I didn’t intend to fall asleep. I lay there looking up at the ceiling. What would I say to Alex? That I just decided I didn’t like my old life? That I just wanted to stay with him?
What about I love you?
It was crazy. I just met him days ago and didn’t even know who I was, but I knew without a doubt that I was in love with him. That’s why none of this felt right. I was in love with Alex.
My mind went back to that first time we met in the tomb of Tutankhamun. He looked at me with such kindness, I trusted him immediately.
“I’m afraid,” I had admitted.
“Okay,” he had said with a nod. “It’s okay to be afraid. But would you trust me?”
“I don’t know you.”
“If I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, will you trust me?”
There was something about those words that was familiar and comforting, but at the time, I didn’t know why. Of course, now I knew it was because Tutankhamun said something similar to Ankhesenamun.
I loved him for that moment on...Why fight it?
I closed my eyes and pictured his handsome face and the way his chestnut eyes looked down at me. The next thing I knew I was being pulled down into a tunnel of darkness that seemed to go on forever. I knew it was a dream, but still I could feel my heart pounding against the walls my chest.
Images were coming at me from every direction, some present day and others ancient from the palace in Thebes. I saw the images of Tutankhamun and myself being chipped away from the walls and our statues defaced. Above it all, I heard the cries of the people mourning the fallen Pharaoh.
Suddenly I came in to myself. I was standing in the palace and I was the queen. I instantly felt the emptiness, the dull ache that was spreading over my entire body.
Tutankhamun is dead...
It was such a hallow feeling to be in a world where Tutankhamun was no more, everything seemed larger, but yet somehow smaller at the same time.
I felt so lost and alone with that realization. It ran through my body and chilled me. It was over. It was really over.
Turning, I saw Ay overseeing the workers as they chiseled at the columns and removed Tutankhamun from history.
I made my way over, kneeling down to take a broken piece of the column from the ground. I looked down at one painted fragment, all that was left of the man that ruled all of Egypt.
Your legacy forgotten already...The reign that was supposed to last for all time...
Rising, I closed my fist around the piece. I faced Ay with what I hoped was fire in my eyes.
“Why are you removing the history of Tutankhamun?” I demanded.
Ay motioned to another column, “With no son, his legacy is dead.”
I flinched, wishing nothing more than to have born a child to him and now have some part of him to cradle in my arms...Some part of the two of us that would be joined forever.
Ay smiled at me sinisterly, “I tried to warn you.”
There was a crash as one arm of Tutankhamun’s statue fell to the ground and shattered.
“I forbid this,” I said with a shake of my head. “You cannot erase history.”
“History will be what I make it,” Ay said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Your husband is buried in my tomb, the tomb of a common man, and in time no one will even remember the name of Tutankhamun.”
“I will not allow this,” I hissed.
“Your wishes mean nothing,” he said.
“I am still queen.”
Ay motioned for the workers to continue, “But you are merely a woman.”
I rose myself taller, remembering that I was the wife to the great Pharaoh Tutankhamun, ruler of upper and lower Egypt. It was my duty to my husband to be the protector of his history.
“I could have you put to death,” I warned him.
“Hardly,” he said. “You are a queen without an heir, merely decoration. But tonight I will lay with you as your husband, and I will be Pharaoh.”
I staggered backward, the breath leaving my body. My stomach churned at the thought of him touching me.
This was your plan all along...To sit on the throne of Egypt...
“And if I refuse?” I asked, holding my head high even though I could feel myself shaking,
He stared down at me, “It would be a pity for another tragedy to befall Egypt.”
The weight of his threat pushed me back. I lifted my chin and turned away, forcing myself to walk slowly back to my chambers. Only once the door was securely shut behind me did I lean back against it and allow my legs to give way.
“My queen?” My maid cried out as she rushed to my side.
I held up my hand to stop her. I pressed my lips tightly together to keep from screaming and waited for my panic to pass. Once I was sure that I could speak, I turned to her.
“I need you to bring me wine,” I said simply, taking a deep breath each time I felt my voice falter. “Bring me wine and a vial of nightshade.”
“No, my queen—”
I held up my hand again, “Speak to no one, let no one see you.”
She bowed before me, “Yes, my queen.”
I stood slowly, forcing myself upright so that she could pass. I closed the door again behind her and waited. I watched the sun setting and knew that I would never see tomorrow.
I could still hear the chiseling of the workers, but I closed my eyes, imagining myself with Tutankhamun soon.
(Flashback)
Suddenly, my chamber door was thrown open, the force sending me to the floor. I looked up just as Ay stepped into my doorway holding my maid by the arm.
“I have failed you my queen,” she whimpered.
“Yes,” Ay hissed as he drew his sword with his free hand. “You have.”
He stabbed the blade into her middle. I watched helplessly as she fell to the floor, her blood spilling out onto the stones.
Ay stepped past her and stood over me, “You would rather die than rule Egypt as my queen?”
I gathered my courage and glared up at him, “I would rather be with the Pharaoh Tutankhamun in eternity than to dishonor him with you.”
