Destiny of the Sands

by Rai Aren

  “Should we just leave it in a garbage can or something?” Alex asked. “Then get out of here?”

  Mitch shook his head. “It’d be found eventually and a security camera will have spotted us putting it there. It’s a long way home from Egypt. There’d be ample time to apprehend us.”

  “Mitch’s right,” Jack added. “It’s a very long trip home.”

  Alex looked at each of them. “Well then, that leaves one choice. We might as well call the number and find out what’s going on.”

  “Yeah,” Mitch said, “besides if we don’t cooperate, we could be in worse trouble. Someone knows we’re here and they’re sending us a very dangerous message.”

  “Do you think it’s our Stasi friends?” Jack asked, dreading the answer.

  “Oh, geez,” Bob said, putting his head in his hands. “We’re toast.”

  “Most likely,” Mitch said, glancing down at his watch. He looked around, trying to figure out what to do. “Let’s make the call over there, away from the crowd.”

  “How could they get something like that in here?” Jack asked as they got up from the table.

  “People on the inside?” Alex offered. “Dr. Khadesh said Maximilian had powerful connections.”

  “I agree,” Mitch added. “After what happened with the Sphinx, I think anything’s possible.”

  The four friends moved to a quieter, less busy area and made the call. Mitch put the cell on speakerphone, but turned the volume down. Alex held onto the box.

  “Mr. Carver, Ms. Logan and company. We finally get to speak,” a low, menacing voice said.

  “Who is this?” Alex demanded, trying to keep her voice down in spite of her rising anger at the situation they were just thrust into. “What do you want?”

  “You can call me Herr Reichmann. And you know what I want.”

  Their minds raced as to what to say next.

  “I’m waiting,” the voice said, sounding ominous.

  Mitch and Alex looked at one another, panicking.

  “We don’t have it,” Alex said defiantly, “and we don’t know where it is so leave us alone.”

  “You know, I’ve found the four of you to be exceptionally irritating and troublesome.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Mitch countered.

  “Delighted,” Alex chimed in.

  “In fact, I’d say you need an attitude adjustment.”

  “Why don’t you just shut up and get lost,” Alex said. “We told you, we don’t have what you’re looking for.” She felt hot, and not nearly as brave as she was trying to sound.

  “That’s most unfortunate. You see I was hoping you would be able to save Dr. Khadesh from a rather painful and horrible death. He made the mistake of visiting a close political colleague who was involved in a freak accident. My men were there, waiting for him near the hospital room. What a pity, his friend may not survive from his extensive injuries.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Dr. Khadesh is in my company as we speak, but he refuses to tell me the location of the device.”

  That took them aback. Their minds raced trying to figure out if he was bluffing.

  “Not so insolent now, are you?” Maximilian taunted them.

  “We don’t believe you,” Alex said, her voice shaking.

  “You’re lying,” Mitch said. “You’re just trying to scare us into helping you.”

  “Am I? I also have in my company, Khamir.”

  “Khamir?” Alex said. “That’s impossible, he was just…”

  “Dropping you off at the airport,” Maximilian finished her sentence. “I know.”

  “You’ve been watching us,” Mitch said, locking eyes with Alex. She had gone ghostly white.

  “I have people in place around the airport, yes,” he replied. “It’s a shame you were planning to leave Egypt so soon. You see, we’re just about to start having fun.”

  They heard what sounded like a kick, then a muffled sound in the background.

  “What was that?” Mitch asked, fearful of the answer.

  Maximilian laughed. “I think you know. By the way, I took the liberty of passing along a little going away present to you on behalf of Khamir. Did you like it?”

  They all glanced down at the box Alex was holding.

  Maximilian didn’t wait for a reply. “He didn’t really want to part with it, but I managed to convince him. It’s the least I could do to repay someone who has been spying on my work.” He sounded angry. “On behalf of Khadesh, no doubt.”

  Another kick and a muffled cry.

  “Stop it,” Alex cried, trying to keep her voice low.

  “Oh, come now, let’s not get emotional. Khamir knew he was playing a dangerous game,

  didn’t you?”

  They heard what sounded like a hard slap, followed by a muffled whimper.

  “I don’t take kindly to such interference,” Maximilian said, his breathing a little heavier now. “Besides, don’t you think his sonic grenades are…amusing?”

  No answer.

