by Clay, Verna
Rainey wasn't fooled; she knew he wanted to speak with Endesha alone. She shrugged. "Sure." Endesha and Roth left the room and she sank onto the bed wondering how long they would be staying. She glanced around looking for somewhere to store her things. A tiny chest sat opposite the bed. When she moved to unzip her backpack, her legs bumped something and she looked down at Roth's backpack. Tapping her fingers against her cheek, it only took her a second to make a decision. She pulled his pack onto the bed. This has to be where his laptop is. Unzipping the large pocket, she smiled when she saw his laptop briefcase wedged inside. She glanced toward the bedroom door hoping to see a lock. There wasn't one. Damn.
She decided, however, that the opportunity to fire up his laptop was worth the risk of being caught. She tugged the briefcase out of his backpack. With shaking hands, she set it on the bed. Unfortunately, instead of the simple clasp she'd hope to find, she found a key lock. Double damn! Searching the large pocket and then the smaller pockets, she felt for a key. All she found was clothing and toiletries. When she started to remove her hand from the last pocket, her fingers brushed a slip of paper. She withdrew it and read the dainty handwriting. Huh, what's this? She reread the words written on notepaper with her lab's letterhead.
Meet me tonight. I don't intend to stop reminding you of how it was before.
Ha ha. —Fawn
Why would Fawn and Roth meet after hours? Rainey didn't like the way her heart sank at the thought of them being lovers. Stuffing everything back into the pack, she told herself she didn't care if they were having an affair.
Lying back on the bed, she placed her arm over her eyes and blinked rapidly against it.
* * *
Endesha handed a cup of hot mint tea to Roth. Taking a sip, he watched his former guide and adoptive father settle into the chair across from him. Wrinkles now covered his once handsome face, and slow movements evidenced problems with his joints.
"Your Prayer of Connection took me by surprise, Roth. You are aware, of course, that contact between a shapeling and a former shapeling is taboo, except under the direst circumstances. You will be called before the counsel for this."
"Yes, I am aware of that. However, I need the help of someone who is an Egyptian scholar and completely trustworthy."
"Sounds intriguing; tell me more."
"I will, but first I must ask you a question to satisfy my own curiosity."
"And what is that, son?"
"Was it worth it?"
A slow smile crinkled the lines of Endesha's face. "Yes, son, it was worth it all."
"When did she die?"
"About thirty years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"Roth, don't be sorry. We had four hundred years together as humans."
"If you had both remained shapelings, you could have added three thousand to that."
"You may not understand this, but for us, the love of country was as strong as the love we felt for each other. Zalika was my wife, and Egypt is my home. For Zalika it was the same. After we met as shapelings and spoke of our love for humans and Egypt, becoming human and living the remainder of our lives here was inevitable."
Although Roth nodded, he still could not comprehend Endesha forfeiting his heritage as a shapeling to become human. The few shapelings who did lived longer lives than natural humans, but by comparison to the longevity of shapelings, it was miniscule.
Endesha spoke. "Now, Roth, what is the urgency that has brought you to me?"
For the next hour, Roth described the events leading up to his visit. "I'll get my laptop and show you the pictures and video I uploaded from the Sacred Cave. I enhanced them with software to bring clarity to the hieroglyphs."
Roth walked to the small bedroom. Knocking lightly, he waited for Rainey to respond. When she didn't, he cracked the door. She lay on her side, breathing deeply with her eyes closed. He tiptoed into the room and lifted his backpack off the floor. Pausing to watch her sleep, he had a sudden urge to rest his palm against her cheek, and then his lips. Turning hastily, he quietly left the room.
Endesha had moved to a computer station in a far corner of the living room. He'd powered up his computer and now typed on the keyboard.
"I'm calling up a reference I created for hieroglyphs. Let's see what you've got."
