Alex sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. He hesitated slightly as this usually resulted in him being injured in some way, but Kate gave no sign of resisting.
“My life is awful, Alex, really awful.”
Alex felt a pang as he considered that he was the one who was about to make her life even more awful: when he told her that she would never see her father ever again. For the moment he said nothing. His camel had settled itself down and was likely to be asleep anytime soon. Being wet the breeze was giving him a chill. The Nile was cold, so he pulled his feet back from the water.
“Am I the most awful person in the world?” Kate asked and actually turned to look at him.
“Not at all,” Alex answered immediately.
“You said that as though you meant it.”
“I did mean it … I do mean it. Look at everything that has happened to us in such a short period of time. That would be enough to send anyone crazy.” Alex immediately regretted his phraseology and started to backtrack.
“No … you are right. I feel as though I am going crazy. So much of the time I feel that I am going crazy.”
Alex could not believe what he was hearing. At any other time he would have been left hurting and most likely prone. “NO … you are not crazy and you know that wasn’t what I meant. Look at us here,” he swung his free arm in an arc in emphasis, “sitting in the delta whilst our friends, our best friends have been abducted by ancients. Just hours ago I was chatting to Ramses whilst we were all in Tanis, not as a ruin, but as it was in ancient times and surrounded by ancients. We are teenagers having to deal with being teenagers. That is a big enough deal without having to cope with ancient memories and ancients who want to kill us. When you put all this together I am surprised that we are not all crazy; really, genuinely, crazy, in need of serious therapy, but trust me when I tell you we are not, you are not!”
“So, you saw Ramses in Tanis?”
“See what I mean. All this emotion and you are still able to focus on the salient fact.” Alex had not wished to divulge this information to anyone, but he had, so he might as well get it over with. He explained, somewhat nervously at first, but upon hearing that she was never going to see her father again Kate physically relaxed before going off into a litany of complaints against him, some really harsh. This was a day of surprises.
Whilst having this conversation they had both stood and walked the short distance to the edge of the desert. They needed to dry out and this would not have happened where they were. The sun warmed them, dried them, and then boiled them. They were both stepping out into the sun and then back into the shade every minute or so as they talked. After doing this many times, Alex said that he felt as if he was part of a demented cuckoo clock.
Their laughter abated as Alex asked why neither of them were worried by the abduction of Emmy or Cairo.
“You go first. I know why I am not worried, why are you not worried?” Kate asked.
“Well, I thought I would be able to follow you all after you were captured and then effect a rescue. After you were taken, I did have a moment of panic, but I knew that I must follow the gold, and that is going to Alexandria. The abduction had to do with the gold, so I would find you all in Alexandria … but you are here?” This most important fact had only now dawned on Alex. His face flushed as he went silent. It was several seconds before he spoke again, during which time Kate enjoyed his discomfort. “You have not been abducted. I saw them take you, but you are here! How are you here?”
“I thought you would never ask.”
“Well, I might be well behind the curve for some inexplicable reason, but I am asking now!”
“Whilst I was going around Tanis, yes, I was in a mood. I was really stroppy after seeing you, but this is what gave them away.”
“Gave who away?” Alex asked as they both sat down, cross-legged and facing each other, on the edge of the desert.
“I was not going in any particular direction. I kept changing my mind, turning around, I covered the same ground several times. That is how I realised I was being followed. At one point when I span around quickly it felt as though half the people around me did the same. I took evasive action and went back to the safety of the house, but none of you were there, so I waited. When Emmy and Cairo returned and you did not, we thought that you had been taken.”
“So you left to rescue me?”
“No … not at all. We had a plan.”
“Don’t you mean, you had a plan?”
“Exactly, and it was a good plan which we all agreed to.”
Kate explained and Alex understood. “You mean that both Emmy and Cairo were willing to be taken? I can’t believe that.”
“Believe it or not, they both were. I really do not think you appreciate just what they would do to save your life.” Alex looked shocked. “Yes, Alex, they knew that they would be taken. Honestly they did.”
“But how was them being taken going to help me? And, how did you get away? I saw them take you!” Alex felt a deep debt of gratitude, though at the same time he felt confused.
“It was not me on the lead camel. I was following just as you were. It was only by accident that I saw you. I almost bumped into you. Thankfully, being slightly behind you, I was able to pull away without you noticing me. I didn’t want anything to stop my plan from going into action.”
“So we both had the same plan and we both lost them.” They actually did not, but Kate was saying nothing. Alex looked a little dejected. “I spent just over a year with Dr Margretti. I listened, day after day, to his boring lessons. In that year I lost the edge. I lost the ability to put the clues together correctly. I really am better than this, much better than this. We will get them back, we must get them back.”
“I don’t think you lost a year.”
“How would you know? You were out here in the desert.”
“Yes, I was.” Kate was now drawing circles in the sand as she spoke. “I was also in frequent contact with Rose. She kept me informed about how you were getting on.”
Alex was confused by this. Kate had wanted nothing to do with him. He had done everything he could to try and contact her, yet he had received nothing in reply. No contact at all.
