asked. “Is that why you're sick?”
“From… the pendant.”
He reached for the chain around her neck. “Let's take it off and—”
“No!” she said, jumping across the bed. “I promised.”
Aaron jolted backwards in surprise. “I've never seen you so unnerved, Chione. I only want to fix it.”
She clutched her blouse closed and lay back and lifted the pendant for him to examine.
“Something's sticking out,” he said, rubbing the back. “It's a hair. Rita's hair is what's scratching you.”
Of course she knew that could not be. “I'll fix it later.”
“How did you put Rita's rings and hair in here?” he asked, still fumbling with it. “The back is sealed.”