Roth pulled a chair alongside Endesha's and placed his laptop on a TV tray. He turned it so his guide could view the photos from the Sacred Cave. Setting the program for slideshow mode, they replayed it several times. Endesha whistled low. Next, they looked at the video.
Endesha shook his head. "I think you've uncovered something incredible. You have my word that I will never reveal my findings to anyone but you. I'll use my software to make more enhancements to the figures"
"Thank you. That's why I came to you."
"It may take a few days to translate this."
"Whatever time it takes, we will be patient."
Changing the subject, Endesha said, "From what you've described of your journey since leaving the cave, you must be chomping at the bit, pardon the pun, to shapeshift."
"Actually, that was true up until a few hours ago. Now, I just want to rest. Perhaps before sunrise I'll soar or roam the countryside."
"You should rest then. Since I'm the old man, I should rest, too." He chuckled.
Roth accepted the blanket Endesha handed him and lay on the couch. His guide and mentor said goodnight, and paused before leaving the room. "It's good to see you again, son."
"Thank you, my guide."
* * *
Roth felt a hand on his shoulder and a shake. Instantly, he was fully awake. Endesha bent over him.
"Roth, you may have someone following you. I have surveillance cameras hidden outside my home because of my work with sensitive translations. The viewing terminal is in my bedroom and I've been watching it for some time. There's a car parked down the street with a lone figure. He's been there for over an hour with binoculars. I used the zoom on my cameras to see if I could get details of his face. It's too dark. Of course, whoever it is may be tracking me. But I haven't had that problem for some time."
Roth said, "I think it's time for that shapeshift we discussed earlier." He slipped out the back door and into the dark night. Bowing his head, he prayed and shifted into a small black cat and stealthily rounded a corner of the house. Hiding in the shadows, he slinked to the back bumper of the car and paused. Glancing upward, he saw the binoculars extending beyond the open window. He edged forward. At the car door, he prayed and shifted into his human form. Grabbing the binoculars with one hand, and the man's throat with the other, he growled low, "Who are you and why are you watching that house?"
The man's frightened eyes spoke volumes and Roth loosened his grip.
"Speak!" he ordered.
The terrified voyeur said, "I was hired to come to this house and watch for a man and a woman traveling together."
"Who hired you?"
"I don't know," the man rasped.
Roth tightened his grip again and the man barely got out the words, "I swear…don't know…phone call."
Roth eased his grip. "Tell me."
"I'm a private investigator—credentials in my pocket. I mostly do work for Americans and Europeans in Egypt. I received a call tonight directing me here, and a sack delivered by a street kid with payment. The kid tossed the sack and ran. It also contained drawings of a man and woman. I swear that's all I know."
"Was it a man or a woman who called you?"
"I couldn't tell, the voice sounded electronic."
"Do you have the drawings with you?"
"Yes—in that envelope." He made a slight jerk of his head toward the seat.
Roth removed his grip from the man's throat and flipped the binoculars onto the seat beside the envelope. "Grab it and get out of the car," he ordered.
The man picked up the envelope and then fumbled first with the door lock and then with the handle, trying to obey. Finally, he stood outside the vehicle. Roth closed the
car door and then patted him down. Finding a .38 special, he opened the chamber and saw it was empty. "Show me your credentials...slowly," he commanded.
The investigator moved his free hand in slow motion to his vest pocket and pulled out a wallet. He held it out to Roth.
"Open it."
The man's hands shook as he flipped the wallet open. Roth looked at his P.I. credentials, Jason Blackburn Investigations. "Throw it on the seat."
Jason Blackburn obeyed and tossed the wallet through the open window.
"Now pull the drawings out of the envelope and hold them up for me."
"How can you see credentials and pictures in the dark?"
"I have great vision.
The investigator slowly removed two well-executed head shot pencil etchings.
"What were you supposed to do if you located them?"
"I don't know. The person calling said they would call back soon. Didn't say anything else."
"Did you see a caller ID?"
