Adventures of Alexis Davenport Series

by West, Shay

  Alex smiled and waved to the little ones, encouraging them in their game. She knew that this was something Ankhesenamun enjoyed, and one of the main reasons she insisted on these frequent trips into the city. She hated being cooped up in the palace. Ankhesenamun thought it important that the Pharaoh and his queen should never be above interaction with the people they ruled.

  The litter was nearing the marketplace and Alex’s heart picked up speed. Her brain was buzzing with the anticipation of an entire morning spent shopping to her heart’s content. She knew these feelings were coming from the young Egyptian queen. Well, mostly. Alex had never had the luxury of having the kind of money or power to buy whatever she wanted. She vowed to make the most of this experience.

  When the litter stopped, she fidgeted while the servants lowered it to the ground. One of the guards helped her down. The intense heat baked the soles of her feet, even through the sandals she wore. One lean young man grabbed a large fan made of black feathers glued to a golden support. He positioned himself just behind Alex and held the fan over her head, shading her from the glaring sun. A second servant took a woven basket from inside the litter and placed it on his head.

  I wonder what that’s for? She knew she couldn’t ask. Ankhesenamun would most likely know what the basket was for.

  The guards gathered around her as she began moving through the marketplace, eyes darting everywhere at once. There were vendors and carts as far as the eye could see. The throngs of people in the streets moved aside when she passed by, bowing their heads. The vendors were torn between trying to hawk their wares and showing proper subservience. Most opted to hold a dazzling piece of jewelry or bolt of luxurious cloth and keep silent.

  Alex stopped at almost every cart, touching the magnificent necklaces, bracelets, and belts covered in gold and precious stones and jewels. One particular piece, studded with purple amethyst and tanzanite and dotted with turquoise and jasper, caught her eye.

  The vendor smiled at Alex. “You have a good eye, your Majesty.”

  “I will take this.” Alex handed the necklace to one of her servants who promptly placed it in the basket. The whole exchange seemed so natural to Alex. I’m obviously pulling this from Ankhesenamun’s memory.

  “I shall send the bill to the palace, Majesty.” The man bowed and promptly scribbled something on a rolled piece of papyrus.

  Alex moved onto the next vendor. Her heart was racing and a smile was plastered on her face. Never in her wildest imagination did she ever think she would be able to simply point her finger and take what she wanted. It’s like I have an ancient credit card! Alex knew that the man would receive payment in the form of grain and beer.

  It was so strange having her own memories and those of the Egyptian queen all mingled together. Alex wished she could access the memories whenever she wanted, but the things she “remembered” as the other girls just popped into her head.

  The morning passed quickly and Alex was beginning to worry that the basket was filling too quickly. I still have tons to see! She got some dates, chunks of salted beef, and beer for all of them. As Alex took a swig of the beer, she felt a flash of rebellious glee. If Mom saw me drinking this, she’d flip!

  Alex grimaced as she felt sweat pouring down her neck and back. The wig was stifling and only added to the intense heat accumulating on the top of her head. The breeze and shade from the fan did nothing to block the sun. I’m outta here after this last vendor.

  Alex felt drawn to a cart filled with bolts of linen, most of them white, but some had been dyed purple, green, yellow, and red. She blushed when she pulled a section of purple cloth away to examine it further and found it nearly transparent. What surprised her most was the eagerness of Ankhesenamun at the thought of having a dress made of the material.

  “Good day, your...”

  Alex looked up and sucked in a breath, feeling as though someone had shot her with a stun gun. Everything slowed down and her world consisted of only the young man standing in front of her. His dark brown eyes were perfect circles of surprise, and his hand had stopped short of reaching out to touch her. Alex couldn’t have explained her emotions at that moment if her life depended on it. The young man smiled and reached out to take Alex’s own out-stretched hand.

  “What do you think you are doing? You are not to lay hands on the Great Royal Wife, you son of a goat!” One of the guards was moving between Alex and the linen merchant, holding a spear with the tip only inches from the man’s throat.

  “Stop! Leave us.” Alex held her ground. She knew the guards would think her actions strange, but they would obey. It was their duty.

  “As you wish.” The guard bowed and backed away, holding the spear in front, poised on the balls of his feet, ready to come between the stranger and his Queen should he pose a danger to her.

  “I can’t believe this! I’ve always known there were others like me, I just never thought I would ever meet one!” The young man ran his hands over the cloth turban he wore, and paced back and forth behind his cart full of fabric.

  Alex stood and stared, her thoughts whirling so fast she couldn’t make one of them stand still long enough to formulate a coherent sentence. He knows what I am!

  “Well, aren’t you going to say anything?”

  Alex blinked and opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. Nothing she wanted to say sounded right. She glanced to her guards and servants standing nearby. Anything she said would have to be low enough so that they couldn’t hear. And what if the young man wasn’t talking about her gift? What if he was talking about something else and she gave herself away?

  Get a grip, Alex! Her catch phrase worked, as it always did, much like a slap to the face of someone in hysterics. He’s not speaking like someone from here, and there’s obviously something about him I can sense.

