by Mary Deal
Aaron looked at her and smiled deviously. “Should we drop it on them?”
“If you're not talking,” Marlowe said, “I'm going to drop something on you.”
“Pray tell us,” Dr. Withers said quickly, flashing that idiot grin of his.
Marlowe laughed with the others. “When Gracie first heard of the sorcerers and magicians down the hill,” she said, innocently capturing the limelight. “We slipped down there to get a reading.”
“You didn't,” Kenneth said.
“We did,” Marlowe said. “Actually Gracie was more interested than I. Gracie's motto was, `When in Egypt….' ”
Chione nudged Aaron. What if Marlowe had gotten the kind of reading Aaron had received? What if Marlowe was about to spill the fava beans?
“You and Gracie make a team,” Clifford said. “Carmelita go with you?”
Marlowe adamantly shook her head. She long ago admitted she could not stand Carmelita. “The medium told me to expect the unexpected,” Marlowe said.
“Some reading,” Kenneth said.
“Wait,” Marlowe said. Her expression turned serious. “She told me a message in the tomb about two people relates to two in our group.”
“Run that by me again,” Dr. Withers said.
By this time, Chione knew if she did not speak, Marlowe would inadvertently usurp the surprise she and Aaron had primed themselves to deliver.
“Remember one of the first spells in the tomb?” Chione asked, realizing Marlowe had provided a perfect set up. “Remember, it said, `Beware! Two who would enter.' ”
“That's right,” Marlowe said. “The medium told me we're a group of people who are only carrying out spells cast a long time ago.”
“I hope you're not going to say we're reincarnated,” Kenneth said.
“Sounds like someone's kept the people down the hill informed of what we've translated from the glyphs,” Bebe said, passing it off. She looked disappointed, then smiled unexpectedly, probably remembering how she had been helped. She owed it to Tauret to try to believe.
Marlowe frowned. “Regardless, the medium said two people mentioned in the spells are in this group and that shocking events would irrevocably proceed once the tomb was opened.”
All listened intently. Chione recognized how deeply each person's interest had been captured by the paranormal. As a cohesive group, they shared an exceptional experience that changed personal views of a reality beyond life and death. They were more accepting of the beliefs of the Ancients. Still, that gave no clue to them accepting the special child she carried. Perhaps she and Aaron might be the wiser letting everyone think the child was his and hers.
“What else?” Clifford asked. He sipped tea as if the conversation was as ordinary as talking about the weather.
“Two people will live out the spells,” Marlowe said. “We're in for some surprises. The medium said that anyone—anywhere—who doubted the spells would be hit harder with the truth later on.”
Chione felt a surge of happiness at hearing Marlowe's last statement. It just about said people had better listen, wise up.
Aaron took her hands. He, too, recognized the opportunity and nudged her to speak. Chione felt a surge of happiness.
Dr. Withers's secreted expression of great relief at seeing them clinging to one another encouraged. “What's this mean, you two?”
Chione beamed, looked at Aaron then back to the group. “We got married.”
50
Shock rippled around the campfire. Mouths hung open. Before anyone recovered enough to say anything, Clifford pounded the ground with a fist and said, “I knew it! I told you guys. Ol' Tut was having a clandestine affair!”
A quick sudden strumming of the oud player punctuated Clifford's words. Everyone expressed congratulations, along with disappointment at not having been present for the ceremony. Marlowe suggested planning a wedding party. Siti arrived with more tea. Chione accepted the Karkade and felt herself slipping into an altered state, but this one was different. She felt in control, utterly empowered. She looked to Bebe who understood. Whether or not the others accepted, she meant to go on. This was her life and she was not about to allow anyone to denigrate it. From this day forth, she would not fear the reactions of her colleagues.
The sky darkened and the breeze cooled. Night was truly upon them. Light from the fire cast shadows across their faces. Chione was sure no one would leave at that moment. Even so, she signaled Aaron that she did not want to disclose more just yet.