"Blocked."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Look, I'm telling the truth. I'm more of an internet detective, but hey, if someone delivered a few thousand pounds to you and just wanted you to stake out a house; what would you do?"
"I sure as hell wouldn't work for someone who didn't reveal himself. Get back in your car and get out of here. If I see you again, it'll turn out painful for you. When you get your other call, tell your employer you didn't find anyone." Roth tossed the .38 special on the front seat.
"Sure man. I'm outta here. I didn't see nothin'."
Jason Blackburn jumped in his car, started the engine and jammed forward, then backward, and forward again, making a hasty u-turn on the narrow road.
Roth watched his retreat, bowed his head and soared upward as a falcon.
He followed the private investigator to a middleclass neighborhood in Luxor. An automatic garage door opened and Jason pulled his vehicle inside. Roth landed on a ledge of the house and peered through a gap in the curtains. He watched Jason enter the room and set his keys and wallet on a table before mounting stairs.
Flying upward, Roth perched on a palm frond. He peered into bedroom windows softly backlit by nightlights. Jason entered a bedroom, bent and kissed a sleeping child. He left that room and walked to another bedroom, where he sat on the side of a bed and stroked the arm of a sleeping woman. She turned and reached for him, pulling him toward her.
Satisfied that he'd seen enough, Roth spread his wings and lifted skyward. The man seemed honest enough. Who had hired him…and why? Only a handful of people knew they were in Egypt, and no one knew about Endesha.
Chapter 14: Confessions
"Endesha entered his living room carrying two cups of coffee. Handing one to Roth, he sat across from him and sipped.
Roth stared into the black brew. "I believe the best course of action is to take Rainey back to Cairo—we'll disappear until I can get some answers."
"I agree. I'll work on translating the hieroglyphs."
"Endesha, I'm reluctant to leave. It seems someone knows about you."
"Don't worry about the hieroglyphs falling into the wrong hands. I'll keep them on a memory stick locked in my hidden vault."
"It's not that. I fear for your safety."
"Roth, do not dishonor me with fear. I have lived a full and exceptional life. Before choosing to remain human, I lived almost five thousand years as a shapeling. During that time, I was blessed to mentor and guide you like a son. My life as a human included a wife I adored and a country I love. What more could I ask? No, Roth, do not dishonor me."
"I will say no more, Endesha; as you wish."
Endesha nodded toward the window. "The sun is cresting. You should be on your way soon."
"I agree."
Roth rose and walked toward the guest bedroom.
* * *
Rainey opened her eyes to a rosy glow peeking through a gap in the curtains. She stretched and then realized she was still in her clothes. She heard a light tap on her door.
"Yes?" she asked in a raspy voice.
The door cracked and Roth peeked around it. "May I come in?"
"Okay."
He chuckled. "You're still in your clothes. When I came in to retrieve my backpack last night, you were asleep. I didn't realize you wouldn't wake up to change for bed."
"Me, either. I just wanted to rest for a few minutes."
Roth sat on the foot of the bed. "I have some news to break to you."
"What?" she asked warily, and sat up.
"Someone knows we're here. Endesha woke me before daylight and said he'd spotted a car parked down the street. He'd zoomed in with his surveillance cameras and discovered a figure watching the house with binoculars."
"How could anyone know we're here?" she whispered.
"That's what I'd like to know."
"What are we going to do?"
"I've decided we should return to Cairo. It's a big city we can get lost in. We'll find a nondescript hotel to hide out in. Can you be ready in half an hour?"
"Okay."
Roth patted Rainey's leg as if to reassure her, then stood and walked from the room.
Rainey lay back down and stared at the ceiling. However, she wasn't thinking about danger to her person, she was thinking about Roth and Fawn. Were they romantically involved?
* * *
Roth returned to the living room where Endesha sat at his computer desk scribbling on a pad. He tore the page off and held it out to Roth. "Set up an email account with that name and I'll convey the interpretation of the hieroglyphs there in a coded message." He pointed below the scrawled email account. "This is how to decipher the message."
