Kelsey nodded. His mother must have been a descendant of Kenmut then.
“I have no idea what sickness I gave her, but it must have been bad enough to make her abandon me in the park for someone else to raise. The police sent me to social services and an older couple in Marseilles adopted me. Your Grand-mere and Grand-pere.”
“And Grand-mere and Grand-pere never made you ill?” Jay asked.
“No, they didn’t. In fact, I grew up an extremely healthy child. There were apparently no other heirs of Kenmut’s line anywhere near me during childhood, so it wasn’t until I went to college that I found out anything about my lineage.” He glanced at Gianni and Nigel, who nodded for him to continue.
“I went to graduate school at the Sapienza University of Rome and that’s where I met Gianni. We roomed together beginning with my second semester. Nigel was one of our professors.”
Kelsey eyed Gianni. “Did you know at the time you were a descendant?”
Gianni nodded. “Si. I learned about my lineage after taking one of Nigel’s classes my freshman year. You see, Nigel’s lifelong quest has been to find the heirs of Kenmut and help them. He used his classes, summer vacations, and school breaks to locate us. He’s traveled all over the world. At the start of each school year, in each class he’d take off his plethora of talismans and see if he became ill.”
Nigel snorted. “Trust me, it wasn’t fun. Without these on, I get a dicky tummy.”
Jay appealed to Gianni. “A dicky tummy?”
“He means he gets a bad case of stomach cramps,” Gianni explained.
Nigel nodded. “But it was worth the few minutes of discomfort to find out, of course.”
Gianni continued. “The beginning of my first year, I had a class with Nigel and had one of the worst bouts of heart palpitations I’d had in months. I had been plagued with them growing up, thanks to my closeness with my saint of a sickly mother. Her own malady was a weak constitution and as I was a distinct mama’s boy and she doted on me constantly, she was ill my entire childhood. So, when I entered that class, within minutes we both became unwell. The rest is history.” He squeezed the older man’s hand.
“Someone has to explain what is going on to everyone,” Nigel said, matter-of-factly. “I was lucky my father told everything to me before he died. Ustha came to him once with a deal that would help him with his own pains. He suffered from severe bouts of anemia when near me, and always felt very weak. Somehow my father saw through her and sent her away. Kenmut rewarded him with a bit of knowledge about our heritage and directed us to the opals.”
“So you’ve always known about Kenmut?” Kelsey asked, stunned.
“Yes, but it’s not like I have a direct line to call him. Trust me, I’ve appealed to the heavens numerous times, and not once has he deigned to contact me. Your meeting him is the first time we’ve made contact since my father's interaction. And frankly, I’d like to know why. Why now? His heirs must be very few indeed if he’s finally decided to come forward.”
“How many have you found?” Kelsey asked. “The Decans said there are less than a hundred.”
“I have located forty, including you and Jay,” Nigel said. “They are scattered all over the world and there are probably more, but I can’t be sure. Gianni and I find people and give them talismans. Some wear them, some don’t, but we try.”
Kelsey considered this. “And both of you have implants and all those people do, too?”
Nigel nodded.
“But if your father knew what was happening, or what would happen to you, why couldn’t he hide you from the Usthatan with the opals?” Kelsey asked.
Nigel tapped his head. “He did, but remember, I spent many years in the Royal Marines. You can’t wear jewelry there, lass. Ustha’s minions found me one night on patrol. Quite a fight. Took a few of those blimey buggers out, I did. I even tried to get the implant out after I’d realized what they’d done to me.”
Gianni rolled his eyes. “Brave fool. You should see what he did to his shoulder. The scars are dreadful. He tried to take it out himself with a pocket knife while stationed in the middle of the desert. Didn’t even know what he was searching for. The man nearly bled to death and got an infection. You could have died, Nigel,” he chastised.
“Did you get it out?” Kelsey asked. I really don’t want this thing in me any longer, even if it’s only a hair.