  It took a minute for Alex to put a name to the emotions she was picking up from the young man: loyalty, courage, goodness. He was the exact opposite of the evil man she had encountered on previous trips. Alex knew she could trust this man.

  CHAPTER 5

  DRIFTER MOVED RESTLESSLY through the palace. He was too distracted to appreciate the beauty surrounding him. He had several meetings that morning with various artisans. He ground his teeth. The last thing he wanted was to be weighed down with the tedium of listening to the incessant whining of the artists who should simply do the job for which they were hired rather than arguing among themselves about the proper sculptures for the new temple.

  “The petitioners have arrived, Grand Vizier Ay. They await you in the large throne room.” A tiny wisp of a girl spoke so softly that Drifter could barely hear her over the shuffling of their feet on the cool stone floor.

  Drifter waved his hand dismissively. If the fool girl was paying attention, she would see that he was already on his way to the throne room.

  I need to find Tut.

  The young Pharaoh was out with his army commanders inspecting the troops. It was something Tut did on a weekly basis, always without the men having prior knowledge.

  Drifter was supposed to meet with the Pharaoh after dinner that evening. That would be the time to strike. His lips peeled back in a feral grin, sending servants scuttling off in terror.

  If the Protector shows up this time, I’ll kill her.

  CHAPTER 6

  “IS THERE ANY WAY for us to speak in private without raising suspicions?” Alex kept her voice at a whisper, terrified of her guards or a passer-by overhearing.

  “You are the Great Royal Wife. You can do whatever you want. If you require privacy, all you have to do is ask.” The man bowed his head to hide a knowing smile.

  Alex nodded. “I wish to discuss pricing with you. Privately.” Alex hoped she sounded authoritative and not like a frightened teenager. Which is exactly what you are.

  Her guards blew a few short blasts on their horns and the people in the area moved away from the linen merchant’s carts. Her guards took up positions to ensure that no one passed too
close to the Pharaoh’s wife and the merchant. Her servants also stood off to one side, but within earshot in case she had need of them.

  She stared at the young man, who stared back just as openly. Alex couldn’t remember ever feeling comfortable enough with anyone to stare into their eyes without saying a word. Part of her was afraid to blink; she wanted to sear this into her brain forever.

  “I’m called Seth here. But my real name’s Sean.”

  “Alex.” She didn’t bother to tell him her name here in ancient Egypt; everyone knew who she was.

  “We should be free to talk for a while. God, I still can’t believe it! I mean, meeting another traveler,” Sean shook his head in disbelief. “Master always said if I was patient, I would meet another.”

  “Master? What...” Alex felt as though she were in the Twilight Zone. She had gotten a handle on the travelling back in time, and had resigned herself to putting her life on the line to protect history. However, meeting someone with her same gift and hearing him speak of a Master was almost too much.

  “Oh, boy. Sorry. I figured I’d do something like this.” Sean smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I always did talk too much.”

  “Just start at the beginning.”

  “The beginning.” Sean closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “I’ve already figured out that you don’t have a Master or else you wouldn’t have asked. I’ve been a Protector most of my life. Luckily, my Master found me at a young age and explained everything. I couldn’t imagine having to do this with no help.” He blushed and tried to apologize.

  “It’s all right. I’m not even sure how the hell I’ve managed to blunder my way through things.”

  “It’s part of the gift. Okay, you know you’re supposed to maintain the timeline. And you travel back and forth in mirrors or bodies of water if there aren’t any mirrors around.”

  “Yeah, some gift,” Alex’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “It’s super fun to get snatched from your life and dragged back in time to face an evil bastard that eventually kills the body you inhabit, and you’re forced to float in some void, not even sure if you’re dead or alive...”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What evil man? And you actually died once? I’ve heard of it happening but it’s so rare...”

  Alex wished Sean would stop sounding so amazed by what she was saying. She didn’t think of this traveling as gift. More like a nightmare. “Yeah. Evil man trying to change things. Isn’t that why you’re here too?”

  “I’ve never come into contact with someone evil. Most of what I have to change is stuff that happens by accident.”

  Alex groaned. The more Sean told her, the more confused she got. “What do you mean by ‘accident’? If an event has already happened, then how the heck can something happen by accident to change it?”

  “My Master tried to explain it to me and I just don’t have the head for the physics aspect of what we do. Just the history.” Sean smiled broadly.

  “So why don’t I have a Master? Am I supposed to put an ad on Craigslist or something?” She waved her hand dismissively at Sean’s blank look. “Never mind. What year are you from?”

  “Twentieth century Scotland. And you don’t have a Master because there are very few left.”

  “Why?”

  “My Master told me that someone has been going back through time and killing them.”

  Alex sucked in a breath in fear. “I wonder if it’s the same guy I have been stopping?”

  Sean shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  “Well, can’t you ask your Master?”

  “Not until I go back to my own time. And it wouldn’t exactly help you.”

  Alex groaned again. She felt her head begin to pound so she rubbed her temples.