During the next weeks, the team seemed more resigned, afraid to talk or ask questions for fear of stirring up something best left alone. Chione's pregnancy began to show. Her breasts grew larger. Now everyone looked at her curiously, wondering. She could only rub her stomach lovingly and give thanks that she had conceived. She did not care how. She and Aaron were inextricably a part of Tauret and Pharaoh's lives and that pleased her. Yet, what pleased her more was the commitment she and Aaron shared.
One evening after dinner, Dr. Withers pulled her aside and asked, “So have you seen a doctor about your condition?” When she told him she had not, he insisted she and Aaron get themselves immediately back to Cairo to see Dr. Vimble. He looked like he might shake a finger at her. Instead, he thrust his famous pointer into the air. “I don't want you working another day, till you get back from that checkup. Maybe not even then.” He, like everyone else, thought she and Aaron had been fooling around all along and that saddened her momentarily.
The next day, Dr. Withers disclosed that he had to return to California with Clifford to finalize papers. Marlowe would accompany them. Bebe and Kenneth opted to stay in camp and wait for their son and help get him indoctrinated into the village work at hand. The entire dig site would be closed, with Rashad's men left to guard the gates, until all were reunited.
Later, when she and Aaron were alone and standing in the doorway of their sleeping room, he wrapped his arms around her and they stood looking out over the valley. “We've got to tell them, Chione. Everything you've told them from day one has proven itself out. They'll believe us now.”
She lived with a supernatural ability and knew nothing else. She could only be rational and considerate of people's pessimism. Yet, she resented the team feeling sorry for her not being able to conceive, then sneaking peeks at her belly when they thought she had. She had only herself to blame. “We're the only ones who know the truth about this child,” she said. “And maybe Bebe.” Perhaps Chione was being overly cautious. Soon enough she would give birth. She was not about to allow uncertainty to diminish the glory that belonged to her and Aaron and their special child. They needed to do something to validate what happened to them. Their colleagues were on the verge of accepting, but it might take something special to sway their thinking fully toward belief.
Aaron seemed pleased. “Marlowe and Bebe have already been initiated. Kendra will go along with anything that draws attention. What about Clifford?”
She thought for a moment and felt empathy with Clifford. “He and Rita always treated me like a daughter,” she said, turning in Aaron's arms. “If anything, he'd accept because he believes in what actually happens.”
“Yeah, but right now he could be believing that you and I have, you know, been having a clandestine affair.” Aaron rolled his eyes.
They shared a moment of silence. Aaron passed his hand lovingly over her stomach. She turned in his arms and said, “I'm glad Randy's with us.” She loved to see the intensity in Aaron's eyes.
Then there was Dr. Withers to consider. He was more concerned about holding the team together; though not cognizant of help from the Ancients, a team he thought he had hand-picked. His interest was incited because of his love for Marlowe, who knew well how to maintain balance between the paranormal and social constraints required by her husband's career.
“A higher power has brought us all together,” Chione said. “For the sake of the child.” She was the person who needed to be the strongest in order to keep the team from falling
into irreversible realms of disbelief. She and Aaron had to do something to help their rational peers feel okay with what they would soon disclose.
They stayed in Cairo nearly three weeks, timing their arrival with the return of the Witherses and Clifford. Chione felt awed about the new information she and Aaron had just days before learned about their child. It would be difficult at best choosing the right moment to disclose information that shocked even her. She was filled with a new sense that a power had been bestowed on her and Aaron that would provide guidance to them all.
Dinnertime was a good time to introduce a topic other than work. They entered the dining room to a hearty welcome. Dinner was being served and they sat down for the meal. Everyone except Kenneth wore Egyptian clothing. Bebe and Kenneth took quick glances at her stomach. Proudly, Chione rubbed her belly and smiled. She wore another long, loose Egyptian dress. She would need to find larger sized khakis if she expected to continue working. With the way they all dressed and the food being served, there seemed little, if any, American influence among them, other than Kenneth's stubborn naivete.