Nigel shook his head. “You can’t, young lady and I should know. I made a dog’s dinner of my shoulder trying to remove it. Ustha’s hair is so fine that it absorbs right into your body and enters your bloodstream. After that, it’s everywhere, just like the pieces of Kenmut’s soul are in us. Even if you cut out an entire chunk of flesh, you’re still marked. Only way to hide us is with the charms.”
So I will always be stained. I can’t seem to get away from things beyond my control, staining my soul.
Jay turned to his dad. His jaw was set and Kelsey could see his anger. “Dad, continue with your story.”
Armand shook his head. “One night in the dorm, Gianni took off his necklace and I was suddenly overcome with tics. Like little seizures. I’d never had them in my life, from what I could remember, though I must have had them as an infant. Gianni’s heart palpitations began as well, so he took me straight to Nigel and I learned everything.”
Nigel grunted.
Armand grimaced. “I know, Nigel. So I’m dense and don’t always listen. The fact was, Jibade, I didn’t believe too much of what he said. Who would? I understood that maybe we were related and that because of it we could possibly make each other ill, but to really believe in the stars and Decans? That seemed preposterous to me.”
Nigel scowled at him. “Unless you see it painted on a tomb wall or imprinted on a two thousand year old rock, you don’t believe anything. So damn, bloody blinkard. You were always a difficult student to teach. Absolutely gormless with no imagination at all, which is a terrible trait for an archaeologist, by the way.”
Armand sighed, exasperated. “I was young and brash and felt untouchable. So I wore an opal earring, or a charm bracelet or an anklet so I didn’t get sick. It didn’t seem like that big a deal to me. What is a small tic here or there? It wasn’t like I was a full blown epileptic. The rest of the story Nigel bade me to believe sounded like simply folklore and legends. Even now, we as a people know so little of the Decans, and even Nigel’s knowledge is limited to what his father and his ancestors passed down.
“But don’t you have a scar? Didn’t that make you believe in what they said?” The man couldn’t be so stupid, could he?
“Yes, a small one. There had been a fresh wound on my back when they discovered me in the park. No one knew what had caused it. Ustha’s minions obviously located me as a helpless, abandoned infant and implanted me then. Who knows, maybe they were the ones that left me in the park.”
“But when Ustha came to you later in life, you had to believe then, right?” She felt sure now the answer would be no. My father is a fool.
Nigel snorted. “You give him too much credit, lass. Don’t be so mug.”
“I hardly think she’s being gullible, Nigel,” Gianni said.
“I speak as I find,” Nigel muttered under his breath.
Armand pursed his lips. “You have to understand, Kelsey. I came into this world with a lot of emotional baggage. I’m not making excuses for my behavior, but I was abandoned as a child and then brought up by a very rich, successful father. It left an indelible mark on me. My adoptive parents were unemotional, ruthless and goal-oriented. Early on they taught me to always go after what I wanted, no matter what the consequences. That the “means to the end” is all that matters if it gets you to your goal. I latched onto their philosophy and pursued fame with a vengeance. So, after I graduated, I worked with a multitude of well-known archaeologists. But I was always the one to write the notes and do their menial duties. I was never the one to “make the find” and I desperately wanted to make my own mark in the world. I craved the glory
and accolades that came with making spectacular archaeological discoveries. I craved showing my father what a success I could become.”
Jay mocked him. “You know, you’re still like that, Dad.”
Armand grimaced. “I never said was perfect, Jibade. I’m trying to change and make things right.”
Then start by telling me why you seduced my mother, you letch. Your change of face obviously came well after that. Kelsey barely held her tongue.
“Continue, Dad.”
Armand nodded. “So I took off on my own. I studied old documents and parchments, read old fables and tales and spent hours in the archives of the university libraries. I bought the notes of archaeologists of old, and explored every story and legend I could locate. I wanted to find something of significance that no one else had researched. I spent years excavating sites and acquiring donors, but I found nothing that would make me famous. And then, one night…” He paused, glancing at Gianni.