Ay smiled down at me as he wiped the blood from his blade, “As you wish.”
He motioned to the guards outside my chamber. Two of them came in and lifted me to my feet. Ay stepped forward and reached out to stroke my face gently before striking me so hard I tasted blood.
“You shall join Tutankhamun,” he said. “And you too shall will be forgotten.”
Ay hurried the guards out of my chamber and through the darkened halls of the palace. I did not resist, even as I was pulled onto a chariot and driven outside the palace gates. I looked up at the dark sky, taking in my last views of this life and thinking of Tutankhamun.
Soon my love...Soon...
It was only when the horses stopped that I realized we were standing outside the tomb of the Pharaoh. I smiled to myself. What better place to die?
Ay came around and pulled me from the guards, throwing me to the ground. He reached down and grabbed my hair, pulling me along the desert floor and down the steps toward the door of the tomb.
I screamed when he removed the rope seal from the tomb, dishonoring my husband, for which he slapped me again.
He pulled the door to the tomb open and shoved me inside the dark chamber, “May your eternity begin tonight.”
“You mean to leave me here?” I asked, stumbling backward among Tutankhamun’s treasures.
“Only until you are dead,” he sneered. “Then I will have you removed and disposed of. Until then, enjoy your time with your Pharaoh.”
Ay began closing the heavy doors, just through the last sliver of light I saw his face twist and change into Jeremy’s. Even in my dream, I felt the jolt of recognition go through me.
I felt along the walls, stumbling over furniture, even though I knew there was no way out. I screamed. I screamed until I had no voice and even then, I screamed on...And then there was only darkness.
; Chapter Nineteen
I bolted upright in bed. My head was pounding as I looked around the room. It was the same sterile room from earlier, but somehow it seemed deceptively sinister now. My first instinct was to reach out to Alex, but I knew he wouldn’t be there. He was back in his own hotel room and I was here all alone.
A vision flashed behind my eyes. I saw the downstairs hotel lobby, all modern and decadent with its crystal chandeliers and marble floors, and Jeremy talking to the bellboy loading a luggage cart with our bags. I was following them to the elevator, their lips were moving as if they were speaking, but I couldn’t hear any of the words.
I shook my head to clear the memory, only to be confronted with another vision of a little girl that I could only assume was me, blowing out candles on a cake. I saw the faces looking at me and I knew it was my family...My mother...My father...And my awful sister who ended up decapitating the doll that I had just unwrapped.
What was happening? Was I starting to remember?
Another flash came, an image of this very hotel room and of red flowers on the table in the sitting room. I saw myself reaching for them, a thorn pricking my finger. I looked down and saw the drop of blood and then I went into the bathroom.
In my mind’s eye I could see the black bag sitting on the bathroom floor. I opened it up and dug through the shampoo and shaving cream searching for a bandage. My hand brushed something hard wrapped in canvas.
I saw myself pulling the item out of the bag and then unwrapping it slowly. I looked down at the ancient necklace in my hand, and intricate masterpiece of jewels and gold.
In my memory, I was suddenly seeing myself again as Ankhesenamun with Tutankhamun and he was placing the necklace about my neck.
“All the riches of the Nile pale beside your beauty,” Tutankhamun had said as he kissed my neck.
I felt the shock of the me in that vision, seeing the image of myself and the fallen Pharaoh for the first time. How could it be? What did it mean?
The questions of the me in my vision were interrupted as Jeremy came into the bathroom and saw me with the necklace from the bag. He looked from me to the bag and then bag again, his face darkening.
“What is this?” I had demanded.
“Put it back,” he ordered me.
“What is this?” I heard myself repeating. “Did you steal this? Is this why we’re here?”
I saw him then in my memory grabbing my arm, pulling me to my feet, and propelling me out into the bedroom. I fell onto the bed as he ordered me to forget all about it.
“No,” I had told him as I went to my feet again. “I’m not going to be a part of this. I’m going back to America.”
I had turned as if to take my bags from the closet when there was an impression of pain, the sound of breaking glass, and then throbbing at my temple and forehead as I fell to the floor. He was on me then, smothering me with a pillow from the bed.
I saw myself waking up on the floor. My head was bleeding, but somehow I got to my feet and left... And then there was nothing.
The necklace... It started everything... It was mine...
I heard the key card sliding into the lock, I eyed the door fearfully as Jeremy stepped into the room.
Jeremy... He tried to kill me...
He looked over at me, “Good, you’re already awake.”
He came over and sat on the edge of the bed, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
I shrank away from him. I looked at him and remembered Ay’s face as he shut the door to the tomb. He reached out and took my hand and the impression only grew.
You bastard...You tried to kill me...Twice...And succeeded once...
“I really think we should give this a little more time,” he said. “I wish you would come back to America with me. I think it would be best if we were to get you some professional treatment, just to see if we can uncover your memories. I can’t just leave you in a foreign country like this.”
“Where did you go while I was sleeping?” I asked, watching his face.
“I called you a car like I said I would and arranged for your things to be taken over later tonight.”