Roth accepted the paper and studied it for several minutes. He nodded. "I understand." He handed the page back.
The old man stood, pulled out a desk drawer, and removed a box of matches. Striking the flint, he lit the page on fire. Walking to the coffee table, he dropped the burning paper onto a small dish and carried it to the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Rainey entered the living room. "I smell something burning."
"My atrocious toast," replied Endesha from the kitchen doorway.
"I think we'll eat on the road, my friend," Roth laughed. "Are you ready, Rainey?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." She looked at Endesha. "Thank you for your hospitality. Maybe we'll meet again."
The old man smiled. "I'd like that."
Endesha drove them to the same boat launch they had arrived at the day before. Standing at the stern of the felucca, Roth crossed three fingers over his heart. A subtle smile tilted the corners of Endesha's mouth as he nodded goodbye.
Rainey glanced at Roth and then back at Endesha at the shore's edge. Slowly, the old man placed three fingers over his own heart as their felucca, pulled by the wind, transported them across the Nile.
* * *
They had been driving for hours after retrieving the Land Cruiser and the interior of the car sweltered.
"So, what was that strange 'hand-thing' you and Endesha did when we were leaving? You both put three fingers over your heart. Was it some kind of boyhood secret code, you know, Star Trek stuff?"
"I guess you could say that."
The heat made Rainey's patience snap. "Roth, you are a master at evading questions. Either it was, or it wasn't!"
"Rainey, why don't you recline your seat and rest?"
"It's too damn hot to rest; how much longer until we reach Cairo?"
"You're sounding like a spoiled heiress again."
"You are seriously irritating me, Roth."
"Ditto, Rainy."
Rainey bent forward and grabbed a water bottle from the floorboard. Hoping for a respite from the heat, she twisted off the cap and swigged before tilting it over her blouse."
Roth turned to look at her and his gaze dropped. "Don't do that!" he commanded.
Rainey gave him a rebellious look and with a perverse sense of humor said, "Don't do what? This?" She turned the
bottle upside down again and poured half of it over herself.
"That does it!" Roth swerved the car to the shoulder and screeched to a stop. "Out of the car, Rainey!"
"Fine!" She shoved the door open and jumped from the heat of the car into the heat of the desert. The desert heat was worse. Raising the bottle over her head she emptied it and closed her eyes when water trickled into them. She opened her eyes to see a very angry Roth staring at her chest.
He shouted, "What the hell's the matter with you? Just when I think we might get along, you do something stupid."
"Is that why you and Fawn get along so well? Because she doesn't do stupid things?"
The moment Rainey said the words she wanted the sun to melt her like wax.
A quizzed looked passed over Roth's face and he asked softly, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Forget it."
"No, Rainey, I'm not going to forget it. Tell me."
"No."
Roth stepped forward. "Look at me."
"No."
He placed the tip of his index finger under her chin and lifted. Her downcast eyes rose to look directly into blue heat.
"Tell me."
Rainey swallowed. "I...I"
"What?"
Speaking swiftly, she said, "I looked in your backpack and found a note from Fawn to meet her and she wasn't going to let you forget how it was before. Ha ha." Rainey lowered her eyes.
Roth removed his hand from her face. Rainey bit the inside of her lip.
"Get in the car, Rainey."
* * *
Three hours later, Roth maneuvered the Toyota through the chaos of Cairo. Rainey sat hunched against the passenger door. Just thinking about the revelation she'd spewed in the midst of anger caused a fresh waive of humiliation to wash over her. Roth hadn't spoken a word since their verbal altercation.
A moped swerved in front of their car, which caused Roth to break sharply and swerve in the opposite direction. Temporarily, Rainey's attention moved from feeling sorry for herself, to fearing for her life in Cairo's crazy traffic. An oncoming taxi turned left only inches in front of them and Rainey's knuckles turned white gripping the seat on either side of her legs.