Gianni rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you, Armand. This is what’s giving you pause? A declaration about your sordid desires? They’re both adults for God’s sake.”
Armand squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. “Fine. One night I went to a brothel in Cairo.”
Nigel leaned in. “A place so seedy, even the pimps stayed away, but the slappers there would do anything, with anyone, for the right price.”
Armand shot him an indignant look. “And you don’t have needs of your own, Nigel? Please, don’t be a hypocrite. You didn’t get kicked out of the university for no reason.” His gaze wandered to Gianni and he raised his brows knowingly.
Gianni chuckled. “He’s got you there, Nigel. Apparently even in graduate school, fraternizing with the students is not allowed.” He squeezed Nigel’s hand.
“I was getting bored of teaching anyway, Gianni. You did me a favor. On many levels.” Nigel squeezed his hand back.
“So, anyway,” Armand continued. “I had… finished with one girl and waited for another to come in. I turned to see a woman with a pixie haircut standing before me. She wasn’t the type I had paid for, but she was beautiful and compelling, so I didn’t complain.”
“How’d she find you, Dad?” Jay asked.
“I had taken off my necklace. It was on the nightstand.” He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering. “She said only one sentence to me.”
“Do you dream, Armand?” And then she grabbed my hand. With one touch, I blacked out. But I didn’t really fall unconscious. She had put me to sleep and I had the most incredible, emotional, and magical dream of my entire life. I dreamed about all my most wished-for desires. Everything I had ever wanted or sought came through in this dream. I found archaeological artifacts that rocked the known world. I was famous and rich and women fell at my feet. Magazines put me on their covers. Talk shows and interviewers sought me out. I acquired wealth beyond imagination. I lived this glorious fantasy for hours upon hours on end. When I awoke, the most incredible euphoria remained with me, as if I’d been with a hundred women, yet it didn’t compare to that. It surpassed it by a million times. The feeling was stronger than the most intense high from the most incredible drug ever invented.”
Nigel pointed at Kelsey and Jay. “You see, that’s Ustha’s power. She has the ability to let you live out your deepest desires every time you go to sleep. It is why her minions flock to her, idolize her, and do her every bidding. She rewards them every single night with their most sought-after fantasies and utmost desires. It can be anything. Sex, money, love, any material thing. To have anything you ever wanted is stronger than any narcotic or hallucinogen there is. Every wish, anything you’ve ever coveted, is always fulfilled.” He turned to Armand. “Continue.”
“When I came out of my dream, trance, or whatever you wish to call it, Ustha was still in the room with me. She’d been reclining on a couch in the corner the entire time, just watching me. I asked her who she was.”
“My name is Ustha and I am the Decan of Twilight and Dreams. Would you like that dream to come true, Armand? Would you like your every fantasy and most sought-after aspiration to become reality?”
“Of course, I said yes.”
She then smiled and leaned towards me. “I can fulfill all your dreams. All you need to do for me is a little favor. A small promise. Your future, for my future. Your destiny, for mine. If you ever have children, I’d like to know about them. I won’t hurt them. Just a little moment of their time, and they will be free to live the rest of their lives without my intrusion. I will leave you the sign of the Sa so you know I have completed my end of the bargain. Do you agree to this smallest of favors in return for the riches of the world?”
“Since I had no idea of her true intentions, and the thought of children was so far removed from my mindset, I agreed. Just two days later while rummaging in an old bookstore, I came across an exceedingly rare map depicting a faded pencil drawing. I saw a Sa scrawled on the upper right-hand corner of the document. I knew Ustha had delivered on her promise and this piece of paper, this ancient diagram, would be my destiny. She had given me the location of the Golden Twin Coffin.”
Chapter 16
THE TOMB
“But that doesn’t explain why you abandoned me as a child,” Jay fumed.