“I swore Rose to secrecy,” was all Kate added by way of explanation.
They talked some more. Alex became increasingly aware that Kate had had issues that she had wished to sort out, issues which her father had failed to be either supportive or understanding of. It was some while before they got back onto the conversation of how they could locate Emmy and Cairo.
“You look worried.”
“Of course I’m worried. I’m also hungry!” Alex rubbed his stomach.
“Me too!”
“Though I am not as worried as I feel I should be.”
Kate smiled at him for the very first time. “That is how your time with Dr Margretti has helped you. There are other ways, but if you are not calm you will not be able to see the bigger picture.”
“Wow,” Alex thought, “that is the pot calling the kettle black!”
“Do you remember when we were hiding in Amarna and Nefertiti’s soldiers knew exactly where we were?”
“How could I forget? The spell the warlock put on that metal button of Cleopatra almost cost us our lives.”
“The warlock knew exactly where we were at every moment of every day. The button even had a homing spell cast on it, so that when you threw it away, it came back to you.”
“Yes, I remember, and I remember that you were not at all impressed after I had returned from the roof. I couldn’t believe it. I had thrown it as hard and as far as I could, and by the time I got back downstairs it was back in my pocket … but what has this to do with now, the warlock is dead?”
“Yes, he is dead, but he was not the only one who knew how to cast that spell.”
“Gadeem!”
“Exactly! Do you want to fill in the rest of the story?” Kate said this without any sign of attitude. She kne
w Alex could work it out and she was not disappointed.
“You had Gadeem cast that same spell onto an object which either Emmy or Cairo now has on them. You will know where they have been taken to. Fantastic! I can now see why you are not worried, though who was on the lead camel?”
“Somebody, a girl, I don’t really know. She was made up to look like me, so whoever took us would think that they had the three of us.”
“So who’s helping you? You didn’t come up with this plan on your own.”
“The mighty Alex doesn’t think I’m clever enough to come up with this plan,” Kate said with less than her usual angst.
“Oh yes, I do … I most certainly do, but this time I know that you did not. Whilst I was with Ramses, you … no … all of you were with Gadeem. You must have been with Gadeem because he had to give the item–”
“Items!”
“Items? That makes perfect sense. Two items; one each. He had to give the magic to them because it wouldn’t have been safe for you to cast it.”
“Very well done, go to the top of the class!”
Alex was aware that magic could be traced to not only the originator, but also to the person who cast the magic, though only by those magicians – warlocks – who had exceptional skill. Cleopatra would definitely have a magician with exceptional skill. Tracing magic back to Gadeem, who was surrounded by the army of Ramses, was one thing. Tracing it first to Kate and then Gadeem was quite another. “Did Gadeem use a button again?”
“No, he used two small metal combs. Apparently the magic is stronger if it is used on something metal, and of course it had to be items which were unlikely to be taken from them, so it could not be a coin or anything made from silver or gold.”
“That makes perfect sense. Wish I had had the chance to see Gadeem. It’s been such a long time. There are many people I would have liked to have seen.” Thinking of the button with the head of Cleopatra on it made him think of his own ancient relative, Aryamani. He also thought of Quentin, his adopted father, though he had only seen him recently, he continued to be blissfully unaware of the predicament he and Rose were in.
Chapter 27
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Privileged
“So, Quentin,” Rose said after they had finished eating, “you think our suicide is the answer. How do you think Bast would feel if we gave our lives to let her be free?”
“Not good at all.” Quentin said this as he tidied up ready for the guard to take the empty dishes.
“She is my best friend, so I can tell you that it would destroy her.”
“I … I wasn’t being serious,” he said as he sat back down opposite Rose. “I really don’t know what to do. I have tried escaping, but those guards are lightning fast. Honestly, I would never have believed with being so big that they could have moved so quickly. I also find it really difficult to believe that the only reason we are being held is to keep Bast here.” Upon hearing footsteps outside, Quentin pushed the tray closer to the door with his foot. “If that was the case there would have been no need to have beaten you. None whatsoever.”
“It’s personal.” Rose had previously omitted this piece of information.
“How, if you don’t mind me asking?”
She had started, so she thought that she may as well continue. “Because I deny their existence.”
Quentin had been married to the late Babs, who had denied the existence of ancients even though she was well aware of their existence. He always had to avoid mentioning them, which had made his life so difficult. This time he decided to take the bull by the horns. “How can you deny ancients exist when we are surrounded by them?”
Rose reached an arm out and touched Quentin gently on the knee. She did not have to lean forward much, as it was not a large cell, but the shooting pain through her rib cage reminded her not to move like that again. She took a few seconds to recover her breath before speaking. “Not for one moment do I deny the existence of ancients. Some of my best friends are ancients, Gadeem is an ancient. I deny their existence.” She stopped abruptly, partly from the pain, but mostly because this was something private, something she had wanted to keep to herself.