  “We found them to be very entertaining out at the Sphinx. Caused quite the trouble. So, I thought I’d return the favor.”

  The boys all swore.

  Alex was wiping tears from her eyes.

  “You get my meaning,” he said, his German-accented voice coolly confident. “You have no friends left to help you this time, so you have no choice. You will help me.”

  No one knew what to say. They knew he had them dead to rights.

  “I’ll take your silence as an implicit agreement to cooperate. I’m playing for keeps and I have found Khamir as seemingly unwilling to help as Dr. Khadesh. That’s why I need your assistance.”

  “What do you want from us?” Alex demanded, still trying to keep her voice low in spite of her rising emotions. She knew they had to be careful not to attract attention. “We told you we don’t know where the…device…is.”

  “Ms. Logan, Mr. Carver. You underestimate yourselves. The two of you were able to decipher unknown ancient writings to find a secret tunnel underneath the Sphinx. You’ve managed to solve the many puzzles to recover a powerful device previously unknown to our civilization. All of you know Dr. Khadesh well enough. It is in everyone’s best interest if you try to think where he might hide it.”

  “How are we supposed to leave the airport now?” Mitch asked. “We’ve gone through security already. We can’t leave now that our luggage has been checked and especially while armed.”

  “Not my problem,” Maximilian answered coldly. “You’ve forced me to improvise, now I’m forcing you to do the same.”

  Bob slunk down onto the floor.

  Jack knelt down and patted his shoulder. Neither of them said a word.

  “Why should we try to retrieve it for you when you’re probably just going to kill Dr. Khadesh, Khamir and all of us afterwards?” Mitch challenged him.

  “You have my word, if you do this for me, I will not harm you. I will also release Dr. Khadesh and Khamir. I have no interest in any of you. I only want the device. You cooperate, you all live. If not…”

  “Don’t trust him,” Jack whispered to Mitch and Alex.

  Maximilian heard him. “You don’t have a choice. You no longer have friends here to protect and hide you. You are alone. I now have the upper hand.”

  They said nothing. They all knew they were backed into a corner.

  “Good. Now that we have that out of the way, you have 72 hours to retrieve the device. I will have my scanner to determine if it’s the real thing so don’t attempt to deceive me. I will call this mobile phone to arrange a place and time for delivery. Have the device with you or the next package you receive will contain pieces of your friends.”

  The cell phone beeped as the line went dead.

  Chapter
27

  Son, Circa 10,000 B.C.

  ZHEK had finally come for him, but Setar drew back. Zhek kept trying to go forward, calling out to him, telling him he was his father, but Setar was getting further and further away from him. Suddenly flames erupted in front of him. Zhek put his hand up to protect his already burned and ravaged face.

  Then just as suddenly the fire was gone. There stood Princess Anjia. ‘You will not take him,’ she said as she held her hand up.

  Then the flames rose up again, surrounding him with a searing heat. They were moving in closer…

  Zhek cried out, now awake. He was sweating. The flames in his dream had felt so real. He remembered the sensation of his flesh burning so long ago, after the accident involving the device the Royal Family had created, then hidden. He looked at his maimed hands. The rage seethed, unending, within him. ‘The Princess must die,’ he thought, tightening his hands so hard into fists, his knuckles were white.

  The next day he sought out Rekar. “It is time,” Zhek said, coughing roughly.

  “I see,” Rekar answered. He was a tall, skinny man with a balding head and rough features. The years had not been kind to him.

  “I had a premonition last night,” Zhek said. “If we do not move soon, it will be too late.”

  Rekar nodded. He had been prepared for this day for a long time.

  Rekar and his wife, Shera, had sheltered Zhek Draxen since the desperate and badly injured man had found his way to their home after the catastrophic destruction. Zhek had severe burns on his face, hand and arm, and suffered head and leg injuries. The once ruggedly handsome man was nearly unrecognizable. He was also emotionally devastated at the loss of his entire family and Zazmaria, whom he had loved deeply. Zhek had gone to the Draxen Stronghold after the temple was incinerated. There had been almost nothing left of his home but smoldering heaps of rubble. He had tried to see if he could find anyone in the house who had survived, but the devastation was too complete and his own injuries too great to carry on alone, unaided. He knew it was a futile hope.