Armand seemed at a loss. He held out his bandaged hands in an appeal. “Honestly, I had no choice, Jibade.”
Jay crossed his arms. “There’s always a choice, Dad.”
“Son, let me explain. I’ll start with your mother. When I met her, she was a recently graduated archaeology student. So sweet and so beautiful, and so very French. I became instantly smitten.”
Gianni scoffed. “One of his groupies who absolutely adored him, of course.”
Armand turned on him. “So, what was wrong with that? I had hoards of people following me around back then. I was the elite rock star of the in-crowd and you could have had the pick of the litter if you swung that way, Gianni, just from clinging to my coattails. What, I should have ignored the beau monde beauties who threw themselves at me?”
Nigel snorted. “At least you didn’t have to go to the seedy bars anymore to have your hump. They just fell at your feet.”
Kelsey couldn’t keep silent any longer. “Yes, you found it all too easy, didn't you? All you had to do was get them alone and seduce the women who idolized you, right?”
Armand turned to her and pursed his lips. “So, you know.”
Kelsey glared at him. “Yes, I know.”
“Who told you?”
“Does it matter?”
“Was it Claire?” He exhaled loudly. “Merde, of course, it was. Who else could it be? Listen, Kelsey, your mother and I had a one-night stand. That was it. It was our first and last time together. We’d never been intimate before that night and I’d known her for years. She and your father were in my inner circle and we grew extremely close. I considered them part of my family.”
Kelsey’s anger boiled over. “Yes, so much a part of your family that you would betray my father’s trust and sleep with his wife?”
“And cheat on my mother! Dad, how could you?” Jay blurted out.
Armand sighed, exasperated. “I didn’t say I was proud of all of the choices I’ve made, but things just happen sometimes. I’d been entertaining and the party went late that evening. Benjamin didn’t feel well, so he went to bed early. Then all the guests left and there was still a full bottle of wine on the table. Margaret and I had been in a heated discussion about the historical validity of one of the artifacts I had uncovered, so we ended up finishing the bottle as we talked. One thing simply led to another. What do you want me to say? Margaret was an incredibly beautiful, accomplished, brilliant woman and I enjoyed her company immensely.”
“That still didn’t give you the right to just take what you wanted, you pig,” Kelsey seethed.
Armand raised his eyebrows in mock disbelief. “Take what I wanted? I didn’t force myself on her, if that’s what you think. She participated quite willingly, I can assur
e you of that.”
“You should have been able to control your urges.” Look at me, telling someone else to control their urges.
“You act like I was the only one there. It takes two to have an affair, you know. What did you expect me to do? Just push her aside? I had a beautiful woman sitting in my lap, we were alone, and she was conveniently available.”
He’s not even sorry!
He saw her expression. “Look, when Margaret told me she was pregnant, it shocked me. Frankly, I had thought she’d taken precautions against that possibility from even happening. But I didn’t abandon her like you have most likely been led to believe. I told her I would take full responsibility, even if it meant screwing up everything I had with Simone. But instead of agreeing, Margaret begged me not to get involved in your life in any way, and to never tell Benjamin what happened. I didn’t want to, but I agreed. I promised her I would make no claim to paternity, nor influence your life in any way. And I kept my promise, even after they were murdered and you got hurt in Tibet. Do you know how hard that was for me? I loved your parents dearly and here their daughter, my daughter, had been brutally attacked and I could not do a damned thing about it.
“After Claire and Martin took you in, Claire contacted me to tell me what happened, and I actually turned her away. She probably thought me an insensitive cad, but I’d promised Margaret I’d leave you alone. Not to mention that as my heir, I felt pretty sure we’d make each other sick. I mean, look how Jibade reacted around me? Why wouldn’t my daughter have the same reaction? So I stayed away from you so I wouldn’t hurt you further. I felt your life had been tragic enough. You have to believe me. I was just trying to do the right thing by you.”
The Quest of the Empty Tomb Page 13