  “You need something to drink. This heat’ll suck ya dry.”

  Alex called to one of her servants and ordered him to find them both beer, water, and something to eat.

  “Let’s sit in the shade. Don’t want you having heat stroke.”

  Alex sat down in the shade of a nearby building. It felt blessedly cooler than standing in the direct heat of the sun. She collected her thoughts while they waited for her servant to return with the food and drink. There was so much she needed to know about her abilities. Part of her was afraid she would forget to ask something important and she would never have the answers.

  “So how are Masters and Protectors chosen? I mean, is it some twist-of-fate lottery or something?”

  “I’m not sure. But I know that this gift tends to run in families. My great-great-great-great-grandmother was a Protector. She never hid her secret and wrote down everything that ever happened to her. The gift, and the stories, are passed down from generation to generation. When I found out I had the gift, it was like finding out I was going to be King.”

  “Well, I don’t want this gift. Is there any way to give it back?”

  Sean laughed ruefully. “Afraid not. I know it sucks, but what we do is important.”

  Alex grunted as she took a huge drink of water.

  “So can I ask what time and country you live in?”

  “United States in the year 2011,” Alex paused. “Can we only go to the past, or can we go to the future?”

  “Only the past. Like I said, I’m not an expert on the actual physics of time travel.”

  “And I don’t have a Master because someone’s been going back and killing them. Why don’t they kill Protectors too?”

  “I think we have some sort of built-in defense that prevents them from figuring out what year we live in. It’s too bad the Masters don’t have the same.”

  “So I get to spend my life going back in time and there’s nothing I can do about it. Great.” Alex laid her head back against the stone wall and closed her eyes. She tried to picture what her future would hold: winding up alone because she couldn’t take the chance of marrying someone and having them find her standing in front of the mirror like Jennifer had.

  “Sorry. I’ve been doing this all my life and this is only my fourth trip. Maybe things will slow down for you.”

  “Not unless that evil man is stopped. Every time I have gone back, he’s there, trying to kill someone.”

  “That worries me. I wonder if you two are somehow connected and that’s why you go back when he’s messing around.”

  Alex shrugged. It made as much sense as anything else she had learned. “What else do you know about our kind?”

  “Not much. Just what I’ve told you. Although...” Sean frowned, deep in thought. “I read Master’s personal journal once. He about killed me when he caught me with it. Anyway, he wrote about an extraordinary few who had powers above and beyond the other Protectors. They are the stuff of legends, able to find their way back to their bodies in their own time even if the one they are inhabiting is killed, not actually needing to touch the mirror to travel, having astute senses and instincts and the ability to use their power to zero in on someone to travel into. No one really knows everything they can do.”

  “Can you do any of those things?”

  Sean shook his head. “Nah. Like I said, I only read that stuff in Master’s journal.”

  Alex’s mouth went dry. Some of what Sean mentioned sounded familiar. Astute senses? Picking someone to travel into? She had hoped that Sean would clear up all of the mysteries of her gift; he only added to her confusion and fear. Rather than dwell on it, she changed the subject. “Are we traveling into ourselves in a past life?”

  Sean laughed. “No, that wouldn’t be very helpful. What’s the chance that each time something is happening to the timeline, someone will be there from your past life?” He shook his head. “I think I know what you’re talking about. You feel a connection to the girls you see in the mirror. But it’s not past lives. More like you are seeing something in the girls that is also a part of you: spirit, drive, intelligence.”

  “I also feel a strange connection to a boy when I travel. There’s been one in each period I’ve visited. It’s like...”
Alex glanced at Sean, embarrassed to be discussing such things with a boy.

  He smiled. “I wish I could help you, but I’ve never felt anything like that from girls.”

  Alex thought he had the nicest smile she had ever seen. The feelings of trust and goodness still emanated from him, but it was different than the feelings she felt when near Conor, Chandler, and Carlos. “But you obviously felt something when you first saw me.”

  “It’s like sensing a kindred spirit, someone that understands you. Master told me to pay attention to my feelings and emotions when I was traveling. I’d always hoped to run into another traveler. It’s nice knowing I’m not alone.”

  Couldn’t have said it better myself.

  “How do you know what you’re supposed to fix? I have been able to sense the evil man’s presence and keep an eye on things.”

  “I don’t feel anything evil, but I usually figure out pretty quickly where the trouble is. So far, my trips have been pretty tame.”

  Wish I could say the same.

  “Why do you think we’re both here? Is it possible we have to protect the same person?” Alex asked.

  “I guess it’s possible. I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary yet.”

  “Same here. But I only arrived in Ankhesenamun’s body this morning.”

  “The most obvious target will be Tutankhamen. You are in a prime position to keep an eye on him.”

  “That’s another thing I was wondering about! Every time I’ve gone back, I’ve been in the body of someone close to the target. Is that all part of the ‘plan’?”

  “That’s been my experience too. But as a linen merchant, I don’t have access to the palace. Perhaps my target isn’t Tut?”