  When Zhek had arrived on their doorstep in the village of Tessea, outside the main city, Rekar and Shera were taken aback both at his ragged, bloodied appearance, and at the tale he told. They had heard the far-off explosions, which had not reached their small village. Zhek was in shock, he had rambled on about how the Royal Family had destroyed the Draxens and taken his son. He talked about a weapon they had which caused the destruction, but the details were fuzzy and pieced together as Zhek fell in and out of consciousness.

  Rekar and Shera took Zhek to a friend who was trained in the healing arts. After several days of hovering on the fringe of death, Zhek pulled through, though a much-changed man. The damage ran deep.

  Shera entered the room and immediately registered the looks on the two men’s faces. “Rekar?” she asked.

  “Zhek believes the time has come,” her husband replied.

  She looked to Zhek, who stared hard back at her, then smiled slowly. “Ahh, good then,” she said. “I will summon the others.” Shera was a short, slightly overweight woman with a severe face and graying hair. In physical appearance, she and her husband made an odd pair, but they had been together since they were teenagers.

  Zhek had known exactly where to come after his own family and home had been decimated. This small village just west of the main city was comprised mostly of anarchists, people who strongly disagreed with the decisions and actions of the Royal Family. Their worsening economic situation only reinforced their anger and enormous dissatisfaction. Many of the men had been enlisted to fight in the army that Prince Alaj thought was loyal to him. Though not all the soldiers knew who was actually in power over them, these men had known the army was a trick to get King Traeus and his brother Prince Alaj to annihilate one another. They had been only too happy to fight on behalf of the once-strong Draxen family, whom they believed should be the Kierani people’s rightful rulers.

  To inflame the situation even more, after the terrible disaster at the Amsara monument, they had heard the King’s announcement blaming it all on the Draxens. The King had told the people that it was due to a weapon the Draxens had wielded in their bid for power. Once word of this made it back to Zhek, he was livid. Zhek told them the truth, or at least as much as he wanted to share. Knowing they had been lied to again, they all became even more firmly entrenched in their vendetta against the Royal Family.

  Fortunately for Zhek, Rekar and Shera both worked as servants in the Palace. Rekar was a Palace gardener, while Shera worked in the Palace kitchen. These were enviable jobs among the Kierani, but that did not matter to them. They hated the Royal Family and held out hope that someday their positions in the Palace could help them find a way to defeat them. Now that Zhek was ready, they were relieved that day had come. Rekar knew the outside of the Palace like the back of his hand, while Shera had access inside. Zhek would use this to their best strategic advantage.

  Shera left and gathered the other villagers to her and Rekar’s small, modest home. They seated themselves amongst the old wooden chairs and stools. Some stood. There was a hushed anticipation among them. A time they had long waited for was at hand.

  Zhek was pleased at how many people showed up. As they assembled around him, he walked to the center of the room to address them. “My friends, how good it is to see you all.” His breathing was loud and labored.

  “We are here for you, Zhek, as we always have been,” one man replied.

  “Your father was a great man, we owe it to your family,” another said.

  “Thank-you, thank-you all for coming. Your support over these last years has meant more than I could ever tell you,” Zhek said, placing his hand over his heart. “You have been my family, my friends.”

  “The Draxen name still lives on!” a woman yelled out.

  Zhek smiled a bittersweet smile. “Yes, it does. And I am not the last. My son, Setar, must be told of his true heritage. It is time for him to be joined with his father.”

  The villagers listened intently. They knew this would have far-reaching consequences for all of them.

  Soft light from lamps flickered, creating shadows across the room as Zhek walked around, looking each person in the eye. “For too long has my son’s life been poisoned by the lies of that overly privileged family. I can only imagine the damage they are doing to him.” He felt his anger grow hotter at the thought of what was taken from him, his love, Zazmaria, and his only child.

  “They steal the children of others to raise as royal minions,” someone called out.

  “Cowards that hide behind children!” another said, voice raised.

  “They are liars, too!”

  Zhek nodded. The room was filled with energy. Just as he needed. “They will be punished for their wickedness,” he said, his face grave and deadly serious.

  “Here, here!” a villager shouted in reply.

  Zhek took in their energy. It filled him with renewed confidence. “We have waited, we have grown strong, we have many arms in store and our military skills have been sharpened. It is time to act. It is time for vengeance!”

  His supporters cheered. They were thrilled to see the once-dimmed glory of the Draxens spark again.