No one said a word. They still believed she and Aaron had been having an affair. She and Aaron were about to wipe out that dogma. Their peers, whose lives were entwined, not only with one another but also with Tauret and her Pharaoh, teetered on the brink of a new consciousness.
Aaron swallowed a bite of food. “Randy was able to salvage Tauret's teeth. It's opened up a lot of possibilities.”
“Like what?”
“He believes he and the scientists can rebuild her bite. From the way the teeth fit together, they'll be able to recreate her likeness using holographic technology and our photo images.”
“Yes,” Clifford said. “The Old World and the new unite.”
“What else?” Dr. Withers asked. It seemed he expected to hear a lot more.
“He's also been able to extract DNA from the teeth.”
“If there's anything today that can prove a point,” Dr. Withers said between bites. “It's DNA. You want proof positive? Turn to the DNA.”
“If only they could clone her,” Clifford said, deep in thought. “Bring her back to life. She feels like one of us, like family.”
“The Madu Museum has its own archives of DNA prints from many of the Ancients,” Chione said. “They're trying to prove who in these modern times are descendants.” She looked at Aaron who beamed.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Dr. Withers said, interrupting. “I gotta tell you something, all of you.” They waited. He took a sip of water and even as he held his cup, that pointer finger that always shot into the air still stood straight up away from the cup. “Marlowe took me down to that camp to get a reading,” he said, as if it had been a most natural occurrence.
“I'm not hearing this,” Kenneth said.
“Well, I wouldn't have believed what that reader said… if she hadn't first told me something I already knew.”
“Like?” Kenneth asked, but his expression said he did not really want to know. Bebe shoved her plate over so he could finish her food. It seemed she always did this as a way of telling him to shut up.
“This woman, this seer, told me things I never told anyone. She actually looked into my mind and saw my secrets.”
Kenneth swallowed. “Like what? We need some proof here.” Always the skeptic, he would be the one who might hinder the others from believing.
Suddenly Dr. Withers looked proud, like he thoroughly enjoyed the reading. “Something most of you don't know,” he said, beginning slowly, “is that way back when Marlowe and I first met Chione….” He took his wife's hand, then reached over and squeezed hers, too. “Chione told Marlowe that I shouldn't take my little plane up till I had it checked out.” He picked up his fork, took a bite of food and made everyone wait. “She told Marlowe to tell me not to fly—that she feared an explosion.”
“Chione said that?” Kenneth asked.
“Yeah, and get this. This seer said that Chione told my wife that something was wrong with the plane. Back then, the plane was just serviced, but Chione insisted. So I decided to have the plane checked out again, mostly to be safe. Partly to see what this Chione girl was all about.”
“And?” Clifford asked. He had stopped eating.
“The mechanic found an oil soaked rag left on the engine from the time it was cleaned. Maybe later in flight, the rag would have caught fire. Could've blown us to smithereens!”
No one said a word. Finally, Kenneth said, “The seer down the road knew about this incident that happened, what? Years ago?”
“Yep,” Dr. Withers said. “So now I'm beginning to believe.” That was not all he was beginning to believe. He and Clifford wore gallibayas and Chione knew with certainty what possessed him to make himself look Egyptian.
Chione felt vindicated but hid her smile, not wishing to appear smug. “What else did the seer tell you?” She suspected Marlowe took her husband for a reading to get him acclimated to the changes taking place, a good move on Marlowe's part. It would have prepared Dr. Withers for what was to come.
“This woman… as incredible as it seems—”
“C'mon, man,” Clifford said. “I'm afraid to take a drink here because what you're about to say is gonna make me choke. I just know it.”
“I was told,” he said, raising fingers to show quotes, “ `a woman in our group is going to change history.' ”
“We've already heard that,” Kenneth said before anyone could react. True, that bit of news was repetitious.
Chione and Aaron were ready to divulge some astonishing new information and she felt confident. “Maybe it's me,” she said. “That is, Aaron and me.”
Their colleagues were not blind and had noticed the changes in her before Dr. withers sent them to Cairo. They were still thinking the child was Aaron's, so the truth would hit the team harder than it had them.