I didn’t believe him, “Anything else?”
“They said it would be a while, so I ran an errand, why?”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Was it something to do with the necklace?”
I saw every muscle in his body tense, “What?”
I kept watching his expression, “Was it something to do with the necklace you stashed in the bottom of your bag?”
“So you do remember...”
“I remember you tried to kill me,” I accused.
There was no time to think or do anything. He drew back and slapped me across the face, making my head real.
“Then you know I’m not one to toy with.”
I pushed him away “If you think I’m going to let you –”
I couldn’t get any other word out. He had his hands on my throat and pushing me back against the headboard.
“Since you have your memory back, I don’t have to explain that we need to leave the country quickly, do I?” He demanded as he tightens his grip. “Start packing.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but he slapped me again.
“I don’t care that you spread your legs for that Alex Patel guy,” he said coldly. “But I’m not going to prison just because you think you’ve fallen in love.”
I watched him carefully as he got up. I glanced at the lamp on the night table. Without pausing to think, I picked it up and smashed it over his head. He crumpled to the floor. I looked down at his still body, thinking of the darkness of that tomb when Ay closed the door and feeling of Jeremy holding the pillow over my face.
Not this time you son of a bitch...Not this time...
Chapter Twenty
It was as if I was floating somewhere overhead and looking down at myself. I saw Jeremy’s limp body on the floor, surround by the broken piece of the lamp, but it didn’t seem possible that it was really me that took him by the legs and dragged him into the bathroom. I didn’t look at the thin trail of blood that followed. I didn’t think about the loud thud his body made when I hoisted him into the tub.
I backed away, shutting the door and wedging the chair from the desk under the knob. I watched the door for a moment, expecting at any second to hear the sound of him moving or to see the knob turning.
Going to the room door, I peeked out the peephole, all I could see was an empty hall. Was it possible no one heard the lamp break or the sound of me moving the body?
I went back to the closet, but my purse and wallet Jeremy had shown Alex were gone. I searched through the pockets of the clothes hanging and the bags in the bottom, managing to find a few bills.
I shoved them into my pocket and went back to the door, peeking out again. The hallway was still empty. I paused for just a moment, asking myself if I could really leave an injured man helpless and possibly dying in a bathtub. Once again, I saw Ay’s face...The necklace...And Jeremy...
Yes I can...
I opened the door and slipped out into the hall. I placed the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the knob and closed the door. I hurried to the elevator and pushed the button, watching the needle above the doors.
I felt vulnerable standing outside the door of a possible dying man’s room. What if I was seen?
Suddenly, I was filled with panic. What if Jeremy did die? Did I really want to ride the elevator with someone that could place me at the scene of the crime?
I wasn’t even thinking that because I had already been seen with him earlier, that I would be the first suspect. I was barely thinking rationally at all. Instead, I looked around, and I saw the stairwell door at the end of the hall. I ran to it and sprinted down the stairs.
I had to get out...I had to get to Alex...He would know what to do...
I reached the ground floor, and peeked out the window of the stairway access door. I waited until there were several people in the lo
bby coming back from tours of the Valley or of the Gaza Pyramids. I slipped out of the door and mixed with the crowd until I could slip out the lobby doors without drawing anyone’s attention. .
Several cars were lined up, dropping off their tourist fares. I hailed the first empty one and gave him the name of Alex’s hotel.
As we drove off, I begged him to hurry. The driver looked at me curiously, but he didn’t ask any questions. I kept looking back behind us, expecting to see Jeremy following us at any moment. I should have stayed and made sure he was dead...
I caught myself. Who thinks like that? Is that who I was? Someone that could consider the death of another person so easily?
My mind went back to the sight of Tutankhamun washing his bloodied hands in the basin. I remembered feeling not sadness, but relief that Akhenaten was gone.
I’m exactly that sort of person...I didn’t cry for Akhenaten and I won’t shed a tear for Jeremy...
It was a short drive back to Alex’s hotel. I barely waited for the car to stop before I had the door open over the protests of the driver. I handed him the wad of bills from my pocket.
“Forget you ever saw me,” I said and shut the door.
I ran inside, ready to hurry up to Alex’s room, but I saw him coming out of the restaurant bar almost immediately. I slid to a stop and scrambled over to him.
“Alex,” I panted. “Alex, oh thank God!”
He turned to me, something in my face must’ve spoke to him. Immediately, he was at my side, taking my hands in his.
“What are you doing here?” He asked, “I thought you—”
I fell into his arms, clutching at the front of his shirt. “It’s Jeremy... He tried to kill me... That’s why lost my memory...”
“What?” Alex demanded, “I’ll kill him!”
“No,” I panted, holding onto his arm. “I think I already did.”
“What?”
“There’s more. He had a necklace... It was Ankhesenamun’s. I don’t know where he got it, but when I found it, he tried to kill me and that’s what started everything.”
“Where is he how?” Alex demanded.
I began to shake so even my teeth started to chatter, “I...I really think I killed him.”
The Pharaoh's Kiss (Reincarnation Romance Chronicles Book 3) Page 8