Quentin used all his years of dealing with students to produce the look. It was the look of a teacher which said, ‘Beat around the bush all you like, you will tell me, so you might as well tell me now’, and it worked.
“I deny being part of my ancient family. I deny them, and I hate them.”
Quentin was taken aback as he did the mental arithmetic. It was simple, though thought provoking. Their location, in the very north of Egypt, the physical size of the place he had been marched through before arriving at his cell, the décor, the guards, their level of professionalism, all pointed to one person. His arrival had all been a bit of a blur, but everything had suggested that he was being held captive in the royal palace of Cleopatra. Having now read the armband of their guard, he was convinced. “Are you saying what I think you are saying, that Cleopatra is your ancient ancestor?”
“To listen to her speak you would have thought we were two peas out of the same pod. I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.” Despite her physical pain, Rose was also suffering mentally. “I found peace with Gadeem. He protected me from her! Why did I ever think that I could win against her? I should never have gone off on my own like that. I was just so angry that she was causing trouble yet again.”
“So … let me get this right. She caught you, had you beaten and then you escaped to warn Bast and me.”
“There was no way I could have escaped, then or now, in the condition I was … am in. It’s all a blur really. I knew that they needed me at the hotel. Without Bast seeing me they wouldn’t have had any control over my friend. All I can remember thinking was that I had to stop that waiter.”
“You did that all right!”
“So that’s why she thought I needed a little more punishment upon my return. The …! You know, I so wish they were right, all those religious types who preach about the act of suicide being an automatic ban from heaven, because then we would not have to put up with people like her in the afterlife.” This was nothing more than pain, anger, and frustration speaking, because this was not at all how Rose felt. She would be the first person to stand up in support of everybody enjoying the afterlife. Even though she vehemently detested her ancient relative, she was pleased that all who were associated with her were able to be in the afterlife. To deny them their afterlife, because of her suicide, would have been dreadfully unfair by any standards.
Unsure as to what to say, Quentin said nothing. They both heard the sound of the cell door being opened. The guard stepped in, picked up the tray and stepped back out, without either making eye contact or saying a word.
“I think he might be our way out of here.” Rose suddenly sounded more positive.
“I had a similar feeling, but it came to nothing. You think he could be our way out of here?”
“Yes!”
“That sounded extremely positive. How exactly?”
“I’m sitting here with no underwear and wearing a white galabeya.” She pointed up to the water above their heads. “With such intense light coming down from there I might as well be naked, yet he never looked at me! He actually averted his eyes.”
“He was just being polite.”
“Are you polite, Quentin?”
“Of course.”
“Well, you can’t take your eyes off of me, not that I am complaining,” though Rose now covered herself with her hands. It was not just the almost see-through galabeya, it was the uplifting effect of the tight bandages around her rib cage. “Of course Gadeem will have to deal with you severely, should we ever get out of here!”
Quentin looked alarmed. “Sorry,” was all he could eventually mutter, and it took him three attempts to get that out.
“Don’t worry, only joking. In a way I am quite flattered, but you really can stop looking now as my arms are getting tired.” Quentin immediately tur
ned away. Rose was fascinated at how his extra white skin flushed firstly around his ears before it spread to the rest of his face.
“Are you sure, Rose, because his arm bands show that he is a royal guard of Cleopatra, so we must be in her royal palace. As female royals do not cover their breasts they would be nothing … um, how shall I put this … they are nothing he doesn’t see all day every day.”
“No guard or soldier would ever dare raise his head to look at a female royal, however high his rank. His pharaoh would put him to death for doing so. Surely you of all people should know that.”
“Good point, though one that was lost on me.”
You are looking again, Quentin!”
“So sorry.” He looked away again and became even redder.
“This is exactly what I mean. Don’t you see, you can’t help yourself? We are incarcerated, he is in control. Nobody is going to stop him looking at me, yet he averted his eyes. This guard is our weak link; he is our way out of here. I reckon that he is possibly the only person who is not under the influence of Cleopatra. It’s all too obvious that you will be. You won’t stand a chance. She really is going to eat you alive. I give you twenty seconds before you are besotted by her.” Rose paused and a slight smile came to her lips. “You are looking again … I overestimated, I don’t even give you twenty seconds, possibly five!”
When Kate had suggested going for a camel ride Alex had initially been less than convinced. Now, having managed to dismount his camel and remain standing, he felt somewhat more convinced. Upon entering the tent in front of him, he was totally convinced. It was more than a tent; it was a royal tent which easily covered the area of a football pitch.
“Couldn’t Ramses have sent something just a little smaller, less conspicuous?” Alex asked.
“Well; you didn’t see it until we were almost at the front door.”
“True, it’s very well hidden. I’m famished,” he said as his eyes travelled across to the banquet laid out before them. Sobek stepped in from another section of the tent. Ramses’ crocodile god approached on his hind legs, using his tail for balance. Alex had to stop himself from rushing over to hug him. Much to Alex’s surprise, Sobek looked somewhat disappointed that he failed to do so. “Great to see you Sobek.”
Gold of the Ancients Page 22