When the group settled again, Chione stood and quietly began. “Each of you has accepted that we've been deeply affected by this tomb, it's ancient spells and magic, right?” All heads nodded. Aaron waited patiently. She took a breath. “Do you remember that one morning Kendra and Clifford noticed one of Tut's bowls was missing?” Again they nodded. “Well… I took the bowl intentionally.”
“Wha-at?”
“Wait, not intentionally,” Chione said. She was nervous, not telling things quite right. “What I mean is, I grabbed a bowl to use, not knowing it was Tutankhamon's.”
“Use for what?”
Bebe's eyes got big and fearful. She wouldn't have told everyone about performing her spell. Chione gave her a reassuring smile to let her know she was not about to divulge Bebe's secret.
“One of the numerous papyri we found,” Chione said, “contained one of Tauret's spells to help women become pregnant.”
The group leaned over the table toward her.
“Did you do what I think you're about to tell us?” Dr. Withers asked.
“I did the spell.” She thought she had not said it loud enough. “I performed Tauret's spell.” She lifted her chin proudly. They were already familiar with the ancient practice of writing in lampblack and drinking the fluid.
“And?” Bebe asked pretentiously.
Kenneth stood suddenly and paced. “I don't know if I can accept what you're about to say,” He kept taking side-glances at her belly. “Don't scare us, Chione. This is too spooky.”
“It gets spookier,” Aaron said quietly. He put an assuring hand on the back of her waist as she stood beside him.
“I took a bowl from Inventory to make the spell more real. I didn't know till the next morning that it was Tut's bowl.”
“It made the spell authentic, didn't it?” Bebe asked, seeming joyous.
“Yes, it did,” Chione said. They were about to find out just how authentic.
Kenneth paced like he could not throw off the nervous energy fast enough.
“Kenneth, you come and sit down here,” Bebe said. “What you're about to hear isn't going to kill us.�
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“Honey,” Kenneth said as he stood behind her. He put both hands on her shoulders and leaned around sideways to look at her. “Don't tell me you're buying into this.”
Bebe pulled at her husband's hand. “Sit down, Kenneth.”
He kept shaking his head. “It's too much. I've already had one magical bomb dropped on me—“
“Was that bomb similar to dropping the curtains to the doors of your cubicle?” Clifford asked with another silly grin.
Kenneth's shoulders drooped. He looked as if he did not know how to save himself. He sat down as if his legs had weakened.
“Back when Aaron and I accompanied Tauret's coffin to Cairo,” Chione said. “I performed a pregnancy test.”
“No,” Kenneth said, shaking his head. “No, I can't believe this.”
If anyone had shocked this special group of people, it had been her with her dreams and visions. The information she and Aaron now had to relate would stretch reality beyond the limit. Yet, she could not quit.
“Tell us,” Dr. Withers said. “That you and Aaron have been close all along… and that you're having a good laugh at our expense. Tell us that.”
“I never touched her,” Aaron said respectfully. “Not until we were married, less than two months ago.” She wondered when he might speak. He seemed confident in her relating the facts. Still, he was not about to have his integrity attacked.
“So whose baby is this?” Dr. Withers asked.
“Sterling, you're not getting it,” Marlowe said. “Remember the spell? `Beware two who would enter. The spell is cast, till all of time has passed.' ”
“Tauret cast a spell,” Aaron said, “that her child by Pharaoh would be born, in order to live a life to take into the Afterlife.”
“Umi clearly stated that in his scratchings,” Bebe said, excited at having remembered. “Remember, Chione? It was Clifford who said we'd find our proof in Umi's scratchings.”
“How did you know what was in them before the glyphs were interpreted, Clifford?” Kenneth asked.
Just how did Clifford know what some of Umi's scratchings might tell? Dr. Withers stared wide-eyed, as if asking where the hell did this come from? As Chione watched each person's reaction, the point that they had changed since being in Egypt was driven home. The plates in front of them contained only local foods and they guzzled Karkade and Yansun instead of coffee.